Cuba: ANY Steam Left?

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Fri Feb 13, 2026 10:19 pm

I've been tracking the current events on what certainly appears to be the imminent complete collapse of Cuba's economic, political and social situation via more candid international news media............

(Keep the politics off this forum, please.....)

.... and it occurs to me that:
1) We could finally be seeing the complete collapse that would open up Cuba to allowing the sale and repatriation of many American-built steamers;
BUT
2) There may be nothing left to save now.

We have been battering this possibility around for about 25 years in this forum. Search if you don't believe me.

viewtopic.php?t=8903

Short and simple: Does anyone have any updates from non-US visitors to the island on any steam survivors now? It's entirely possible every spare piece of metal has been sold for scrap now, aside from a few doing "tourism duty" or saved as "national treasures."

Remember that the nationalized sugar industry was what kept what little steam was still intact semi-alive:

https://en.cibercuba.com/noticias/2025- ... ma-colapso

THEY ARE IMPORTING SUGAR:
https://en.cibercuba.com/noticias/2024- ... a-importar

wesp · **Posted:** Fri Feb 13, 2026 11:43 pm

To which list I might add any surviving vintage, first generation Hershey equipment?

Wesley

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Sat Feb 14, 2026 1:07 am

wesp wrote:

To which list I might add any surviving vintage, first generation Hershey equipment?

You may already be too late:

June 2025:

https://en.cibercuba.com/noticias/2025- ... rshey-sera

Quote:

According to René Peña García, deputy director of the Union of Railways of Cuba in Matanzas, the plan includes an initial phase focused on preserving the building as a heritage site to “later promote, when conditions allow, the transportation of passengers using diesel traction equipment, which will finally address the issue of communities that were only connected by the electric train.”

After more than seven years without service, the residents who relied on the electric train still lack stable alternatives. The so-called rehabilitation seems more like a public relations strategy than a real solution, while the lives of hundreds of families continue to be impacted by inaction.

QJdriver · **Posted:** Fri Feb 20, 2026 3:16 pm

As I have detailed in some of my posts regarding Guatemalan RRs, there may have been a chance thirty five years ago, but twenty five years ago was too late, and NOW damn sure is. As always, please prove me wrong....

(This software is still very goofy --- my quote from the first post in this thread is still slippery as an eel)