Virtual Railfan Tour of Peru - 1997 Beyond Machu Picchu

 

I made a second trip to Peru in 1997 on a Trains Unlimited tour. This time we had our own train, headed here by No. 356 and were entertained by the exit through the switchbacks out of Cusco.  Here we were overtaken partway up by a service train.
The climb out of Cusco was tortuous

An excellent runpast.

This is the tourist train for Agua Caliente and Machu Picchu

It took a long time to reach the summit but the frequent stops provided plenty of railfan interest.

We had several meets in the Sacred Valley of the Incas and there was a brief stop at Agua Caliente to visit Machu Picchu

But the real treat on this trip was the run beyond Agua Caliente to the end of the line at Quillabamba in the Amazon basin. This section of line was only opened in 1978 and has since been abandoned because of water problems.

Because of our schedule we had a very short overnight stay at Quillabamba. I was intrigued with this portable alter.  It was presumably used as the end of steel was extended.

Our return to Cusco was full of interest, this time with locomotive No. 484


At Santa Teresa the line was the main street

Motor vehicles would have had difficulty here

There was time for a run past at a zig zag

Allanura

At Huaro Condo the locals were using the water tank do do their laundry

Huaro Condo

Huaro Condo. We got out of the way for the tourist train

With another meet we then went through the tortuous descent into Cusco. A long and fascinating day which is now impossible to replicate as the line beyond Agua Caliente (Machu Picchu) has been abandoned








 

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