Re: 2'6'' gauge 2-8-0 number 1320 hauling sugar cane . . .

I probably should have specified Standard Gauge 2-8-2's. Manati Sugar Co. had two 3' gauge 2-8-2's as well as a 2-6-6-2 Mallet. The Mallet was probably gone before the revolution, as it was never assigned a Minaz number. The two 2-8-2's did receive Minaz numbers but were not present when foreign railfans visited for the first time in 1977.

The two standard gauge 2-8-2's both rain on Central Ifrain Alphonso and were numbered 1850 and 1910. Presumably they were ex FC de Cuba locomotives.

For those interested in the minutia of Cuban sugar locomotives, find a copy of Industrial Steam Locomotives of Cuba by G.A.P Leach. Get the second edition as it corrected a lot of the mistakes that were contained in the first edition.

Taking my own advice, it turns out there were three other standard gauge 2-8-2's that operated or may have operated on sugar mill lines. The listings are inconsistent. Lopez Peña is listed as having two 2-8-2's one of which was scrapped. Another list shows Lopez Peña as having four 2-8-2's, one of which is the preserved number 1910. So, there could have been five standard gauge 2-8-2's working on the sugar lines at various times. By the later period when railfans were visiting, only two were operating and both had been transferred to Ifrain Alphonso.

Michael Allen



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/2022 06:23PM by trainrider47.