Surviving relics A similar 0-6-2T
The Jung 0-6-2T mentioned in the locomotives page is preserved in the barracks at Puente Alto in the south-east suburbs of Santiago. Take any yellow bus for Puente Alto from the Alameda. It will run for miles down the dual-carriageway Avenida Vicuña McKenna (until no. 13,500). This becomes Ave. Concha y Toro (and eventually is reduced to a single carriageway one-way-street). One block after the tree-covered plaza get off at Calle Eyzaguirre and walk one block east. The barracks of the Regimiento d'Ingenieros de la Montaña No. 2 faces you half right. You will need to ask politely at the gate to see the 'locomotora' and will probably need to show your passport or other identification. This loco is from an earlier 1909 batch, but is otherwise almost identical to the Chiloé Arnold Jung locos from 1912. 
An 0-6-0T in Castro 
 This Henschel 0-6-0T stands on a short length of track down on the waterfront in Castro, opposite the Blue Unicorn Hotel. It has recently been moved from the opposite side of the road, which suggests some development is about to take place. Apparently it was previously preserved in the San Bernardo Works at Santiago. The MSB on the number plate actually stands for Maestranza San Bernardo and implies that San Bernardo was the loco's 'home' works.
Whilst theengine is not in bad external condition, the cab is not secure and has been somewhat mistreated. It looks as if a rebuild at some time has given the loco new spectacle plates to the cab, for the small round spectacles (and in the buffer beam!) are most un-German.  A standard coach, in Puente Alto
The coach on the left is also preserved in the barracks at Puente Alto. Structurally it is identical to those which ran in Chiloé, but this interior shot shows that the army officers received greater comfort than the Chilotes, having individual seats and tables instead of long benches. Reports from Chiloé disagree as to whether the seats were like this or just in two facing rows. Of course the carriages may have varied in their design.
Wagons in Ancud Museum
Ancud museum has a collection of outdoor exhibits in a courtyard. The photos below show three four-wheeled wagon chassis, looking as though they were retrieved from the harbour, and a bogie wagon chassis. They could usefully salvage the coach chassis and bogies from Butalcura, for it is much more complete than anything they have. 
They also have the cowcatcher (pilot) from one of the steam locos, down at the foot of the steps on the sea front, in a small exhibits collection. Photographs and Publications
Ancud Museum has a small but well-laid-out display on the railway. In Castro the very helpful library in the Centro Cultural has copies of two booklets produced on the subject in the past, though none for sale. Castro Museum has nothing on display and they were most reluctant to show even the few copy photos that they have. The Gilberto Provoste collection of photos of Chiloe, taken by a professional photographer whose career was spent on the island, is now at the Museo Fuerte de Niebla near Valdivia. However, this has not yet been searched. Survivors of Chiloe's many 'locomovils'
Steam enthusiasts might like to examine a few of Chiloé's many old 'locomovils', or 'portable' engines. These were once used in their dozens by the many sawmills on the island. This collection of four are displayed at the opposite end of Castro's waterfront to the Henschel, next to the craft market. Others in more derelict condition can be spotted all over the island. 
28-5-08 | 