Linha Mineira do Braçal
40.7576253,-8.3180484
The contract to build the old Vagonetes Line, or the American train, dates back to 1867, because it was in fact the American system that was implemented here to serve the large mining complex of Minas do Braçal. It connected the Braçal Mines to the River Vouga, following the valley of the River Mau to its mouth. This was a huge improvement in the exploitation of these mines, which had already been concessioned three decades earlier, in 1836, the first concession of its kind in Portugal.
The so-called American system, or "tramway," consisted of railway lines suitable for industrial freight wagons, which in this case were powered by animal traction.
Running for around 9 kilometres, the Vagonetes Line made it possible to transport the final product of mining, lead ingots, from the Braçal establishment to the point where the Mau River flows into the Vouga. There they were loaded onto large boats that travelled down the river, which was then navigable all the way to Aveiro. In the opposite direction, the wagons travelled uphill from the river to the mines, initially pulled by faster horses and later by slower but more resistant oxen.
Implementing the line was no easy feat, as it required the construction of pontoons, through a system of starts or junctions, along the route to soften the curves of the Mau river valley. Without these constructions, it would have been difficult for the heavy wagons to travel. On the route you can still see some ruins of these pontoons, true works of architecture.
