The OLD PATAGONIAN EXPRESS: Epic STEAM TRAIN Ride in Patagonia, Argentina

All aboard the OLD PATAGONIAN EXPRESS! Today we take you one of the most epic train journeys in the world, made even more famous by Paul Theroux's 1979 account "The Old Patagonian Express", where he sought to ride trains all the way from his hometown in Massachusetts all the way down to Argentina.
Today, the Old Patagonian Express may only be a fraction of what it once was, but it’s an exciting journey nevertheless, and we knew we had to ride it! This tourist steam train may cover only a short distance, but it’s a fun way to experience the nostalgia of early 20th-century train travel and it also allows you to soak in the magical landscapes of the Patagonian steppe.
To give you a bit more information, in Spanish, this steam train is known as La Trochita; this translates to ‘little gauge’ and it’s a nickname that refers to the train’s super narrow gauge of only 75 centimetres!
The Old Patagonian Express is a railway line was originally planned as part of a larger network that would connect all of Patagonia, however, the project was never completed due to ministerial changes and then the start of the First World War, which also affected Argentina’s economy.
Today the Old Patagonian Express operates on alternating locomotives; one is a Baldwin from the United States and the other a Henschel from Germany. The wooden wagons came from Belgium, and the heaters, well those were later installed in Argentina to make the journeys across Patagonia in winter a little more bearable.
You can take this journey from a few different stations. This one here is the journey from Esquel to Nahuel Pan. When you arrive in Nahuel Pan, you have 45 minutes to visit the artisanal fair, a small museum, and also buy food for a quick lunch. We went for the choripan (chorizo in a bun), alfajores and torta frita.
Overall, we really enjoyed riding aboard the Old Patagonian Express. As we've mentioned this is a classic train journey and if you enjoy train travel, it's well worth checking out!
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The OLD PATAGONIAN EXPRESS: Epic STEAM TRAIN Ride in Patagonia, Argentina