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

Written sources:

Minutes of 11 de September 1886 of the Municipality of Carrazeda de Ansiães. Blogger

minutes CMCA. (BCMCA)

Minutes of 16 July 1887 of the Municipality of Carrazeda de Ansiães. (BCMCA)

Minutes of 20 August 1887 of the Municipality of Carrazeda de Ansiães. (BCMCA)

Minutes of 24 September 1887 of the Municipality of Carrazeda de Ansiães. (BCMCA)

Minutes of 22 June 1882 da Câmara Municipal de Mirandela. Blogger minutes

CMMirandela.

Minutes of 11 January 1883 of the Municipality of Mirandela. (BCMM)

Minutes of 6 September 1883 of the Municipality de Mirandela. (BCMM)

Minutes de 9 October 1884 of the Municipality of Mirandela. (BCMM)

Minutes of 10 February 1887 of the Municipality of Mirandela. (BCMM)

Minutes of 4 August 1887 of the Municipality of Mirandela. (BCMM)

Minutes of 1 September 1887 of the Municipality of Mirandela. (BCMM)

Minutes of 22 Septmeber 1887 of the Municipality of Mirandela. (BCMM)

Minutes of 6 October 1887 of the Municipality of Mirandela. (BCMM)

ALVES, Francisco Manuel – Memórias Arqueológico-Históricas do distrito de

Bragança. Bragança: reed. Fac-similada do Museu Abade de Baçal, 1975-

1990, II, VII, IX.

ASCM, Correspondence Archivist, País, 1913, 1.º Semestre

ASCM, Correspondence Archivist, País, 1909 e 1912

«The Sociedade Clemente Menéres, Inc., posseses one of the largest farms in Romeu,

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