Argentina

Friday, November 20, I spent driving through the awesome Nahuel Huapi National Park.  I took a few great scenery pictures, and if there is any demand, I may post a few later.  Email Me!   Saturday morning, I went a few miles out of Bariloche to shoot the inbound train from Viedma, on the Atlantic coast.  According to the schedule posted in the Bariloche depot this train runs several times a week.  Although, I have been told that Argentinean trains often run late, if at all.  The Bariloche-Veidma train has been known to only operate as far as San Antonio Osete.

Yikes!  Pretty scary to someone who travels a long way to ride a train that may be arbitrarily canceled!  I have the schedule if anyone needs it, email me.   I guess I was lucky for the train arrived right on time, wherever it came from!  The diesel is a EMD GT22CW.

 

That afternoon, I flew to Buenos Aires and began exploring.  I found a hotel, and stepped down into the subway.  From out of the dark tunnel rumbled a subway train straight out of history.  It looked like it had escaped from a museum!  I found out that Buenos Aries Subte Line A was built in 1913 and many of the original trains were still running!  I first checked out Constitution Station, but found no Alcos.  Only electrics and what looked like standard EMD export model diesels like you may see in New Zealand, Korea or Africa. The next morning, I went to Retiro Station.  Retiro Station is huge and is actually three separate depots.  I found Alcos in the third one.

Metropolitano uses a few MLW RSD16's in commuter service between Retiro Station and Pilar.  Trains run every 10-20 minutes.  As I was standing on the station platform, getting ready to board an Alco powered train to Pilar, the engineer waved me up into the cab.  I guess the lawyers and insurance companies are not as big of a problem in Argentina as they are in the U.S..  I rode to Pilar and back in the cab of an ALCO!

 
 

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