| VILLA CLARA Ifrain Alfonso, Marcelo Salado, Carlos Carabello, Luis Arcos Bergenes, Diez de Octobre For most steam enthusiasts a stop at the Cuban city of Santa Clara was a must. Not only is the last resting place of the great Cuban revolutionary hero, Che Guevara, but was also close to a number of premier steam mills. Several of these are in the province of Cienfuegos and the rest in are Villa Clara province. Of the mills to be found in Villa Clara it was Ifrain Alfonso which probably attracted the greatest attention as it not only had two of the largest locomotives to be found at work in Cuba but also featured another of the flat crossings over the Great Cuban Freeway. It was also interesting in so much as the mill system is in two halves - one section leading to the loading point at Pozo and the other leading up a steep climb into the mill itself. To get from one section to the other it is necessary for cane trains to travel along a short section of the FCC - the Cuban state railway. Marcelo Salado mill was also an attractive mill well worth visiting, not least for the long section of line which paralleled the road just outside of Remedios. Here it was possible to drive alongside the train, enjoying the sight and sound of a locomotive hard at work. Carlos Carabello and Luis Arcos Bergenes certainly merited a visit although running lines were not particularly extensive or scenically interesting. There was a rumour that I heard that the locomotive that used to be regularly found in steam at Diez de Octobre actually moved but my three visits to the mill failed to establish whether or not this was true! |
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| Alco 2-8-2 No.1910 was one of main reasons for visiting Ifrain Alfonso. The line had a number of steep gradients and often featured long and heavy trains making such an engines a valuable asset. No.1910 was one of the few engines on a sugar cane line that was once used by the FCC - most spent their entire time in Cuba on the sugar lines. The fine lines of this engine can be fully appreciated as it stands in the yard at Pozo loading point (left) No.1910 is at full stretch as it heads a heavy train from the loading point at Pozo towards the mill (right) |
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| Ifrain was unusual in having locos with four different wheel arrangements - 2-8-2 Nos.1910 and 1850, 2-8-0 No.1637, 4-6-0 No.1636 and 2-6-2 No.1635 although it was rare to find more than two locomotives in action at any one time. However such variety always led to a tingle of anticipation when aproaching the mill on each new visit. Baldwin 2-6-2 No.1635 makes a fine portrait as it stands at Pozo loading point in March 1997 (left) Despite its size the engine is able to haul long trains such as this one appraoching Horqueta (right) |
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| No.1635 storms across the Great Cuban Freeway - a six lane motorway that runs almost the entire length of the island. According to Cuban road traffic laws all vehicles are required to stop at a level crossing and check that it is safe to proceed - a practice honoured more in the breach than the observance. Being struck by No.1635 and 700 tons of sugar cane would certainly have made a dent in one's no-claims bonus - not to mention the side of the vehicle! In 1997 I was fortunate enough to be offered the opportunity to drive No.1850 from Pozo loading point to the junction with the FCC. As we were approaching the autopista I reached forward to close the regulator and apply the steam brake - much to the amusement of the locomotive crew who indicated that I should simply give a long blast of the whistle. This was to warn the crossing keeper of our approach and to give him sufficient time to run around in the middle of a six lane highway waving a red flag in an attempt to stop the traffic! The white structure in the background appears to carry a minor road over the motorway. However when the Russians left Cuba the work on this bridge was unfinished and the embankment on the far side has never been completed. Whilst this provided an ideal grandstand for photographers in the late afternoon, all road traffic finds itself having to cross the motorway at right angles on the level - a hazardous occupation even given the low level of traffic. |
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| Baldwin 2-8-2 No.1850 is the other large engine at Ifrain Alfonso and despite being built in 1935 was still the youngest steam engine at work on any of the sugar lines. Most years saw only one of the two largest engines at work on the line although in 1996 both were being used. No.1850 is seen (upper left) crossing the Great Cuban Freeway with a very heavy train in March 1996 and again in March 1997 passing through Rancheulos station (upper right). This station is located on the FCC and the train is an inter-mill working from Diez de Octobre which was closed that year. |
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| ALCO 4-6-0 No.1636 stands out of use in the shed yard at Ifrain Alfonso in March 1997 |
| ALCO 2-8-0 No.1637 simmers gently in the late afternoon light after its day's work |
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| Baldwin 2-6-2 No.1635 is going well as it makes its way towards the junction with the FCC |
| No.1635 struggles to get its train moving up the steep gradient having turned out onto the FCC |
| Marcelo Salado mill was about 40km to the east of Santa Clara near to the town of Remedios. For the past few years the mill itself has been closed and reports suggest it is unlikely to open. However as with many other such mills, the fields around the mill were still used to grow cane which was then cut and taken to other mills. This involved a long run along a newly constructed line to Batalla de Santa Clara and to cope with this traffic the line aquired Baldwin 2-6-0 No.1550 on loan from Carlos Carabello. As well as large tender engines the mill also had a number of smaller and very interesting small tank locomotivers including a 2-6-2ST built in 1904. The run alongside the road between the mill and Remedios provided some excellent vantage points and an opportunity to 'pace' the locomotive for thse who enjoyed video footage or who simply wanted to watch a locomotive at work. |
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| Baldwin 2-6-2ST No.1343, standing in the yard at Marcelo Salado mill, is nearly 100 years old |
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| No.1436 on the outskirts of Remedios with a train of loaded wagons heading for the mill |
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| Baldwin No.1426 blackens the sky as it crosses the small bridge at the entrance to the mill yard. The 'water' below was in fact a disgusting mixture of sea water and waste oil which had leaked from the nearby locomotive fuelling point (above) Davenport 0-4-0ST No.1147 stands in the shed at Marcelo Salado awaiting repairs - a forelorn wait for an overhaul which never came (upper right) ALCO 0-6-0ST No.1148 stands inside the shed in 1996 - the roof having disappeared in a hurricane! (middle right) Baldwin 2-8-0 No.1436 runs alongside the road from Remedios to Caibarien with a cane train from the fields to the north of Remedios. Once the mill now closed trains no longer ran in this direction and the locos were all turned to face west (lower right) ) |
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| Approximately half way between Santa Clara and Remedios, and lying slightly north of the main road was Luis Arcos Bergnes mill. Again this mill has been closed for the past few years although cane continues to be cut and moved to Jose Maria Perez mill. Ron Lingley ('Steam In Paradise') also reports that Vulcan 0-6-0T No.1346 has been placed on a plinth near the entrance to the mill but bears the number 1343 which is of course the 2-6-2ST to be found at Marcelo Salado! Never take anything in Cuba at face value! |
| Baldwin 2-6-0 No.1539 stands in the mill yard at Luis Arcos Bergnes in March 1997 |
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| Newly overhauled and freshly painted, Baldwin 2-8-0 No. 1755 stands at the loading point |
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| No.1539 heads a short train of loaded wagons from the loading point close to the main road |
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| Portrait of newly outshopped No.1755 as it stands in the cane fields waiting to return to the mill |
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| I don't have the latest information regarding the mill at Carlos Caraballo but I doubt that it has any future. Situated just a short distance from Ifrain Alfonso the standard guage line only had two locomotives in the late 1990's. Baldwin 2-6-0 No.1550 was loaned to Marcelo Salado in 2001 and was back at Calos Carabello during 2002 for repairs. The other 2-6-0 Baldwin No.1556 has disappeared and may have been scrapped. On the other hand, being Cuba, it may turn up somewhere totally different next year! In April 1997 Baldwin 2-6-0 No.1550 was still to be found at work at Carlos Carabello (above and left) |
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| Altogether I mad four visits to Diez de Octobre mill and never saw any sign of movement of their 2-8-0 Baldwin No.1661 (right). Every time it was been stood in the same spot, in steam but with no sign of it being about to do any work. However other visitors claim to have seen it at work so maybe I was just been unlucky. It is a great shame as the mill features a huge portrait of Che Guevara which would have made a fine photographic backdrop. |
| MORE CUBAN STEAM PHOTOGRAPHS West of Havana Havana region Matanzas Cienfuegos Ciega de Avila Sancti Spiritus Holguin |