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 Post subject: Guatemala- 48 years ago...last 2 days, a 120 mile steam ride
PostPosted: Wed Dec 18, 2019 2:00 pm 

Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2011 11:23 am
Posts: 436
Location: Sheboygan County, Wisconsin
On my last afternoon in Guatemala, I was exploring around the yard and shops. There were a pair of Mikados in the backshop receiving heavy repairs. I was fortunate to meet M.R. Turton, the chief mechanical officer of the railroad. He gave me his business card which I still have.

There was a line of dead locomotives next to the shop and also taking up one track in the yard. A great many of these were older smaller Consolidations.

One of the modern postwar Mikes moved past me and stopped. I took both color along with black & white of the scene. Something was different about this Mike. She had a sealed beam headlight. 194 was used on at least one of John West/George Werner's successful tours in the early 70's. There were 32 postwar Mikes built between 1946 and 1948 that came to the IRCA. These were numbers 175-206. As built, most or all had Wilson Centrifugal Separators installed, also called "foam breakers". They did not last into the 70's. All had front-end (multiple) throttles.

One of the guys on the locomotive waved for me to come up in the cab and when I did, he took my camera case off of my shoulder and stowed it on the rack under the roof.

I had plenty of time this day and thought that a ride around the yard might be nice. This was not where we were headed though. 194 was called for a helper assignment on the daily passenger out of Rancho. This meant that we'd run light engine just over 61 miles. OK by me. Even better was that the fireman's seat was mine for the rest of the day.

Once the engine was turned, we backed through the yard and were lined out. The signal was green and we departed. This was by far, the longest that I'd ever been on a light move. The runner was a friendly guy with a big smile. There were places where we managed 25 mph. Pretty decent for 40" drivers.

Right after we passed Agua Caliente, we stopped for water at Mile 175. The engineer stated that "Baldwin es suave", a tribute to how nicely they rode. Then it was off again and you had to get back to business.. This machine was in pretty decent shape too. Everything worked, the exhausts were square and I had an easy time making steam. Another look at the wrecked 195 in the river took a little of the enthusiasm away for awhile.

We finally made it to Rancho where the engine was wyed and watered again. The engineer got off to grease the rods. I never did see an air operated Alemite gun down here, the devices were hand powered and took a degree of muscle to force grease into the fittings. The road fireman helped me set a spot fire and we took a quick walk into town where we pooled our cash to buy some hot food for the rest of the day. I also got sodas for the entire crew.

The late passenger finally arrived. It should have had a second diesel, but that one had been taken off between Barrios and Zacapa.

We were cut into the train and after a brake test, off we went up the hill. The fire was now going really good and I over atomized like they all did down here. When it got dark, the flashback out the peephole and door damper was incandescent, it was that bright.

There was a sheetmetal shroud around the firebox door and this really helped to cut down on the heat and light. We'd top 3 summits and go from 900' at Rancho to 4,910' at Guatemala City. That's a real adventure behind steam

I don't have much memory of details on the return trip. We made at least 2 water stops but had no mechanical troubles. We finally got in to G.C. just past midnight, traveling a little over 122 total miles on steam.

I left for the airport the next afternoon and walked right by the telephone book with my orders in them and right out the door. I've regretted that oversight for years. That's about the only thing that I could ever regret about the 6 trips to Guatemala. On the contrary, I was a lucky, young, inexperienced kid who happened to meet some very kind and understanding rails. It is because of them that I have these adventures to recall and sometimes share. I am thankful for what was given to me.

On PanAm Flight 516 home, I was already planning a return trip.

PS It is my belief that 515/516 were the flight numbers from San Francisco to Guatemala City. I could be in error and would welcome correction.


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