On the border with the province of San Luis, is Ingeniero Foster, a railway station located in the town of the same name, in the Department of Rancul, La Pampa, Argentina.

This old station has not provided passenger services since the early 1990s, its tracks are concessioned to the cargo company Ferroexpreso Pampeano but they are abandoned and unused.

Origins & History

The Ingeniero Foster railway station was enabled by the Buenos Aires Western Railway (FCO) for passengers, cargo, treasury, telegraph and parcels, being inaugurated on October 29, 1927.

It is located about 658.4 km from the Once de Septiembre station in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and its name recalls Engineer Frank Foster, who was Manager of the Buenos Aires Western Railway (FCO) for many years.

Both the station and the main building are in a state of abandonment and the plants that grow on the railway are mute witnesses of the oblivion in which the Metileo-Arizona railway branch, belonging to the Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Railway (FCDFS), was left.

At the entrance lie the rusty remains of an old transport that must have been part of the best times in the area, when logging and sawmills gave life to the place.

Ingeniero Foster

Ingeniero Foster is a town in the department of Rancul, in the province of La Pampa, Argentina, which is part of the municipality of La Maruja.

Foster, according to some historical data, was founded on September 21, 1910 and other places, such as Villa Barale and Lobocó, pre-exist La Maruja, the youngest town in La Pampa, if we remove Villa Casa de Piedra from the list.

One of the four important sawmills in the area, installed in the first half of the 20th century, motivated the construction of the town around it, which was administered by a Development Commission. It came to add more than a thousand inhabitants, all related to the exploitation of wood.

A fire, of which there is no evidence of its origin and cause, destroyed the place causing most of the locals to emigrate to neighboring La Maruja, which was consolidated as the most important town in the area.

Regarding its public infrastructure, the rural school can be highlighted, which has approximately 30 students, some from the same town and others from surrounding areas; the Police Detachment and the Police Road Post, which between the two currently has 5 numeraries; and the water tank that is 30 meters deep, providing the town with an exquisite natural resource.

The next two closest towns are both 20 km away, being the town of La Maruja in the Province of La Pampa and Arizona in the Province of San Luis.

As for its population, in 2010 it had 52 inhabitants, just one more than in 2001 and much less than the 491 who lived in the middle of the last century. However, some say that there were more than 1,000. At that time, the place had four wineries, owned by the Rodríguez, Alonso, Bracco and Balcarce families.

Ingeniero Foster, he had a car factory, a mechanical workshop, a carpentry and a blacksmith shop, among other ventures.

Agriculture and livestock did not have much development in the area but the production of caldén and carob firewood offered 150,000 tons per year.

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