Cuba Steam in Paradise - Cuba 1999 Part 1 скачать в хорошем качестве

Cuba Steam in Paradise - Cuba 1999 Part 1

The phrase ‘Those were the days’ is often over used and the reality does not always live up to the memory. Cuba before the end of steam haulage on sugar mill lines was in many ways ‘Paradise’ An interesting variety of locos some over 100 yeas old, most were well maintained and reliable, all were worked hard, sometimes with heavy trains. The narrow gauge locos seemed to be worked hardest of all resulting in some spectacular sounds. During the cane season the weather was perfect and the night life… In 1999 I visited 25 mills in Cuba with a small group called ‘Steam in Paradise’ run by Andy Clark and the late Ron Lingley. Central Rubén Martinez Villena (211) had a Spanish colonial style office building sporting twin domes. Working at this standard gauge mill were a rare for Cuba 2-6-2T tank built, 1904 by Baldwin and a Baldwin 2-8-0 built 1920. A few miles from R.M.Villena is Central Boris Luis Santa Coloma (212). In use were Alco 2-6-0 built Schenectady Works, USA in 1910 and a Vulcan Iron Works 2-8-0 built 1918. About half way between the mills there is Roble crossing, protected by an elevated interlocking tower. Note the semaphore signals. This clip ends with a few shots of an East German cane cutting machine in action. Music: Zero-project Lina Tsakona, Jamendo Music