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| 2. HAVANA REGION Gregorio Arlee Manalich Boris Luis Santa Coloma Amistad con los Pueblos Ruben Martinez Villena |
| 3. MATANZAS Reynold Garcia Jesus Rabi Australia Jose Smith Comas Granma Victoria de Jaguajay Cuba Libra Julio Reyes Cairo |
| CUBA - STEAM IN PARADISE Like so much of this site the pages relating to Cuba now serve simply as an historic record of working steam. Almost all steam traction has been eliminated from the sugar cane fields and mills of the island and all that remains are a few museum lines and tourist trains which are almost a travesty of the 'real thing'. Despite this there are still enthusiast trips to Cuba but no-one should hope or expect to recapture any of the scenes illustrated on the following pages. Although China was the 'big show', for sheer variety and diversity there was probably nowhere else in the world quite like the island of Cuba. The steam activity was mainly to be found on the railways belonging to MINAZ, the government's 'Ministry Of The Sugar Industry', although it was sometimes necessary for trains to use the state railway (FCC) to move between mills. Most lines only operated during the Zafra, or sugar harvest, which normally occurs from the beginning of January until the end of May although exact dates may vary from mill to mill and are dependent on location and weather conditions. Almost all mill lines are now fully dieselised and even those retaining steam locomotives rarely if ever use them. Almost all of the steam locomotives were of American origin and were built by companies such as Baldwin, ALCO and Porter although there were still a few Henschels, Orenstein & Koppels and Borsigs from Germany to be found in use during the 1990's when these pictures were taken. This reflected the fact that most of the mills were in American ownership until the Revolution in 1959 brought them under state control. The locomotives were of considerable vintage with several remaining operational despite being well over 100 years old. Unlike the more modern steam used in China, the most recently manufactured engine in use in 1996 was constructed as long ago as 1935. There are four different gauges in use on the island although the majority of lines are standard gauge. Each line has its own particular attractions and features together with its own unique pattern of operation. With the decline in the world demand for sugar, and the fall in price, the government has recently announced its intention to close over 100 mills on the isaland. This further reduced steam operation and by 2005 almost all steam was confined to the back of the engine sheds, the scrap lines or newly established museums. |
| Photographs in the Cuban section of the website are arranged geographically to reflect the main areas where steam still operated during the years 1996 to 1998. Only the main mills are illustrated - many more still had some limited steam operation. Click on the name of the region using either the key to the map above or on the panels below which show the main steam mills that were to be found in each of the areas. |
| KEY TO MAP 1. West of Havana 2. Havana region 3. Matanzas 4. Villa Clara 5. Cienfuegos 6. Sancti Spiritus 7. Ciego De Avila 8. Holguin |
| 4. VILLA CLARA Luis Arcanos Bergnes Marcelo Salado Ifrain Alfonso Diez de Octobre |
| 5. CIENFUEGOS Mal Tiempo Ciudad Caracas Antonio Sanchez Espartaco Primero de Mayo Marta Abreu Pepito Tey |
| 6. SANCTI SPIRITUS Obdulio Morales Simon Bolivar |
| 7. CIEGO DE AVILA Orlando Gonzales Ramirez Ecuador Ciro Redondo Venezuela |
| 8. HOLGUIN Rafael Freyre |
| ALCO 2-6-0 No.1510 at Boris Luis Santa Coloma - a lack of paint led to locomotives being operated with undercoat as livery! |
| Baldwin 2-8-0 No.1513 at Australia mill |
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| 2-8-2 ALCO No.1910 at Ifrain Alfonso, This was a former mainline locomotive that was transferred to MINAZ and was the largest locomotive at work on the island during the 1990's. |
| Fireless Baldwin 0-4-0 No.1259 at Marta Abreu |
| 2-8-0 Baldwin No.1832 at Ciro Redondo mill |
| Baldin 2-8-0 No.1360 on narrow gauge Simon Bolivar |
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| Even during the days of 'real steam' in the late 1990's it was sometimes necessary to arrange special workings. Baldwin No.1386 sets out along the port branch on a photographers special at the 2'6" gauge Rafael Freyre system in 1997 |
| Click on boxes below to access other areas of the site |
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| 1. WEST OF HAVANA Augusto Cesar Sandino Pablo de la Torriente Brau Eduardo Garcia Lavandero |
| ALCO 2-8-0 No.1404 at Augusto Cesar Sandino |
| PAGE UNDER RECONSTRUCTION - SOME PHOTOGRAPHS MISSING |