Anybody have any info on the "F.C. Gibera y Holquin" Railway? Am assuming it was a sugar cane line in Cuba. (But maybe Spain?) Holquin may be spelled Holguin.
Thanks.
I hit the books on this one, specifically my Colin Garrett books on world steam, and the closest I could find was a 2'6" narrow gauge line connected with the Rafael Freyre mill in Cuba's Holguin province. Mr. Garratt pictures a 2-8-0 built by Baldwin in 1912 still in use in the 1980's. Mr. Garratt's an Englishman who made it his life mission to search out the worlds remaining steam operations in the last years of the 20th Century.
From the discussions we've had here in the past all Cuban steam has been retired by now, although some of the locomotives have been preserved as park displays. None are running now to anyone's knowledge.
Up 'till now information on Cuban railroads post-1959 is kind of sketchy, it typically has to come from foreign rail writers who haven't had the travel ban to Cuba that Americans have had for the past 50+ years.
Love your Jersey Central avatar!
Thanks for the research. The reason I am asking is that I recently aquired an 8" Baldwin builders plate from Spain, #2851 dated 1906, that was Identified for the mentioned railway. Trying to find some history and/or a photo. It was from a 3' ng 2-2-0. Engine#7.
Can't remember where I got the CNJ art but believe it was originaly from a GM add.
Cheers.
A 2-2-0 from 1906? That's unusual to say the least. A 2-2-0 would have been as obsolete as all get-out by that time unless it was essentially a track speeder or something used in maintanance service.
Oh, I should add that in Colin Garrett's book sections on Cuban steam I suspect he barely scratched the surface, more than likely he took a lot more photographs than he could use in the books.
I don't have time to check the references, but there's at least one library (De Golyer) with the Baldwin builder's records for that range of serial numbers. That will tell you not only the wheel arrangement, but sizes, some heating-surface dimensions, and other data; I think you can also find the original customer information in them.
I got no results from Doug Bailey's steamlocomotive.info site using the data provided; you might want to try there to see if you can get it to work.
Thanks for the info but the railway, wheel arrangement and loco # came from a similar reference that was given to me by a big time plate collector but nothing further has been found so far...
Have a look here:
www.railwaystationlists.co.uk/pdfcentralamerica/cubaeastrrs.pdf (No. 80)
and here:
https://www.ecured.cu/Ferrocarril_Holgu%C3%ADn-Gibara
2-2-0 is the Spanish and French way of describing a 4-4-0. The Baldwin works-number you cite cannot be of 1906.
That is the date I was told by a friend with the Baldwin records. It has an extra hole through the date so am not sure otherwise...
When I purchased it, it was stated as between 1905 and 1907 so sounds right.
Will check out those links.
Thanks for the 2-2-0 vs 4-4-0 intel. Makes a difference...
Don't know how to add a photo or I would...
https://archive.org/stream/cubapastpresent00verr#page/n7/mode/2up
Sorry for the misunderstanding. It turns out I omitted the zero for the number of the plate. It should have read 28510...
Again, thanks for all the input.
Loco2124 Don't know how to add a photo or I would...
Have you seen this entry in the Model Railroader forum?
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/249194.aspx
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
Here comes the scan:
This is amazing. Hey Loco2124, see what you started?
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112099864511;view=1up;seq=402
Firelock76 This is amazing. Hey Loco2124, see what you started?
Yes, this was pretty amazing. Thank you all again...
According to Christopher Walker: Narrow Gauge Railways of Cuba, p. 139 Baldwin 28510/1906 actually was a 2-2-0T inspection engine called "Lince", Baldwin class 4-4B-3, meaning four wheels, cyl. diameter 5 inches, two driving wheels, third engine of this class. Unfortunately no photo. Other dimensions were: driving wheel diameter 24 inches, piston stroke 10 inches.
Well that's a horse of a different color. The 2-2-0 thing sounds correct then. I'm still searching for a photo of the beast. (Critter). Thanks!
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.