Vanishing
World Steam
Volume 5
Cuba - Part TwoOur return visit to Cuba highlights many
important mills not featured in part one.
Faced with the collapse of the Soviet
trading block, the US trade embargo and strained relations with
Latin America, hard currency from any source is critical for Cuba.
Although to a ceratin extent, sugar's dominance as the primary
source of foreign currency earnings, has been overtaken by
Tourism, the annual sugar crop is still very important
particularly in rural areas where most jobs rely directly or
indirectly on sugar.
Castro's already well into his seventies,
and it's impossible to predict what will happen when he dies. Some
speculate anarchy, mayhem and chaos, while others foresee an
ordered but gradual change to capitalism. One thing is for certain
- any political changes will affect the sugar industry - and the
steam railways of Cuba dramatically.
The ancient and labour intensive steam locos
featured in these two volumes could soon become a thing of the
past as they are replaced by fleets of newly imported diesels - or
even lorries - serving a much modernised and streamlined industry.
Sugar is grown in nearly all parts of Cuba,
although the actual harvest time varies considerably. This last
mill featured in this excellent programme spotlights Rafael
Freyre - the most scenically attractive of Cuba's sugar lines
which is always amongst the last to harvest. Mills featured
include:-
105 Augusto César Sandino, 107 Pablo de la
Torriente Brau, 315 José Smith Comas, 314 Jesús Rabí, 319 René
Fraga, 413 Espartaco, 424 Primero de mayo, 409 Antonio Sánchez,
443 Pepito Tey, 515 Ciro Redondo, 522 Venezuela, 504 Ecuador, 520
Noel Fernández & 635 Rafael Freyre
Running time over 90 minutes.