Guatemala Steam 2007 El Rancho to Guatemala City скачать в хорошем качестве

Guatemala Steam 2007 El Rancho to Guatemala City

A RTC steam charter from El Rancho to Guatemala City, 61 miles climbing 4021 feet, with IRCA Baldwin 2-8-2 204 (1948) on 16-02-2007 3ft gauge. We stopped 12 miles short of Guatemala City due to injector problems on the engine. Sadly this is an unrepeatable trip as studying the route in 2024 most of the bridges on this section have been reduced to skeletons with cross members and strengthening ties cut away by illegal scrappers, complete rebuilds or new bridges would be required for the line to reopen. No doubt a lot of the track has been stolen as this was happening even when the trains were running! Ferrocarriles de Guatemala network closed down in 1996. In October 1997 a 50-year concession was given to Railroad Development Corporation (RDC) who slowly started to rebuild the line from Guatemala City to Puerto Barrios, not helped by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Freight trains started running at the end of 1999 transporting containers, steel, cement, paper and bananas. The government of Guatemala was supposed to rehome squatters who had taken up residence on the right of way but failed in this and spent lots of money on a government agency to oversee the railway that employed more staff than the railway itself. In August 2006 the government issued a Presidential decree which declared the rolling stock contract of FVG's concession "lesivo" or "harmful to the interests of the State. This made running the railway very difficult and last train ran in September 2007. In 2013 RDC received $14.6 million in compensation following an arbitration case. Since closure mother nature and illegal scrappers have wreaked havoc on the route.