Garden Railway Forum

As a library assistant for the Narrow Gauge Railway Society, I have volunteered to scan in collections of photos which have been bequeathed to them. Sometimes, the job it quite easy, the photos are well labelled and so adding captions (railway, location, loco details, stock details, date, etc) is dead easy. However, sometimes the task is a lot more difficult - as in this case. I have been passed a photo album containing a set of photos with absolutely no info whatsoever.

my initial web searching suggests they are from South America. I think I have identified the railcars and the railway in the bottom left photo but would appreciate some confirmation. To confound matters, I don't think any of them are narrow gauge - but as they are part of the NGRS collection they still need to be scanned and catalogued.

If any of you can shed some light on any of them - even tentative, it would save me a heck of a lot of hours of internet trawling. Attached is just a small selection of the photos from the album.

Any help will be greatly appreciated

Rik
.

As you say, they do look a bit South American. The loco's have writing/logo's on but on these small pics it's difficult ( ie impossible) to make out anything apart from "SIT" on one of them. Are they any clearer on the originals?

That "SIT" rings a faint bell but I can't put my finger on it atm.

Edited to add that I think I've cracked one of them - the top rh pic I think is the Tocopilla nitrate railway of Chile ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tocopilla_nitrate_railway )
I downloaded your scan and then blew that up 300% and on the coach behind the loco it is just possible to make out faded writing, which i noted down as "Ferrocarrid tocopilla al toco". Putting that into google it offers "Ferrocarril tocopilla al toco"

Apparently it was originally called "The Anglo-Chilean Nitrate & Railway Company (Ferrocarril de Tocopilla al Toco)" and according to the Wikipedia stock list it originally had an amazing selection of Manning Wardles, Kitsons, etc!


Edited to add again!!

The bottom right has a wagon logoed SQM.
A google search for SQM gives a link to:

Sociedad Química y Minera Chemicals company
Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile is a Chilean chemical company and a supplier of plant nutrients, iodine, lithium and industrial chemicals. It is the world’s biggest lithium producer. SQM's natural resources and its main production facilities are located in the Atacama Desert in Tarapacá and Antofagasta regions. Wikipedia

This site "https://www.sinfin.net/railways/world/chile.html" lists the railway companies of Chile but none of them appear to fit the S I T loco branding, so don't know where that gets you to?

Many thanks for your detective work, Philip. That has saved me a lot of search time.
The original photos are just holiday snap sized photos (from Superdrug) and don't really offer much more additional detail.

I've identified the bottom left photo as the Tacna - Arica Railway on the Chile Peru border. I think they are Sentinel Railcars but am willing to be corrected if anyone knows better.

I've got around 40 photos to identify from that album and so will probably be back ......

Rik

Don't know if this might be of any use in your hunt?
https://www.transporttreasury.com/p5711 ... #hb077e579

Put it on Slideshow, make yourself comfy and while away the time...

There are some amazing pictures of all sorts of Chilean railways, including a roundhouse full of decrepit looking steam loco's, an opencast mine that is so big/deep that I can't begin to guesstimate its true size, etc. It also shows very many different loco liveries but all appear to belong to the same outfit. Some of them are branded SIT but the descriptions at the bottom seem to say "CIT", so I don't know if that is down to Spanish translation or something? It may confuse your searching though.

BTW, I got to this site by searching for FCTT, Chile, since that is painted on the wagon between the SIT loco and the SQM wagon.

ge_rik wrote: ↑Mon Dec 12, 2022 7:50 am I've identified the bottom left photo as the Tacna - Arica Railway on the Chile Peru border. I think they are Sentinel Railcars but am willing to be corrected if anyone knows better.

The scenery does look like northern Chile..........

The locos are North American built, the diesels from GM and the box cab electric looks like it is from either Baldwin or Westinghouse. The diesel top left is a GM EMD G series export loco, maybe a G16C, or a G12C, likely built in Canada. The diesel in the bottom right is one of the larger EMD SW switcher models, maybe a SW1200, or an SW1000.

The railcars look like they were late build Sentinels, but they've both been rebuilt with ic engines, presumably diesels.........

Graeme

ge_rik wrote: ↑Mon Dec 12, 2022 7:50 am
I've identified the bottom left photo as the Tacna - Arica Railway on the Chile Peru border. I think they are Sentinel Railcars but am willing to be corrected if anyone knows better.

They do certainly look Sentinel like...I had a look through my copy of the sentinel locos and railcars book and I found a number of sentinels that were built for Peru. Whilst not 100% sure, I think these are most likely the two Doble engined units (job no's 9098 and 9099) which were built in 1934. The book states that these were converted to Diesel and were know to still be in existence in 2005.

A bit more digging has found this

https://www.steamlocomotive.info/vlocom ... play=13185

Definitely Sentinel

That's great chaps
Thanks very much. The info on the locos is especially helpful. I'm not very knowledgeable about US diesels.

I wasn't sure about the Sentinel railcars - I hadn't realised they started life steam powered and were later converted. I did wonder when they were built.

Rik

philipy wrote: ↑Mon Dec 12, 2022 8:13 am Don't know if this might be of any use in your hunt?
https://www.transporttreasury.com/p5711 ... #hb077e579

Put it on Slideshow, make yourself comfy and while away the time...

There are some amazing pictures of all sorts of Chilean railways, including a roundhouse full of decrepit looking steam loco's, an opencast mine that is so big/deep that I can't begin to guesstimate its true size, etc. It also shows very many different loco liveries but all appear to belong to the same outfit. Some of them are branded SIT but the descriptions at the bottom seem to say "CIT", so I don't know if that is down to Spanish translation or something? It may confuse your searching though.

BTW, I got to this site by searching for FCTT, Chile, since that is painted on the wagon between the SIT loco and the SQM wagon.

Thanks Philip
Tracked down this photo on that site which, as you suggest, seems to translate SIT into FCTT (CIT) - so I will go with that.
https://www.transporttreasury.com/p5711 ... #hb4e0ecb7

Rik

GTB wrote: ↑Mon Dec 12, 2022 11:57 am

ge_rik wrote: ↑Mon Dec 12, 2022 7:50 am I've identified the bottom left photo as the Tacna - Arica Railway on the Chile Peru border. I think they are Sentinel Railcars but am willing to be corrected if anyone knows better.

The scenery does look like northern Chile..........

The locos are North American built, the diesels from GM and the box cab electric looks like it is from either Baldwin or Westinghouse. The diesel top left is a GM EMD G series export loco, maybe a G16C, or a G12C, likely built in Canada. The diesel in the bottom right is one of the larger EMD SW switcher models, maybe a SW1200, or an SW1000.

The railcars look like they were late build Sentinels, but they've both been rebuilt with ic engines, presumably diesels.........

Graeme

Thanks Graeme
According to Wikipedia, 25 SW1200s were built for Chile. I can't see any other SW locos which ended up in Chile
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMD_SW1200

Rik

GTB wrote: ↑Mon Dec 12, 2022 11:57 am

ge_rik wrote: ↑Mon Dec 12, 2022 7:50 am I've identified the bottom left photo as the Tacna - Arica Railway on the Chile Peru border. I think they are Sentinel Railcars but am willing to be corrected if anyone knows better.

The scenery does look like northern Chile..........

The locos are North American built, the diesels from GM and the box cab electric looks like it is from either Baldwin or Westinghouse. The diesel top left is a GM EMD G series export loco, maybe a G16C, or a G12C, likely built in Canada. The diesel in the bottom right is one of the larger EMD SW switcher models, maybe a SW1200, or an SW1000.

The railcars look like they were late build Sentinels, but they've both been rebuilt with ic engines, presumably diesels.........

Graeme

The Boxcab electric looks like a GE 289A - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GE_289A_Boxcab
Thanks, you pointed me in the right direction

Rik

OK chaps
Here's another one for you. I've checked all the locos which are listed for the Southern Peru railway on this website - https://second.wiki/wiki/ferrocarril_del_sur_perc3ba - but as far as I can see none of look like this
Any ideas?

Rik

It is an Alco RS18-20, not that that is much help, sorry.

ge_rik wrote: ↑Thu Dec 29, 2022 9:57 am Here's another one for you. I've checked all the locos which are listed for the Southern Peru railway on this website - https://second.wiki/wiki/ferrocarril_del_sur_perc3ba - but as far as I can see none of look like this

Any ideas?

It's an Alco something or other from the late '50s/early '60s. There are both high nose and low nose versions of the same design. It looks like the RS18 mentioned by Tony, which was a Canadian version of the US built RS-11, built by MLW, so the model no. will depend on whether it was exported from Schenectady or Montreal. It's also possible the loco was purchased second hand from a US or Canadian railroad. The RS-20 were later rebuilds with different prime movers and had body differences to the RS-11 and RS-18.

This Wikipedia page lists Alco's production, but doesn't show photos of all of them. MLW in Montreal kept making locos for some years after Alco went belly up in the US.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_A ... ocomotives

Being a VR modeller for many years and a GM fan from the time I was a toddler, Alcos don't float my boat......

Regards,
Graeme

TonyW wrote: ↑Thu Dec 29, 2022 10:21 am It is an Alco RS18-20, not that that is much help, sorry.

That's a great help, thank Tony. I assumed it was an Alco but couldn't identify which model

Rik

Anyone fancy a real challenge? Three rusting hulks somewhere in S. America
Tried looking up PEY BELFI without success. Somewhat stumped.
I wouldn't mind betting they originated in the UK
Rik

Depending on your grasp of Chilean Spanish, this might give you a clue:

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JKO ... FI&f=false

and this might be relevant if I could read the link above!
I would agree that they have a distinctly British look about them and I'm tempted to think that the bottom RH one could be be Beyer Peacock, but I'm happy to be told not to be so stoopid! ?

Edited to add: This doesn't get you very much further except that it confirms that there were Beyers in Chile and is of general interest:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrocarr ... ivia#Steam

Edited again to add:
A google search for "Belfi steam loco" brought up the following ( huge!) link and seems to refer to a book called Los Ferrocarilles de Chile - Volumen 3 but trying to view that keeps trying to get me o print 78 pages! However I'm sure that one of the pictures is also one of your pictures - the top left one. There seems to be some description with it, if only I could read it.

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALi ... 3M0MVuox9M

Again!! Couldn't let it go.... managed to find a proper coy of that book, at :https://archivoferroviario.com.ar/losfc ... ol3-norte/

Just flicking through it, there are mentions of a fair view British loco builders, including Avonside, Beyer, Hawthorn etc. That one that is included in your scan seems to be labelled as an Orenstein & Koppel but it looks more UK than that.

That's remarkable detective work, Philip. Not only the loco makes and numbers but also their present location. I've identified (with help) that some other photos were taken in Arica, so it makes sense that these are also located there. I wish I had the resources to ship those Hunslets back home. I might consider constructing one for the PLR. They do look interesting if somewhat large for PLR metals.

Rik

Nearing the end of the album (you'll be delighted to hear).
Any ideas here? I've hunted high and low for preserved Garratts in S America and can only find some small versions in Argentina.
I have a feeling these locos are from various different locations rather than from the same preserved railway. I've tracked down some others in Peru but not these.
Rik

Just found this site:
https://www.steamlocomotive.info/ddsearchnew.cfm
If you go to the Search (top rh corner) select manufacturere and scroll down to Beyer Peacock and then select Chile as the the country, it comes up with a blank page, but if you select for Peru, it comes up with quite a large selection, don't know if any are relevant?