That name reminds me of a great sound recording I heard. I think it was a Mobile Fidelity(Rest in Peace) record on Mexico, around 1966 I think. There was a 2-8-2 I think(or maybe a 4-8-4, that was switching in Huehuetoca, and all this of course was at night. Then after finishing the engine highballed out of town, and there was this great recording of it with a strange sounding whistle, as it stomped into the night, with the sound coming back again and again. It was a glorious slice of steam. I have that record someplace. Makes me want to get it out now.
As for the scrapyard, I didn't know it at the time, but our train passed right by it on the way north of Mexico City on the return trip in 1963. I have some less than stelar B&W shots I made from the vestibule. There were hundreds of engines there at the time. We also passed several trains with mid-train helpers as this was the helper district. Most that we saw were ex Nickel Plate 2-8-2's, which were in the siding for our train "The Texas Eagle" to pass.
We also saw some neat stuff in Merida. Just wish I was a bit older and had better cameras back in those youthful days. My dad used to recall that the whole trip(we were in Mexico for 2 weeks) total of 4 weeks, with 4 people cost him $1,000, including the pullman, motels, meals, etc.
That trip was run by the late John Vickers of Texas, a charactor to say the least. Keeping this NG, he was leaning out of a NG passenger car as we rode from Pueblo to Mexico City, and his camera slipped off his shoulder. At the next stop he jumped on a short freight to go back and look for it, but had no luck. That NG was a wild railroad. You had every type of people on it. I can still remember some local family chowing down on cucumber and other assorted fresh delights.
Wish I could have railfanned down there for a couple of years both standard and narrow gauge. There was plenty of "Flavor" for the photographer as well as the regular traveler.
Greg
