| MATANZAS Australia, Cuba Libra, Reynold Garcia, Jesus Rabi The Matanzas region of Cuba was one of the most prolific cane growing regions on the island although, in common with most other regions, in recent years there has been a decline in yields and profitability leading to speculation that a number of mills may be facing closure in the next few years. The principal mill in this region is Australia mill, one of the most popular amongst enthusiasts and close to the Great Cuban Freeway. Most mills in Cuba are named after revolutionary heroes or countries sympathetic to the Cuban regime and although Australia is largely populated by ex-convicts from the British Isles it didn't quite seem to fit with the theme. However a thumb through my Spanish-English dictionary revealed that 'austral' means 'southern' and given the mills geographic location this seems the most likely reason for its name. The mill has suffered a number of serious setbacks in the past few years including the destruction of many of the mill buildings during Hurricane Michelle and the loss of Baldwin 2-8-0 No.1513 as a result of a catastrophic boiler explosion in March 2002. The closure of this system would be particularly unfortunate as it has one of the longest standard gauge sugar lines and, like Ifrain Alfonso mill near Santa Clara, it features a level crossing across the island's only motorway! Being Cuba there are no warning lights or barriers, simply a man with a red flag who stands in the middle of the carriageways warning on-coming traffic of the approach of a train. Cuban law requires all vehicles to stop at level crossings to check that the line is clear but nevertheless the potential for a spectacular accident remains interestingly high! |
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| Grossly overloaded, Henschel 2-6-0 No.1620 struggles with its heavy train. Note the hand sanders on the buffer beam who are literally putting their life on the line!! |
| Two for the price of one! Henschel 2-6-0 No.1716 is reflected in a large puddle after heavy overnight rain - although Cuba is usually dry in the March - April period there are exceptions! |
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| Baldwin 2-8-0 No.1513 with a train of cane wagons - this locomotive has since been destroyed (see panel above) |
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| Another shot of Henschel No.1620 - this time going well and far more comfortable on a less heavily loaded train |
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| Henschel 2-6-0 No.1716 darkens the evening sky with a train of loaded wagons on their way to the mill |
| No.1513 crosses a deserted Great Cuban Freeway - note 'traffic control' standing on the central reservation! |
| Cuba Libra mill was where I was first hijacked in Cuba! However since my 'hijackers' wanted me to do nothing more than drive their locomotive up and down the mill yard for the afternoon I was prepared to surrender myself gracefully. It was still possible to drive locomotives in Cuba although the expected 'gratuity' to the crews had slowly risen somewhat from the original price of a couple of ball point pens (unattainable in Cuba) and a pack of cigarettes. Cuba Libra was an extensive system although motive power shortages often led to the use of diesel workings. This is another system which suffered at the hands of Hurricane Michelle with damage to the very attractive station at Navajas and to the trees on the mill approach. |
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| Vulcan 2-6-0 No.1410 waits while a single hopper wagon is loaded with sugar at the main mill |
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| Baldwin 2-6-0 No.1612 pauses between shunting cane wagons on the main 'patio' area in front of the mill |
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| Baldwin 2-6-0 No.1610 on a train of empty wagons heading for the Pedroso loading point |
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| Rear three-quarter view of Baldwin 2-6-0 No.1808 as it runs into Navajas station in late afternoon sunshine |
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| No.1808 darkens the afternoon sky as it runs into Navajas station with a train of empty cane wagons |
| Baldwin 2-6-0 No.1610 turns on the triangle at Navajas before heading off with empty wagons to Pedroso |
| The Matanzas region offered a large number of mills with steam although as mentioned elsewhere the pattern of activity varied from year to year. New locomotives might arrive from other mills, locomotives in use this year may be unavailable next year or the mill itself may be closed with steam being used on inter-mill workings. Pictured below are scenes from Reynold Garcia and Jesus Rabi mills during 1997 and 1998 - scenes which are now relegated to the pages of history. |
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| Vulcan 2-6-0 No.1518 in light steam at Reynold Garcia - in 2002 this locomotive was at Australia mill |
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| ALCO 2-8-0 No.1594 seen at Reynold Garcia having moved there from Victoria de Yaguajay |
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| Another former Victoria de Yaguajay locomotive - No.1811 on an afternoon train at Jesus Rabi mill |
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| Baldwin 2-8-0 No.1529 shunting the mill patio at Jesus Rabi mill in April 1997 |
| MATANZAS - PART 2 Jose Smith Comas, Fructuroso Rodriguez, Granma, Puerto Rico Libra, Rene Fraga and Juan Avila On the north coast, close to the city of Cardenas, was one of my favourite Cuban mills - Jose Smith Comas. This mill kept its engines in particularly good order and there usually seemed to be plenty of line working. The loco shed was particularly attractive although gaining unofficial entry was difficult. However there was an excellent view to be had from the balcony of the building just across the street or from the roof of your hire car! On most occasions it paid to be early since all three engines moved off shed before 10.00am - which on one occasion was about an hour before an official shed visit by another group of visiting enthusiasts! Jose Smith Comas also had one of Cuba's more unusual locomotives in Porter 0-4-0T No.1122. This diminuitive engine must surely have been a hybrid since its cab seems totally out of proportion with the rest of the engine - however its ugliness was in many ways one of its great attractions and it was usually to be found shunting the patio area of the mill, easily moving 5 or 6 loaded cane wagons. |
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| Baldwin 2-6-0's No.1530 and 1531 together with Vulcan No.1415 are prepared for their day's work |
| The unusual looking Porter 0-4-0 No.1122 with its vastly 'out-of-scale' cab shunts the mill patio in March 1998 |
| Vulcan 2-6-0 No.1415 pulls a line of empty wagons over the level crossing on the outskirts of the mill |
| Baldwin 2-6-0 No.1531 gets to grips with its train of empty wagons as it heads out into the cane fields |
| Baldwin 2-6-0 No.1530 assembling a long line of cane wagons prior to taking them out to the loading point |
| No.1415 arriving at one of the loading points or acopios. The cane is chopped before being loaded into wagons. |
| Given the number of mills in the Matanzas region it would almost have been possible to spend an entire trip in this area alone, although this may radically change if plans to close over 70 sugar mills and convert large areas of cane growing land to the growing of other crops in the next few years or so comes to fruition. In truth a large number of mills are already closed unofficially but the workers are retained and cane is still grown in the fields surrounding them. This is then cut during the season and transported to other mills in the region. In the past this often provided some of the most interesting and unexpected opportunities for photographing steam on the tracks of the FCC or on the sugar lines linking the mills. Below are a selection of shots taken at some of the other mills in the Matanzas region. These mills generally saw little or no action from year to year and are illustrated mainly 'for the record'. |
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| Seen here at Fructuoso Rodriguez, Rogers 2-4-0 No.1216 was another centenarian although the tender seems to be of a more local origin! |
| Not really working steam - Baldwin 0-6-0 No. 1163 was preserved at a motorway service station near Australia and bore the wrong builders plates. |
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| Granma mill is named after the boat used by Fidel Castro to land in Cuba at the start of the revolution! |
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| Baldwin 2-8-0 No.1713 stands in steam at Granma. The shed building here had been demolished. |
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| Puerto Rico Libre is now closed and intermill working is by diesel. Baldwin 2-8-0 No.1910 is seen there in 1996 |
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| Baldwin 2-8-0 No.1820 at Rene Fraga - I was asked to leave the shed at gunpoint on one occasion! |
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| Julio Reyes Cairo is also closed but in the mid to late 1990's had some interesting locomotives in store including Borsig 0-6-0T No.1123 and Henschel 2-4-0T No.1124. This was possibly my least favourite steam location on the island. Set in an area of economic disadvantage - even by Cuban standards - the locals there had a reputation for trying to sell you anything - their own grandmothers included (or their sisters!!) Sometimes things could get a little hostile and thefts from visiting enthusiasts were not unknown. |
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| Juan Avila Mill also remained active and in 2002 claimed to have one of its best harvests for many years although it now no longer has steam operational. My two visits to this mill were both bedevilled by poor weather and so photographic coverage is severely limited as a result. Seen above during a visit in 1996 are Vulcan 2-6-0 No.1720 (left) and Baldwin 2-8-0 No.1807 (right) |
| MORE CUBAN STEAM PHOTOGRAPHS West of Havana Havana region Villa Clara Cienfuegos Ciega de Avila Sancti Spiritus Holguin |