WARNING - Absolutely no content about Colorado or any related railroad, and only a few mentions of steam.
This is a reply to several comments about Costa Rica and Chiriqui in Panama. I can't find all my reference material at the moment, so don't hold me to exact details. Much of what you can find is vague or in error. Adding to the confusion is the fact that United Fruit Company was always closing and opening new plantation railroads due to floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, labor or government issues, or plant diseases, and transferred engines between countries often, and many of their diesels were regauged from 36" to 42" or vice versa, sometimes more than once.
First - Costa Rica
There were several railroads, plus a trolley system in San Jose, and numerous plantation trams, cableways and light monorails.
The main railroads in Costa Rica were the Pacifico, Costa Rica Northern, FC del Sur, FC de Quepos and the Chiriqui Land Company. All were 42" gauge except the CLC which was 36".
The Pacifico ran from the capitol city of San Jose to Puntarenas on the Pacific Coast and was largely completed by 1910. By 1930 it was mostly electrified, and became known as the Pacific Electric.
Construction of the Atlantic system, or Costa Rica Northern began in 1870 and wasn't completed until 1890. Originally intended to haul coffee to European markets, American Henry Meiggs had been hired as construction superintendent. Meiggs died in 1877 and after the government failed to pay for construction, Meiggs' nephew Minor Keith was able to find financing and finish the railroad, and in exchange received a large amount of land from the government totaling about 5% of the country. He began planting bananas to raise money and create traffic for the new railroad. He would later merge the company with other partners to form the US based United Fruit Company, now United Brands, better known by its brand name Chiquita. Surviving records are confusing because UFC traded rail equipment back and forth between the Costa Rica Northern and various plantation operations.
United Fruit became well known for using its political influence in Central America and Washington DC to affect governments in many Central American countries including overthrowing a few, all to their financial advantage. This is where the term "Banana Republic" came from which had nothing to do with the modern clothing line. Costa Rica didn't seem to cause United Fruit any problems, the fact that Minor Keith's wife was related to four different Costa Rican Presidents certainly didn't hurt.
The delivery of 18 GE 52 tons by 1957 and a variety of second-hand switchers allowed the Costa Rica Northern to be one of the first railroads in Central America to dieselize. By this time, United Fruit was no longer in control, but the decision to buy GE's may have been influenced by United Fruit's purchases for other lines, GE and Caterpillars world wide sales and support, and GE's ability to arrange credit.
Though they did connect in San Jose, the railroads did not operate through service or as a transcontinental operation. After the government assumed control of them both as FECOSA, they made several odd deals and actually began to extend the electrification to modern standards using a Canadian railroad as their consultant. The electrification failed because the country's only local energy resource was some limited hydro-electric power that became too expensive. Many of the electrics are still around, but the overhead has long ago been removed.
INCOFER succeeded FECOSA as the government agency in control of the railroads, but an earthquake in 1991 badly damaged the railroad. By 1995 the decision had been made to scrap it, but by 2000 it was realized that the railroad offered an energy efficient transportation alternative. INCOFER has slowly been rebuilding the railroad in the San Jose area for commuter service. Most trains operate with used FEVE DMUs from Spain (regauged from meter), but the GEs are still used for work trains and can often be found running on each end of conventional passenger equipment. In addition to the San Jose region, there is also an isolated operation around Limon. I know it still switches containers of Bananas for Dole and they were moving some steel from the port. There is also a seasonal "Tico Train" sponsored by a tour company. They have trucked equipment between the isolated lines. There is a very active model railroad and railfan group, they usually charter a train once a year of either a newly reopened line or to end of track.
INCOFER #5 is a stock GE 45 ton side-rod believed to have originally been built as standard gauge for Champion Paper in Texas, sold used to FECOSA and regauged. During a scrap drive in the 1980s in which many 52 tons and older engines were scrapped, it is claimed this was hidden by shop forces.
15 and 16 are remnants of a large fleet of 15 unsuccessful engines obtained from Faur Romania in 1975 by the JAPDEVA administration that preceded FECOSA and INCOFER. My list says were diesel-hydraulic with a 820 hp Mercedes licensed engine but may now be re-engined.
United Fruit had two other railroads primarily serving their banana plantations on the Pacific coast - FC del Sur (port of Golfito) and FC de Quepos.
FC del Sur was started in the late 1930s, and had several large 2-8-2s for the mainline haul that were bought used, but like new, from the USATC. These had been bought for the invasion of Japan and were offered at bargain prices after the war. Dieselization was with a variety of second-hand, transferred and new engines, including several GE 70 ton designs (actually lighter) that some were transferred to FECOSA when the FC del SUR closed in 1985, some of which are still derelict on Incofer.
The Quepos system was also built in the late 1930s, but except for construction was primarily operated by a conglomeration of small diesels. Bananas were replaced by palm oil which didn't require rail service, so the railroad was abandoned by 1970 with useable equipment transferred to Golfito or other UFC operations.
Panama had several railroads. First the Panama Railway was built to 5' gauge and roughly parallels the canal. It was completely rebuilt as standard gauge a few years ago and is partly owned by Kansas City Southern. The actual canal was built using railroads, I believe they were mostly 5' or 42". And of course the mules at the locks.
North of there I know of three rail operations, the Chiriqui National or whatever it translates to, and two separate Chiriqui Land Company subsidiaries of United Fruit - all 36" gauge.
The Chiriqui line was built from the provincial capital of David to the Pacific port of Armuelles by 1928, owned by a New York bank with a minority interest by Panama. In 1945 the company was equally owned by the Republic and the province, with the Chiriqui province becoming sole owner by 1969. Bus and highway competition soon took their toll, and by the 1980s only part of the system was operated, primarily rail busses with freight only as need. Operations ceased in the 1990s, and the line was scrapped by 2007. It doesn't look like the line ever operated more than a handful of diesels or steam engines.
United Fruit's Chiriqui Land Company began operations on what became known as variously as the Northern, Boca or Alimirante Railroad by 1911 using the Caribbean port of Changuinola. Rail operations continued until about 2004, and the majority of the line was scrapped by 2008. I have never seen confirmation of the final scrapping of the remaining diesels at Alimirante. The Chiriqui National was projected at one time to connect with them, but this extension was never built. This line, last operated as subsidiary Bocas Fruit Company, did extend up the Caribbean coast across the border into Costa Rica a ways until the late 1980s. In its last years of operations, the cars were not equipped with air brakes, and the last new GE engines bought in 1968-1970 were only equipped with engine brakes but likely only worked the plantation spurs instead of the mainline hauls.
The other Chiriqui Land Company division was alternatively known as the Southern or Armuelles division and connected to the Port of Armuelles on the Pacific. Information isn't clear, but I believe this line was built circa 1930 and primarily used internal combustion locomotives (except for two or three Porter 2-6-0) from a variety of US builders either second hand, transferred or new. This line did extend across the river dividing Panama from Costa Rica, but after the FC del Sur constructed a branch into the same region in the 1950s all the lines on the Costa Rica side of the river were converted to 42" gauge. Despite having common ownership, the CLC and FCdeS hauled outbound bananas to their respective ports regardless of the distance.
CLC at Armuelles did buy new GE/EMC boxcabs (#6-10, re#706-710, re#X706-X710 re-engined with a 335 hp Superior diesel) and two HH300 Alcos (#12 & 14, re#712 & 714, re#X712 & X714), all of which were still listed as in operation in 1979. These were joined by three (2 new 1 transferred) Whitcomb 50 ton end cabs with Cooper-Bessemer engines, three GE 50 tons (#18-20), three GE U6B after FCdelSur closed, and a variety of other engines. They also had Brill and Edwards motorcars, including at least one armored payroll car from Brookville.At some point UFC decided to try and renumber their remaining properties locmotives into a commons scheme, the Alimirante/Bocas engines became 800s, the Armuelles engines became 700s, and then were renumbered again by adding an X prefix. After closing in the early 1990s, some of the better equipment was transferred (where?), but the Alcos and Boxcabs were apparently scrapped.
This is were things get confusing - the UFC/CLC used Chiriqui National track in the Armuelles region for banana traffic, and one or both also met the FCdelSur at the border (Empalme station) where there was a short stretch of dual 36/42 gauge that lasted into the 1980s. I have seen accounts of a traveler who specifically mentions transferring passenger trains due to different gauges.
Confused? So am I. It has taken me several years to get this far, so some will be wrong. BTW - Sumpter Valley Railroad GE 50 ton #720 was built new for the Chiriqui Land Company's southern division at Armuelles as #20. It was one of the few survivors that escaped scrapping going to the Bocas/Alimirante/Northern/BFC division (by sea through the canal or overland by truck?). It was the last known operating 50 ton at Alimirante, before being purchased by SVRR in 2007.
