Steam
Locomotive Improvements on the FCAF
(Ferrocaril Austral Feugo)
updated March 14, 2009
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).
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.
Tourist Ship Visiting Ushuaia
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.
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 has
spent the last 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. In 2005, a third modern steam locomotive was added,
Garratt No. 5, named "Ing. H. R. Zubieta". Visit the following pages for details
on these engines:
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 Martyn Bane's page on the Porta water
treatment system at:
http://www.portatreatment.com/
Future New Steam for the FCAF
LVM 803
Art by Rudi Hough
New steam is planned for the FCAF in the
form of the locomotive shown above. Design work has been
underway part-time since 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 will 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 presently being planned or
designed: 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; and LVM 803,
Tranex Turismo S.A.'s FCAF, Ushuaia.
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