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Clemente Menéres: the skillfull strategist of the Tua train
Albano Viseu (investigator at CITCEM, FLUP; doctorate in History by FLUP)
RESUMO
O presente trabalho ajuda-nos a compreender como o comboio se tornou
necessário ao desenvolvimento da região transmontana (Nordeste e Alto Trás-os-
Montes), numa época de transformações nos transportes e nas comunicações, o que
contribuiu não apenas para o escoamento para o mercado da sua rica produção
agropecuária e comercial, e de alguma incipiente produção industrial, mas também
ajudou a quebrar o seu isolamento de séculos.
Clemente Menéres, como homem de negócios, investiu na compra de
propriedades e de sobreiros da região e deu início à constituição da Quinta do Romeu e
de um património fundiário que acabaria por se estender ao distrito de Bragança. O
comboio seria essencial para canalizar a sua produção para os mercados, pelo que se
tornou num dos principais lutadores para que este meio de transporte fosse uma
realidade e para que lhe passasse à porta.
A estratégia negocial que foi caldeando com a prática da vida mostrou-lhe que
seria importante constituir uma firma indivisa que prolongasse no tempo a sua obra e os
seus investimentos, e os da família, pelo que constituiu a Sociedade Clemente Menéres,
Lda.
O comboio chegou em setembro de 1887 e a Sociedade constituiu-se em 1902,
polarizando realidades de uma abrangência que importa realçar e traçar para entender
algumas das suas vertentes. Clemente Menéres soube lançar-se nos dois projetos como
estratégia para a concretização dos seus sonhos de empresário e mostrou-nos uma visão
muito à frente do seu tempo.
Palavras-chave: relevo; território; região; comboio; cortiça; empresa agrícola;
produção; transportes; firmas comerciais; progresso e crises; gestão empresarial;
estratega
ABSTRACT
This paper will help us understand how trains became necessary for the
development of the Trás-os-Montes region in na era of transformations in transport and
communications, which not only contributed to the flow of its market of rich
agricultural and commercial production, along with na emerging industrial production,
but also helped to break the region’s isolation of centuries.
As a businessman, Clemente Menéres invested in the purchase of properties and
cork oaks in the region and initiated the establishment of the Romeu Estate and of na
estate that extended into the Bragança district. The trains would be essential in
channeling his production to the markets. For this reason, he became one of the major
defenders of this mode of transport.
With the business strategy he had learned through life’s experiences, he knew it
would be important to constitute na undivided firm that would prolong his (and his
family’s) work and investments. Thus, Sociedade Clemente Menéres, Inc. was
established.
The railway arrived in September 1889 and the company was established in 1902,
becoming the focus of a new reality, aspects of which are important to highlight and
comprehend. Clemente Menéres knew to embark in those two projects with a strategy
that lead the achievement of his dreams as na entrepreneur and demonstrated a vision
much ahead of his time.'''
Introduction
By presenting a bucolic scenery with a profoundly sculpted landscape, the terrain
of Trás-os-Montes conditioned, along time, the life of its people.
The orographic factor not only caused the secular isolation of this region, but also
lead to necessities and difficulties that involved private entities and the central
government to be resolved very slowly.
The peripheral situation of the region and the weak investment in mobilizing
structures of all aspects of human life lead to the abandonment of the region, either to
large coastal centers, or abroad.
Miguel Torga called Trás-os-Montes a Wonderful Kingdom and incisively
acknowledged the conditioning elements of human life in this region: “A world! A never-ending rich, craggy, wild land, that rises to peak with the urge of
climbing to the sky, as it also drowns in the abysses of anguish, it is not known why there is such a telluric contrition.
Hot Land and Cold Land. Leagues and leagues of raging ground, twisted, burnt by the fiery sun or by snowy cold. Mountains overlapping mountains. Mountains parallel to mountains. In the intervals, squeezed between rivers of crystalline water, singing, quenching such an anguished thirst. And once in a while, (…) an immense valley, of pure humus, where the eye takes a rest from the aggressive cluster of rocks. (…) And they are mountains again, until the eye can see.
It seems impossible this soil is capable of providing bread and wine. But it does. On the banks of a golden river, crucified between the sky’s heat which drinks it from above and the seat of the riverbed which dries it, the walls of miracles rise. In steep ledges (…), vines grow, like basil on windowsills.”
(TORGA, 1941)
Trás-os-Montes has this singular way of being in the Portuguese territory. And
who better than Torga to remind us of the two contrasting climactic realities of this
region: the Cold Land of “snowy cold” and the Hot Land of “fiery sun”?
Two areas shaped by terrain, by overlapping mountain ranges, by plateaus and
valleys shaped by rivers, chiseled onto earth’s crust, where fauna and flora flourished
and still flourishes.
Fig.1 – Map: localization of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro
In this space, we see a “sea of rocks”, where the waves of the mountains remind
us of the waves of the ocean: a scenery that overwhelms with its beauty.
Fig. 2 – Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro
This terrain created difficulties in communication and in flowing of the region’s
products, derived from agriculture, livestock, mineral and forestry extraction, the use of
its thermal and mineral springs, and the production of hydroelectric energy.
The soil produced and fed its people, having given them bread, wine, crystalline
and pure water, olive oil, potatoes, fruit, vegetables and herbs: in short, the humus of
life, separator of energy, capable of creating unity among the inhabitants in the fight
against a common adversity.
This difficult and particularly special terrain created a region where its inhabitants
were capable of making the best of the inhospitable nature and engendered ways of
individual and community living, exercising existence in its multiple aspects.
The struggle for life and for daily bread made hope sprout and snatched hearts that
rhythmically beat, dazzled with the transparency of a region that lies beyond mountains.
The complexity of life, in its all-encompassing multiplicity awaited a miracle: the
miracle of this region not continuing forgotten, not seeing its crops relegated to a plan
whimsically perceived by the observer.
Life beyond the mountains, in the deep plateaus and valleys, gave continuity to
the miracle of creation.
Access to the region was always a problem and an obstacle to its socioeconomic
and cultural development. The construction of communication routes, so necessary to
the region, was always made difficult by its geographical situation.
The fact that it was a peripheral region in relation the big decision-making centers
of the country, that it was subject to isolation due to the mountain ranges that made it
difficult to build roads and railways, since it was necessary to build tunnels and bridges
to smooth the curves and slopes, explains the symptomatology of the region known as
the “Wonderful Kingdom”.
Mountains systems such as Alvão and Marão explain this way of viewing this
framework. “Para cá do Marão mandam os que de cá são” (“On this side of Marão,
those in charge are those from here.”): a transcendental sentence, enlightening and of
substance, since this orographic system closed off the region, leaving it to live off what
nature provided. However, we cannot forget the other difficulties caused by the etchings
made by the Douro river and its tributaries that gave way to a rugged terrain, increasing
the grandiosity of a region that had to face these adversities.
The enclosed system was not only known in the nineteenth century – the period
we are focusing on in this study, where changes were registered in communication
routes, means of transportation and communication systems – since it has passed
through centuries and various generations.
The transformations that the country experienced in this context also reached
Trás-os-Montes, which is why it is important to ascertain what happened and how the
appearance of macadam roads, stagecoaches, the telegraph, the telephone, the postage
stamp, the mailbox, and essentially the train, were significant to envision a future with
other eyes.
Fig.3 – Steam locomotive
Also significant was the constant and decisive insistence of Clemente Menéres for
the acquisition of the Foz Tua-Mirandela train, a line that would promote the
development of the region.
The development was seen as an open door for the circulation of products, goods
and services and served in part to the dilution of the enclosed system that during
centuries separated the region from the rest of the country and Europe.
Development
The road communication system was poor, which made life difficult for the
people of Trás-os-Montes and the channeling of their products and underground riches
to other places of consumption and acquisition.
Roads in Portugal were few and poor, reason which lead the Fontismo
government (lead by Fontes Pereira de Melo) to become involved in the modernization
of the country, since until 1852, there were only “218 km of macadam roads”, having
the construction of this type of roads increased to 11,125 km in 1890. (RIBEIRO,
LAUTENSACH and DAVEAU, 1897:876)
Despite this increase in roads, the Trás-os-Montes territory continued to wait for a
larger transformation. The bishop of Bragança-Miranda, D. José Alves de Mariz, came
to know that reality during his pastoral visits, and in 1886 he left us his documentarian
vision: “There are no other communication routes, except for paths made by nature
itself: steep, torturous and extremely narrow that, at long intervals, were found to the
joy of the passersby.” (REIS, 27/11/1966:6)
The few roads that existed only connected the big population centers of the time.
The Royal Road nº6, a macadam road, came from Oporto, connected Vila Real to
Bragança, passing by Mirandela and Romeu.
Regional paths were narrow and winding, drawn this way to overcome the slopes
caused by the rugged terrain, so they were difficult to travel.
The roads that were built in Trás-os-Montes, starting from 1852, were still not
enough, since in 1961 it was still necessary to build: “about 2,600 km of roads and
3,700 km of paths (…). It also must be noted that 5,900 km of road considered to be in
poor state must be repaired.” (VISEU, 2007:127)
This melancholy scenario of long and difficult journeys was a bit changed with
the appearance of the train. We can document this important event for the region, listing
some of its inaugurations: the Douro line, which began being built in 1873 and counted
with the support of the Porto Commercial Association, associated with banking
institutions; in 1875, it reached Penafiel; in 1879, it reached Rede and Régua; in May
1880, Pinhão; in 1883, Tua; and in December 1887, it reached Barca D’Alva.
The strategic vision for the development of the country emerged with Fontes
Pereira de Melo, with the introduction of the train. New routes of communication
emerged and with them, new communication development tools: the adhesive stamp,
the postcard, the mailbox, the telegraph, the telephone…
With the opening of the Douro Line, between Oporto and Pinhão, two different
opinions concerning the path to take to reach the border emerged: some engineers
defended that the Douro Line should turn north after reaching Tua, passing near
Bragança until reaching the border; other engineers defended that the best alternative
would be that the line continue straight until Barca d’Alva.
Fig. 4 - Clemente Menéres (MENÉRES, 1915: I)
Clemente Menéres took advantage of this indecision to start his pursuit and saw to
the approval of the construction of the Tua Line, since this would be of great utility for
his investments in Trás-os-Montes and for the region as a whole.
The decision on the path of the train and where it would reach the border fell upon
the direct connection to Barca d’Alva, although the northern connection was not
forgotten, with promises that later, the Foz Tua-Mirandela Line would be built, with
certainty that it would be extended to Bragança. With this strategy, the possibility of
connecting this line to the Spanish network arised, with Macedo de Cavaleiros the
starting point and Miranda do Douro the location where it would reach the border.
The ramifications that joined at the Douro Line – the main route –contributed to
increase its performance once in operation, since people and goods began to circulate in
all of them, from the Mirando do Douro Plateau to the Mogadouro and Moncorvo
regions, from the rich region of Mirandela and surrounding areas, and from the region
of Bragança and Vinhais.
The inauguration dates of those secondary lines were the following: the Tua Line
until Mirandela in 1887; the Corgo Line and the Tua Line until Bragança in 1906; and
the Sabor Line in 1938.
Clemente Menéres had arrived in Trás-os-Montes, more specifically in Romeu, in
1874. He travelled by coach from Oporto to Bateiras, near Pinhão, and from there
headed to S.João da Pesqueira, Foz Coa, Pocinho e Mirandela. He became aware of
how difficult it was to circulate by horse along the paths and narrow roads that served
the regions he passed through. The train was important to fight against the bottlenecks
in the circulation of people and goods.
Mirandela was the foothold that could help in the realization of his business
strategy and the establishment of his business: it was served by the Royal Road nº6 and
was connected to Chaves, Moncorvo, Vila Real and Bragança; it had a post office with
a telegraph, which he used to contact Oporto, asking for a credit card to sign a purchase
of cork oaks and properties, and the money was also picked up in Mirandela.
In the municipality meeting of 6 September 1883, it was decided that they would
ask King D. Luís “the completion of the postal telegraph in Mirandela” and on 10
February 1887 they decided to ask the king “to make the post office with telegraph
service permanent”.
This place was so important for the outlining of a business strategy that,
influenced by Clemente Menéres, Romeu came to be a part of the municipality of
Mirandela on 28 April 1884 (BARROSO DA FONE, Vol. 1, 1998).
First, Clemente Menéres decided to get raw material to supply the markets, of
which circuits he attended and assured. For that, on 14 May 1874, he visited Trás-os-
Montes, travelling by coach from Oporto and arrived at Romeu on the 18th (MENÉRES,
1915: 21-22). He became a property owner right on this first trip, having bought
properties and cork oaks and extracted cork. He intended to sell the cork to the
European and South American markets, regions with which had already maintained
business for quite a while (Interview nº3a, Romeu: 2004).
It was fundamental that he get the raw materials to supply those markets. After
cork, came the production of Port wine (renovation of the existing vineyards and
plantation of new vineyards), olive oil (cultivation of olive trees) and fruit (orchards).
The quality of these products lead them to win awards in international fairs.
Abandoned and uncultivated land were taken advantage of, not only for the
plantation of the products referred to beforehand, but for the use of gardens, meadows,
and dryland farming.
The business spirit of Clemente Menéres made him a strategist that knew how to
outline the penetration of the market and his establishment in the business world. The
referred to products, and others that he ended up producing in the Oporto region and
neighboring areas, made it possible to launch strategies capable of making a business
with many difficulties prosperous: the first was a result of the problems that arose from
the exploitation of his lands (difficulties in exploiting, the huge subdivision of forests,
the lack of knowledge of the forestry processes of cork oak culture, the tying up of
capitals in the expectation of obtaining cork suitable for the cork industry, cartload); but
there were also other difficulties such as: climactic changes, fires, and above all, the
lack of transportation (VISEU, 2007: 309).
Second, in order to channel the production from the Romeu Estate to the market,
Clemente Menéres felt the need to fight for the railway, for a connection that united
Mirandela, and later on Romeu, to Oporto and, through the Douro Line, to Europe.
Fontes Pereira de Melo succeded in introducing the railway in Portugal, having
signed various contracts with Portuguese and foreign companies between 1851 and
1856. The first line, between Lisbon and Carregado, was inaugurated in 1856.
From 1856 to 1900, railway lines were rapidly built and about 60% of the 3,616
km carried out until 1956 were built (MENDES, 1993: 375).
It was during this period that the railway was built in the Trás-os-Montes region
and reached Mirandela (1887) and years later, Bragança (1906).
The roads of earth and stone “were awful and coach transportation did not help
much. The acquisition of the train was vital for Menéres, since it helped flow the
products to the market: wine, olive oil, cork, and other products.” (Interview nº21,
Romeu: 2003 in VISEU, 2007: 294-295).
The trips were very long, which ended up affecting the circulation of agricultural
products and the circulation of people and goods.
The problem with the marketing of wine in the region of Mirandela reminds us of
the struggle for the construction of communication routes, back in 1861, and the train
pointed out as a solution. This support can be proven by consulting the Journal of the
House of Representatives of 8 March 1861, where some of its members present
proposed a law on the topic and asked “that there be made a stretch of railway on the
right margin of the Tua river, from Mirandela to the town of Abreiro and from here, a
macadam road through Alijó and Favaios to the Pinhão pier”:
“Considering that Mirandela is a major focus of agricultural production, where
perhaps the finest wines converge and are harvested in Trás-os-Montes, as they are in Arcas
and other neighboring villages and towns. In the vicinity of Santa Valha and in the
municipalities of Vila Flor, Mirandela and Ansiães; for that reason, to facilitate the marketing
of that wine, I propose that they make a railway line on the right margin of the Tua, from
Mirandela to the town Abreiro and from there, a macadam road through Alijó and Favaios to
the Pinhão pier, continuing then the transport of goods by the Douro river. The idea of making
the Tua river navigable, once deemed essential to promote the richness of the Trás-os-Montes
region, was unfeasible due to the great difficulties and costs its realization implied, as the
studies made had already long demonstrated.”
(ALVES, tomo IX, 1975: 224).
This connection and path were never established.
In 1878, Fontes Pereira de Melo visited Trás-os-Montes and was able to verify the isolation of this region’s people, which lead him to exert his influence to achieve the railway connection between Foz Tua and Mirandela (Portugal Agrícola, nº6, December 1902: 128-129)
Throughout this year, two projects for the construction of a line that would connect Mirandela to the Douro Line were presented: the project that defended the plan through the right margin on the Tua, defended by the military engineer João José Pereira Dias and by the driver Bernabé Roxo, under the direction of the engineer Sousa Brandão; the plan through the left margin of the Tua river was studied and defended by the engineer António Xavier de Almeida Pinheiro.
Fig. 5 – A linha de Foz Tua a Mirandela
The path through the left margin would end up being chosen, since that was the
one that would serve more people and the one that would cost less in terms of bridge
constructions.
In 1879, the Minister of Public Works, Lourenço António de Carvalho, presented
a project for the construction of various railways, among them Foz Tua-Bragança, but
the project did not work out.
In 1880, Bragança deputy, João António Pires Vilar defended the construction of
the railway from Tua to Bragança, with a connection to the Spanish border, fighting
against the extension of the Douro line to Barca d’Alva (ALVES, Tomo IX, 1975: 224-
225).
In an era where public transportation was practically impossible in the district and
the construction of the line was extremely necessary, Clemente Menéres decided to
fight for that construction, a struggle that would only come to fruition with its
inauguration, on 29 September 1887. (ALVES, tomo II: 478 e tomo IX, 1975: 225).
In the plot to move the public authorities and lead them to make a decision on the
construction of this route and to be able to reach important and mobilizing places like
Oporto, the support of Clemente Menéres (Foz-Tua-Mirandela connection) and Abílio
Beça (Mirandela-Bragança) was vital.
Clemente Menéres began that struggle in line with the Municipal Council of
Mirandela, since both acknowledged the advantage of constructing a railway line from
Foz Tua to Mirandela to put the rest of the country into contact. The marketing of cork,
wine, olive oil and fruit was doomed to failure without the proper essential
infrastructures, which is why it was urgent to build a line between Oporto and Romeu.
Then in 1881, a personal friend of Clemente Menéres, Henry Burnay, promoted
the creation of a financial syndicate, the Sindicato Portuense, where “the major
capitalists and the most important banking institutions” intervened, having as a main
objective of ensuring the railway between Oporto and Barca d’Alva. The idea of
creating this syndicate was not only Henry Burnay’s, but also Fontes Pereira de Melo’s
(SOUSA, 1978 and FERNANDES, 2010:230).
Despite the situation not being favorable for him, even in the city of Oporto,
Clemente Menéres did not give up and began going in favor of the Foz Tua-Mirandela
train: “[…] from 1881 to 1882, imagining telegrams from the Trás-os-Montes
inhabitants (who did not budge), affirmed that they revolted since the public authorities
never worried about the disgrace of the [Trás-os-Montes] province. (MENÉRES,
1915:26)
Many of these stories were published in Lisbon and Oporto newspapers of wide
circulation, since the Portuguese public needed to know about the pressing need of the
railway in the Trás-os-Montes and build a favorable attitude towards its construction.
The transcription of one of these news stories confirms this position and the
fighting spirit Clemente Menéres came to display in the fight for the railway and the
Tua Line: “A while ago, when the discussion of the Salamanca Syndicate aroused
heated debate between our political parties, those that attacked them broke the ties in
favor of the Trás-os-Montes region, arguing that the government, instead of giving
subsidies for the construction of railways in a foreign country, should give it to the
Trás-os-Montes railway, which was a palpable and urgent necessity.
Will they not create products to transport, nor will there be agriculture to
develop, riches to explore?
What is this silence based on? Why does no voice clamor for the Trás-os-Montes
railway for Foz-Tua?
In Trás-os-Montes they sell for prices of a hundred years ago and buyers no
longer flock, because in addition to the price of the goods and the transportation to the
centers of consumption, there is loss instead of profit.
But give Trás-os-Montes what its missing to enter in competition with the other
provinces, and give it the means of communication it so lacks, a railway.
There is not one person that does not see that the railway for Trás-os-Montes is a
question of life and death. If the problem is seen, and the remedy is known, then let us
not lose time applying it.” (O Comércio Portuguez, nº264, 1882).
Reaching a final decision on the construction of the so desired line from Foz Tua
to Mirandela was so necessary, that it was considered by the author a “question of life
and death” for the development of the Trás-os-Montes region.
This article has an indication that may refer to Clemente Menéres, since at the
very end “Signed M.” is written. We know very well that this was Clemente Menéres’
way of reaching the public opinion in a covert way that would force public authorities
of the time to build these communication routes. He would be the “voice clamoring for
the Foz Tua-Mirandela railway” and he never gave up this position.
The effort in defense of the railway until Mirandela had become a “war” against
the supporters of the Salamanca railway, having gotten to a point where a “very
respectable gentleman” came to tell Clemente Menéres: “Do not make war with us,
since you will do nothing, you will keep quiet, and help our cause. I will commit myself
to help you in your pretensions, right after presenting our project of the Salamanca
railway” (MENÉRES, 1915: 28).
Influential people like Eduardo Pinto da Silva, counsellor Martins de Azevedo and
José Nogueira Pinto, knowing he was a landowner in the Trás-os-Montes region, asked
him to show them estates “of value and income” for the application of capitals. Through
him, they became landowners in the region, and came to also be interested in the
acquisition of the railway.
Clemente Menéres realized the purchases of these influential people, because of
favorable factors that helped him in this intent: he was familiar with Trás-os-Montes: he
had the help of a buyer, Bernardo Maurício, the bailiff of the Romeu Estate; the
administrator and the people in charge of the Romeu Estate; and he also had the good
offices of his father-in-law in Mirandela.
The influential people, mentioned before, with plenty of interference in the
government of the time, came to create a group that pressured the Minister of Public
Works.
Hintze Ribeiro’s presentation of the Foz Tua-Mirandela railway came with much
objection, since the minister opted for the narrow track in order to save 400 contos de
réis.
The narrow track did not fit with the interests of Clemente Menéres, the deputies
of Bragança, Abílio Beça and António Charula, and the deputies of Oporto, who wanted
a wide track to connect with the Zamora track.
Clemente Menéres worked much for this aim, having established contact with the
“Pereyre banking house, of Paris”, who had authorized him “to declare that it was ready
to take its railway to the Portuguese border and even take the construction of the border
until Tua” (MENÉRES, 1915:38-29).
The Municipality of Mirandela and Clemente Menéres were in line with all the
efforts and petitions they developed, before the government and before the House of
Peers.
Mirandela had long yearned for “the carrying out of that great and progressive
improvement, which would put it more in contact with the rest of the country.”
In the municipal meeting of 22/6/1882, the decision was made to ask the House of
Peers for the approval of a draft bill for the construction of the Foz Tua-Mirandela
railway:
“The Municipality of Mirandela is aware of the great advantages the line has
for the city of Oporto, and consequently to this municipality and all of the Trás-os-
Montes region, which has, in the importance and grandiosity of that city, the best
guarantee of their own prosperity, because it is with Oporto that they do all their
commerce, the railway must be continued from Douro to Salamanca, and in the
interests of its inhabitants, it cannot avoid to ask the House of the dignified peers of
the kingdom the approval of the draft law that concedes a subsidy of 135 contos de
réis to guarantee the supply of the 5% interest to the company that take charge of the
construction of that line.
The Municipality, which had just recently defended the hurry the unavoidable
construction of the Foz Tua-Mirandela-Bragança line, does not exclude the idea of
asking for the approval of the draft law that is now discussed, seeing that the
Salamanca line does not exclude the Tua, on the contrary they both can cooperate
towards the same ends; it will increase the yield of the already built Douro line, thus
justifying its request for the Trás-os-Montes line, which it does not believe will bring
any harm to region.
Among various figures from Oporto and the region that supported the decision of
the Municipality of Mirandela, Clemente Menéres stands out. The line was important
not only for Trás-os-Montes, but also for the city of Oporto, with whom it did all its
trade with. It is apparent in this resolution that the Salamanca line would not exclude the
Tua, but that the two could increase “the yield” of the Douro line.
In order to make the construction of the Foz Tua-Mirandela line feasible, it is
requested that the government approve the draft law that “concede the subsidy of 135
contos de réis to guarantee the supply of the 5% interest to the company that take
charge of that line”.
The following year, on 11 January 1883, the Municipality of Mirandela decided
“to show itself before His Majesty The King, requesting once more the construction of
the railway from the Tua Valley to this town.
Thus, it is officially acknowledged to the Porto Commercial Association
requesting its cooperation for the appreciation of the construction of the mentioned
railway from the Tua Valley to this town.”
There is a reinforced continuity that makes us realize that the Tua line was also of
interest to the Porto Commercial Association. And why not see some interference from
Clemente Menéres in this municipal decision and interconnection between the two?
Clemente Menéres was a member of the Porto Commercial Association and was
part of the governing bodies of many educational institutions and charities in that city.
(NEVES, 2005)
This “pressure group” kept commercial power in the Douro area and was against
the desire to move the main routes to the Beira Alta Line, which strengthened the
fundamental success of the Douro and Tua lines.
The struggle waged by Clemente Menéres for the necessary and pressing
construction of a line had a decisive period with the resolution revealed in the 1883
legislative session, where there had been discussion and approval for the bases of
construction through a public tender of the Foz Tua-Mirandela line, not having been
“questioned the urgent and pressing need to provide the Trás-os-Montes region of this
indispensable work tool, lacking, as it was, improvements in roads, and as opposed to
what many maintained that this line, merely reaching Mirandela, was far short of the
region that was necessary to explore, and did not satisfy the just claims and agricultural
and commercial interests.” (PIMENTEL, 1892:199-201).
Despite the region being extensive than Mirandela itself, the train took a few more
years to reach Bragança, since the stretch of the Tua line railway, between Mirandela
and Bragança, would only be inaugurated on 1 December 1906, with a station built in
Romeu. Clemente Menéres was one of those that worked the most so that such a project
would be possible. (ALVES, tomo II: 479 and tomo IX, 1975:229).
When everything seemed to be going into the right direction, new difficulties
arose with the opening of the public tender for the construction of the line, by the decree
of 29 September 1883: no one was interested in constructing the line, since the obstacle
was in the way the condition related to the “remission payment of the line” was
formulated, since “it left the capitals of the construction company a in the open”
(PIMENTAL, 1892: 199-201). The interest guarantee was fixed on 5,5%, with a
redemption period of 15 years and the track would have to be 1 meter gauge.
Having seen that there was no contractor interested in building the line, Clemente
Menéres contacted Henry Burnay, who dedicated himself to the exploitation of the
railways and other business, but he was not interested in the venture.
This resolution lead Clemente Menéres, with the help of more than 44 individuals,
to run an exposition to the king D. Luís, on 19 November 1883, requesting the
clarification of article nº26, referring to “a group of capitalists from this city [Oporto]
solely awaits to compete for the construction of the Mirandela line, for clarification of
this article, which without it it will not compete.” And once more, it is exposed to the
king the fundamental importance of the Foz Tua-Mirandela railway for the Trás-os-
Montes region, for Oporto, and for the State, though the Douro line’s increased yield.
(MENÉRES, 1915:45-46)
Clemente Menéres, with constant and tenacious persistence, pressured the bodies
of power and decisively contributed to the approval and construction of the Foz Tua-
Mirandela line.
On 14 December 1883, a new public tender emerged with more advantageous
redemption conditions, since this could have been the reason for failure of the previous
tender.
Clemente Menéres’ great dream was, in fact, that the railway reach Mirandela. For
that reason, and having seen the construction’s deadlock, he decided to join a group of
new landowners and together, they decided to take on the construction of the 55 km that
separated Tua from Mirandela. They set the maximum limit of the bid at 22,999$500
réis. This attitude taken by Clemente Menéres seems to have been a decisive factor for
the realization of the line.
On the day of the auction, the Count of Foz appeared as a contender and informed
the group Clemente Menéres belonged to that he would lower the price to 22 contos de
réis. The group then declared that it did not suit them to modify the previously agreed
price.
This public tender was won by the lowest bid, presented by the Count of Foz in
December of 1883. But the Count of Foz transferred the contract rights of the
construction to the Companhia Nacional de Caminhos-de-ferro (National Railway
Company).
On 26 May 1884, the awarding of the contract to the Companhia Nacional was
confirmed by a governmental decree and on 30 June of that year, the definite contract
was signed.
It was revealed in the meeting of 9 October 1884 in the Municipality of Mirandela
that 16 October was the starting date of the construction in Mirandela, where the station
would be built: “Having the 16th of this month been designated for the inauguration
of the railway from this town to Foz Tua, the Municipality decided to appoint a
committee from this town composed of a company of volunteer firemen to manage
the preparations for the celebrations of that day, as well as invite all the
inhabitants of the town to illuminate their homes on the night of said day.”
Fig. 6 – The Mirandela railway station
In September of 1886, the construction of the Foz Tua-Mirandela line was also
underway at the Tua station: “This Municipality [Municipality of Carrazeda de Ansiães]
received a complaint from the inhabitants of Foz Tua, who are being invaded by the
rubble from the construction of the Mirandela railway in construction. It would be
convenient that the director of this stretch see to the removal of the mentioned rubble.
But, in response to your letter, the president received another that mentions that
the rubble has nothing to do with the construction of the railway, but with the private
construction work being done in two parts of that town, one of them in front of the
Almeida house, bought by Englishmen who brought the construction there.” (Minutes of
11 September 1886 of the Municipality of Carrazeda de Ansiães).
The most difficult part of the path of the Foz Tua-Mirandela line was between the
stations of Tua and Abreiro, due to the “fast turns, abrupt slopes and the necessity of
tunnels”, with “steep and rugged margins” until Abreiro, where “the altitude goes above
500 m, and the margins of this area widen and construction of the railway is easy.”
(D’ABREU, 2007: 173-174)
In fact, the first kilometers of the line, from Tua until Brunheda, were very
difficult to open, due to the great slope that had to be overcome and the difficulties
created by the shape of the Tua Valley on that path: deep and steep, winding ruthless
gorges and escarpments of pure rock.
From Tua to Santa Luzia, in an extension of 14 km, three bridges and tunnels
were built, which gives us an idea of the task the construction was so that the train could
reach Mirandela. In Fragas Más, a unhabited place composed of massive blocks of
granite on both sides, it was necessary a successive tunnel-bridge-tunnel, a short
distance from each other.
The workers had to struggle daily with loads of dynamite, against the treacherous
escarpments and against the hill ranges, walking steep paths, or even without any access
and many times having the nearest population kilometers away. The effort and
discipline needed to get on with this construction alone, makes us realize how
extraordinary this work of construction and dedication was.
The technical and disciplinary difficulties were an obstacle that was endangering
the continuation of the construction and that was the main reason the engineer Dinis da
Mota replaced the first engineer of this work. With an unbeatable will and having
already demonstrated proof of competence, Dinis da Mota was able to overcome the
obstacle and make it so the construction was accomplished and completed.
In July 1887, the construction work of the line was going on in the area of the flag
stop S. Lourenço, where there were “conviviality” problems caused by the workers of
the line when they went to a tavern which existed there. (Minutes of 16 July 1887 of the
Municipality of Carrazeda de Ansiães)
Fig. 7 – Locomotive departing Mirandela on its way to Tua
The minutes of the Municipality of Mirandela of 4 August 1887 refer that the
opening of the Foz Tua-Mirandela line would be soon and that it was necessary to know
the exact date. With this in mind, and so that celebrations could be prepared, it was
appointed a committee composed of council members: “Albino José Mendo, António
José Rodrigues de Oliveira, under the chairmanship of the mayor, Joaquim Basílio da
Costa, and to this one it was told that he would delegate powers to the vice-president,
Manuel João Guerra».
In August 1887, the Municipality of Carrazeda de Ansiães also prepared a
reception for the King D. Luís at the Tua station and the festivities to celebrate the
opening of the line: “Having the mayor declared that all newspapers of the country
referred to the upcoming visit of His Majesty the King to this district, with the final
objective of honoring the inauguration ceremony of the Foz Tua-Mirandela line with his
presence, I propose, therefore, that the Municipality prepare itself for that occasion to go
greet at the entry of this municipality and to promote some festivities, albeit modest and
in accordance with the resources of the municipality, with the sole purpose of (…)
manifesting its joy for a doubly pleasing event: the passing of His Majesty through the
limits of this municipality and the inauguration of an improvement so important to this
district. (---) present and propose to the Municipality, an amount for such a purpose;
(…) propose a sum for the acquisition of the municipal standard that does not exist, (…)
few municipalies will be able to boast of possessing such an honorable coat of arms.
This proposal was followed by a vote, and unanimously approved, the chair
having permission to contract one of the best bands of the neighboring municipalities
and to promote the festivities that it please in accordance with the municipality’s
budget.” (Minutes of 20 August 1887 of the Municipality of Carrazeda de Ansiães)
On 1 September 1887, the Municipality of Mirandela returned to the subject of the
railway line inauguration and the celebrations: “They deliberated another yes, having
announced for today the bid for the construction of the opening of the railway, and only
one bidder appeared. Having opened the official communication, it was confirmed that
the bidder intended to make some changes and modifications to the conditions, which
was not convenient for the Municipality and for this reason, it was decided that a bid be
announced through edicts, on the 8th of this month, allowing the president to make
some changes in the conditions, as well as in the bid of the church and in making a new
project for the celebrations.”
On 22 September 1887, “The official communication of the administrator of the
municipality was present on the 21st of the month, given before the Municipality (of
Mirandela) that on the opening of the railway, the police commissioner and 19
garrisons of this town will patrol the opening of the railway on the 29th of this month,
requesting that the Municipality provide accommodation; the Municipality decided
since there was no house where they could be accommodated, nor clothes, they would
be “given” a subsidy. (…)
Another yes was deliberated to pronounce the council members that are not
present to appear on the 29th of this month, at 8 o’clock in the morning, in order to
wait for His Majesty The King at the Cachão station.”
The ceremonial opening of the line was on 27 September 1887, with 54 km of
distance and various artworks.
The Municipality of Carrazeda de Ansiães was one of the guests present at the
Tua station on the day of the opening, on 29 September 1887: “The official
communication nº13 of the director of the Companhia Nacional was read, having sent
an invitation to the opening of the Foz Tua-Mirandela line, which should be filled out
with name of the council member chosen to represent the Municipality at the ceremony.
The day, hour and location of the train that will transport His Majesty the King will
stop to receive greetings and for the municipality’s authorities to meet him, will be
communicated.
Another communication was read, nº26, announcing that on the 29th of this
month, the royal train will depart from Foz-Tua to Mirandela at 9:35 in the morning,
after a half hour wait for His Majesty to receive his greetings.
The Municipalty decided to thank the invitation, which will be filled out with the
name of the President, and go to Foz Tua on the 29th to greet the king, who will be read,
by the respective president, the following allocution:
“Sir: the council members of the Municipality of Carrazeda de Ansiães eagerly
meet Your Majesty, who deigns to honor these parts with Your Majesty’s royal
presence, the more jubilant come to testify most respectful and diverse tributes to Your
Majesty’s feet, while the more secure could never do it so they could accurately
translate the supreme joy and satisfaction that in this moment overflows from the chests
of all the inhabitants of the municipality who have the honor of being represented by
Your Majesty.
Thus, we welcome Your Majesty, who grants us many favors, the illustrious and
caring Monarch, who pleased to descend from the highness of the throne that
scintillates of gold and jewels, to the highest, most remote abodes of the most humble
municipalities, as they are in this part of the Trás-os-Montes region, of which Your
Majesty only knows of tradition, but all adore Your Majesty with that fervor and
enthusiasm of which many of Your Majesty’s glorious predecessors were adored; for
which reason they allowed that around the coat of arms of this ancient municipality be
inscribed the harmonious caption of “Ansiães always loyal to the Kings of Portugal!”
With no memory of any other Sovereign ever having visited these stops, through
difficult and rural roads, and always more in the fantasy of those who adventured to
live nearer Your Majesties, there is reason for this to be indelible in the memories of all
and to be able to transmit this to future generations, such is the great consideration and
affection that Your Majesty deigns to testify, in the moment where Your Majesty comes
to brighten us with Your Royal presence, a celebration that belonging to the entire
country, is more specifically of this province’s people, who until today, watched
impassively to the contribution of their fellow citizens, with fruit coming out of the
cornucopia of power without them having touched almost anything!
Sir, you have come late to admire the powerful and luxurious vegetation that, just
now, covered these mountains that today Your Majesty sees with a volcanic and
cadaverous color, which was reduced by the terrible scourge that reduced many opulent
families to misery, but, in turn, Your Majesty has come in time, Your Majesty deigns to
promote that your illustrious government has developed some improvements these
people’s well-being so need, which will be, at the same time, a secure pledge of how
Your Majesty corresponds to the respect and veneration that the people consecrate to
you.
May God save Your Majesty’s precious life and of Your Royal Family, these are
the most sincere vows of the inhabitants of this municipality, expressed in this solemn
occasion by their chosen residents.” (Minutes of 24 September 1887 of the
Municipality of Carrazeda de Ansiães)
In the newspaper Pontos nos ii of 14 October, Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro refers to
the path between Oporto and Mirandela and this historic moment (fig. 8):
-the interior of the carriage is intended for the press and the exterior for the bustle
of the reporters, taking notes on covering the event;
-in each station, there was the fireworks man and the president of the Municipality
with an elaborated speech addressed to the king and the royal committee;
-the fireworks bursted, hurrahs were shouted for the king and the philharmonic
played;
-at the Foz Tua station, many “highlanders” “intended to get close to Your
Majesties and ask them for money”;
-some anecdotal events: the train had to stop, because the poet Belchior crossed
the track; next to the poet, a peasant gave tearful sermons and sobbed;
-from Codeçais, “a delightful, strange, fantastic landscape, boldly cut by the
railway, which represents a most vigorous testament to the talent and illustriousness of
the Portuguese engineers”: “Portuguese engineering has in the construction of the
Mirandela railway, one of its most brilliant models of its glory, as one if its most
eloquent demonstrations of its competence in first order constructions. It is necessary to
run those tens of kilometers, on a constantly uneven line, either perforating enormous
rock or skirting staggering cliffs, to understand how much talent, how much willpower
and how much dedication to science and progress these men spent, to whom the country
owes a very important improvement for their tenacious initiative and preserving work.”
-Mirandela: an overview of the town; the royal family’s and guests’ pavilion; the
look of the station at the time of the blessing of the two locomotives; the buffet hall,
decorated by Manini.
Fig. 8 – Inauguration ceremony of the Foz Tua line in Morandela (Pointos nos ii)
On 29 September 1887, the railway line was solemnly inaugurated, with the
presence of King D. Luís and the queen, D. Maria Pia, who were accompanied by the
infantes D. Carlos and D. Afonso, the Minister of Public Works, Barjona Freitas,
several ministers and guests, and standing out among them, the artist Rafael Bordalo
Pinheiro.
In the Minutes of the Municipality of Mirandela, dated 6 October 1887, there is
a speech directed to the mayor, at the Town Hall, on the day of the opening:
“Sir! In your name and in name of the residents, the Municipality of
Mirandela jubilantly and gratefully salutes the coming of His Majesty and the
Royal Family to this town, and pays respectful homage to the illustrious Monarch
who comes to join the manifestations, where the people celebrate the opening of a
very important material improvement, that will lead the Bragança district to
cohabit with modern civilization. The Municipality will indelibly remember this
doubly grateful and memorable day in its pomp, for being the beginning of a new
era that will bear fruit of prosperity and because after centuries, after the district
received the last visit of a Portuguese monarch, we can today, fortunately, pay His
Majesty in his royal presence, an homage most faithful and of dedicated Trás-os-
Montes loyalty, which if it does not reveal itself in dignified celebrations, it
manifests itself deliriously in the enthusiastic cheering of the crowd: -- and asking
of its King if he deigns to receive the declarations of dedication and loyalty, it
makes arduous vows for the precious life of His Majesty and of all the Royal
Family.
This document is found transcribed in the annuals of the municipality where Their
Majesties the King, the Queen, Prince D. Carlos and D. Afonso Henriques, its ministers
and the Municipality signed.”
The construction company offered a sumptuous dinner with two hundred pieces of
cutlery in the wooden railway warehouse, painted by Manini and decorated by
Marques da Silva.
Sat at the royal table were the Viscount of Arcas, the civil governor of
Bragança, the Bishop of the Diocese, General Malaquias de Lemos, the President of
the Muncipality of Mirandela, and the Viscount of Moreira de Rei, among others.
The great celebration was indeed, in Mirandela.
In the Government Gazette of 1 October 1887, it is mentioned that Their
Majesties had parted at 5:30 in a special train headed to Mirandela and that “In
Mirandela deigned to S.S.M. M and Highnesses [princes D. Carlos and D. Afonso of
Bragança] accepted a sumptuous lunch that the Companhia Nacional, the constructor
of the line, offered. The blessing of the locomotives ceremony (Vila Real and Mirandela)
done by the Bishop of Bragança (D. José Alves de Mariz), in the presence of S.S.M. M.
e Highnesses, authorities and thousands of people, was very grand. The look it gave the
station in that moment was dazzling.” (SALES, 1983:112)
The Mirandela station was the most important one of the Tua Line, because all the
maintenance workshops of this line were located there, and it impressed by the grandeur
of its aspect: it possessed several stores, a bathroom and, later on, had a restaurant. It
had 4 floors and the roof had a steep tilt and a great height of chimneys.
It is worth mentioning that on the day of the inauguration, on one of the
locomotive’s flags was the name of Clemente Menéres and of other people who
contributed to the completion of this project.
Let us recall the account of memories allusive to that inaugural day, from who
lived it up close and reproduced as experiential inheritance:
“Sixty two years ago, the first stretch of the railway from Tua to Mirandela was
inaugurated. The construction was done by the Companhia Nacional de Caminhos-de-
ferro. His Majesty the King D. Luis attended the inaugural act, along with the infante
D. Afonso and the Minister of Public Works, Barjona de Freitas.
The royal train was towed by locomotive nº1, which received the name “Trás-os-
Montes”, and was piloted by manager, Engineer Dinis Moreira da Mota.
At the Tua station, the Municipalities of Alijó, Carrazeda and Pesqueira attended
and in Mirandela they awaited His Majesty, the civil governor and Bishop of Bragança,
the Municipalities of Mirandela, Macedo de Cavaleiros, Bragança, Valpaços, Vila Flor
and Alfândega da Fé, accompanied by six bands and thousands of people.
After the official presentations, there was a reception at the City Hall…His
Majesty …the Infante and his committees, they were the Count of Vinhais’
guests…Mirandela began to feel progress, motivated by the railway.
(…) it is fair to remember the names of the first railwaymen of that line: Director,
Engineer António Xavier d’Almeida Pinheiro; Chief of Exploration, Engineer Dinis
Moreira da Mota; Head of Traction and Workshops, João Valério dos Santos; Head of
Inspection and Statistics, João E. Chaves; Head of Movement and Traffic, Simão
Marques Pinheiro; Head of Health Services, Dr. António Nunes da Rocha.
The movement service staff was recruited by the then chief of the Network,
Jerónimo Maria Cardoso, the manager of the Mirandela station, and later on, Head of
Inspection and Statistics.” (FONSECA, October 1949)
Conclusion
Clemente Menéres was the great founder of the Foz Tua-Mirandela railway line,
“for his pragmatism, for his inflexibility towards the difficulties of the process and for
his capacity to congregate several figures around a project indispensable to the
agricultural, industrial and commercial development of the Trás-os-Montes lands.”
(PARREIRA, 1997: 70)
The Abbot of Baçal reinforced the idea defended by this paper: Clemente Menéres
was “one of those who worked most for the achievement of our railway.” (ALVES:
tomo VII: 308).
The Foz Tua-Mirandela connection was “of life and death” to Clemente Menéres,
for the following reasons: the project launched in Romeu (the Romeu Estate) had
absorbed large amounts of contos de réis; the properties, due to the bank loan contracted
in 1885, were mortgaged; without the trains, the indispensable means of marketing the
production of cork, wine, and olive oil, the agricultural company was doomed to fail.
Clemente Menéres was not present for the opening of the line, since he was forced
to leave for Brazil, to see if he could “save the property”.
Having been near bankruptcy and ruins several times, he never let himself be
defeated and “always fought for the human, material and regional interests with
exemplary warmth and zeal”, having been one of the major defenders of the
appreciation of Trás-os-Montes (REIS, 20/12/1964:6):
-he provided assistance to the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Mirandela;
-he fought against mediocrity and the backwardness of the region and carried out
activities that were at the time, revolutionary, and breathed new life into the region;
-he stimulated local farming, accompanied life in all aspects, life in Mirandela for
several decades, supported the poor and encouraged the rich to lauch themselves into
work that was socially useful;
-he always sought to “give work to the rural population of its parishes and its
neighboring towns”, which is why in the area covered by his farmhouse there was no
work crisis: “the exemplary dedication that the Menéres family commits to their lands,
to their facilities and to their magnificent and unvulgar welfare work…What a shame it
is to not have a similar case in each district of the country! The Menéres launched, in
rural Portugal, an unprecedented pattern.” GRAÇA, A Voz. Lisboa. 21/9/68: 1);
-“it has always been my dogma to compete for the happiness of the people that
surround me, I am aware that a great number of villages might have disappeared, as it
happens in the upper district (of Bragança) where I do not own property, if no one
would have provided them with labor.” (MENÉRES, 1915: 33);
-in a time where education was a privilege of the rich, he created, and maintained
during many decades, a primary school;
-in a time where bridges in a rural area were considered utopia, he ordered the
construction of the first reinforced concrete bridge made in Portugal in Romeu1;
-in a time where it was rare to put wealth to good use, he dignified the cork oaks and
in Mirandela assembled the first cork stopper factory to exist in Portugal;
-in a time where public transportation was practically impossible in the district, he
launched himself into the bold venture of the railway.
Fig. 9 – Unloading of cork and other products at the Mirandela station
1 “ The Vale de Meões bridge, completed in September 1904. This work, made entirely of reinforced concrete, was built in the short space of 34 days and is (was) the first that is (was) made in Portugal for the State. It cost a million réis and Clemente Menéres contributed with 200 thousand réis. Due to its state of ruin, it was substituted by the current Engineer Arantes e Oliveira Bridge”. This bridge was a reference in Portugal in the field of concrete engineering of bridges. In Museum of Curiosities, lobby (Date of visit: 25/3/2006).
The train served the local populations, facilitated their travel to Mirandela,
Macedo de Cavaleiros, Bragança, essentially, or even to locations such as Oporto and
Lisbon, and contributed to a certain development of some villages:
-it decreased the amount of passengers of the stagecoaches;
-it allowed the circulation of people and goods “It brought fertilizer and
everything that was necessary for the people. It supplied the deposit. Farmers put the
cereals in the barn, where they put the grains they cultivated, and took some time off for
their lves. The train also brought workers and the village (Vale de Couço) became very
busy”; (Interview nº1, Romeu: 2004)
-it also allowed the circulation of news, information (newspaper, mail…) and
access to culture and education: students could travel to Mirandela to continue their
studies; (Interview nº1, Romeu: 2004)
-the line came to serve isolated populations along its path: it mobilized and
reinvigorated the local economy (Interview nº1: 2004); it made the frugal exploitation
of trees – where olive trees, cork trees, pine trees, chestnut trees, fig trees and even
sometimes orange trees abounded (REIS. 15/9/68) —; it gave access to many steep
locations, that came to be cultivated, and to inhabited locations that the train solely
connected to the population centers of the region, since the streets were only built later
on.
The train came to facilitate the transportation of the Sociedade Clemente Menéres’
production and the cork of different properties that were situated along the line. It came
to be channeled to both the Mirandela factory and the Oporto factory.
In 1905 (July), the line reached Romeu and in 1906 (1 December) it reached
Bragança. Cork came to be the true motor of Clemente Menéres business, since his
exportation of this raw material, along with wine, to different markets in Europe, Asia
and America brought him much profit, which helped maintain the viability of the
business.
In 1913, the Sociedade Clemente Menéres, Inc., which had been established in
1902, asked the government to approve a project for the construction of a “warehouse
and pier” at the Romeu station, on its property, where wine, olive oil and cork were sent
to Oporto. (ASCM, Correspondence Archive, País, 1913, 1º Semester)
In 1915, the truck emerged, another means of transportation that carried bales of
extracted cork, preventing the piling up of cork on the lands.
Fig.10 – Carrying cork in a fleet truck
The two means of communication, the train and the truck, facilitated the transport
of cork. But we cannot forget that oxcarts and mules continued to be used, since many
cork oaks were in locations that were difficult to access.
Besides transporting cork, the truck also came to be used in transporting people to
fairs, festivities and popular festivals.
If the train contributed to the fixation of the cork industry in Romeu and
Mirandela, during a few years, it also made possible the return of the factory to Oporto,
since the transport of raw materials, indispensable for the functioning of the Monchique
factory, was facilitated and was secured.
A factor that became adverse to the continuity of the cork stopper factory in
Romeu and in Mirandela was the quality of the stoppers made there, which is why the
wagons of cork were loaded in the region, then departed for Oporto, where the factory
was reestablished in 1909.
This factory possessed new technical equipment: new producer gas motors and
new electric motors (1912) and cork crushing machines, with the capacity to grind 400
to 500 kg per hour. (ASCM, Correspondence Archive, País, 1909 and 1912).
The Mirandela factory would come to close towards the end of 1913.
The Tua Line presented some problems to the management model of the
agricultural business of Sociedade Clemente Menéres, Inc.: the gauge attributed by
Hintze Ribeiro, the narrow track, made the transshipment of the goods slow and its
transport was more expensive; the wagons for the transport of products were smaller
than those of the wide track; the shipping of goods reached sums much higher than
Clemente Menéres had expected.
In the memories of a time that made history, it is important for us to recall
Clemente Menéres’ fighting cause for the Foz-Tua Mirandela line. That is what we
achieved with this work.
Bibliography
Oral sources:
MENÉRES, João Pedro (Casa Menéres administrator) - INTERVIEW n.º 21, Romeu:
2003;
GUEDES, Maria Olinda - INTERVIEW n.º 1, Romeu: 2004
AUGUSTO, Gilberto - INTERVIEW n.º 3a, Romeu: 2004
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Minutes of 11 de September 1886 of the Municipality of Carrazeda de Ansiães. Blogger
minutes CMCA. (BCMCA)
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Minutes of 22 June 1882 da Câmara Municipal de Mirandela. Blogger minutes
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«The Sociedade Clemente Menéres, Inc., posseses one of the largest farms in Romeu,
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PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVE OF THE AUTHOR (Figs: 6 and 7)