Historical archive: know the incredible journey of the legendary steamer “Coya”

In October 1889, after long negotiations and fiery political controversies where the fierce resistance against the economic settlement of a group of liberal deputies stood out, the government of General Andrés A. Cáceres signed a contract with the English holders of debt bonds. Peru, whose amount amounted to 51 million pounds sterling, product of the loans, plus interest, granted to our country in 1869, 1870 and 1872, money that was used mainly in the construction of railways. According to the solution found, our railways were delivered for a period of 66 years, in addition to other payments of various kinds. The bondholders, represented by Miguel Grace, immediately formed the “Peruvian Corporation” in London, which took over the rolling stock and the entire state rail infrastructure of our country.

Said company, in order to expand the operations of the Southern Railway that reached Puno, decided to have a steamer built to transport passengers and cargo on Lake Titicaca. At that time, only two small vessels were operating there, the “Yavarí” and the “Yapurá”, insufficient to handle the growing lake and river traffic.

Trade, a meticulous unofficial record of what happened in most of our republican life, was reporting on everything related to the unique trajectory of the steam that would be called “Coya”. It was built at the G. Denny Brothers shipyard, in Dunbarton, Scotland. The machinery came from workshops in the same town. When the ship was ready, it was launched into the water and subjected to all the pertinent tests, which were successful. Later it was disassembled and reduced to thousands of pieces that were shipped on the “Gulf of Florida” steamer bound for Mollendo. From that port, all the material received was brought to Puno by rail, overcoming numerous difficulties.

On the shore of Lake Titicaca, at a point called Huajje, near Puno, the “Coya” was meticulously armed. TradeAt the beginning of November 1892, he described the work: “The ship is built of light steel plates, solid enough to constitute a perfect longitudinal mooring. The stem is perpendicular and the stern elliptical, very well assembled, making both a compact whole with the sides. Its dimensions are: length, perpendicular, 170 feet; beam, 26 feet; strut, 12 ft. Cargo capacity 260 tons, 45 first class passengers and 30 second class. The main deck is continuous and has a bridge suspended in its middle part. Its frame is that of a brig with lateen sails and a forestay ”.

As assembly progressed, Trade he was informing his readers: “The machinery is of high and low pressure, of direct action and arranged to make the two propellers work independently. The cauldrons are two, with four burners operating at a pressure of 110 pounds per square inch; the average walk of the ship is ten to twelve miles per hour. The dining room or lounge located forward of the bridge, is beautifully decorated; its tables, swivel chairs, sideboard with a marble top, etc., in its small scale represent, in proportion, the good taste and comfort of the modern steams that sail the ocean ”.

No less care was taken with the cabins “large and well ventilated, equipped with sinks, mirrors and everything necessary for the comfort of the passengers and, as a complement, there is an independent cabin for ladies, equipped with whatever the most taste may require. refined. The saloon and cabins maintain a comfortable average temperature by means of heating steam tubes ”.

Continuing with the description, the “Coya” had “a Bar or Cantina, a bathroom, a smoking room and enough medicine cabinet to meet the needs of the trip. On the lower deck, forward, there is a well-ventilated and comfortable place for second-class passengers ”. The cabins for the ship’s captain, officers and drivers were also mentioned, equipped with modern furniture and “with two repeating telegraphs to give orders to the machine (sic)”. For the service of loading and anchoring, it had steam storks and davits equal to those used in maritime vessels.

The steamer “Coya” was launched into the waters of Titicaca on March 4, 1893. Its first captain was the English engineer and sailor John Wilson, who also directed the assembly work. The history of the “Coya”, long and fruitful, is full of incidents and even accidents of the most diverse kind of which it always came out well. For many generations who used his services it was a fond memory.

The revolutionary government of Juan Velasco nationalized the Peruvian Corporation and the “Coya” ended up being transferred to the “Empresa de Ferrocarriles del Perú” (ENAFER). By then, the inevitable damage caused by years of intense work, without respite and lacking adequate maintenance, was already visible on the ship. It sailed until 1986, more than 90 years, and then it was left to its own devices in the Huajje shipyard. There he began to be predated with impunity by individuals who were tearing off his pieces to sell them as scrap metal. What was left was sold in 2001 to a foundry. Luckily, the Arequipa businessman Juan Barriga, with historical sensitivity and knowledge of the value of this relic, bought it and restored it to its value. The “Coya”, although it can no longer sail, looks graceful and is at anchor in the lake serving as an attractive restaurant.

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