Hello and good morning Hopefully some of you nice people can help me with my wishes to see trains in Mexico - if not with specifics then maybe some links to resources (Spanish or English). The next few days I will be spending near Chihuahua (not the city itself). I'll have easy access to the railway within the city limits, but since the traffic is so scarce I'm looking for schedules (or guesses ) I'll also spend a few days in Oaxaca city, but it doesn't seem like they have a railroad any more. EDIT: I've found a few websites in English, but none of them provide up-to-date information, unfortunately: http://mexlist.com/ http://mexicanrailroads.blogspot.com/ I hope you can help, in any case here is an unrelated photo of a Danish train for the photo tax DSB class MY, built on license from GM in the 50ies - pretty much an American diesel from back then modified for Europe. Still in service with many small freight operators and this one with a heritage railway. Behind is a yellow commuter EMU class ET.
I see that the Chihuahua al Pacifico's (aka El Chepe) Copper Canyon train visits Chihuahua. My in-laws rode the train and loved it. Two Ferromex lines cross in the area, so you may see some freight action.
Yes, this past summer. I'm good to take pictures, but I rarely have the discipline to edit and post them... Yeah, I know the Chepe, unfortunately hey have cut back on the services a bit - and it's only in Chihuahua when it's dark anyway. I'll try to test my patience and heat tolerance tomorrow at a FerroMex rail line near Chihuahua, hopefully there's a good taco stand nearby I'll be sure to show off any pictures I get! Thanks!
So I spent around three hours during two days waiting for a train in Ciudad Delicias, Chihuahua. It's located on the mainline between Juarez and Mexico City, so you would expect a fair bit of traffic. We'll see. Milepost 1514 kms from Mexico and 459 from Juarez. There used to be passenger trains in Mexico until privatization of the railways in the 90ies. After that this station has probably not seen a single passenger - all long-distance transport is by aircraft or bus (with government-set prices). Different details from this station will follow. I hope you can help with the signs I don't know what mean. "Limit of parked railroad equipment", I guess to not obstruct the crossing. Note the white paint on the track showing the same limit. Walking all the way to the end of the passing loop (a mile or so) to find the manually operated derailer. The text on the white blocks surrounding the switch say "Check the position of the derailer". The red piece of cloth lying besides the right track is a Christmas hat, btw... Going a bit further, the loading gauge conflict limit (?) is denoted by this sleeper with text on it. The switch in the distance is also manually operated and secured by a padlock. A similar text to the one above read "Remember to lock the switch after operating" Going back, here is the real milepost 1514 km. Not quite at the platform, but rather 500 metres up the line. Maintenance shed containing a weed control car - just a small flatcar with a plastic tank and some spraying equipment - hauled by the station switching locomotive, and also a small office. Here the guy told me that the trains don't have a schedule, but one would be coming from the north in around an hour. Clever me saw this as the perfect opportunity to go take a break from the sun in nearby Walmart and get some water. Cue the train passing by while I'm inside... Lesson learned: Never trust Mexican timekeeping After this the same guy said another train would come fairly soon. Nope, no train... "Connection" from the maintenance shed to the railway line. Must be hard work getting the weed control car on the rails. The railway crossing used to have barriers, but they seem to have been cut off. Instead there are a whopping three stop signs! Written on here is the precise location of the crossing (km 1513.690). At the railway crossing there is this sign. Any idea what it could mean? Another crossing a bit further up the line didn't have a similar sign. Note also a third set of tracks which have since been removed from the station. Then there is this, it says 1492 and DVC, located around 15 metres / 45 feet away from the train track - but clearly railway related. Any ideas? As some of you might know many people from Central America walk to the USA. They take the freight train if possible, but I saw plenty of Hondurans walking and even talked a bit with one of them. This flower memorial on the old platform is probably for an unlucky local who got hit by a train. The only trains I ever saw, hopper cars parked for several days on a siding. Probably due to lack of space at the industry siding - Ciudad Delicias and surrounding area has a lot of agriculture thanks to a dam and irrigation system. Mainline had concrete sleepers - any useful information on here? I guess FXE is for Mexican Railways? The siding was not so well-equipped. Old wooden sleepers and joints with loose bolts... The siding didn't seem to have been used for a while, the rails were rusty. That's all for now, but I'm going to Mexico City in a week or so - any tips there?
