Housing Blocks

The peculiar orography of the enclave, with the limitations of space imposed by the limestone abutments that border the Nalón riverbed, gave shape to a very unique area. The triangle-shaped set of tracks was partially tunnelled and the station was located at one of its angles.

A station for freight trains was established in the angle where the San Esteban line converged with the triangle track that gave direct access to Collanzo and that was used by coal trains. At the end of the 1940s, the company built two housing blocks for railway workers within its facilities. This was part of an important renovation campaign that included other elements such as the new station and the now disappeared signalling control hut.

As for the dwellings, they were built for a tin foundry set up on the area, and later acquired by the Basque Asturian Railway. They are currently owned by their tenants. They are made up of two rectangular blocks perpendicular to the tracks, leaving a small garden between the two buildings. Each of them has a rectangular ground plan divided into three floors, with two dwellings per floor and a pavilion roof. The block located further west has a passageway on the ground floor leading to the garden, from which separate staircases lead to the flats.

The decoration is scarce and concentrates on the window sills and the paint that covers the rendering coat of the walls.

Although their origin is not strictly railway-related, they have been linked to the railway for most of their history and constitute a small but interesting group of buildings in a very picturesque location.

Guillermo Bas Ordóñez