Re: Smaller IRCA motive power?

John West was there a couple of years before me, but I do believe that the 3 larger 4-6-0s were already out of service by 1971
and had been for a time. They were normally assigned to the Atlantic Division and frequently operated out of Zacapa.
I saw both 56 and 58 stored there. The late Jack Neville generously left me the spot plate off of 56. Strange design with
drivers being the same 40" diameter as the heavy Mikes and heavy Consolidations. The pair of 2-6-6-2 types had 42" drivers.

Ten Wheeler 99 was still being sporadically used as a switch engine at Tecun Uman on the Mexican border in early 1977.
Road Foreman Jose Pineda told me it was the only regular use of steam on the railroad by that time.

The last 3 Moguls, 79, 80 & 81 were out of service when I first saw them. 80 was towed to Guatemala City
in 1974 with the idea of being shopped for tourist use, but this never came about. 81 sold or leased to one of the nearby
sugar mills and was still there when I saw it in 1975, unused for some time. These three were assigned to the Pacific Division in their
last years. Rated at 80 tons on Palin Hill.

The 4 light Mikes were given tonnage ratings in Guatemala, but I do not believe that they saw much use there, especially late in their
careers. The few images that I have were taken in Salvador. On Palin Hill in Guatemala, they were rated at only 140 tons on the 3.7%,
10 tons less than the heavy Consolidations.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/2019 01:36PM by Tom Moungovan.