Monday 17 October 1994

We had most of the morning free to visit Iguassu Falls. After breakfast we walked down the trail to see the falls. There were flocks of yellow parrots and a number of large hawks sunning themselves on rocks. We were surprised to see that swallows were living behind the waterfalls. We saw several flights straight at the water and go through behind. We took a short helicopter ride over the falls. This was the best way to see them and we were able to see the full layout that is otherwise difficult to comprehend.

The bus ride to Curitiba started at 11:00 but took a great deal longer than anticipated. We were stopped by a traffic cop for crossing double yellow lines. It turned out that the driver had the option of paying $100 ticket or making a donation of $25 to the policemen's benefit association. The bus company gives its driver's cash to cover such contingencies.
We had lunch at a Churrascaria. This is a large roadside restaurant with bench type seeking. We helped ourselves to the salad bar and then waiters in tuxedos brought out the meat. Each one had a skewer of pork, steak, beef, sausage, spare ribs, chicken, ox, chicken hearts, etc. The meat was cut off and put on our plates until we said stop. It was very good and very cheap.
The less said about the next part the better. We broke a rear suspension airbag and had to wait around a gas station while it was fixed. We had only gone a further hour or so when we burst the replacement and had to wait a long time while they sent a mechanic out of Iguassu falls. Instead of spending a night at the hotel in Curitiba we slept on the bus.

Tuesday 18 October 1994

We arrived at Curitiba at 09:00 and went straight to the train that was to take us to Moretes. This was a meter gauge Budd car that was built in Brazil. The track was in good condition with excellent ballast and ties and some welded rail. There is CTC in the Curitiba area that then gives way to electric token working. There were men digging ditches and they were also replacing a bridge. There was some good views as we went down the hill to Moretes. This was a single line and we passed four freight trains, one was a work train and the rest were all ballast trains. The area was well wooded and there were many flowers growing wild, particularly hydrangeas and impatiens that grew as ground cover. There was a long delay at one station while we waited for a train to clear the other end. The station was neat and tidy and there were several very large moths, one was about eight inches across. The token machines were well kept and each had a red topped railway cap on it. They looked like old men.

Moretes

Moretes was interesting and we had a reasonably good lunch there before returning to the station. We bought a small alarm clock and found that we could make ourselves understood even though there were many differences between Spanish and Portuguese. At Curitiba there were then interminable delays on the bus getting out of town. The driver seemed to be lost but he claimed he was searching for a gas station that would take his credit card. Arrival at Rio Negrino was very late and we went straight to bed.

Wednesday 19 October 1994

Rio Negrino was a pleasant place that had many of the distinctive pine trees that have a strong straight trunk with branches arching up to form an umbrella shape. We took the bus to the station and there was a delay while they got the locomotive ready. This was an ex Mogyiana railway 2-8-2. The ride was very pleasant through green countryside in which there were many lilac colored flowering trees as well as red lilies and bamboo.

The afternoon was ruined when the bus broke down near Florianopolis. This time another bus was obtained and we reached the hotel at Laguna in time to have dinner.

Thursday 20 October 1994

Our day today was spent on the Santa Teresa Christina Railway this used to be a very busy coal hauling line but traffic is very low. They have eliminated steam for regular operations and now use diesels. Track maintenance had been allowed to slide and there were many severe slow orders. We first visited the works in Tubarao that was notable for the large numbers of derelict steam locomotives. In the paint shop were two locomotives from the dock company, a Manning Wardle (1916) 0-4-0T and a Maffei 0-4-0T. The main works was used for repairing diesels and there was obviously too much capacity. We had a 2-10-2 #205 for the main part of our excursion this was a big machine that was restricted to low speeds because of track conditions. The crew was experienced and professional. They had no trouble with the locomotive although the coal was not very good. Colin rode the engine for part of the way and had fun shoveling coal.

The countryside was wet and steamy. It was green with what looked like rice paddies and there were some fungi growing. Everyone came out to see us go past - one man had a bird in a cage and held it up for his pet to have a better view. Mary and Colin found a cheap place for lunch along with Mia. The train was turned at the mine by means of a large turning loop. It was so large that nobody noticed that we had changed direction.

#205 left and #135 right

At Tubareo #205 was taken off and number #135, a 2-8-2 was put on. This was a much smaller engine that had to work a little harder. Colin rode it most of the way to Laguna and it was fun. He shared the firing with Jeff Stebbings. The engine was working hard and they had to know what was happening to the fire. The crew were happy to see to the driving and left the fire to us. ust like 30 years ago! We got down from the train at Laguna and walked across the road to the hotel.

View from our hotel at Laguna. A very pleasant, peaceful place.

Friday 21 October 1994

We spent the day in the repaired bus traveling to Sao Paulo. It was not difficult and Colin slept for much of the way. We stopped for lunch at a churrascaria, (ribs, pork, steak, chicken and beef with bananas). We spent much of the morning watching railway videos.

Saturday 22 October 1994.

Sao Paulo did not look any better in daylight. We took the bus to the station and then an electric charter train to Paranapiacaba which is at the top of the grade down to Santos and the sea. This area has 200 inches of rain a year and everything was steamy and dripping. There was a small tram engine in steam in the yard. It was #16, one of 20 that we used on the five inlines down the hill. The inclines were cable operated and the engines were used to grip the cable and to move the cars on the sections between the inclines. The inclines were taken out of service when the present rack electric line was brought into use in the 1970s.

This is one of the Sao Paulo Railway's 'gripper' brake locomotives built by Kerr Stuart in 1900 for the cable-hauled incline on the Serra do Mar

Left - Run past Right - Wide gauge

The whole area was covered in ferns and impatiens. The cobwebs were glistening with dew. It was half raining and half foggy.
We had an opportunity to walk down part of the incline and examine the winding engines that were kept in good shape. There were three additional Santos and Jordiai grip locomotives in the shed at the top of the incline. After a wait for one of the Hitachi electric rack locomotives we went down the grade. Traces of the old alignment were quite visible including some very impressive trestles. The jungle was very dense indeed. We had a good lunch in the restaurant car which was a good omen as the same crew were booked to be with us on our trip from Campinas later on.
The double track line was quite pleasant and we stopped for a couple of run pasts we stopped at a suburban station, Embu Gassu and took the bus to Taubate. It was fiesta time at Taubate and we went into the town to see people enjoying themselves at the fair that was set up right in the town center next to the main church. There was one ride which attracted a lot of people and screams pierced the air. There was much popcorn, burgers and other snacks. People tended to be out as families although there were several couples embracing.

Sunday 23 October 1994

Click here to see all photos taken this day

Today we took the bus to Pindamonhangaba which is the terminus for the Campos do Jordao line. There was a quick visit to the shops but we had time to visit the market. There is a regular produce market but, because it was Sunday, the entire town square was taken over by people selling virtually everything (crutches, light covers, electrical parts, parts for lamps, etc.). There was a horse tied up in one of the parking spots in the street.
The railway is electric narrow gauge and climbs into the hills to a resort town. It was a pleasant run and the railway provided us with several different trams. The country traversed was covered with paddy fields and bamboo groves. We made several stops to take photos and to pass other regular service trains. At Sao Judas Tadao there was a wonderful avenue of trees. The line starts serious climbing and reaches the highest of any line in Brazil.

Campos do Jordao is a Bavarian style resort town similar to Bariloche in Argentina. The final stretch was behind a small steam engine. Choosing a place to eat was most difficult because many restaurants were pricey. We eventually found a place with a buffet in which we filled our plate that was then weighed in order to determine the price. This was followed by a bus ride to Sao Jordao del Rei.

Monday 24 October 1994

We woke to discover that Sao Joao del Rei was a delightful old colonial town. We strolled down to the railroad station that is now a museum. It was the center for a very extensive 30 inch gauge Viacao Ferrea Centro Oeste system. It is now maintained by RFFSA as a museum. It was excellent and everything was well maintained, including the roundhouse and station. The train crews were very professional which was evident right from the start as they coupled up using the ancient link and pin couplers. The line has been refurbished with pebble ballast and was completely fenced with barbed wire that was not appreciated by the runpast fraternity.

Our first stop was at an abattoir that had many vultures hanging around. The stops in town were not very pleasant but the countryside was very pleasant indeed. There was some dry scrub with cattle grazing and the hills showed up in sharp contrast against the clear blue sky. There were several rivers and hibiscus was very much in evidence.
We had #42 in the morning. We returned to Sao Joao del Rei for lunch. We went into the old town and found a small cafe where we had a very passable pizza. This was quite a pleasant change from the meat laden churrascarias that we had seen a lot of in recent days. In the afternoon there was another excursion, this time with #41 that was not so clean as #42.

Mary decided to stay in the hotel and rest up. Colin went along just to take another look at the countryside. The sun was better now and they were good views of this delightful railway. The final run past was on the way back at a river bridge that had been made famous by one of the group, John Kirshmer, who had written about this line in the 1970s.

Back at Sao Joao del Rei we had another walk around the old town and Mary bought something for her laryngitis. The pharmacist insisted on looking at her throat. He was very kind. Then we made the mistake of entering the Gryta Mineira bar e restaurante. This was a very grotty place run by a very old man with a loud smoker's cough. We quickly decided that all wanted was a drink even though he tried to persuade us that he had some good food. It's looked pretty dirty.
There were several impressive old churches in the town, one was on the hillside and had several stately palm trees in front. We had dinner at a better restaurant which came complete with waiter in formal suit and atmosphere. We had an excellent red Brazilian wine and mineral water to wash down a salad and tornadoes, chef's style. We were clever in that we saw the portions being served and only ordered one tornadoes between the two of us. It turned out to be an enormous piece of meat that was more than enough for us. It was well cooked and we very much enjoyed ourselves.

Tuesday 25 October 1994

Today we went by bus to Campinas. We had lunch at a churrascaria Hotel Fernando. There was a vegetable served with every meal, it was crunchy and filled you up. It is made from manioc root and is called manioca. We arrived at Jundiai station around 16:00 and spent a short while there. There is 3000 volts overhead and we saw one train with about a dozen youths riding the roof - they call it surfing. We then had a visit to the RFFSA shops that were notable for the large number of electric locomotives stored inside and the lack of activity. They were evidently built to do a great deal more work than they now do.
We spent a little time by the line site at Louveira where there were some sidewalk cafes with horses tied up in the street parking. We arrived at Campinas as it was getting dark and ate in the hotel.

Wednesday 26 October 1994

We took the bus to Anhumas which is the start of a museum line run by the ABPF (rail fans). We had the impression that they were disorganized and very unprofessional. Maintenance seems to be at a minimum and the long-term future must be in doubt. The line ran through interesting country with many flamboyant trees in full bloom. These made bright red, despite the dull weather, spectacular splashes across the countryside. At one of the run past sites we came across a very accommodating horse. It was in a small shed to keep out of the rain but had an enclosure to look out at the trains as they passed by.

We had a box lunch with excellent ham and cheese rolls and reboarded the bus at Jaguariuna. From there we went to Campinas with a short stop to allow some train watching, both broad and meter gauges. We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant close to the hotel.

Thursday 27 October 1994

We finally said goodbye to the dreaded bus today that took us to the railway station. Our group was well organized and on the lookout for thieves and pickpockets. As our bags were being unloaded from the bus we noticed a couple of potential thieves so a couple from a group went and stood behind them but very close. They then moved around the other side so we followed and they eventually left with embarrassed looks on their faces. Campinas station was quite interesting with a little Joe electric locomotive on a freight train Colin found the interlocking tower to be the most interesting with its block instruments and mechanical interlocking frame.

Our train to Panorama was over an hour late arriving from Sao Paulo and it became progressively later as the day progressed. Our arrival was set for 23:14, the journey is 665 km from Campinas, but we eventually arrived around 02:00. This was not a great problem as there were three sleeping cars which were put on the train for us at Campinas. There was also a restaurant car which went all the way through so we were able to have two good meals and plenty of drinks. The line was well engineered. There is one particularly impressive section where heavy earthworks were used to get up a steep slope yet to maintain easy grades. The cars rode well on the welded rail. There is a bridge about one and a half kilometers long over the Tiete river.

Drinks on the train

The country was quite varied. There were many coffee and banana plantations but, as well, some heavy industry with much pollution. One interesting feature of southern Brazil is that, although most houses and huts were painted yellow, there was a red band of about a foot at the bottom. This was where the rain had splashed up the red soil. This blended gradually into the yellow. There were horse and buggy taxies at the many stations. At Panorama we quickly transferred to a bus and were escorted to a hotel by the local police officer in his car.

Friday 28 October 1994

When we woke up we found that the hotel was a resort type with plenty of things for Brazilians to do, especially for kids, but it was sandwiched between two brickworks. Breakfast was no raving hell. The Parana River was quite close and we walked down to look at the very muddy water. There is a ferry at Panorama.

Panorama

We took the bus to the railway station for a brief visit and then took off by road for Campo Grande. The whole area was wet and steamy and we had to go a long way out of our way to cross the Parana river. This is cattle country. The road was two lanes with many large trucks. We had lunch at churascaria that was notable for the number of beetles in the parking lot. A number of roadrunner type birds were wandering around eating the beetles. This country had very little in it and so Campo Grande was a great surprise. It is a modern city with wide streets and many skyscrapers yet it is set in empty country.

Campo Grande

We inspected the locomotive shop and then went to the hotel where there was time for a drink at the bar before walking into town for supper. We came across a pizzeria that happened to be run by a Spaniard from Spain with training in economics. He did not have many customers and spent a great deal of time talking to us when he was not chasing away a very persistent white cat. We were very happy in that we were able to understand virtually everything he said. Not only did we get a Spanish lesson with the Romeo and Juliet pizza but we learned quite a bit about the economic and political situation in Brazil.

Saturday 29 October 1994

We left Campo Grande on the meter gauge train to Corumba on the Border with Bolivia. The trip was 461 km and we were due to arrive at 19:30. We were late leaving while the train crew added another sleeping car. We had sleeping accommodation that came in useful because we eventually arrived around 22:00. The 16 car train (6 sleepers, three first class, restaurant car, 5 second class and a baggage car), was hauled by one GE U24C diesel #2646.
The country was mixed with mainly cattle but much jungle and dense forest. We stopped at the occasional small village and there were lots of people out to see the train. There was some small farms and that one place we saw a grove of mango trees. Most of the roads were red mud. There was not a great deal to do after lunch and Colin found a comfortable seat in one of the first class cars and slept for a time. There were rheas and cassowaries in the more open cattle areas. As it became dark we entered a vast swamp where we could see deer, large cranes and hawks and heard bullfrogs and cicadas. Fireflies were much in evidence. The further west we went the worst the condition of the track. There were many stretches of 20 kpm speed restrictions. Joint conditions were bad and the occasional jolt was almost as bad as the many speed bumps (lombardas) on Brazilian roads.
At Corumba we had to cross the border into Quijarro, Bolivia. The border closes early in the evening and a phone call had been made to ensure that the customs and immigration officers in both countries would be available, presumably for a fee. At first Brazil said they didn't want to see us. They changed their minds when we were in the no man's land so we had to turn the bus around and go back to Corumba. We never did see Bolivia and officials. Our passports were gathered up and we received them back, properly stamped, the next morning.

Click here for the continuation of this trip in Bolivia