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Fructuoso Rodríguez Mill |
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Steam activity at Fructuoso Rodríguez Mill appears to have been one of the major casualties of the 1990s, with the mill itself closed for several years with no sign of it being prepared for re-opening. For students of interesting locomotives, the main loss from this was the unique centenarian Rogers 2-4-0 with its tiny tender. Operations here were among the first in Cuba to be studied in detail and were extremely interesting (see the mill system map). It appears that originally the loading points to the west of the mill were served by a direct line to Cidra but this had long been closed (and was used in part as a dump for unwanted steam locomotives and rolling stock). Instead, trains travelled out via Limonar and Guanabana, dropping cane cars and making a further reversal before arrival at Porvenir. Most of this route was on the FCC main line, often there was more steam activity between Guanabana and Cidra than there was diesel and in its heyday, it was possible to see steam hauled trains crossing each other in loops on the main line! Intriguingly, the next mill to the south at Juan Ávila probably used to send its trains out 'the long way around' via Unión de Reyes but built a direct line to Juan Gualberto Gómez as late as 1986/7. With Fructuoso Rodríguez Mill closed, reports suggest that Juan Ávila Mill has taken over the loading points west of Cidra. |
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