HELP SAVE A PART OF THE WORLD'S LAST STEAM POWERED NATIONAL RAILWAY SYSTEM

The Ferrocarril Presidente Carlos A. López (FCPCAL) in Paraguay is the last
principal railway concern in any country whose entire locomotive stock is steam
powered. Its fleet of locomotives consists mainly of British built 2-6-0's,
4-6-0's and 2-8-0's, some ordered new in 1910, when the railway (then under
British ownership) was embarking on a regauging exercise, and some imported
second hand from Argentina over the past twenty or so years. Two, essentially
traditional with regard to their technical characteristics, were built new in
1953. The average age of the currently operational locomotives is approximately
84 years. Those acquired from Argentina used oil as fuel when they arrived,
but they were soon converted at the Sapucay shops to wood burning. Apart from
a small fleet of Sentinel railcars (and the few internal service
Railcars), the Paraguayan railway has always been wood fired.

The trains hauled were latterly brakeless, although the locomotives did have
vacuum brakes. A cynic would claim that brakes were hardly necessary anyway,
since the decrepit state of the track forbade anything akin to high speed
antics.

The locomotives and unpowered rolling stock were maintained at the Sapucay
workshop, where power for the lathes was transmitted by pulleys driven by a
stationary reciprocating steam engine. The steam for the latter was provided
by any one of three stationary boilers, one of which seemingly belonged to a
pre-1910 broad gauge locomotive. The railway was nationalized in 1961. In its
final years under British ownership investment was minimal, a state of affairs
which continued in government hands. The government covered the operating
deficit, but gave nothing for investment. Basic infrastructure maintenance has
also been inadequate, apart from a bridge strengthening exercise over the
Asunción-Ypacaraí stretch (used until recently by a once per day suburban
train) in 1996/97. How the railway managed to keep operating for so long is
one of life's mysteries. There was once a plan to electrify it, using cheap
energy produced by the Itaipú dam complex, but nothing came of it. RENFE, of
Spain, wanted to take it over in the early 1990's, but then lost interest once
it became obvious that its bid to acquire the Ferrocarril General Urquiza in
Argentina, which connects with the FCPCAL via a bridge, would not be allowed by
the Argentine Government (which wanted to privatize rather than hand the
railway over to the government of another country).

Once bridges had been reinforced between Asunción and Ypacaraí, the
steam-powered suburban train rolled once again. But longer distance passenger
trains were not revived. Freight traffic had died away too. The demand for
both was seriously affected by the flooding of several kilómeters of the
southern section of the main line, due to the building of the Yacyretá dam.
The flooded section meant also that the locomotives based at Encarnación, close
to the Argentine frontier (which is 376 km from Asunción), could not reach
the Sapucay shops. Hence yard work at Encarnación, mainly assembling trains
carrying soya, for onward movement into Argentina, was handed over to diesels
from Argentina.

Now the FCPCAL is completely shut down, apart from an occasional weekend
excursion train from Asunción. The government has suggested paving over the
Asunción to Ypacaraí section and using it as a road. (This is the oldest
stretch of the railway.) The Asunción to Sapucay section, complete with its
stations, the Sapucay shops and a generous array of wood-fired steam
locomotives and wooden bodied carriages, must be saved for posterity. There is
no reason why it could not be used by diesel powered freight trains and
multiple units, but it must be saved. I am in contact with the FCPCAL president
Mr. Jorge Jara, and other influential people in Paraguay, and plan to make a
presentation to the country's President to try and have the said stretch
declared a national monument, or something of the sort. Depending on how things
work out, a request might also be made to UNESCO to have the Asunción to
Sapucay section declared a part of the heritage of mankind.

If you would like to support this attempt, please send a short note to that
effect to or via fax (+ 56 2 208-0252, or + 56 2 208-1946)
or by regular mail (CEPAL, casilla 179-d, Santiago de Chile). Your reply will
be included as an appendix to the presentation.

NOTA: EL ORIGINAL DE ESTE FAX, CON ANEXOS, SE ENVIÓ A TRAVÉS DE LA
VALIJA DIPLOMÁTICA DE LA EMBAJADA DEL PARAGUAY EN CHILE.

Excelentísmo señor
DR. LUIS ANGEL GONZÁLEZ MACCHI
Presidente Constitucional de la República del Paraguay
Palacio del Gobierno
Avenida El Paraguayo Independiente, entre Ayolas y O'Leary
Asunción
República del Paraguay.

Fecha: miércoles, 21 de julio de 1999

Tema: FERROCARRIL PRESIDENTE CARLOS A. LÓPEZ

Señor Presidente:

1. A título personal y en nombre de las personas e instituciones identificadas
en el anexo del presente oficio, tengo el honor de dirigirme a usted para
señalarle la importancia histórica del Ferrocarril Presidente Carlos A. López
(FCPCAL), especialmente del tramo más antiguo, de Asunción a Sapucay.

2. Su importancia se basa en:

su asociación histórica con el Presidente Constitucional de su país a mediados
del siglo pasado, don Carlos Antonio López;
su riquísmo contenido arquitectónico;
su flota de locomotoras, todas piezas históricas de gran importancia, cuya
edad media es de unos 84 años;
su material rodante no motorizado, especialmente los coches y carros de
madera, y;
la maestranza de Sapucay, que se energiza todavía principalmente por la fuerza
del vapor.

3. El FCPCAL fue el último ferrocarril en el mundo operado en un 100% mediante
la tracción a vapor, y, como economista profesional de transportes e
historiador, considero plenamente justificada la retención en condición
operativa del señalado tramo, y la conservación, en condición, por ahora,
inoperativa, del resto del ferrocarril, hasta la ciudad de Encarnación,
mientras se lleve a cabo una evaluación de las opciones de transporte en ese
corredor.

4. En el corto plazo, sobre el tramo de Asunción a Sapucay podrían ser
operadas dos categorías distintas de servicios:

trenes suburbanos, entre Asunción y Ypacaraí, operados por automotores a
diesel, adquiridos usados en un país europeo, como Alemania o Inglaterra, y;

trenes históricos, operados a vapor, atendiendo los siguientes mercados:
(a) excursionistas paraguayos;
(b) aficionados ferroviarios extranjeros;
(c) turistas generales extranjeros, y;
(d) los productores de películas de cine o televisión, y de spots
publicitarios.

5. Quisiera informarle, también, que, con motivo de las Primeras Jornadas
Internacionales sobre la Preservación del Patrimonio Ferroviario Histórico,
organizadas por la Asociación Latinoamericana de Ferrocarriles (ALAF) y la
Presidencia del FCPCAL y celebradas en Asunción en octubre de 1997, distintos
delegados propusieron la conveniencia de solicitar a la Organización de las
Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (UNESCO) que el
tramo Asunción a Sapucay fuera declarado parte integral del Patrimonio de la
Humanidad, por sus exclusivas características históricas.

Aprovecho la oportunidad para expresarle las seguridades de mi consideración
más distinguida,

Ian Thomson

Se adjuntan:

Ejemplar del informe El autofinanciamiento de una actividad cultural: un
análisis del mercado de los trenes especiales con equipos históricos en
América Latina (elaborado por el suscrito en su calidad profesional, como
economista de la CEPAL).

Ejemplar del informe El marketing de un bien cultural: una propuesta para el
Ferrocarril Presidente Carlos A. López, producto de una misión oficial de la
CEPAL, efectuada al Paraguay los días 24 al 28 de febrero de 1997, a solicitud
de: ProParaguay, la Dirección de Turismo y la Presidencia del Ferrocarril
Presidente Carlos A. López.

Nomina de personas e instituciones que han expresado su convicción de la
conveniencia de la retención en operación del Ferrocarril Presidente Carlos A.
López, incluyéndose además una selección de los comunicados recibidos hasta la
fecha.

Copias para:

Señor Ministro de Obras Públicas y Comunicaciones
Señor Presidente del FCPCAL
Señor Embajador del Paraguay en Chile

Anexo

Nomina de algunas personas e instituciones que han expresado su convicción de
la conveniencia de la retención en operación del Ferrocarril Presidente Carlos
A. López, hasta: jueves, 22 de julio de 1999 (8:55 h.)

7 August 1999 from Ian Thomson

This week a second letter of appeal was sent to President Luis Angel
González Macchi of Paraguay, in which a further list was attached, of
people associating themselves with the appeal to reactivate the
President Carlos A. López Railway (FCPCAL).

I have also been in touch with the British Embassy in Paraguay, to enlist 
its help in trying to arrange for withdrawn diesel multiple unit trains 
to be sent to run regular suburban services between Asunción and Ypacaraí.


The President of the FCPCAL has told me by phone that we are having some 
positive impact.  Today (7 August 1999) the following message was received from him:

Dear Ian:

I would like to express how much I appreciate the valuable help you are
giving our Railway Company, by way of the letters and reports delivered
to the Paraguayan Government on the current state of the Railway and the
scope for a reintroduction of services, at least over the section from
Asunción to Ypacaraí.  We have drawn up a project involving a reopening
in stages, starting with the 15 km stretch between Asunción and Luque.
For this we would like to continue to count on the support both of
yourself and of the other railfans that have joined the bid to
reactivate the Railway.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the President Carlos A. López
Railway (FCPCAL), we convey to you our sincere thanks for your
continuing and dedicated collaboration, which gives us the strength to
go on and find a satisfactory way out of our current difficulties.

We shall continue to keep in touch

Sincerely yours

Jorge Jara S., Engineer, President, FCPCAL

FIRST LIST OF SUPPORTERS - 22 July 1999

Nombre	País	Institución o profesión
Rob Dickinson	Gales	Organizador de tours ferroviarios
Henry Posner III	Estados Unidos	Presidente de la Rail Development Corporation y director de empresas ferroviarias en Argentina, Estados Unidos y Guatemala
Jacques Daffis	Francia	Operador de ferrocarril turístico
Lycurgo do Rego Barros Almeida	Brasil	Economista de transportes
John Kirchner	Estados Unidos	Profesor de geografía y transporte, Universidad Estatal de California
Enrique Diaz	Argentina	Presidente del Ferrocarril Austral Fuegino (Tranex)
Shaun McMahon	Argentina	Ingeniero principal del Ferrocarril Fuegino
Juan Tapia	Perú	Consultor en transportes
Graham Claytor	Estados Unidos	Vicepresidente senior de Rail América y director de empresas ferroviarias en Chile y Estados Unidos
Guillermo Burgos	Chile	Médico y cirujano
Alan Morrison	Estados Unidos	Investigador y autor de temas ferroviarios y urbanos
Peter Lais	Suiza	Presidente, Amigos de los Ferrocarriles Latinoamericanos
Keith Till	Inglaterra	s/i
Ashwani Lohani	India	Director de Turismo de la India
Francisco Gutiérrez	Paraguay	Gerente de Asuntos Corporativos de Personal S.A. y ex-Director de ProParaguay
Ian Bull	Inglaterra	Diseñador gráfico
Derek Hyland	Chile	Analista de sistemas
Gina Warren	Gales	Operadora de turismo
Alan W. Hegler	Estados Unidos	Investigador de temas ferroviarios
Asociación Chilena de Conservación del Patrimonio Ferroviario	Chile	Sociedad dedicada a la conservación ferroviaria
John Tillman	Estados Unidos	Funcionario del Banco Mundial
Pablo Lacoste	Argentina	Historiador y profesor de la Universidad de Cuyo

FURTHER LIST OF SUPPORTERS

Nombre	País	Institución o profesión
Ben Anderson	USA	Consultor en transportes
Jonathan Derksen	Canadá	Autor de novelas históricas
Anthony Farrar	Inglaterra	Director de revista ferroviaria para Asia y el Pacífico
Paul Cachpole	Inglaterra	Director de revista ferroviaria histórica
Laura López	USA	Jefa de Servicios de Información, CEPAL
Jakob Stilling	Dinamarca	s/i
Paul Waters	Inglaterra	Consultor en ingeniería; ex-presidente de asociación ferroviaria histórica
Geoff Todd	Inglaterra	Ingeniero ferrovario jubilado
James Petropulos	Grecia	Ingeniero de ferrocarril metropolitano
David Thornhill	Inglaterra	Director de revista ferroviaria histórica
Harold Middleton	Chile	Ingeniero de minas
Marcelo Benoit	Uruguay	Consultor en transportes
Manuel Alepuz	Cuba	Director de Instituto de Investigación de Transportes y ex-vicepresidente de Ferrocarriles de Cuba
Asociación Uruguaya Amigos del Riel	Uruguay	Asociación de conservación ferroviaria
Federación Americana de Amigos del Riel y de la Tracción Eléctrica	Uruguay	Asociación de promoción ferroviaria
Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales	Chile	Instituto gubernamental dedicado a la conservación del patrimonio histórico y cultural
Enrique Rivera	Chile	Pintor y maquetista
Hernán Venegas	Chile	Diseñedor Gráfico y ex-Presidente de una asociación de conservación ferroviaria
José Zagal	Chile	Profesor universitario en química
Christopher Walker	Inglaterra	Executivo de ferrocarriles turísticos
Raúl Sandoval	Chile	s/i

USEFUL REFERENCES

The British in Paraguay 1850-1870 by Josefina Plá. Richmond: Richmond Publishing, 1976. ISBN 0 85546 196 9

Ferrocarriles, Conspiraciones, y Negocios en el Paraguay 1910-1914 by Juan Carlos Herken. Asunción: Arte Nuevo Editores, 1984

An in-depth history of the railway from 1853 to 1928 can be be found in The British Overseas Railways Journal, ISSN 0952-5483, issues 11, Summer 1994, to 17, Autumn 1998.

La cuestion ferrocarrilera en el congreso nacional. Asunción: Talleres H. Kraus. 1907.
(Debates Parlamentarios referentes a la aprobación del Contrato entre el Estado Paraguayo y la Paraguay Central Railway Company, 1906/1907.)

CONTACTS

IAN THOMSON, ECONOMISTA E HISTORIADOR DE TRANSPORTE FERROVIARIO Y URBANO

Dirección postal: Unidad de Transportes, CEPAL, Casilla 179-D, Santiago de Chile.
Fax: + 56 2 208-0252/1946 - Fono: + 56 2 210-2281 - Email: ithomson@eclac.cl

Ferrocarril Presidente Carlos Antonio López

PO Box 453, Calle Mexico 145, Asunción, Paraguay.
Telephone: +595 21 443273/445717 - Fax: +595 21 447848. - Email: fcpcal@conexion.com.py