Majorca Railways Newsletter - Mike Kaben's Report

~ Ferrocarriles de Mallorca ~ Mike Kaben's Report, Page 3

3. SFM Inca - Empalme - Muro - Sa Pobla
All pictures taken on 1999-10-19.

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Inca station seen from the new track to Empalme.

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A few hundred yards east from Inca station, the track is cut to insert a new bridge.

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Empalme station area. This is where the rails currently (1999-10-19) end. However, the trackbed is finished as far as Sa Pobla.

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A work train at Empalme.

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Diesel engine of work train. Do you know, if this loco is the property of SFM or of a building contractor (probably called "Comsa") ?

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A few hundred yards east from Empalme station: The former branch to Sineu leads to the right, into the bushes. There is still a 3ft rail visible in the shadow. The new trackbed to the left leads to Sa Pobla.

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About hundred yards south from Muro station the new track comes from Inca.

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The Muro station is far outside (about 1 mile) the town. They just started the works. The trackbed in the background makes a left turn to head to Sa Pobla.

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A view from where I expect the new Sa Pobla station to be built, through the former track aisle towards the former station. Local people told me that the old station won't be reopened but a new one at the border of the town is to be built. However, except for some stacks of pointwork and sleepers nothing was to be seen of this new station on 1999-10-19.

I think, John Glover saw the same as I saw.

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The aisle from the other side. To the right is the former FCM Sa Pobla station.

--- End of Part 3 ---

~ Ferrocarriles de Mallorca ~ Mike Kaben's Report, Page 4

4. FCM Tunnel Palma

The next two pictures were taken on 1999-10-19.

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The entrance to the old FCM tunnel to the docks of Palma has been preserved. They built a road to the portal and I'm wondering, what they plan to do in the future.

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I put my camera to the longest zoom position (110 mm) and took a 2 seconds shot through the gate into the tunnel. I think, you've been inside until the step just before the left turn, haven't you?
(Yes, click here to go to a picture taken inside the tunnel at this point)

I took the following pictures on 1999-10-23.

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The other side of the tunnel, seen from the Parque del Mar. I was walking in your footsteps.

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Again a shot through the wall. Unfortunately there is a second wall inside, obscuring free sight.
When my family and I were in Palma, we decided to take a snack in the shopping mall directly below the Plaça Major. Suddenly I had the impulse to explore the basement. I think, I shouldn't reproduce my family's comment about my intention...
There is a parking garage with three decks below the shopping floor and in the deepest floor I found the the old tunnel crossing the building.

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This is the view along the "track" towards the FCM Palma station.
I then remembered that there had been a large building site at Plaça Olivar one year ago, when I had been there for the first time and they had dug a really huge hole into the earth. Since I had had no knowledge of a former railway tunnel I had given no importance to the tunnel that had been cut by the works.

I'd thought of it as to be some kind of drain. Well, now I knew better and had a look to see what had been going on at Plaça Olivar since then. They built a parking garage with 4 decks below the market place.

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And, yes, the tunnel crosses the third floor down. Again a view towards the former FCM Palma station.

5. FCM Empalme - Manacor
I didn't find too much worth photographing along the abandoned FCM track from Empalme to Artá but since the Kompass map indicated a bridge (with no track) over the PM-330, between Sineu (where I saw the former station; sorry not scanned yet) and Petra, I wanted to find this bridge. This took me a lot of time until I realised that I was on the new road (PMV-330-1?) some miles north from where I expected to be !!

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Finally I found the old bridge. As you can see, it's in a really bad condition.

--- End of Part 4 ---