La labor de los ingenieros militares en los ferrocarriles de Cuba (1837-1898).

The work of the military engineers in the railroads of Cuba (1837-1898).

HISTORY of railroads; MILITARY engineering; MILITARY engineers; CUBAN architecture; RAILROAD design & construction; PUBLIC transit; INFRASTRUCTURE (Economics); NINETEENTH century; HISTORY

El destacado papel del ferrocarril en el escenario socio-económico cubano durante el siglo XIX determinó la incorporación de estructuras administrativas destinadas a fomentar, planificar y regular el ramo ferroviario dentro del gobierno insular. Esta investigación pretende analizar la labor de los ingenieros militares en la introducción y desarrollo del ferrocarril en Cuba durante el periodo 1837-1898. Para ello se determinan las competencias de estos profesionales en la realización de obras de ingeniería y arquitectura, las responsabilidades asumidas en los entes públicos y privados asociados a la actividad ferroviaria, y por último se realiza una caracterización del conjunto de edificaciones proyectadas y construidas como resultado de la expansión ferroviaria en la Isla. El acercamiento a esta temática con un enfoque histórico y arquitectónico, reafirma la singularidad del caso cubano debido a su carácter pionero en Hispanoamérica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The railroad's outstanding role in the social and economic activities in Cuba during the XIX century produced the establishment of administrative structures for developing, planning and regulating the railway topic inside the island's government. This research is targeted to analyze the labor of the military engineers in the introduction and development of railroads in Cuba during the period 1837-1898. Therefore, this paper explains the competences of those professionals in engineering and architecture works, their tasks in public and private occupations related to railway's activities, and finally, it establishes a characterization of the buildings as a result of the expansion of this mean of transportation in Cuba. The approach to this topic, through an historical and architectonical point of view, emphasizes the exceptionality of the Cuban example due to its role as pioneer in Hispanic America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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