Cuba Steam for D******

If you have never been to Cuba for steam, but are thinking about going, read on……. This was written back in 1997, since when the standard of car hire has risen dramatically, few mills are actively hostile and it is now quite easy to stay in private houses (legally) on a bed and breakfast basis. This makes individual touring very easy for an old Cuba hand...

If you want to know the mill details check out Steam Locomotives in the Sugar Mills of Cuba

Click here for the International Steam Page. 

Where is the steam?

The IRS Book on the Industrial Steam Locomotives of Cuba lists 150 establishments, 148 sugar mills and 2 refineries. Each mill carries an official number, roughly by province, starting from 1xx in the west and rising to 6xx in the east. Enthusiasts are thought to have visited them all and as a result about one third are thought not to have had steam locos recently or have had them transferred away. A further third have only derelict, dumped or stored locos, so, with many mills using only one loco for shunting, it is perfectly reasonable to see the best of the active steam in a 3 (or even 2) week trip. One complication is that, in any given season, there will be surplus capacity and mills may be closed. Again, in 1997, many mills were suffering breakdowns owing to inadequate maintenance and investment, not to mention hurricane damage.

What is there to see?

The steam locos are almost entirely of American origin (pre-second world war, Baldwin mainly, together with Alco, Vulcan Iron Works, Davenport and Porter, together with 'pre-grouping' names such as Rogers and Cooke). A tiny minority of locos are from European builders (Henschel, Borsig and Orenstein & Koppel). Most are 2-8-0s, but there are a fair number of 2-6-0s, 4-6-0s, 2-6-2s and even two very large 2-8-2s. Some mills have smaller locos which are used for shunting, often these are rather older than average, including a number of centenarians. There are also some fireless locos. Locos are numbered in a national series, based on nominal tractive effort, starting from 11xx for the smallest locos through to 19xx for the largest. Within each 1xxx series, the lowest numbers are found in the west and the highest in the east, discrepancies generally indicating that a loco has been transferred after the numbering system was introduced. Most mills are standard gauge, but there are narrow gauge mills, predominantly 2ft 6in, but some are 3ft 0in and 2ft 3¾in. There are many diesel locomotives (mainly of Russian origin) and visitors may find that these complicate recorded steam loco workings, particularly when mills are out of use.

What do the locos do?

Apart from shunting cane cars around the mills, the locos are used to bring in sugar cane. The cane is usually cut by machine (sometimes by hand) and then brought by tractor or truck to loading points (= LPs or acopios) where the cane is mechanically stripped of trash, chopped and loaded into cane cars. Earlier loading points (chuchos) were simple hoists to transfer untreated cane to the cars and are still used in a few cases. Convoys of trucks and/or tractors and trailers queue up with cane and locos (steam and/or diesel) take out empties and return with fulls. Often they will visit a series of LPs, dropping empties outbound and accumulating fulls inbound. This can occur throughout the day, although it is fair to say that there will normally be more activity in the afternoon than in the morning. Locos may also be used to move 'hoppers' for the refined sugar, and additionally there may be 'inter-mill' services when a breakdown has occurred or a mill is closed for an extended period.

What are the photographic possibilities?

Locos are almost all oil burners, which means they produce vast amounts of spontaneous black smoke. The day temperatures are normally so high that there is little 'visible steam'. Much of Cuba is 'flat and boring' with tracks lined with tall grass. In many cases they are paralleled by dirt roads of variable quality, which facilitates 'chasing'. Some mills are in hilly areas, particularly the narrow gauge mills, and in these cases the scenery can be very pleasing. The Cuban sugar season (Zafra) runs roughly from January to April, at this time temperatures are hot but quite bearable and although pictures are best taken 'early and late', midday pictures are just about satisfactory.

So how do I visit the mills?

In theory, you probably need Minaz (Ministry of Sugar) permission to visit, although even this may not satisfy the local authorities. In practice, security is variable. In some cases, there is open access to the loco shed and yards, in others there will be an invisible line beyond which visitors will be asked politely, but firmly, to leave. Access can often vary from day to day depending on who is on duty, in recent years few if any enthusiasts have been arrested, but it makes good sense not to provoke an unnecessary confrontation.

I have never been to Cuba, how do I go about it?

Visitors neatly divide into those who go as independent travellers and those who go with group tours. Cuba is not an easy country for first-time visitors (despite the availability of a Lonely Planet Guide to Cuba ISBN 0 86442 403 5), so my advice would be to (preferably) team up with someone who has been there previously or to join a group.

The group tour….

There are a number of well established organisations (mainly based in the UK) which offer 2 or 3 week packages. Most will use buses which will be able to visit the mills, but access to fields will be limited for those who want action photographs, so do not expect to come back with a clutch of 'master shots' from such a trip. On the other hand, they will often have the services of local guides who will ensure that problems of accommodation etc are minimised. Consider such a trip if your expectations or your experience of third world countries is limited. Other organisations will tour in hire cars. Comfort will be less, but, hopefully, you will get to see far more action and you will be relieved of the hassle of dealing with Cuban bureaucracy. I joined one such group in 1997, and, given the state of the UK libel laws, I will only say that I would never travel again with them, even if it was free. Ask for the names/addresses of those who have travelled in previous years for an honest appraisal.

The independent traveller….

Cuba reluctantly admits individual travellers, who will pay through the nose in much needed U$ for inferior facilities. They can hire expensive cars which until recently were of dubious quality and with little sign of recent maintenance (service = 'open bonnet and check engine is still there', full service = service plus check oil level). They can reserve (and pay for in advance far more than the package tourist) rooms in hotels at the risk that the bookings will not be honoured. They can expect to be constantly harangued by Cubans who want dollars / sweets / soap / pencils / pens / cigarettes or anything else which is in short supply. Remember that most Cubans with a job will earn at most 200 Pesos (10U$) a month and that a dollar (the cost of a single drink in a tourist hotel) is a significant sum. Further with many normal consumer goods available only in 'dollar shops', it is not surprising that begging, overcharging and prostitution are rife. They can even expect to suffer petty thefts (or worse) in both the countryside and towns. However, this is the only way a serious steam enthusiast should consider travelling. In recent years, it has become much easier to stay (legally) in private houses (casa particular). Even the smallest towns have small street stalls with food and drink which can be paid for in local Pesos - obtained on the black market. Although technically the Peso and U$ trade at par, the free rate is 20-24 Pesos = U$1. Suffice to say that if you choose this method you should go well prepared with maps, rosters, a basic toolkit, spare bulbs and inner tubes but most of all with the right kind of companions. The reports in World Steam and Continental Railway Journal (particularly the sketch maps of the mill systems) are an invaluable resource. See also our CD-ROM 'Zafra' which has mill system maps as well as many pictures of steam at work..

If you want to know the mill details check out Steam Locomotives in the Sugar Mills of Cuba