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Cuba Libre Mill |
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Cuba Libre Mill is one of my personal favourites. It is approached by a long tree-lined avenue from Pedro Betancourt and still maintains an air of colonial splendour. More importantly, the line workings here are still almost exclusively steam apart from when they have a spare diesel which has worked in from another mill such as Puerto Rico Libre. The mainstay of the fleet remains a quartet of Baldwin 2-6-0s delivered to this mill over 70 years ago. Most trains depart south-west from the mill to the main line connection at the attractive station of Navajas which is next to the main road. From here a mill line meanders further south-west across flat countryside to Roquilla loading point. The mill also uses the main line south to Pedroso where there is Socorro loading point. In recent years, it has been common to find trains leaving the mill in the early afternoon, returning home in optimal lighting conditions. Those to/from Pedroso are perhaps the most photogenic since they travel the whole way smokebox first including the short reversal up the main line from Navajas. Occasionally steam may be used to trip Minaz hoppers to and from the main line which provides for some further variation. |
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