Uyuni Bolivia railroad museum

John T · **Joined:** Sun Sep 14, 2014 5:05 pm **Posts:** 1270

Does anyone know how to contact the railroad museum in Uyuni Bolivia? This video shows much of the collection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8qFlEqv6_w

NS 3322 · **Posted:** Sun Mar 10, 2019 9:00 pm

John T wrote:

Does anyone know how to contact the railroad museum in Uyuni Bolivia? This video shows much of the collection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8qFlEqv6_w

Perhaps write to the Bolivian Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
http://www.minculturas.gob.bo/es/categoria/contacto

PaulWWoodring · **Posted:** Mon Mar 11, 2019 1:34 pm

In a word, "sad". The basis for a good museum is there, but it looks like they put a roof over a dead line of equipment and called it a museum. Please tell me this is not going to be the final "look" of this museum! And yes, I know, I don't have a checkbook large enough to put my money where my sympathies are.

I did learn one new thing. I had not known up to now that there were operating Garretts in the Americas.

70000 · **Posted:** Mon Mar 11, 2019 2:12 pm

This web address takes you to a Google Maps site with several photos taken inside the Museum....
https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb ... IAPl1Q-DUp

The crane appears to have been made in Bay City, MI, from what I can read on the builders plate!
The locos are presumably ones that were moved inside from the well known dump of locos elsewhere in town.

John T · **Joined:** Sun Sep 14, 2014 5:05 pm **Posts:** 1270

The wrecker was built at Bay City, MI by Industrial Works. I can't read the builder's number clearly (1211?) or the date and capacity. There is also no name or number to show the user. That is why I want to contact the museum.

tom moungovan · **Posted:** Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:30 pm

PaulWWoodring wrote:

In a word, "sad". The basis for a good museum is there, but it looks like they put a roof over a dead line of equipment and called it a museum. Please tell me this is not going to be the final "look" of this museum! And yes, I know, I don't have a checkbook large enough to put my money where my sympathies are.

I did learn one new thing. I had not known up to now that there were operating Garretts in the Americas.

Not only in Bolivia, but also in Argentina & Peru. Oscar Alexis Boichetta, who was the head of the RFIRT in Rio Gallegos, told me on my 1977 visit that he ran & fired the "Atlantic" Garratts early in his career.

If I understood him correctly, they were a 4-4-2 + 2-4-4 wheel arrangement.

I have a couple of slides taken by John Hungerford c. 1957 of one of the Cenrtral of Peru Garratts, it was the 402. Still in use at that time and was painted green.

John T · **Joined:** Sun Sep 14, 2014 5:05 pm **Posts:** 1270

kew · **Joined:** Sun Apr 02, 2017 3:13 am **Posts:** 134

Arrrgh!!! it's a GARRATT, after the inventor, Herbert William Garratt: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_William_Garratt.

Two peoples separated by a common language...

Zak Lybrand · **Joined:** Tue Jul 06, 2010 1:57 am **Posts:** 210

PaulWWoodring wrote:

In a word, "sad". The basis for a good museum is there, but it looks like they put a roof over a dead line of equipment and called it a museum.

I thought this was an overstatement until...

70000 wrote:

[really long Google maps link that broke the tables when quoted]

My god, did they buy the scrap line of a railroad and put a roof over it? Good lord.

R. Hahn · **Joined:** Sun Aug 22, 2004 5:01 pm **Posts:** 199

Zak Lybrand wrote:

PaulWWoodring wrote:

In a word, "sad". The basis for a good museum is there, but it looks like they put a roof over a dead line of equipment and called it a museum.

I thought this was an overstatement until...

70000 wrote:

[really long Google maps link that broke the tables when quoted]

My god, did they buy the scrap line of a railroad and put a roof over it? Good lord.

This might be first, even for RYPN. Complaining that equipment is now out of the weather and away from vandals. It's certainly better than the back lot of a lot of US museums that look like a scrap line with no roof over it.

PaulWWoodring · **Posted:** Tue Mar 12, 2019 9:34 am

R. Hahn wrote:

Zak Lybrand wrote:

This might be first, even for RYPN. Complaining that equipment is now out of the weather and away from vandals. It's certainly better than the back lot of a lot of US museums that look like a scrap line with no roof over it.

Well, the back lot of a museum is understood not to be part of the displays. I understand that it's a good thing the equipment is under cover, but taking equipment straight from the scrap line, putting it on display and calling it a museum is not what most of us have in mind either. One of my thoughts about it is that the way they have set things up, it looks like it's going to be very hard, if not nearly impossible, to do major restoration work on any of the items in the confined spaces they are displayed in. It looks like they put the items in place and then poured concrete walkways around them without any thought of being able to remove them to a shop for work.

M Secco · **Joined:** Sun May 12, 2013 2:46 pm **Posts:** 245

Hi John T,

Industrials usually have a 20,000 lb line pull so that would make that crane 40 ton capacity . I also see a 40 on the capacity plate.

M Secco · **Joined:** Sun May 12, 2013 2:46 pm **Posts:** 245

Hey John T,
Looking down at the Builder's plate I have on the baseboard in my living room I suddenly realized it's most likely an identical crane to the one you're inquiring about. My plate is off the Copper Range railroad 40 ton capacity industrial Works Wrecker Builders number 1207 of 1903 . Bolivia's is 1211 of what looks like 190?,4,5,7. Anyway what I do know is that the capacity of that crane "With Outriggers" is 40 tons at 16 foot radius and 30 tons at 20-foot radius. The plate on the Bolivia crane does not have any ratings for "Without Outriggers". You will notice the order in which these capacities are stated on the plates are opposite from each other lower going to higher as compared to higher going to lower.

M Secco · **Joined:** Sun May 12, 2013 2:46 pm **Posts:** 245

oops,
The picture of my builders plate didn't upload. I'll try to resolve this as soon as I can.

SD70dude · **Posted:** Tue Mar 12, 2019 7:20 pm

R. Hahn wrote:

Zak Lybrand wrote:

PaulWWoodring wrote:

In a word, "sad". The basis for a good museum is there, but it looks like they put a roof over a dead line of equipment and called it a museum.

I thought this was an overstatement until...

70000 wrote:

[really long Google maps link that broke the tables when quoted]

My god, did they buy the scrap line of a railroad and put a roof over it? Good lord.

This might be first, even for RYPN. Complaining that equipment is now out of the weather and away from vandals. It's certainly better than the back lot of a lot of US museums that look like a scrap line with no roof over it.

I agree, what a thing to complain about. Having everything under cover means it won't deteriorate further, and you can work on it at leisure.

Also, perhaps this museum is fairly new, and a bunch of the equipment has only been recently acquired. Many British locomotives looked just like these ones when they were pulled from the Barry scrapyard.