The original locomotives
The continuing surplus of equipment up in Chubut province resulted in the line being laid to 75cm. gauge, and spare locos and stock were also shipped down from Puerto Madryn.

Eight Henschel 2-8-2s were sent south, along with one Henschel 0-6-0T (No. 19455), and one Henschel crane tank. The tank engines were used during the construction work, and the 0-6-0T was probably used for shunting. The crane tank may have fallen into disuse once the line was complete, but it survives minus its crane; this might mean that it was converted into a conventional shunter after the construction work was complete.

One of the Henschel 2-8-2s hauls the ceremonial passenger train at the opening of the line (1). The train is made up of two coaches and a 'furgon' van from the 1922 Famillereux stockpile, preceded by a 1922 'plataforma' wagon on which two small water tanks from the ex-FCCC four-wheeled wagons have been mounted. The bridge is clearly a temporary structure.

The 2-8-2s comprised nos. 118, 119, 122, 123, 124, 127, 129, and 130 (2). Although 29 years old by then it is likely that they had never seen use until arriving at Rio Gallegos. They were to run on coal on the Rio Turbio line of course, which may only have required new firebars in the grates but which would certainly have needed some modification to the wood-burning type tenders, as mentioned elsewhere.

Even from the start they were under-powered for the new coal trains. There are reports that they were used double- and even triple-headed, and it seems likely that the derelict loop and signal box at Km.245 indicate where bankers were provided to assist west-bound trains up to la Dorotea.

As early as the mid-50s the line's engineer Señor Cappa was suggesting that the locos be replaced by 250hp diesels which could work in multiple (3). This did not occur but by 1956 new 2-10-2s had arrived and the Henschels were side-lined. At least one was retained until the mid-1960s to work the workmens’ passenger train between La Dorotea and the mines. Some reports suggest that the 2-8-2s were scrapped at Río Gallegos. However, even in the 1970s three of them were still lying derelict at Palermo Aike (4). In addition, one of those listed above, no. 119, had returned to El Maiten works on the Esquel line by 1975, with its firebars still in place (5). A couple of Henschel boilers also lay at Rio Gallegos shed at the same date.

A photo taken by N. Dudley and reproduced in The Narrow Gauge issue no 82 (6), shows a surviving Henschel hauling a mineworkers' passenger train at Rio Turbio on 29th October 1965.

The last Henschel boiler was still lying at Rio Gallegos in December 2000, though soon to be cleared away. It is seen here dwarfed by the tender of one of its successors, though that too is now derelict. The boiler's non-standard smokebox supporting bracket suggests that it had been used as a stationary boiler for the works.

Both of the tank engines have survived, somewhat surprisingly, although only as derelict shells. The 0-6-0T, having spent most of its life at Río Gallegos, is now 'preserved' at Rio Turbio, whilst the craneless 0-8-0T lies in a Río Gallegos park as seen below.

Above is Henschel 0-8-0CT no. 19457. It currently sits in the Rio Gallegos Museum outdoor exhibits section near the big roundabout on the south side of town. Its crane has long since disappeared, which may mean it saw service as a conventional shunter after the line had been completed.

Henschel 0-6-0T no. 19455 lay at Rio Gallegos in the 1970s still almost complete. However at some point it has been shifted to the mine museum at Rio Turbio and its boiler has been replaced by a simple steel drum - with no chimney. Both locos gained extra home-made-looking rear bunkers at some point.

The 2-10-2s
The Henschel 2-8-2s being under-powered, the railway looked around for bigger engines. The E2 series of 2-10-2 on the metre gauge General Belgrano system provided the inspiration, and a batch of ten, modified for the narrower gauge, were ordered from Mitsubishi in 1956. These were nominally of 800hp, compared to the 411hp of the earlier locos. They have twelve-wheeled tenders giving them an overall length of 18m. With a width of 2.6m. and an all-up weight of 90 tonnes, they must be the largest 75cm. gauge locos to have worked anywhere in the world.

In 1964 ten more 2-10-2s arrived (111 - 120), also by Mitsubishi but with many refinements designed by Snr. Livio Dante Porta, later the FA's Chief Mechanical Engineer. They have gas-producer fireboxes, Daihatsu mechanical stokers, Kylpor blastpipes and roller bearings on all axles. Some of the earlier locos were eventually rebuilt in similar fashion. This boosted the power output to 1200hp.

An appendix page contains a number of detail photos of parts of these engines, and Hugh Odom's 'Ultimate Steam Pages' website also includes a page of technical detail about these locos and a number of photos of individual parts.

The first batch of 2-10-2s were Mitsubishi works nos. 843-852, loaded on board ship from Japan between March and June 1956. They had been ordered for the RFIEP, but the railway's change of name came whilst they were under construction. Nevertheless a works photo exists showing at least one of them with the RFIEP initials on its tender. They eventually became RFIRT 101 - 110, presumably in line with the numbering of the Henschels..

The later more powerful batch were ordered in 1962. They carried works nos. 1135 to 1144 and were shipped in December 1963. They gained running numbers 111-120.

List of steam locos
A table listing details of each loco known to have worked on the railway is available in an appendix page.

Steam dreams
The 'Santa Fe's regularly covered the 160 miles in 9-10 hours with a load of up to 1700 tons. However, even bigger trains were envisaged. At one time it was thought that the annual output of the Río Turbio mines would rise towards 2.7M tonnes. Even with the modernised 2-10-2s in charge it was going to be difficult to carry all that out on a 75cm gauge railway! However, the railway's manager, Ing. L. D. Porta, took up the challenge of designing locomotives that would cope. A page about Porta's work is on the 'Ultimate Steam Page' site.

Outline drawings of three of his ideas have been published (7). These are illustrated below. The first is a conventional Mallet which would have been capable of hauling 5,000 ton trains. The second, a most unconventional Mallet with a front-mounted water ballast tank, and the third, a 2-12-0+0-12-2 Garratt, would have put out 4,000 HP and was intended to haul 10,000 tons!

It should be emphasised that these were only outline sketches. It would be very easy to comment critically on, for example, the lack of inner pony trucks to minimise flange wear on the Garratt, or the likely behaviour of the front unit of the second Mallet when there was no water in the tank to weigh it down. No doubt further development work would have thrown up these and other points.

Dieselisation
The coal-carrying nature of the railway, and its isolation, meant that its steam locos carried on longer than on most other railways. However, the pressure towards diesel locos could not be resisted for ever. As in many other countries, the argument is not purely an economic one. It is difficult to find staff to work on dirty steam locos nowadays, and even more difficult to get spare parts.

Whatever the reasons, the diesels eventually arrived, in the form of five second-hand 1000hp units from Bulgaria. These were built in 1988 in Romania by FAUR with RABA engines, though some received replacement Caterpillar engines during their overhaul by Electromac at Empalme Lobos (8). In 1996 the diesels arrived but their air brakes were not compatible with the railway's vacuum brakes and the steam engines continued in use for braking purposes. By 1997 the steam engines were out of use.

The diesels had been of the BDZ's class 76 (ie 76cm gauge) and had worked on the line from Septemvri to Dobrinishte in the Rhodope mountains, and possibly further north from Cherven Bryag to Oriakhovo on the Danube.

The remaining steam locos.
Shaun McMahon, engineer of the FCAF in Ushuaia, recently obtained a list of the remaining 2-10-2s and their condition from Señor Alexis Boichetta, ex general manager of the RFIRT. This list is available on Hugh Odom's site. It can be summarised as follows:
At Río Turbio, complete and in near working order - nos. 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 110, 113, 114, 115, 116, 120.
At Río Gallegos, more or less dismantled - 101, 102, 103, 109, 111, 112, 118, 119.
At Río Gallegos now on display - 117, restored by the Amigos del Ferrocarril.

'Mitsubishi' no. 117 nears the end of its restoration at Christmas 2000. It was intended to display this loco together with two coaches down on the waterfront but in late 2004 it remains as displayed here.

Given that the Río Gallegos engine shed was destroyed by fire, and that vandalism seems more likely there, it is good to know that the better locos are kept at Río Turbio.

Occasional steam specials have indeed operated for enthusiast groups. Whilst regular steam seems unlikely over the whole 160 mile main line, the current news from Rio Turbio is encouraging. Shaun McMahon, late of the FCAF is involved in proposas to overhaul and improve a few of the locos, possibly with a tourist wextension of the line across the border to Puerto Bories in mind.

Martyn Bane reports in 2004 that loco no 116 is under cover at Rio Turbio and appears to be cared for and in working order.

Staff railbuses, trolleys and other ancillary power
Whilst the regular mine passenger trains at the western end of the line seem to have been abandoned in the 1960s in favour of bus services, there was a continued need to transport small numbers of railway staff to work locations.

Certainly at one time the RFIRT had a railbus very similar to that illustrated in chapter six on the FCCC. Later they had a number of four-wheeled railcars.

The undated photo below, from the Amigos del Ferrocarril CD (9), shows a large railcar on the left.

Derelict railbuses at Rio Gallegos in 2000, and below a chassis from one of them at Rio Turbio. The maker is unknown.

The photos below show motorised trolleys or 'zorras'. At least one of them (extreme left) is by the American Fairmont company.

Attempts were made to use road vehicles mounted on a sort of transporter wagon. The power was latterly a Mercedes-Benz Unimog. The transporter has recently been painted-up, presumably for display.

Finally, the newly-privatised railway has invested in a modern road-railer shunting tractor, seen here in the workshops at Rio Turbio.

References:
1 Narrow Gauge Rails to Esquel, Keith Taylorson, with Plateway Press, 23 Hanover St., Brighton, UK, 1999, page 42.
2 Trenes magazine, October 1996, page 36.
3 The World of South American Steam, Roy Christian & Ken Mills, 1974, page 94.
4 Personal inspection 1975.
5 The World of South American Steam, as above, page 94; and Fernando Carnero's webpage.
6 The World's most Advanced Steam Locomotive, article by M. Swift and R. Wilkinson in The Narrow Gauge issue no. 82 The magazine of the Narrow Gauge railway Society.
7 Ferroclub newsletter No. 22, September 1996.
8 Trenes magazine, October 1996, page 36.
9 El Tren del Fin del Continente, a CD-ROM of photos collected by the Amigos del Ferrocarril in Río Gallegos. 2000. Edgardo F. Gallardo. E-mail him (in Spanish) at <tandem@ciudad.com.ar> for details.

One of the very last steam hauled trains disappears into the sunset.

28-5-08