Madeira-Mamoré Railway Society

Join the membership organisation of an Amazon steam railway - see also the Society's home page for latest news

By becoming a member of the Madeira-Mamoré Railway Society (MMRS) you can join an international campaign to save one of the world's most historic steam railways.

You will receive a copy of the history of the line 'Only a Madman Would Build a Railway Through the Brazilian Amazon' which charts the painful and costly construction of this extraordinary railway, the quarterly 'Madeira-Mamoré' newsletter of the MMRS, and you will benefit from the knowledge that you are supporting the aims of the Madeira-Mamoré Railway Society 'to support by fundraising and publicity the preservation, restoration, revitalization, conservation, collection, exhibition, operation, and care of the archives, of the Estrada de Ferro Madeira-Mamoré (EFMM) in Rondônia, Brazil'.

The Madeira-Mamoré Railway was built by British, European, North American, Caribbean and Asian engineers between 1871 and 1912 to connect the rich rubber forests of Bolivia with the Brazilian Amazon river system. Of the original 366 kilometers only seven now remain as an occassional Sunday excursion by a dedicated group of local enthusiasts.

The Madeira-Mamoré Railway Society is the UK organisation working with a charitable trust, the Associação de Preservação da Estrada de Ferro Madeira-Mamoré (APMM), in Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil. This group of lawyers, architects, consultants and business people is campaigning to preserve the industrial heritage of its home town in the Amazon.

The Madeira-Mamoré Railway Society has learnt of plans to convert the main railway station in Porto Velho into a shopping centre. This railway stands as a tribute to the thousands of workers from all over the world who lost their lives during its construction in the deadly Amazon jungle. The MMRS is actively campaigning worldwide as well as lobbying Brazilian politicians in order to rescue the railway from this development.

Please consider joining us to help stop the closure of this line and to develop the railway as a museum and tourist attraction to the standards achieved by steam rail trusts in the UK.

Many thanks,
Martin Cooper
Chairman
Madeira-Mamoré Railway Society
E-mail: martin@efmm.net

The logo of the Society (background) is from a line drawing of 1911 by Meade Bolton (the architect of the Panama Canal). They're trying to trace the copyright owner of this little gem because they want to use it as the official Society logo. Any help web visitors could give would be gratefully received.

Loco 50 is a long shot from the Porto Velho station platform. Loco 50 is a Schwartzkopff and has a Brush (Loughborough) carriage in tow. The carriage nearest the camera is an unidentified vehicle, probably Brazil built in 1930.

EFMM Loco 18 is the beast itself on shed, the only remaining loco in operation. ("shed" is a bit of a joke, as you can see the walls have fallen off and the roof leaks)

A shot from the three carriage set hauled by loco 18, also a Schwartzkopff from Berlin, at km 1 from Porto Velho station.

20 is a Baldwin at the other end of the line, at a town called Guajara-Mirim. It's not in working order.

Madeira-Mamoré Railway Society

Membership form

Please post with a UK cheque (payable to MMRS) to:
Madeira-Mamoré Railway Society, 112, Aketon Road, Castleford, WF10 5DU, England

Please enrol me as a member of the Madeira-Mamoré Railway Society

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Please mark class of membership required:

Adult        1 year £17.50    5 year £70         life £420

Child (0-15)     1 year £12.50

Senior Citizen    1 year £12.50    5 year £50          life £250

Family        1 year £25.00    5 year £100

Please consider an optional donation to help the Madeira-Mamoré Railway Society,

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Subscriptions become renewable on 1st January, 1st April, 1st July or 1st October depending upon date of joining

Madeira-Mamoré Railway Society
Registered Office: 41, Saville Road, Castleford, WF10 1PD, England
E-mail: martin@efmm.net

Click here for the International Steam Page

Email: webmaster@internationalsteam.co.uk