Virtual Railfan Tour of Peru 1997 - Galera summit to La Oroya

 

We continued our tortuous climb into the Andes. Here there was a stop for a zig zag

Casapalca

Chinchan

Ticlio

Finally we reach Galera. At that time the highest railway in the world - it has now been supplanted by the Chinese railway in Tibet

Galera, with its thin air was cold and not very pleasant

But of course we had to stop for pictures

Rumichaka

Rumichaka
The summit tunnel is on the divide between east and west. I went into the train bathroom.  As I suspected the toilet was open so my water dropped directly on to the tracks. This was a special experience as I knew that my water would flow onto the track and eventually find its way to both the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans.

It was now downhill to La Oroya.

La Oroya is a dour, high mining town. But the bed was warm

This is Cerro de Pasco Railway 2-8-0 No. 78, preserved at La Oroya











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