Ferronor Potrerillos - Llantas - Chañaral Line, Chile

Climbing the Andes off the beaten path: Even today, there are adventurous tracks in Latin America hardly ever visited by any gricer. Among these is certainly the Chañaral - Llantas Potrerillos line in Chile's 'Little North'. When you want to plan your trip, you might be unable find more than a handful of pictures despite extensive research in the web. Google Map, though, revealed how spectacular the line must be. It connects Chañaral at the Pacific coast with Potrerillos, a remote mining town in the Andes on 2850m/ 9350ft. On the last 66km between Llantas and Potrerillos, the railroad first passes a rugged, lonesome valley and finally winds up to the terminus of the line, passing a breathtaking mountain scenery.
The Railroad Chañaral - Potrerillos, today operated by Ferronor, actually belongs to Codelco, a state owned copper mining company. Workshop and operational centre are at Llantas a few miles up from the town of Diego de Almagro, where the line once connected with the state railway's 'longino' (longitude railroad). You may find there GR 12U struggle against the 3.9% grade, moving copper concentrate to the smelter at Potrerillos.