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| Steam (and some Electrics) in Cuba | ||
| by J. Mervyn Gricington | ||
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| Right - so you don't like foreign steam locomotives. In the UK and Europe they have strange-looking cabs, wheels, couplers, etc. The weather is always overcast, the locos don't work hard, and the whistles sound like a cross between a teapot and a yowling cat. China has "Red" drivers, air-horns and smoke deflectors. It's a long distance to travel, and lest we forget, it's below zero all day. Do steam locomotives with builder's plates from Baldwin, Alco, Porter, Vulcan, Davenport, and Rogers interest you? Would a steady diet of chime whistles and thunderous stack talk be music to your ears? How about a country where you need sun block instead of a parka or raincoat? I've got just the spot for you. | ||
| Cuba, depending on where you live or what your politics are, that name may stir all sorts of emotions. World events of the past few years have conspired to place this Caribbean Island in the news on a frequent basis. If you live in the U.S., you will certainly have heard something about Cuba in the past year. In spite of the news stories, with tourist travel by U.S. citizens banned since 1960, Cuba is virtually unknown to most Americans. That situation is rapidly changing. It is very likely that relations between Cuba and the U.S. will improve dramatically in the next few years. A relaxation of travel restrictions will no doubt closely follow any improvement in the U.S.- Cuba relationship. | ||
| Rail enthusiasts from the UK, Europe, Japan, and other countries have been visiting Cuba steadily since 1979. As a British citizen, I may travel to Cuba without the restrictions imposed on U.S. residents. I will endeavour to share what may be found in Cuba of interest to rail enthusiasts. | ||
Travel Tips On Line Resources Photo Locations Personal Recommendations | ||
| The Trains | ||
| Why would you want to visit Cuba? Reports from the year 2000 sugar cane harvest (zafra) indicate a total of 133 different steam locomotives were actually seen in operation at 39 sugar mills (centrals). An additional eleven mills retain some steam for occasional use. Counting all steam locomotives (operating, derelict, and otherwise) would total about 300 on the island. Of these, 240 are realistically available for use, either able to be steamed or under repair with the expectation of returning to service. All but a handful were built in the U.S. They range in size and age from a tiny 1878 Baldwin 0-4-2 to a 1935 Baldwin 2-8-2. Four gauges are represented: 27-3/4in, 30in, 36in, and 4ft-81/2in. Picture a land area the size of Pennsylvania with fifty steam operated shortline railways operating on four gauges. | ||
| In addition to the steam worked centrals, there is the former Hershey Cuban Railroad Company. Now the Camilo Cienfuegos division of the national Ferrocarril de Cuba system, it still retains much of the flavor of a U.S. electric interurban line. The "Hershey" runs from the Havana suburb of Casa Blanca to Matanzas. There are branches to Bainoa, Jaruco, and Santa Cruz del Norte. Extensive passenger service is operated along with electric hauled freight service. | ||
| The FCC (Ferrocarril de Cuba) is the national railway system. Except for the "Hershey", it is totally dieselized. The majority of equipment is Russian, former communist bloc, or from other non-U.S. sources. However, some U.S. built locomotives and rolling stock still survive on the FCC. The Havana-Santiago mainline looks very modern with heavy rail set on concrete sleepers supported by deep rock ballast. Other than this line and a few other secondary main lines, much of the system consists of weed-grown branch lines. FCC still abounds with picturesque stations, semaphore signals, and signal boxes (interlocking towers with "Armstrong" lever plants). All manner of rail buses operate passenger service on nearly all branches. There are even a few U.S. made Brill gas-electric cars still in service. | ||
| The cane trains are made up almost exclusively of cane wagons. Like the locomotives, most are of U.S. manufacture. Some have mesh sides while others have solid sides. All have one side or end hinged from the top. After releasing a latch holding the hinged door, they are tipped to one side on a dumper table to empty them of the cane. Virtually all sport arch-bar trucks and "K" type airbrakes. That is, if they have brakes. The mills that operate over parts of the FCC are required to have operating air brake systems. The mills that don't run on the FCC usually use the locomotive as the sole braking source. One mill, Rafael Freyre, is innocent of brakes of any type on the wagons, and has only steam operated brakes on the locomotives. Guard's vans (cabooses) are used on almost all trains. These are usually of the "box on a flatcar" type, similar to U.S. railroad transfer cabooses. Occasionally, other types of cars other than cane wagons will be hauled. Some mills dispatch covered hoppers of sugar or tank cars of fuel or molasses behind steam. During Zafra 2000, twenty-four mills could be considered to have daily steam-hauled line work. The others were yard (patio) shunting or occasional line work only. | ||
| After seeing recent photos and video from Cuba, a friend from the U.S. said it reminded him of scenes in "Mixed Train Daily". This delightful book by Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg epitomized the small, backwoods type of U.S. railroad. Cuba contains most of the essential elements found in "Mixed Train Daily". Steam locomotives, narrow gauge, cabooses, rail-busses, and of course, mixed trains. Except for museum re-creations, this type of railroad operation has disappeared completely in the U.S. Fortunately; it lives on just 100 miles south of Florida. | ||
| Travel Tips | ||
| Since this is a website based in the U.S., let's cover the legal issues of travel to Cuba for U. S. residents. Currently, U.S. citizens and permanent residents may travel to Cuba, but cannot spend any money in which Cuba receives an interest, unless they have a license from the U.S. Treasury Department, Office of Foreign Assets Control. Those currently granted licenses are: government officials, full time journalists, members of international organizations, close relatives for humanitarian reasons, athletes attending competitions, certain professionals doing professional research, students going to study or teach in Cuban academic institutions, persons doing academic research, and people engaged in religious activities. If you fit into one of these categories you may receive a treasury license and travel legally to Cuba. | ||
| Obviously, this puts a damper on things for many residents of the U.S. However, by looking over the list of permitted licensees, it is obvious there are many ways to get to Cuba legally. Trips by organizations with varied purposes have been organized and granted licenses. One example is groups studying Hemingway and other "cultural" exchange programs. It would not be difficult to organize a tour to study the history and connection to the U.S. of the Cuban sugar industry. Or perhaps, study the current state of transportation in Cuba, with an emphasis on the rail system. Such trips would have legitimate purposes and can be made with the blessing of the Treasury Department. As mentioned earlier, the other bright spot is the high likelihood of the travel ban being lifted in the coming few years. | ||
| The penalties for traveling to Cuba illegally are potentially high. Criminal penalties up to $250,000 and 10 years in prison, plus civil penalties of up to $55,000 per violation can be assessed. In reality, it has not been a high priority of the U.S. government to prosecute illegal tourists to Cuba. The law has been very sparsely enforced. The only cases that have come to my attention dealt with people in the business of guiding tours to Cuba, or protesting the law by openly traveling and daring the government to prosecute them. A simple tourist visit has typically drawn only stern warnings not to do it again. Be warned however, that recent changes in the laws and attitude about enforcement may result in fines for tourists caught traveling illegally. The estimates vary wildly, but somewhere between 100,00 and 200,000 people from the U.S. visited Cuba in the last two years. During that time the Treasury department issued 6,000 licenses. You can draw your own conclusions. | ||
| If you decide to apply for a Treasury license, start well in advance. The wheels of government grind very slowly and a minimum of several months will be required. Full details of the rules for travel to Cuba can be found on the Treasury Department web site: www.treas.gov/ofac. State Department information can be found at www.travel.state.gov/cuba.html. | ||
| At the Cuban end you will be welcomed with open arms. Put bluntly, they want your money and are happy to see you regardless of your citizenship. The only entrance requirements are a valid passport and a Cuban tourist card (visa). The tourist card costs $20 and will be supplied by the airline or tour group. You are also required to have at least three days lodging booked. In reality, simply quoting the name of the hotel where you may intend to stay (or any other hotel for that matter) will normally suffice. Also, don't forget to set aside another $20 in U.S. cash for the departure tax. | ||
| When to Go: The zafra begins in late December and normally lasts to May each year. Not all mills start at the same time. Harvesting tends to start earlier in the west and progress east, but the condition of the cane at the various mills determines when they start milling. You could go to Cuba at Christmas and find some mills operating. A "sweet spot" (pun intended) of mid-February to mid-March will likely find every mill that will operate that year up and running. Before mid-February, a few may not have started, and after the middle of March, some mills have finished. Weather conditions in the preceding year will impact the start of the zafra. In 1999 for example, Central Rafael Freyre did not start milling until March 15th. In 2000 it started the last week in January. Traditionally, it starts mid-February. The late start in 1999 was due to a drought in eastern Cuba the previous year and mechanical problems at the mill. There is virtually no activity at the mills during the rest of the year. This time is used to maintain the equipment. | ||
| Weather: Cuba is in the tropics, and the zafra coincides with the dry season as well as the coolest time of the year. The weather during this time is simply beautiful. Most days are sunny with morning temperatures from 50-65F and afternoon highs from 75-85F. As you might expect, it tends to be coolest in December-February and warmer in March-May. For those of us living "up north", the chance to escape winter is very attractive. | ||
| It's a Communist country: Yes, and it has many of the ills that Communism implies. Cuba still has an active state security apparatus. As a tourist, however, you are unlikely to see the effects of this. You are permitted to travel where you want and photograph what you want. Common sense says this does not include military and police facilities or personnel. | ||
| Unlike China, the Cuban economy is in total shambles. According to recent statistics, tourism is the second highest source of income for Cuba. Money sent from families in the U.S. is first, sugar is third. As a result, the police go way out of their way not to bother tourists. The crime rate is very low, way below that in the U.S. and other popular tourist haunts. However, following an increase in crime in 1997-98, Cuban laws were changed to toughen the penalties for assaulting a tourist. In the past two years, a more visible police presence has helped to lower crime even more. With that said, assault is unlikely, but petty theft from cars can be a problem. The horrible state of the Cuban economy has made the contents of tourist cars the most ready source of wealth available to the average Cuban criminal. In the cities, particularly Havana, if you leave your car unattended, it WILL be broken into. I can assure you from personal experience, this can happen in a matter of seconds. There are "parqueros" to watch your car at hotels and parking places to guard against this. Their usual fee is one dollar, and will be money well spent. | ||
| MINAZ: Ministerio de Azúcar (Ministry of Sugar) This is the Cuban government organization responsible for operating the sugar industry. The only contact an enthusiast will likely have with Minaz is if you decide to purchase permits for mill visits. The ability to visit the mill, loco shed and workshop areas is very uneven from mill to mill. Some will let you wander about more or less unrestricted and others will refuse entry for any reason. You normally cannot get into the mill proper and may be denied photography around the mill without an official permit. This will vary from day to day and mill to mill. The permits will allow official access to the mill areas and loco sheds. The cost of the permits is $10 U.S. per person for each mill. If shed and mill visits are important to you, the following mills would be prime candidates for permits. Obtaining good photos at these mills would be hampered without one: Manual Isla Perez, Osvaldo Sanchez, Gregorio Arlee Manalich, Marcelo Salado, Quintin Banderas, Carlos Balino, Ramon Ponciano, Rafael Freyre. Most of the rest can usually be accessed for photos without the need for a permit. Photographing the cane trains in the countryside is allowed anywhere without a permit. Minaz formerly issued permits at their office on La Rampa Street in Havana. This has now changed and apparently, Transnico, a travel company with ties to the Cuban tourist industry now issues them. At this writing we were unable to confirm the exact details of how this is done. | ||
| The Language: Spanish. One of the easiest to learn. Quite a few Cubans speak English, but you are unlikely to encounter many English speakers while out linesiding trains. Learning a number of Spanish phrases will be very helpful. | ||
| Getting There: You will find direct flights from most large airports in Europe, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America to Cuba. Numerous charter vacation operators offer package or airfare-only deals to Cuba. Most visitors arrive through Havana or Varadero. It is possible to fly into other cities such as Holguin, or Ciego de Avila, but fewer flights are available. There are no regularly scheduled direct flights from the U.S. to Cuba. Additionally, tickets cannot be purchased to any destination in Cuba from any source in the U.S. There are direct charter flights from Miami, New York and Los Angeles to Havana, with more to come. They are available only to those traveling officially with a Treasury department license. | ||
| Cars: Rental cars are readily available, and are the only practical way to visit the sugar mills. The following organizations all rent cars: Havanautos, Cubacar, Transautos, Panautos, Micar, Via Rent a Car. The first two, Havanautos and Cubacar, are the largest and most reliable. Both have an extensive system of offices throughout the country and are the most responsive if the car breaks down. Most cars have manual transmissions - automatics are available for a premium price. Make sure the car is in good condition and is not due for a service soon. The rental companies will charge you a penalty if you go beyond a required service. Also, be sure to check the air conditioning for proper operation. Trust me, you will be happy it works later on. The cars cannot be rented without the insurance. This is from $10-$18 per day and can only be paid at the time of rental. Petrol (be sure to use unleaded only) is readily available to tourists at "Servi" and "Oro Negro" stations located throughout the country. | ||
| Lodging: Quite a few new hotels have been built in Cuba due to the dramatic increase in tourism in the years following the cessation of Russian aid. As you would expect, Havana, Varadero, and the beach resorts have the most. This includes some five-star properties. Down the center of the country where the majority of steam mills are located is not as well endowed with hotels. Some of the major chains are: Horizontes, Cubanacan, Gaviota, Gran Caribe, and Islazul. The best hotels for linesiding are detailed in Personal recommendations. | ||
| Food: You will likely eat most meals at tourist hotels. There is not a lot on offer in the local economy. Countrywide, the food supply is rationed and barely adequate for most Cubans. This rationing does not apply to the tourist hotels and restaurants. The quality of the food at hotels is generally quite good. There is good variety and excellent fresh fruit is always available. Many tourist hotels offer buffets. These are reasonably priced and you can stock up after a hard day of linesiding. In the larger cities, there are good restaurants that cater to tourists. The food is perhaps better than some hotels, but often more expensive. | ||
| Depending on when you start your day, breakfast can be a problem. Most hotels don't serve breakfast until 7:00 or 7:30 AM, so we usually miss it. When lunchtime rolls around, we are normally hot on the chase, or far from a place where lunch could be had. We usually bring snacks to make up for breakfast and lunch. "Servi" and "Oro Negro" gas stations have stores that sell drinks and snacks. Pizzas and sandwiches are also available at some. More and more "Rumbos" drink and food stands are popping up all over Cuba as well. Usually on main roads, these are very useful for lunch. In the evening, we eat a very substantial meal at the hotel. | ||
| Getting Around: Cuba is about 780 miles long and from 20 to 120 miles wide. Compared with moving around China or the U.S., travel distances in Cuba are short. The western-most steam mill is Central Pablo de la Torriente Brau, just west of Mariel. Central Rafael Freyre, northeast of Holguin, is the easternmost. The driving distance between these two is about 600 miles. Cuba has an extensive paved road network reaching most parts of the country. The central highway runs from Pinar del Rio in the west to Santiago de Cuba in the east. This is a two-lane road in good condition. Roughly paralleling the central highway from Pinar del Rio to Jatibonico, just west of Ciego de Avila, is the Autopista, a Russian-built superhighway. The Autopista is in generally excellent condition, comparable to U.S. interstates. In the western half of Cuba the Autopista is very useful for quickly covering longer distances at interstate speeds. Beyond those two, the condition of Cuban roads is highly variable, ranging from good to outright horrible. Frequently, the surfaces of paved roads will contain potholes and cracks bad enough to potentially damage your car. This is hard on the cars and the constant slowing and dodging lengthens drive times. While the paved road network is extensive, many more roads are dirt. The dirt roads range from good to totally impassible. After significant rain, most of the dirt roads fall into the impassible category. Cuban driving habits are actually quite good, at least when compared with Europe or Asia. The real problem is the pedestrians, bicycles, cattle, etc. Cubans seem to consider roads as sort of a common-use area, available for any purpose. In Pinar del Rio province, I once saw a 1956 Pontiac sitting on jacks in the middle of a long narrow two-lane bridge. It was apparently undergoing some running gear work as the entire rear axle was missing. No one was around, and the following day it was still there with no progress on replacing the axle! Constant vigilance while driving is required. For example, if a bicyclist in encountered, he will almost certainly swerve into your path. When I first visited Cuba, I was warned not to drive at night. After multiple visits, my sincere advice is: Definitely Do Not Drive At Night! There are an unbelievable amount of unlit hazards on the roads at night, from livestock to Pontiacs on jacks. | ||
| Planning the Trip: Primarily, this is driven by the relative location of hotels vs. mills and how strong your desire is to see Rafael Freyre. Visiting Rafael Freyre seems to be the "Holy Grail" for many rail enthusiasts visiting Cuba. To relate this to the U.S., I have often heard this line described as the "Rio Grande Southern" of Cuba. It has, by far, the most spectacular scenery of any mill in Cuba. The equipment is incredibly antique, and the mill is usually very busy with multiple trains each day. It is well worth seeing. That said, a proper visit to Rafael would cost you a minimum of five to six days of your trip. Weather in the area can be much dodgier than in the rest of the country. Unless you are very lucky, you will need to allow several days there to allow for bad weather. In addition, Rafael is a long distance from the other steam mills. The drive will cost a day each way. From Havana it is 520 miles and ten hours; From Santa Clara, 370 miles and seven hours; From Ciego de Avila, 230 miles and five hours. | ||
| My working scheme has always been to base out of a hotel and do day trips to the mills in the area. Then move on to another area and repeat the process. From west to east, these base areas are: Havana, Matanzas-Varadero, Santa Clara, Moron-Ciego de Avila, and if Rafael Freyre is visited, Holguin-Guardalavaca. Staying in one of these areas will allow a short drive to a number of mills and a short drive back in the evening. When traveling between these "base" areas, other mills can be visited. These areas are no more than two hours drive apart, except for Holguin-Guardalavaca. Studying a map of Cuba will reveal the logic behind this plan. | ||
| How long do you need? If you have three weeks, you can see it all, including Rafael Freyre. With two weeks everything except Rafael can be covered. If you must see Rafael with only two weeks, you will have to skip some of the others. With one week, I would recommend a day or two in the Havana area and the rest around Santa Clara. A final note: Many enthusiasts are so intent on Rafael Freyre they give the rest of the country short shrift. Don't. The action at other mills is every bit as good and often much better. You will do yourself an extreme disservice if you pass them up. | ||
| Maps: Maps are available from numerous sources. Most large bookstores in Europe and North America will have large-scale road maps of Cuba. An excellent selection of atlases, topographic, road, and other maps are available from www.omnimap.com. The topo maps are 1: 250,000 scale, in Spanish. They only come as a complete set of 23 sheets covering the entire country. Rather expensive at $450 for the set! The same topographic maps that Omnimap sells, plus other types, are available in single sheets from Instituto Cubano de Geodesia y Cartografia (Geocuba) in Havana. They are located on the corner of 39th and Loma near the Cemetery de Colon in the Neuvo Vedado District. Hours are M-F 9-5. Price in 1999 was U.S. $7.50 for each map. br>>Only available in Cuba and long out of print, is the 1979 Atlas de Cuba. These atlases can often be found in bookstores throughout the country. I was able to buy a used one from a bookstore in Havana for $10. This is an excellent resource. It has relief type maps printed with roads, rivers, railroads, and mill locations in a 1:300,000 scale. The maps are very accurate and so little has changed since 1979 that they are still up to date. The single most valuable map resource for rail enthusiasts in Cuba is the individual mill maps published in World Steam. There are absolutely indispensable. Do whatever it takes, but get copies of these maps. Some back issues of World Steam are available. The address: World Steam | ||
| Money: Everything on the island dealing with tourists is priced in U.S. dollars. Visitors arriving from any country will have to convert their currency to dollars. Only the locals' use Cuban pesos. Tourists can buy very little with it. Laughably, the Cuban government insists the peso trades at par with the U.S. dollar. The actual street exchange rate is 20 -30 pesos to the dollar. Credit cards and travelers checks are widely accepted as long as they are not drawn on a U.S. bank. If you don't have a non-U.S. credit card you will have to carry cash for all your expenses in Cuba. I've never seen a cash machine (ATM) in Cuba, but supposedly there are some in Havana. Make sure you bring enough cash. Budget, then add a generous extra allowance to cover unforeseen costs. Prepaying some arrangements such as your first few days lodging and a rental car from outside Cuba will cut down on the amount of cash you need to carry. | ||
| Trip Costs: Hotels in most places except Havana, Varadero and Guardalavaca are around $50 a night for a double room. (Havana, Varadero and Guardalavaca - $80-$130+) Depending on what model you get and how long you keep it, cars are from $75-$95 a day, including insurance. (Insurance is $18 a day) In 2000, gasoline was $.90 a liter. ($3.40 a gallon) Over the whole trip, we averaged about ten gallons per day. Food will average $15-25 per day. Breakfast is $4.00 to $5.00 if not included in room rate. Dinner ($10-$15) plus drinks and snacks for lunch. | ||
| Personal Recommendations | ||
| Allow me to take a page from the webmaster of this site and detail my traveling preferences so you can adjust for your own. Like John, I rarely travel alone, usually with one or more enthusiast friends. We are not willing to suffer to save money and seek out comfortable lodgings. Languages other than English are not a problem. My primary interest is lineside action photography of trains. I am not at all adverse to shed visits but will pass them by to see a train lineside. Getting up before dawn is expected and not coming back to the hotel until dusk is quite OK. If tourist opportunities other than trains present themselves, I will spend some time after the "mastershot" is in the can. | ||
| Which hotels? In Havana we have stayed at the Plaza, Copacabana, and Neptuno-Triton. Another friend has used the Colina. There are many hotels in several price ranges. In Matanzas-Varadero I prefer the Casa Del Valle, mostly for it's location. After that, anything in Varadero will do. In Santa Clara there is only one to consider, the Los Caneyes (actually a motel). Every year, this place becomes Zafra headquarters for international rail enthusiasts. You can meet visitors from all over the world, and much "hot" new information about the daily happenings at the mills is exchanged over dinner. The Los Caneyes is a great place to stay and has good rooms, good food, and is reasonably priced. It is located on the west side of Santa Clara, about a mile from an entrance to the autopista. Over twenty steam mills are accessible by day trip from the Los Caneyes. Reservations can be made over the Internet through the Horizontes hotel chain. The La Granjita hotel (Cubanacan) is a good second choice in Santa Clara. In Moron-Ciego de Avila, the Hotel Moron is the best bet. Not great, but adequate. In a pinch, the Hotel Ciego de Avila can be used. However, it lacks certain amenities, such as toilet seats! In Holguin-Guardalavaca try to get rooms anywhere in Guardalavaca. Holguin is a much longer drive to Rafael Freyre and the hotels are not as good. In Guardalavaca, I like the Atlantico, but have also stayed at the Hotel Guardalavaca. | ||
| Culture: Most Cubans are extremely friendly and hospitable to a fault. In my experience they are the friendliest people I have met worldwide. I have witnessed acts of personal kindness and sacrifice I never encountered in other parts of the world. There is a dual currency system in Cuba, and pesos are virtually worthless compared to dollars. Most Cubans can just barely get by in the peso economy. They are totally priced out of the dollar one. At normal exchange rates, the salary of the average Cuban is equivalent to $5-10 dollars a month. A can of soda at $1.00, could be one-fifth of a month's wages. Regardless of your personal financial situation, you are fabulously wealthy in comparison to almost any Cuban you will encounter. Please remember this when you deal with them. | ||
| Non Rail Activities: The beaches are among the best in the world and the reason most tourists come to Cuba. Scuba diving, fishing, hunting, and "Eco-tours" are all offered. The historic district of Havana is interesting, but literally crumbling. The cities of Remedios and Trinidad are very historic and worth a visit. | ||
| Online Resources: Put "Cuba" or "travel to Cuba" in most of the search engines and a number of sites will pop up. Below are a few very useful ones. | ||
| www.dialspace.dial.pipex.com/steam - Rob Dickinson's excellent web site that catalogs revenue producing steam worldwide. At this writing, the web site contains complete Cuba trip reports from 1997-2000, information on package tours, books, as well as a great deal of other information about Cuba and is highly recommended. | ||
| www.marazultours.com - Marazul is one of the companies arranging travel packages for those with a treasury department license. | ||
| www.gocuba.com - Online travel service to Cuba. | ||
| www.horizontes.cu - Website for the Horizontes hotel chain in Cuba. Currently, theirs is the most reliable Internet reservation service in Cuba. | ||
| www.cubaweb.cu/Cub_ing/index.asp - "Official" Cuban government web site containing much useful information for tourists wanting to visit Cuba. This site has links to hotel and rental car outlets. | ||
| Other Resources: World Steam - see address above. Continental Railway Journal - c/o Brian Benn, 3 Hayfield, Leybourne, West Malling, Kent, ME19 5PX, England. 12 pounds sterling per year (4 issues) "Zafra" This CD is an excellent source of information and has over 1500 photos of virtually all steam locomotives used to haul cane in Cuba. Also included are a brief history of the sugar industry in Cuba and maps of many mill systems. Available from Rob Dickinson at: 5, Ash Lane, Monmouth, NP25 5FJ, UK Telephone and fax 01600 713405 From outside the UK +(44) 1600 713405 Email: steam@dial.pipex.com | ||
| Books: "Industrial Steam Locomotives of Cuba - 2nd Edition" by Graham Leach. A new, revised and much extended edition of this very popular book, which includes some historical material. 109 pages + 11 maps and 48 photos. A must for any serious study of Cuban sugar mill steam locomotives. Published by Industrial Railway Society, 1 Clifton Court, Oakham, Rutland, United Kingdom, LE 15 6LT. ISBN 1 901556 03 4. "Sugar & Railroads. A Cuban History, 1837-1959" by Oscar Zanetti & Alejandro Garcia. This book covers the history and politics of the sugar industry and Cuban railroads. Published by University of North Carolina Press. ISBN: 0-8078-4692-9. "Today's Steam on the Sugar Lines of Cuba" Volume 1 by David Eatwell. A black & white photo book covering many of the steam mills. Published by BRMNA, 5124-33rd Street NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2L 1V4. ISBN 0-919487-58-0. "Train of Cuba" by Adolf Hungry Wolf. This 5x8-inch paperback guidebook has photos, mill maps, rosters and information about getting around the island. There are errors in some of the maps and information, but the book is still useful. Published by Canadian Caboose Press, Box 844, Skookumchuck, B.C. V0B 2E0, Canada. ISBN: 0920698428. Magazine articles: Railfan & Railroad, March 1996 - "Hershey Cuban: The Last Interurban" by Clive Foss. Headlights, January-March 1997 - "The Hershey Cuban Interurban: Past, Present and Future" by Clive Foss. Railfan & Railroad, July 2000 - "Cuba: So close, yet so far" by William C Vantuono Railfan & Railroad, July 2000 - "Frozen In Time: Cuba's Sugar Cane Railroads" by Pierre Ozorak Trains, September 2000 - "Baldwins In The Cane Fields" by Adolf Hungrywolf. | ||
| Travel Guides: There are many from sources such as: Lonely Planet, Fodor's, Moon Handbooks, etc. These will offer little or no direct help in planning a train photting trip, but are useful for orientation and general tourist information. | ||
| Photo Locations: The daily operating pattern at the sugar centrals is very simple. Locomotives go out to the loading points (acopios) with empty cane wagons and bring the fulls back to the mill for dumping into the crusher. This sounds easy to figure out, but language problems and frequently the lack of truly reliable information often make getting an accurate picture of operations difficult. Luck is often the most important factor at work here. Luck, in that harvesting sugar cane is a very complicated agricultural process that offers multiple chances for something to go wrong. These problems can range from locomotive, acopio, mill, or other equipment failures slowing or stopping production, to rain softening the fields and bogging down the mechanical harvesters. Add the fact that Cuba is a communist country with a planned economy offering little to motivate individual workers. Small problems can often tie things up for hours. The mills are often located in close proximity to each other. When action slows in one location, just drive next door and see what's going on there. In some places it is possible to bounce back and forth between three or four mills. Of course, Sod's Law (Murphy in the U.S.) says things will immediately explode into action at the mill you are leaving just as you drive out the gate. In spite of Sod, sometimes you get very lucky. My personal best is; seven different line trains, with six different locomotives, at four different mills, from ten different positions, plus shunting operations, from dawn to dusk! Not all mills work each year. Cane growth, mechanical failures, fuel shortages, etc. will see some mills lie dormant for a year or more. Even when this happens, the locomotives assigned to that mill are sometimes sent somewhere else to work. At some closed mills, steam is used to move the cane harvested near the mill to another location for milling. A word about mill names and numbers is in order. After MINAZ took over administration of the sugar industry following the 1959 revolution, the mills were assigned a number in alphabetical order within the six provinces. Starting in the west with 101 in Pinar Del Rio and progressing to Oriente in the East with 601 and up. About 1966 all the operating mills were renamed after revolutionary or political figures, other countries, or significant dates in Cuban History. In 1975, the country was re-organized from the original six to the present-day fifteen provinces. Thirteen of the fifteen new provinces contained sugar mills. In 1978 the mills were re-numbered approximately from west to east in each province. 101 in the west and 1301 and up in the east. In practice, the second numbering system is not seen at all. The mills are referred to by their post-revolutionary names and the original numbering system. Those numbers and names are used on location at the mills in Cuba and also in this article. | ||
| Photo Locations | ||
| J. Mervyn Gricington lives in Giggleswick, Yorkshire, near the famous Settle-Carlisle line. He's a frequent overseas traveler, and JM and I have chased quite a few steam locomotive (and a few diesels) together. | ||
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