At Sao
Lorenco
another double-headed trip with 14-year-old Felipe
Sanches running the lead loco. I picked the wrong engine
and rode the second engine going but the lead engine back down the
hill getting my share of whistle time and even ran the engine 2
kilometers. I was told Felipe started learning
steam when he was 10 years old. Later that afternoon we
had to rush back to Sao Paulo for a 1-hour flight to Florianapolis.
The
next day after we made a run from Imbituba
to Tubarao. In route that day we
saw the only B-12 diesel still in existence. Back home I was
told it might be Russian built.
Out of
Tubarao I rode the cab 3 times a 2-10-2 goal fired engine.
Seen pictures but never thought I might ride in one too. I
shoveled some goal, I ran the injector, which was easier than the
one I learned to operate back home a 10 wheeler.
I was in the
cab when we took on our last water, we uncoupled from the cars and
moved forward and back running the steam-powered shaker. All
the dead goal dropped to the ground between the track along with
sufficient steam and water to drowned any hot goals. In the
yard before departure I saw my first 2-10-2. We
eventually went back to Imbituba and flew the next morning out of
Florianapolis to Curitiba to ride a Budd car through the jungle.
Rio
Negrinho a German town was another steam adventure, the engine crew
included two more teenagers, one I am told knows injectors like the
back of his hand. As the engine ran backwards down hill the
engineer worked to get their laptop G.P.S. set up I was in the
fireman’s seat again and their injector operated like the one back
home on 2353, it had to be primed before starting. The crew
all gave me a thumbs up when I succeeded. I blew for all the
crossings until I could not see them coming.
At Rio
Natal we had a great lunch in the Church. Ralph the engineer
spoke great English and we talked about his trip in the U.S.
Then a late
arrival back in Curitiba, and early wake-up call to fly back to Sao
Paulo.
Then off to Paranapiacaba but due to the steep walk I
stayed on the bus and observed a 10 year old push two 5-gallon water
bottles back up the hill while readying his paperback.
At
Santos we rode on the 1350 mm gauge. Then we took a ferryboat
across a river and road electric cars that school kids had to take
to and from school.
At
Anhumas we rode behind a 4-6-2, 3-cylinder engine, beside the
normal two there is one in the middle of the engine). They had
4 busloads of school kids and 3 of us took pictures of them and
showed them to the kids. The kids train left first and then
our special charter. Again I rode in the cab, blowing the
whistle and might have got to run the engine but ran out of track
and time. Then to a restaurant with long tables and waiter
came around with every kind of meat on a skewer. Desert was
not included in the meal one member learned.
Then back to
Sao Paulo first stop Jaguariuna
to look at many dead engines rusting
and broken, then on to the Immigrant Museum
for our final steam.
Their 3-cylinder engine developed a steam leak just as we got there
and was shut down. We went to two airline terminals in Sao
Paulo to drop off 20 people flying to Europe and some staying on in
Hotels and the other half flew to Miami over night.
On the main road into Sao Paulo I observed an unmarked
lane used by Motorcycles but when needed Emergency
vehicles could squeeze through too.
And no one pulled over to the side of the road.
Sao Paulo and other cities had Toll roads and most other
major roads were as good as our roads but they all had
speed bumps some where along the way.
