Thanks for sharing more of your knowledge of the IRCA and for the photographs you have posted on RailPictures.Net - I especially like 'relaxed' cab view of a 2-8-2 clmbing to the Border that you have just posted plus the pictures of FENEDSAL. I also appreciated the trip report you posted in TrainOrders.com about a 2006 visit to Guatemala
Back in 2000 you mentioned that you had put together on paper a history of the IRCA in the 20th Century. Have you made any progress in getting this published. Whilst the IRCA might at one time have seemed obscure, there is certainly in England a growing interest in the railways of Latin America and this has been supported by books such as Christopher Walkers book 'Narrow Gauge in Columbia, Railways & Steam Locomotives'(Trackside Publications), 'The Anglo Chilean Nitrate & Rly Co,'Ferrocarril de Tocopilla al Toco' by Donald Binns and 'Narrow gauge Rails' to Esquel' by Keith Taylerson to name but 3 recent publications so there is a market out there.
Continuing on the subject of the history of the IRCA, 'Narrow Gauge Railway Scences' by Adolf Wolf has a number of B & W pictures of the IRCA by Elmer Treloar taken in the late 1960's and comments that he was a regular visitor to Guatemala. Do you know if this photographer is still alive and if not, has his photographic collection been saved?
Finally returning to the subject that started all this correspondance. Mallets 250 and 251. A picture of 250 in Esquintla taken in September 1964 by P. Berger can be found by going onto the following web site
www.le-rail.ch/text/projekt33.htm. The same web site features a number of other pictures taken by P. Berger in September 1964 - these include 204, 164, 114 & 104 at Retalhuleu and 170 & 65 at Esquintla plus some more recent pictures taken in 2001. I guess that you are probaly familiar with this site, but if not it might be worth a visit.
With Kind Regards Charles.
