I knew if this thread stuck around long enough I'd be able to dig up some info. from my trip to Peru in 1982.
In October of 1982, there were three steam engines in the Cuzco roundhouse, two Henschel and one Baldwin. The Henschels were numbers 0995 and 0996, with 0996 doing daily switching between the narrow gauge and standard gauge stations. The 0995 looked to be operable, but the Baldwin, 102 was clearly stored out of service. Drivers were badly hollowed out.
Of interest was the builders plate with construction number 59206, which Roy Christian's "World of South Amerian Steam" indicates belonged to 124. The front number plate was clearly 102. According to Roy's book, the Cuzco-Santa Ana had three Baldwins, 123, 124 and 125. The first two were 2-8-2's, the later a 4-6-0, the ex SV 50.
No sign of either 123 or 125 could be found, either at the roundhouse/shop complex or at Poroy, where it had been reported that the 4-6-0 and some old passenger cars were stored. When we checked at Poroy, all we found was a cylinder saddle, and a lot of evidence that scrapping had been carried out on the site.
To lend further credence to 123 and 125 having been scrapped, Henschel 0996 was equipped with 123's headlight, still with the side number boards. The 0995 also had a US style headlamp, but with the number boards missing. Further, both Henschels had been equipped with two Baldwin sand domes, set on top of the boiler. The radius of the dome bases didn't match the boiler.
Since 102 (124?) was intact, it suggests that the donor engines were 123 & 125. Not conclusive evidence, but given the fact that Peru has steel mills and Japanese scrappers were also active in South America, the chances that SV 50 survived have to rate somewhere around nil.
If you are interested in seeing the 102 as it looked back then or in seeing the 0996 with BLW domes and headlight, follow the link to a photo album I just uploaded.
