Cuban Steam Clips (and a bit of Hershey Electric, too)

J3a-614 · **Posted:** Mon Oct 24, 2011 10:20 pm

daylight4449 · **Posted:** Mon Oct 24, 2011 10:33 pm

I'll give it to ya, youtube is addictive. It also makes a great resource for railroad research. The only problem is the video upload format being a significant nuisance for me to upload my two finished videos...

Frank Hicks · **Posted:** Tue Oct 25, 2011 12:07 am

J3a-614 wrote:

Has the old American equipment been retired?

There is some recent information on Hershey Cuban at http://ymtram.mashke.org/cuba/hershey/descr_en.html; this site suggests that as of 2010 three U.S.-built interurban cars still existed, cars 3006, 3008 and 3009, with one in storage and two rebuilt as something of a "heritage train" (though said to be towed by a locomotive). It also says one electric locomotive, presumably a GE steeplecab, is or was still operational with several others in storage.

survivingworldsteam · **Posted:** Tue Oct 25, 2011 1:23 pm

There are also a few steam locomotives operating on tourist railroads ("steam zoos'); but most of the old sugar mills have bee demolished and the track lifted. The best and rarest examples were brought to Havana for a railway museum.

Txhighballer · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 10:49 am **Posts:** 773

I wonder if those two Ifrain Alfonso Mikes are still around...anybody know?

survivingworldsteam · **Posted:** Wed Oct 26, 2011 11:16 am

Txhighballer wrote:

I wonder if those two Ifrain Alfonso Mikes are still around...anybody know?

They were operational as late as 2004. There is a YouTube posting from 2009 that shows them operational; but I don't know when the video itself was taken:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV50R1BWfsk

Rob Dickinson's International Steam website still lists them as operational.

Steve Singer · **Posted:** Wed Oct 26, 2011 11:52 am

On my visit in 2003, #1850 was running, #1910 was out of service.

Les Beckman · **Joined:** Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:25 pm **Posts:** 6482

J3a-614 wrote:

Came across the first of these while looking for material on the Florida East Coast, and browsing found a lot more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFVARgh7 ... re=related

That addictive YouTube. . .

This very first YouTube segment which is entitled "Steam Locomotive Scrapyard and Museum Havana" shows a number of very sad looking locomotives. One that caught my eye was 2-6-0 #1413. This engine was built by Cooke in 1891 (c/n 2114) for the Evansville & Terre Haute as their number 50, then Louisville, Evansville & St. Louis #50, then Southern #2100, Augusta Southern #21, Georgia & Florida #21 and finally to Cuba in 1917 as La Paz Sugar #4. Note that it is a former Southern Railway locomotive. Seems to me that she should come back to the U.S. for museum enshrinement before she completely deteriorates.

Les

survivingworldsteam · **Posted:** Wed Oct 26, 2011 2:47 pm

Les Beckman wrote:

J3a-614 wrote:

Came across the first of these while looking for material on the Florida East Coast, and browsing found a lot more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFVARgh7 ... re=related

That addictive YouTube. . .

This very first YouTube segment which is entitled "Steam Locomotive Scrapyard and Museum Havana" shows a number of very sad looking locomotives. One that caught my eye was 2-6-0 #1413. This engine was built by Cooke in 1891 for the Evansville & Terre Haute as their number 50, then Louisville, Evansville & St. Louis # 2100, Augusta Southern #21, Georgia & Florida #21 and finally to Cuba as La Paz Sugar #4. It is considered to be a former Southern Railroad locomotive. Seems to me that she should come back to the U.S. for museum enshrinement before she completely deteriorates.

Les

Les they are in a ailway museum now, where they are, in Havana. As for their condition; i believe they are currently in "as found" condition; and suffer from the same shortage of restoration funds and resources as any other museum.

I am under the impression that many of the sugar mills ceased operating in a very short period of time; so they acquired their collection very rapidly. It was not "a piece here, a piece there"; so one would expect it will take time to get such a collection stabilized; especially given the state of the country they are in.

There are lots of interesting relics in the collection, including a Baldwin from 1878, a British-built Manning Wardle from 1873 (was undergoing conversion to diesel; but is now being reassembled for static display), an 1894 Rogers, even an early Cagney park locomotive from 1905. Lenin Park in Havanna has several steam locomotives, some of which are operational, as well.

Les Beckman · **Joined:** Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:25 pm **Posts:** 6482

James -

Thanks for the comments. I screwed up a little bit with the history of the Mogul (I left out the part about her service on the Southern!) but have now corrected my original post.

I realize that these engines are destined for a Havana musem complex, but thought that the 1413 really deserves to "come back home". Almost certainly will never happen, but if the two countries want to establish more normal relations, what better way to start than bringing the 2-6-0 back to the U.S.A.?

Les