A group of prominant American steam railroad preservationists just got back from cuba with grim news. As one of them put it"they are scrapping the sh*t out of stuff." They didn't see any locomotives scrapped, but Corliss engines and sugar mills are going fast, and in the chaos the RR locos may go before anyone knows. If you want to see a sugar train you charter it, very little if any regular service. They did see two Baldwin consolidations in tow to Havana for "preservation."

That is so sad. Rob Dickinson and others were just beginning to document what could be found in the sugar mills of Cuba; and now it is all disappearing.

Recent reports have stated that the Cubans consider their locomotives to be of "historical heritage", and valuable from a tourism point of view. It is a shame they do not feel the same way about their stationary equipment.

There have been several reports of locomotives being moved to museums and mills that will be preserved for tourists around the island. (Some of the locomotives that have not been reported in recent years are now showing up on display in front of the mills.) I wish it was possible to grab at least some of the smaller stationary engines and pumps before they are gone.

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

> A group of prominant American steam railroad
> preservationists just got back from cuba
> with grim news. As one of them put
> it"they are scrapping the sh*t out of
> stuff." They didn't see any locomotives
> scrapped, but Corliss engines and sugar
> mills are going fast, and in the chaos the
> RR locos may go before anyone knows. If you
> want to see a sugar train you charter it,
> very little if any regular service. They did
> see two Baldwin consolidations in tow to
> Havana for "preservation."


Surviving World Steam Project
james1@pernet.net