sugar mills - narrow gauge
6 photos
updated : 2020-12-16
Mills in hillier areas tended to use narrow gauge railways to access the cane fields. Many lines were 2'6" gauge but there were several other gauges in use as well. Like the standard gauge mills, most narrow gauge lines used steam locos of classic early 20th Century American design.
sugar mills - standard gauge
12 photos
updated : 2020-12-16
Most Cuban sugar mills had standard gauge rail systems, often directly connected to the FCC main line. There were some diesels but many mills used classic American steam locos into the 1990s, either purpose built or former main line machines and usually dating back to the 1920s or earlier.
Las Villas
3 photos
updated : 2022-07-05
Las Villas Province covered a large part of central Cuba and included many cane growing areas, with around 50 active mills at the peak of sugar production in the 1980s. Railway operations varied from small narrow gauge systems to large mills with extensive standard gauge networks and ex-main line locos.