page_title: Monte Águila
section_title: Second half of the 19th century
hierarchical_section_title: Monte Águila / History / Second half of the 19th century
caption_attribution_description: Esquema del Ramal Monte Águila-Polcura
context_page_description: Monte Águila is a Chilean city in the Bio Bio Region. Its population is 6,574.
context_section_description: An important event in the development of Monte Águila was the construction of the state railway in 1864. After the War of the Pacific (1880), the town served as a transport hub from which weapons and future soldiers were transported in carts and rail cars. In 1887, a trade link was established between Monte Águila and the Argentine city of Neuquén, which lasted until 1968, a period in which Monte Águila saw much economic and social development. Also important to the growth of Monte Águila as a city was the construction of the branch line between it and the Polcura River. The trans-Andean railway, whose construction began in 1905, was funded by Porfirio Ahumada, a Chilean national, and his partners Corsini, Carlos Viel (engineer), Martin Worman and Horacio del Río. This was a key event in the formation of Monte Águila, enabling the city to come together and achieve rapid growth, bringing with it social and cultural development.
caption: Itinerary of the disappeared Monte Águila-Polcura branch.
exif: {}