New Haven Railcar in Gijon, Spain

[frimbo]

For those of nostalgic for the New Haven, I was pleased to see an ex-New Haven FCD Railcar (basically a Mack bus body on PCC trucks) on display at the Asturias Railway Museum in Gijon Spain last month.  It is well-preserved, and was used on the Ferrocarilles de Langreo, a standard gauge line that employed many ex-US locomotives (ex Alaska RR 2-8-0s, mixed batch of RS2s, and 3 of the New Haven Talgo Trains).  Other U.S. prototype equipment on display there included a 1939 Vulcan Tank Locomotive, and a GE-License, Babcock and Wilcox (Bilbao Works) side-rod 75 tonner, built in 1975!

Anyone who will be in that part of Spain will be well served by visiting this museum.

 

 

[sfcgadget]

 

WOW! I didn't realize the New Haven Railroad had a branch line in Spain. It makes you wonder where other pieces of equipment might be. Do you have any pictures?

[frimbo]

I have  a few taken at the museum, I need to figure oout how to load them..

[Mario_v]

Well, basically the 'Ferrocarril del Langreo', the small railroad that bought the Macks, the NH Talgos and the RS2s (I believe that at least one is an ex GN, but my memory is  quite  a dangerous one. Ah and they had to have their cabs lowered due to the tight clearences in certain tunnels) was not a very healthy one in fanancial terms, so they just got their hands in what their meager pockets could buy.

With the creation of FEVE, the national spanish company that administrates narrow gauge lines (the Langreo was not 'Standard' iberian broad gauge, hence their inclusion), this small line was absorved. In the mid 80s it was modernized, being converted to narrow gauge and electrified. Today this line is part of Gijon's suburban network