I just visited Paraguay to see the century old (North British I think?) 2-6-0 wood burners still in daily service. I've posted photos online if anyone is interested. There are also some photos from Uruguay and Argentina. I'll try to put together a little report when I have a chance.

http://picasaweb.google.com/tgears1/Sou ... August2007

Truly amazing they are still running. I had the pleasure of riding in 1995 & 98. In 95, the streetcar line in Ascuncion was still in operation.

Tom;

Where are the two steam powered train ferries located? I don't believe I have heard of or seen them before; I would love to learn more about them.

Awesome pictures, Tom -- thanks for sharing!

L. D. Porta did some work in Paraguay in the early 90's. One of the 2-6-0's was superheated, had a Lempor exhaust fitted and a gas producer combustion system (GPCS) fitted specifically for wood burning. It reportedly burned one-third of the wood of the conventional engines. At one time, it was planned to import surplus 2-10-0's from Argentina to Paraguay and upgrade them similarly.

Porta was pretty appalled by the state of things in Paraguay. For instance, he said most of the machinists in their shops couldn't read, much less read blueprints. Once while he was on a test ride on one of their engines (at night) the fireman noted the needle was MISSING from the boiler pressure gage! After a short search, the fireman found it on the floor of the cab, pressed it back on the gage, and pronounced everything fine.

Paraguay was the only place Ing. Porta ever gave up on improving the state of things.

James,

The two ferries are located in Posadas, Argentina. There is a ferry that carries people between between Encarnacion, Paraguay and Posadas, Argentina. They are at the dock on the Argentina side, they were used up until 2002 when the bridge was built between the two cities. They are three cylinder reciprocating engines with enclosed paddle wheels on the side. Amazing they lasted so long.

Tom

These engines are on borrowed time. Think of the the end of the Blues Brothers movie when they pull up to pay he taxes, close the car door, and the entire car falls apart. I've never seen any machine in such poor condition that was actually still able to operate.

We we arrived at the shop they were beating on tired old scale coated boiler tubes with big hammers to knock the scale off in an effort to reuse them. They have no machine tools and jacks to lift the locomotive are hand cranked. At any given time two engines are in service, one stored as a back-up, and one being rebuilt. All are 2-6-0 types. There is also a derelict 2-8-0 onsite.

A side note; according to a local we spoke to they recently completed a large dam which will raise the level of the river 10-20 feet. Posadas, Argentina is up on high ground and will be fine but Encarnacion, Paraguay is low and much of the town will be lost. This includes the right of way for these wood burners. So in the next year or so a lot of new buildings are going up on higher ground to relocate the residents of the low area. The railroad is to be relocated and extended to Cuidad del Este. This may or may not happen but for sure if the river rises there will be no more steam.

SPECTACULAR, TOM, BRAVO!!!! Pleased as I am for the MdelP to have been featured on this site for so long, maybe it's time somebody like you took a turn at writing a new feature article. Tell us all about it, please.....and thanks for a fascinating post.

It is a shame he never tried to work in Colorado, Hugh. Paraguay would probably seem favorable in comparison.

dave

Also, there is/was an operable steam power ship from the Paraguayan navy in Encarnacion.

Here is an update to August 2009

http://www.internationalsteam.co.uk/tra ... rica04.htm

What about those Sentinel locos still in daily service in Brazil??

A SR&RL type loco was found last week in the Jungle. Where I don't know or by whom

Pictures I've seen, but waiting for permission to share

TH

Trevor,

Thanks for posting the update and wow I'd like to learn more about those vertical boilered steamer in Brazil.

Interesting to see a Sentinel still working. I've always been intrigued by these locomotives. The company built steam-powered road trucks and railcars until about 1960. They built 4 and 6 wheeled switchers with vertical water-tube boilers and 4-cylinder steam motors driving the wheels through a gear reduction. In 1931 they built two unique four-axle commuter locomotives with streamlined cowlings and truck-mounted 6-cylinder steam traction motors. These were delivered to argentina ; there is tantilizingly little information about their service there
http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/L ... gmotor.htm

Wikipedia has a fairly good item on the subject;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentinel_Waggon_Works

These were very innovative & successful locomotives for their time.....
J

There is a Sentinel railcar still operational in Sri Lanka.

See image here: http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/steam/asia ... m#SriLanka

The Sentinel steam wagons (lorries / trucks depending on your heritage) that went to the Rio Turbio in Argentina in about 1950/1 were the last batch of road vehicles built.

I arrived at the works for my apprenticeship in 1973. By them all railroad activity, save the supply of D range V8 engines to Thomas Hill and Hunslet has ceased.

There were many old hands though who were there in steam days. I was told that those last Wagons that were shipped to Argentina were never paid for....

There are at least two still in existence, one under restoration.

My family has links to the Shrewsbury facility going back to 1914 when production was moved from Glasgow, Scotland. My Grandfather was in the first years intake of apprentices. Being 1914, he did not last long (WW1) but did survive the war.

Other relatives worked there in WW2 making shells.

There are dozens of Steam wagons still active in the UK in preservation.

In the early 1970's there were a few still in commercial service as road tar sprayers.

You can guess why they were the preferred choice..

TH

"The Maxion and Amsted Maxion companies are the main employers in Cruzeiro and their plants are in the same district. Maxion is a Brazilian company while Amsted Maxion is a joint venture between Maxion and Amsted, a North American company. Maxion is a major supplier of truck trailers, mining equipment and general steel fabrication while Amsted Maxion’s focus is on railway freight cars, axles, wheels, bogies, couplings and other railway equipment. Recently they launched their first locomotive, a diesel hydraulic shunter with Voith transmission. The prototype is currently being tested.

Despite producing their first diesel they still use two locomotives which can claim a batch of superlatives themselves that are all their own. These two locomotives are Sentinels which are:

a) the last steam locomotives in regular use in Brazil
b) the last broad gauge steam locomotives in regular use anywhere (there could just be a competitor here in the shape of a locomotive in Osipovici in Belarus, but no-one except the local railway staff has ever set eyes on this loco and so its existence can’t be confirmed)
c) the last Sentinels in regular use anywhere
d) the last oil-fired steam locos in regular use anywhere now that Burma’s steam fleet has been dumped and Cuba’s steam has faded out
e) The last steam locomotives anywhere with two driven axles and no trailing wheels

If you were to exaggerate this a bit you could add that these locomotives are the world’s last commercially used steam locomotives with vertical boilers and chain transmission – the essence of the Sentinel design. World records everywhere …

Both engines have boilers built in 1930 and were put into service in 1931. Maxion only need one locomotive at any time, the second locomotive is parked outside. Their water and fuel are delivered by road tankers. The boilers are fired with light oil or diesel. There is no depot and repairs and maintenance, if any, are carried out by an external company. But the employees say they don’t have many repairs, and no-one could remember when either loco was last overhauled.

There’s only one driver and no separate fireman. Indeed, one man is more than sufficient since the length of the track is less than 200 metres. However it can take the loco five minutes or more to cover this short distance. So we could have add another record as point f) – they’re the slowest steam locomotives in the world! The working loco is used to shunt flat wagons which are loaded with sheet metal.

Can you justify travelling thousands of miles just to see a tee kettle in commercial use on a tiny little bit of a track? That’s a decision you must make for yourself. The operation is definitely an interesting fossil of industrial history and it’s likely that those two little chain driven locos will remain in use for a while. If you were able to see the decoration of some of the office floors and offices it’s obvious that there must be some dedicated steam loco enthusiasts in the management. If you’re ever in the region it’s well worth arranging a visit to see the little blue oddities, Sentinel’s last stronghold."

Report by Bernd Seiler of "Farail"
www.farrail.com