Re: ECUADOR RAILWAYS ARISE FROM THE DEAD - How two Japanese lost their heads!

The only accident in 100 years? You've got to be kidding! The number of crosses along the line seems to indicate a different story. There are several line-side crosses between Alausi and Sibambe station. One curve on the Simbambe to Quenca line must have had six or seven crosses! As has become common in the US in recent years, roadside and trackside crosses mark the scene of a fatal accident.

I was there in 1982 and our train was held up for over an hour at San Antonio while the police completed an investigation of a fatality. Apparently a drunk and gone to sleep on the tracks and been struck by the early morning Bucay to Duran freight. A group of women passed through the train, holding a blanket like a hammock and people tossed in contributions which were to be given to the victim's family.

Michael Allen