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Steam Locomotive Improvements on the FCAF
(Ferrocaril Austral Feugo)

updated October 27, 2007

photos and info courtesy Shaun McMahon except as noted

At the southern tip of South America, near the city of Ushuaia, Tierra del Feugo, Argentina, a small tourist train operation has become a proving ground for modern steam motive power. This railway is known as the Ferrocarril Austral Fueguino (FCAF).

Ushauaia landscape by Jorge Eduardo Pocai

Ushuaia was originally settled as a penal colony in the late 1800's. Among the duties of the prisoners was harvesting timber from local forests. Around the turn of the century, a 600 mm gauge railway was constructed and used to haul the timber. The prison in Ushuaia was active until the 1950's, at which time it was closed down. The railroad was abandoned, and the line's single small steam locomotive was displayed in the city.

In the 1990's, it was seen that the tourist industry was growing in Ushuaia. Tourist ships brought many travelers came to visit the National Park Tierra del Fuego there. Eventually, it was determined that a tourist railway, located on parts of the original right-of-way of the old prison railway, would be built to capitalize on this tourist traffic and to provide easy access to the national park. The use of a railway had the advantage of minimizing environmental impact compared to the building of roads for automobiles.

Tierra del Fuego is subject to very harsh winters and its remote location makes the acquisition of parts and supplies difficult. This was a significant challenge to the construction of the railway.

Suitable rails for the railway were located in Buenos Aires (3,000 kilometers away) and shiped down. Cross ties were located at the northern end of Argentina, and shipped down. The original right-of-way was excavated, and track construction began. A gauge of 500 mm was chosen for the new railway, narrower than the original gauge of 600 mm.

It was decided next to manufacturer passenger coaches and locomotives locally. Since the value of steam locomotives in attracting tourists was realized, it was decided that the locomotives would be steam. Oil firing was chosen to minimize the fire risk to the forests of the national park.

The first locomotive constructed was of the Beyer Garratt arrangement (0-4-0+0-4-0), loosely based on the first Beyer Garratt locomotive ever constructed. Construction began in early 1994 and took 9 months. Designated as "Nora", this was the first steam locomotive constructed "from scratch" in Argentina. While parts were being manufactured for this locomotive, a complete set of parts which could be used as spares or for the construction of a second locomotive were also manufactured.

The second locomotive acquired by the FCAF was built in by the Winton locomotive works in England. A small 2-6-2T, it was based on an 1890 Lynton & Barnstaple prototype. This locomotive was smaller and less powerful than the Garratt, but was suitable for most service on the railway.

tourist ship visiting Ushuaia

Tourist Ship Visiting Ushuaia

Nora and Camila double headed

No. 2 and No. 3 on a Rare "Double-header"

A small industrial diesel locomotive was also acquired to serve as backup power for the line's steam locomotives and for use on work trains and other duties.

While both steam locomotives gave good service for the first year or two of the railway's operation, it soon became apparent that their design was far from optimum. Both of the engines were based on prototypes built nearly 100 years ago, and virtually the only modern features which had been added were welded boilers and roller bearing axles. The engines used saturated steam, which limited their power and increased their fuel and water consumption. Mechanical problems resulted from some poor design details, and it became apparent that the locomotives could not be expected to provide continued reliable service without modification. Shaun McMahon spent several years working with steam designers L. D. Porta of Argentina and Phil Girdlestone of South Africa to design and implement improvements to the line's steam locomotives and finally to construct a mostly-new locomotive incorporating improvement.

Visit the following pages for details of the line's locomotives:

FCAF Steam Locos

No. 3 "Camila", No. 5 "Ing. H.R. Zubieta", and No. 3 "L. D. Porta"

FCAF Locomotive No. 2 "L. D. Porta"

FCAF Locomotive No. 3 "Camila"

FCAF Locomotive No. 5 "Ing. H.R. Zubieta"

Another on-going project at the FCAF is the development of improved steam locomotive water treatment. This system uses water treatment developed by L. D. Porta based on a system used in France in conjunction with boiler internal monitoring equipment based on a system developed by the Dearborn Chemical Company of the U.S.A. in the 1940's. For more information on this work, visit:

Steam Locomotive Water Treatment on the FCAF

Future New Steam for the FCAF
LVM 803
Art by Rudi Hough

New steam was planned for the FCAF in the form of the locomotive shown above. Design work was conducted part-time beginning in 1998 on this locomotive, planned for use on the FCAF and other small tourist railways. While several design details have changed since the sketch above was prepared, the image gives a good idea of what the locomotive would look like. The locomotive will be a 2-cylinder compound, with an 0-6-0T or 0-6-2T wheel arrangement. The LVM 803 designation is in keeping with the other modern steamers planned or designed including the LVM 800 0-6-2T shunting locomotive for Cuba; LVM 801 2-8-2T/tender passenger locomotive for Tren a Las Nubes (Train to the Clouds), Salta, Argentina; LVM 802 "standby" steamers for Spain. This locomotive would be LVM 803. Shaun McMahon has moved on in recent years to undertake a bigger project in rebuilding, extending, and modernizing the RFIRT and its locomotives in Patagonia, but hopefully improvements will continue on the FCAF in the future.

For more information on the railway, visit the Official Homepage of the FCAF at:

http://www.trendelfindelmundo.com.ar

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