Now that I can stream videos again… this is one of my favorites
This a ride in Cuba on a “speeder” – a railroad work vehicle used to take workers out to work on the track. This is a branch line to the town of Placetas
If you want to follow along in Google Maps, the line runs from just south of town to about 6 miles north of town (the video omits the boring parts)
Check out the condition of those tracks. I suspect if you put a real freight train on them, you have instant derailment.
Thanks, Fidel.
Looks like they make crossties the old fashioned way: with a axe.
Ol’ Fidel took the country back to 1899. They ran Cuba into the ground. It looks like the Russians havn’t been helping much with material or resources. Someone should take that video over to the guys in Venezuela and tell them this is what you have to look forward to with the Hugo way.
A lot of ‘trash’ along the track, or dead chickens?
A lot of the track in Cuba uses concrete ties. Russia was very big on them, since they don’t rot like wood.
Unfortunately, concrete ties also develop cracks and deteriorate. More recent rail systems (especially high speed) are using concrete these days – presumably concrete has advanced in 40 years… But even so they won’t last forever
For other videos, look for the Hershey trams… They also have “bus” vehicles that are basically truck trailers with windows