Talgo

Talgo (officially Patentes Talgo, SAU) is a Spanish manufacturer of intercity, standard, and high-speed passenger trains. Talgo is an abbreviation of Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol (English: Lightweight articulated train Goicoechea Oriol) The company was founded by Alejandro Goicoechea and José Luis Oriol. It was first incorporated in 1942. The creation of Talgo can be largely credited to the work of two individuals, Alejandro Goicoechea and José Luis Oriol. During the 1930s, Goicoechea, a pioneering railway engineer, sought to produce a new generation of rolling stock that would be primarily composed of metal, rather than wood; to reduce operational cost, he also emphasised lightweight yet sturdy construction, while a low center of gravity would deter derailing and thus permit higher operating speeds. In 1942, financial backing for the construction of a prototype train was provided by Oriol, which believed in Goicoechea's concepts. The two produced the agreement that established Patentes Talgo as a company that same year. The prototype train would emerge as the Talgo I. During the late 1940s, Talgo came to recognize that Spain, and the wider European continent, were in a poor economic condition following the Second World War and so were unlikely to be customers for new rolling stock from an unproven manufacturer. Furthermore, the company was keen to acquire advanced technical knowledge and designs, so a favourable agreement was struck with American Car and Foundry (ACF) to collaborate on the manufacture of the Talgo II in the United States. The first vehicles arrived in Spain in 1950, enabling the first commercial Talgo II service to be run on 14 July of that year, between Madrid, Spain and Hendaye, France. It was the first train in Spain to be authorized to travel at a service speed of up to . Continued collaboration with ACF led to the creation of the Talgo III during the 1960s. It was brought into service between Madrid and Barcelona in August 1964.