Re: Chasing narrow gauge steam in Argentina - February 1977
| March 07, 2024 08:06AM |
Flying around the Tronador volcano back toward Argentina
Heading north from Bariloche after a flight change enroute to Mendoza
The narrow gauge Trans Andino Railway was famous for its spectacular crossing of the Andes mountain range, and for its 0-8-6-0T Kitson Mayer cog and adhesion locomotives. As built by both Esslingen in 1907 and Kitson in 1909, these engines were basically tank engines with boiler, fuel bunker, and water tanks on a rigid frame. The two swiveling sets of running gear each contained two cylinders for adhesion traction, and two cylinders for the cog machinery. Over time it was found that the boiler could not supply sufficient steam for eight cylinders, and the cog machinery was removed from the 0-8-0 bogie, and the 0-6-0 bogie was converted to cog drive only, as seen below
(not my photo - this is the engine in the Santiago RR park - I have not located my photos here. The photographer is not known)
By the time of our visit all but one of the Kitson Mayer engines had been replaced by electric engines on the Chilean side, and diesel on the Argentine side. One engine remained in Los Andes, Chile, for snow plow service. Our trip over the Trans Andino was on diesel cars.
Heading north from Bariloche after a flight change enroute to Mendoza
The narrow gauge Trans Andino Railway was famous for its spectacular crossing of the Andes mountain range, and for its 0-8-6-0T Kitson Mayer cog and adhesion locomotives. As built by both Esslingen in 1907 and Kitson in 1909, these engines were basically tank engines with boiler, fuel bunker, and water tanks on a rigid frame. The two swiveling sets of running gear each contained two cylinders for adhesion traction, and two cylinders for the cog machinery. Over time it was found that the boiler could not supply sufficient steam for eight cylinders, and the cog machinery was removed from the 0-8-0 bogie, and the 0-6-0 bogie was converted to cog drive only, as seen below
(not my photo - this is the engine in the Santiago RR park - I have not located my photos here. The photographer is not known)
By the time of our visit all but one of the Kitson Mayer engines had been replaced by electric engines on the Chilean side, and diesel on the Argentine side. One engine remained in Los Andes, Chile, for snow plow service. Our trip over the Trans Andino was on diesel cars.
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488 stops for water at Los Pinos tank on closing day Oct. 1979. Photo courtesy Don Richter
The NGDF was started by Don Richter and is currently operated in his memory by Nathan Holmes and others. Others who have contributed to the upkeep of this board are (in no particular order): Charles McCandless, Everett Lueck, Ted Wilton, Cole Adams, James Bane, John Moellmer, Jon Bentz, Linn Moedinger, lloyd lehrer, Rod Jensen, John Craft, Steven Forney, Herb Kelsey, Bill Ramaley, Russ Sperry (El Russo Loco), Josh McNeal, John West, Jim Armstrong, Bob Bergstrom, Greg Scholl, Blake Forbes Doug van Veelen and Mark Fuller.