Re: South/Central American Steam Questions

Ecuador has about 12 engines. At least 6 are/were steamable. Most of them are what the British call "Dumped". Most of the out of service engines would require big investments in repairs.

Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras railroads are all closed by Government authorities. Guatemala will soon be stripped of so much rail and bridges that it will impossible to move any more trains.Actually no trains are able to move in any of these countries. El Salavador has been shut down since about 2002/3. Not too many reports from any of these countries, since few railfans want to visit with lines closed and security a big concern.

Unless you have support of someone with deep, deep pockets, nothing is go to be saved.

People in these countries are very desperate in finding ways for survival. As a result, people steal valuable metals and scrap to sell for cash. Some of the these desperate characters would have stolen something if they didn't need to. A different culture and something we can never really understand. Look at the people in the US that would steal from power companies live copper wire?

Bottom line is that a small supply of steam remained on the property till 2008. What happens in 2009 is another question.

Dale Brown