Some time ago I posted the following. I just heard from Ron that the tour will go as advertised. There is room for a few more folks.I have my ticket!
"Ron McElrath of Revelation Journeys is sponsoring a one week tour of the ng. lines in Guatemala next February 4-12. It includes two days of riding behind steam, a third day of riding a caboose on one of the regular diesel freights, and visits to various abandoned lines. The train rides will cover the entire active part of the former IRCA (now FVG) between Guatemala City and Puerto Barrios. One chartered steam train will replicate an IRCA mixed train, the second will be a passenger train. Both will make plenty of photostops. Power will be Baldwin 2-8-2 204 built in 1949. In addition to train riding, there will be a fair amount of "industrial archeology" including the intact (and still partially in use) steam backshop in Guatemala City, and the inactive roundhouses in Zacapa, Barrios, and Escuintla, not to mention some banana and sugar plantations that had ng. railroads. And Guatemala is a spectacularly beautiful country, and while the focus of the trip is on trains, there will also be opportunities for tourism. There will visits to a Caribbean resort, Mayan ruins, the colonial capital of Antigua, and the Pan American highway through the highlands. The accomodations listed are first class. For one of the steam days Ron's tour will be joining a group sponsored by the Ffestiniog Railway in Wales. A friend and I ran steam tours to Guatemala in the 1970's, and if I sound a bit excited about Ron's tour, it is because I have been encouraging him to try this. Steam is expensive to maintain and run, and it is unclear how long FVG will be able to run a trip like this. If you've ever wanted to see the ex-IRCA ng. system, this is an excellent opportunity.
"Ron can be emailed at "ronaldmcelrath@hotmail.com" or by calling 330-630-9817."
John West
