Our flight was uneventful but boring. We went from Dorval to Miami on Air Canada then American Airlines to Guayaquil. We were quickly through Customs and Immigration and a taxi took us to the hotel. It was dark but Guayaquil was the same dirty, tired, run down town Colin remembered from 1988. The hotel was expecting us and we quickly made contact with the tour leader, David Ibbotson. He seems competent and efficient.

Friday November 26

At breakfast we met the rest of the group, most of whom have already spent a week together in Guatemala and El Salvador. Many of them have been together before and know each other well. There were a number of weird ones although some of this could be put down to language difficulties as besides UK and Canada there are people from Belgium, Holland, Germany and Eire.
We were quickly into two buses and went over to Duran to visit the workshops of the Guayaquil and Quito railway. The group was completed by four people picked up at the airport who had flown down from Quito that morning. Guayaquil is quite forgettable with no interesting buildings or parks. The most memorable parts are the cemetery with the vaults above ground and the long bridges over the Guayas river which was quite fast flowing and muddy brown.
The visit to the Duran shops allowed us to get a feel for the G & Q. Steam locomotives #11, #18 and #7 were in evidence as were new Alstom diesels #2406 and #2409. There was a surprising amount of activity in the shop. The diesels were being cleaned by hand in the same way as a steam engines. #2409 appears to be very new with trucks that had seen very little use. There were several men rebuilding old wooden passenger cars. We saw them making new pieces from various woods using techniques that have long since been discarded in Canada. Several of the locally built rail cars were also under repair.
One of the most fascinating items at Duran was the production of cut spikes. They are cut from bar stock which produces the point. The spike is then heated until red hot and the shank is quenched in water. A man then carries the spike with tongs across the shop to two men at a bench who hammer over the head. The latter part of the process, heating, quenching and hammering, takes five men who can produce about one spike a minute!
We had a quick detour to visit a man who had built two miniature steam locomotives and then went straight to Bucay . This is nestled in the hills where the railway begins to climb into the mountains. The streets are mud and everywhere there was an air of rotting decay. We purchased some bananas and rolls for lunches for the next couple of days and had a look at the railway. There is a large overall roof to the locomotive shed inside which was steam locomotives #17, #58, #44 and 5#3 which was in steam. Also on the shed were diesels #2403 (Alstom - serviceable) and 167 (Alco- unserviceable).
The plan was for us to take railcar #94 to Huigra, which is the other side of the week bridge, where #45 would be waiting with our train. David Ibbotson had been delayed in Guayaquil and while we were waiting for him it was decided to take the railcar out of town followed by #53 and a few boxcars for a run past on a bridge. #54 careened around the yard looking for boxcars and managed to get one tender truck and one driving wheel off at a switch. A few well-placed stones and they were able to get the tender truck back on but managed to get all the drivers off and the engine was leaning precariously. The crew walked away and we thought this was a jacking job. They fired up #2403 and coupled up to the tender. Within twenty minutes number 53 had been rerailed but #2403 went on the ground at a switch while getting out of the way. These diesels have three trucks and they got the leading wheel of each truck on the ground. In putting this back on they put off another wheel and finally an entire truck. #2403 was finally rerailed and moved out of the way for number 53 to pick up its train and follow the railcar out of town.

Rerailing #53

The trip out of town was through the market-come Main Street and we had the opportunity to see a great variety of flowers in people's backyards. The air ferns were in bloom - a bright Carmine flower. We stopped at a crossing with the main road to Guayaquil - right by the rotting carcass of a cow, complete with millions of maggots. The run past was pretty tame but the railway certainly provided us with a great deal of entertainment.
We finally bundled into the rail car and set off for Huigra. There was a meet at Ventura with the mixto from Riobamba to Bucay hauled by #2401. #45, which had been marooned above Huigra for a couple of years, took us off on our own train which consisted of two coaches and a boxcar. There is a marked transition just above Huigra from tropical vegetation to dry dessert like conditions with sparse grasses and many aloe plants, cactus and prickly pears. We had a run past at Chanchan and there were excellent views of the special on the Devil's Nose. There was a water stop at the bottom of the Alausi loops but we then went straight into Alausi. We rode the roof of the boxcar most of the way, taking care to duck down while going through the tunnels.

Climbing the Devil's Nose

Arrival at Alausi was marked by many small boys jumping on to the train and riding into town. It was getting dark as we walked down to the hotel Panamericano, through the hordes of shoeshine boys. Before dinner we walked down to the depot to see the mixto return to Riobamba. Some lads took turns in jumping onto a burro which was tethered in the street. The first time it bucked, then it just stood there and the lads realized it was not any fun.

Colin awoke early and tried to assist the shared bathroom situation by going in early, only to find out that the water is not turned on until 06:00. No shave this morning as it was bad enough washing in the toilet tank.
#45 was waiting for us at the depot and we rode down to Huigra. The roof and engine tender was a favorite place although Colin also rode on the engine. The views were spectacular as we passed through isolated pockets of farmland with tall eucalyptus trees. The Devil's Nose zigzag was great from the locomotive with views straight down the cliff.

We watched the crew turn the train on the Huigra wye (including some hand switching) and they ran it down by gravity into the town where we had to wait several hours for the mixto from Riobamba to clear. Huigra was quite busy and many women, dressed in brightly colored clothes, had set up stalls where they cooked food on the station platform. The food looked good- rice, beans, plantains, vegetables, chicken and other unidentifiable meats. However the plates on which they served it was sluised down with cold dirty water. Nick and Sue Tindall tried this but everyone else ate peelable or packaged food. Huigra provided much of interest including a small square where people were selling fruit and vegetables set out on the ground in the hot noonday sun. Not only had the people come out to see the action but there were also dogs, cats, pigs, burros and horses. There were only two motor vehicles in the town, both pickup trucks, one being driven by a blonde gringo woman who just seemed to be cruising around. It was surprising to think that the most of the group spent most of their time standing in a photo line waiting for the mixto and ignoring the interesting sights and sounds around them. The Belgians had much more class and found a quiet cafe to have a beer.

As train time approached, activity around the station stepped up and the women were cooking furiously. A local cop came down to keep order. He was wearing a khaki uniform with a white hat complete with a small black leather forked pigtail. #2408 arrived with a long train which included as many people on the roof as inside. People getting out struggled with people getting on to make sure they took their cases, bundles, baskets, children, tickets, cats with them. While the locomotive went off to do some switching, plates of food were handed up to people on the roof. Everything was done in a firm but friendly manner.
We left town for the return to Alausi and made several stops for run pasts. At Sibambe #45 went up to the railcar servicing depot to take fuel. It was there for over an hour when we received news that it could not go on because of air compressor problems for which they had to send to Bucay for a fitter. So we saw a little more of Sibambi then we had bargained for and eventually left with our cars attached to the rear of the mixto to Riobamba hauled by #2408. Several of our party had climbed the hillside to get good shots of the Devil's Nose and there was some concern that we had left some behind which turned out not to be the case.
The mixto had four boxcars and two passenger cars before it picked up our two passenger cars and a box car. The french diesel climbed the grades in style. The roof was great fun as we were visited by shoe shine boys and other kids selling candy and other items, such as cookies, from large baskets. The shoeshine boys would sit right on the edge of the boxcar seemingly unaware of the big drop.
We spent some time watching the activity with the mixture at Alausi. A large number of sacks and reinforcing rods were taken out of the boxcars. The young engineer had several hands of bananas in the cabin. He motioned to three needy old people and gave them a hand each. An old man duffed his felt hat while a crippled lady held out her apron for him to throw down the fruit. The station bell was rung when the train was about to depart.
We had dinner with Adrian from Holland and Youachim from (East) Germany. It was Youachim's first time outside Germany. There were a number of couples but mostly people are together by nationality. There are several Germans, Manfred is friendly and easy to talk to while two others tend to keep themselves to themselves (one of them signals teutonic jokes so that everyone can be prepared to react) The three Belgians the husband and wife and a brother or friend, were pretty much on their own, mainly because very few spoke French. Their French was impeccable and a joy to listen to. All three were overweight, presumably partly as a result of their evident love of food. Monique was so big she had difficulty in getting up steps. There were two brothers from Eire who communicated only in grunts with the occasional one syllable word thrown in. We tried to talk to them early in the trip but had such difficulty in getting a response that we thought they spoke a foreign language. It was not until the last day that we found out that their first language was English. Many had interests restricted just to railways and it was difficult to find a wider topic of conversation. Happily Brian Frow, whom Colin had met in the Philippines, was among the group and we enjoyed several conversations with him. Our tour leader, David Ibbotson, was a well experienced Spanish-speaking travel agent from Birmingham. He seemed to enjoy problems and resolving them. In spite of the differences within the group everyone got on well together and there was no fighting.

Sunday 28 November

There was no early news of the health of #45 and it was difficult to obtain any information. There was an early opportunity to wander around the town which was very busy on a Sunday morning. Many people came into town to the many markets. There were the normal fruit and vegetables for sale but also large sacks of root vegetables and fodder. A whole pig had been roasted and was being hacked up. Women were offering guinea pigs (cuy) for sale and told us they make good eating. The bright ponchos and other clothes provided bright splashes of color. Leather work was also much in evidence.

We decided to take a passenger car and the box car back on the mixto with #2404 from Riobamba as far as Sibambe to try and find out about #45. Once again we were treated to full service on the roof. This time only members of the group were allowed onto our roofs and a ticket collector walked the length of the train to ensure that everybody on the roof had paid the fare. Once again we were treated to a panoramic ride down the loops and the zigzags. The rock is very unstable and we could see that the mere passage of the train was enough to produce miniature rocks and sand falls.
#45 was ready to go when we reached Sibamba so it quickly picked up our equipment and brought us back to Alausi by which time it was lunch time. After a long break we went up the street to watch a false start along the section where the train runs up the center of the cobbled street. Ten of the faithful had set up a photo line across the middle of the street. Just as the engine whistled off a pickup truck turned into the photo line which had to make way and then ensure that the truck was not parked in their view. Next came a couple of men on horses galloping up the street. One horse was spooked by the engine whistle and started to rear up. There was some concern for bystanders but they managed to get the horses under control. As the engine arrived, two nuns in grey habits reached the intersection leading about thirty young girls. The nuns stopped abruptly and their entourage careened into them to create a scene of total confusion. This was the stuff of movies and it could not have been timed better. It was complete mayhem as we boarded the train for a short ride to the outskirts of town to see the spectacular viaduct. A drunk also boarded the train and got off for the run past but thought better of it and got on again. He was thrown off the train, which then backed up across the bridge for a run past, and he then started back into town over the bridge. He was lucky not to have been killed on the bridge.
We traveled over the recently rebuilt section of line to Palmira summit. The land is bare and dry and quite flat at the summit. We were running a little ahead of the mixto and many people came out expecting to get on. It was quite a festive atmosphere. Some kids jumped onto the train as we were leaving and were riding home. The engineer was going so fast that the train crew could not make them jump off so they charge them to fare anyway. When they got to where they wanted to go they jumped off at high speed. Buses were waiting for us at Riobamba to take us to the hotel. This was much better than Alausi and dinner was quite good. We ate with Fred Pugh and his wife. Fred had just retired from British railways. Colin knew him briefly about 30 years ago.

Monday 29 November

The bed clothes were very heavy but we both slept well in comfortable, warm beds. There was a good view from the hotel over a wide fertile valley but we did not have a great amount of time to admire it as we left Riobamba around 08:00. It was sunny all the way to Urbina summit. Chimborazo was clear and we had many good views of this snow covered summit. There were several stops, some for run pasts and some while the crew frigged with #45. The land is dry with aloes and cactus but there are extensive areas under cultivation. Every time we stopped a group of people would appear, clad in bright ponchos and felt hats and carrying their children on their backs. Each family group would be accompanied by a couple of dogs. There was full ground cover in many places but mango and eucalyptus trees abounded. Cow peas seemed to be an important crop.
As we climbed higher clovers and grasses became more prominent with isolated stands of pines and lone eucalyptus. Potatoes and hay were grown on the windswept plateau where we could see cattle, horses and llama grazing. Several children came out to greet us on horseback. Urbina Summit was bleak with no trees. There were several types of wildflower all growing close to the ground. The most notable was a large stalkless daisy. They presumably grow this way to minimize the effects of the severe climate.

Urbina Summit with Chimborazo in background

The train turned on the way with Chimborazo as a backdrop. It looked good as we said our farewells to the crew and boarded the buses which had followed us to Urbina and were parked waiting for us on the old cobbled Panamerican highway. We went straight to Guayaquil. The most spectacular part of this mammoth journey was the drop down from the mountain to the hot lowlands. We stopped at Milagro where some decided to wait for a train to sample street running - in the dark.
We had a couple of hours in a hotel in Guayaquil and then went out to the airport to take an overnight Ladeco flight to Santiago. The flight was quite comfortable - the only memorable part being the utter confusion exhibited by the Ladeco counter lady when presented with tickets and reservations for 29 people.

Tuesday 30 November

Santiago airport provided a surprise in that customs and immigration were quick efficient, pleasant and friendly. The airport, although busy, was well maintained. We had a lightning ride to the Railway Museum looking for a man with the tickets and eventually found him back at the airport. Santiago left a good impression. There were many parks and people look after the plants and grass carefully.
We boarded a midday Ladeco flight to Temucoo and arrived in the southern town after lunch. There was a short delay while David found a bus but we were quickly downtown to the hotel for a quick check in. It was cloudy and threatening to rain. Colin found a shoe shop and purchased a pair of boots to replace those which had burst at the seams.
The afternoon was taken up with a visit to Temuco roundhouse. It seems that the decision was taken to leave a number of steam locomotives in the roundhouse. Some have been partially dismantled and some are missing tenders. The building is designated as a National Monument.

In the roundhouse were the foollowing, in order