Virtual Railfan Tour - Bolivia - Santa Cruz to La Paz

Our train at Aiquile
Santa Cruz de la Sierra is at the western extremity of the Este, lowland network. It is technically possible to get by railway from Santa Cruz to the Altiplano network but this is through a long detour via Argentina. We were going to take a bus to Aiquile, thence by train to Cochabamba. After an overnight stay we would take a train to La Paz via Oruro. We were travelling in 1994 and this is not possible today as much of the Altiplano network is not being operated.

The bus to Cochabamba was quite an adventure. We had first to hoist our luggage onto the roof of the bus. We questioned why we couldn't use the luggage space under the floor.  It turned out there was a man sleeping in there. 

"What's he doing in there?"

"He's the mechanic. He's there to change the tires."

I am not sure whether there was an official road between Santa Cruz and Aiquile because much of the route took us along a dry river bed. At one point we pulled off and the sleeping mechanic was put to work changing a flat.

Our arrival at Aiquile created a lot of interest as we were one of the last trains to leave the station 

Not only did we put our bags on the roof but the train crew managed to heave the station safe and tie it on the back platform.

It was getting dark by the time we reached Cochabamba but there was time to take a look at a steam locomotive that had been abandoned in a shed.

Next morning there was a little time to look around Cochabamba before boarding our train for La Paz

This is a token that was used on the line between Cochabamba and Oruro. It was presented to me after I had done some railway inspections in 2002.

This time a few of us rode the roof

It was a good idea to sit down and be prepared to duck

Changolla


All the time we were climbing up to the Altiplano

We met (overtook?) a freight at La Cumbre


There was quite a bit of activity at Oruro

We ran along the main line to Viacha and then dropped down into La Paz, the capital of Bolivia.










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Comments

  1. UnknownDecember 6, 2020 at 6:22 PM

    HI Colin. I am doing some research on a train accident in the 1940's and am hoping to connect with you. Is there an email that I can reach you at? Thank you Jamie B

    ReplyDelete

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