Villazon a Atocha/FCB 2-8-2 Locomotives in Bolivia

Class 1 (Locobase 13311)

Data from "Heavy Narrow-Gauge Mikado Type Locomotive for the Atocha-Villazon Railway+ Built by the American Locomotive Company", Locomotive (November 1923). Works numbers were 64214-64215 in February 1923, 65937 in September 1924.

Intended to close a gap between Argentine and Bolivian railways, this project was begun in 1921 as a 198-km (120-mile) line between Atocha in Bolivia and La Quiaca at the northern end of the FC Central Norte de Argentino and on the Bolivian-Argentine border. The entire line lay between 2,704 (8,871 ft) and 4,058 meters (13,314 ft) above sea level.

Villazon-Tupiza was due to open at the end of 1923, according to the article.

The Mikados delivered to this contract were very similar to an earlier set of 10 C29s delivered by Montreal Locomotive Works (also an Alco subsidiary) in 1920 to the FC Central Cordoba in Argentina (Locobase 3710).

Coombs states that the 1 and 2 later went to the FC Potosi-Sucre-Tarabuco. The 3, ordered separately through Ulen & Company, came equipped with a Worthington feed water heater. 3 also went to the PST. All had survived into the 21st century

Class 205/ (Locobase 21082)

Data from FC CC de Bolivia 1958 Locomotive Diagrams, supplied in August 2022 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Railroad Data Exchange collection; and Martin Coombs, Bolivian steam locomotive list (October 2020), downloaded from []), p. 32. Works numbers were 12446-12449 in 1958. (Note: road numbers come from the 1958 diagram, but Martin Coombs cites several inconsistencies in his roster compilations; see pp. 32, 37, 48, 68-69. The last accounting agrees with the allocations shown in the diagram.)

See the context for these engines in the first of Locobases 21081-21084.

Most notable features were the large firebox (with 1.4 sq m/15.07 sq ft in arch tubes), high superheater percentage of combined heating surface area and very low factor of adhesion.

When Bolivia gathered all the private railways under the banner of Empresa Nacional de los Ferrocarriles del Estado (ENFE) in 1965, this quartet acquired the 600-series numbers.

Class 3 (Locobase 21087)

Data from FC CC de Bolivia 1958 Locomotive Diagrams, supplied in August 2022 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Railroad Data Exchange collection; and Martin Coombs, Bolivian steam locomotive list (October 2020), downloaded from []), p. 43. Works numbers were 11846-11847 in April 1925, 12144 in 1929.

Unusual "oversquare" cylinder dimensions distinguished this trio from virtually all other 2-8-2s regardless of gauge. Their 45 kph (28 mph) rating reflected a focus on scaling the many tough grades in the FCVA. The FCB calculated the indicated horsepower as 828 hp (618 kW).

Coombs reports that the 4 was named Mariscal Sucre. The 1929 addition had 43 mm small tubes and an evaporative heating surface area of 141.24 sq m (1,520 sq f).