FC a Cuenca / FC al Curaray 2-6-0 Locomotives in Ecuador

Class 1 (Locobase 14202)

Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works, Record of Recent Construction ((1903), No. 31, p. 20-21; and DeGolyer, Volume 49, pp.133+. Works numbers were 41159-41160 in January 1914.

This pair of small Moguls was ordered by Fox Brothers & Company. Based on the Guayaquil a Quito 2-6-0s delivered to that railway in 1900-1901, they were distinguished only by minor differences and an increase in weight. Fitted with a firebox suitable for burning soft coal or wood, the engines' tenders were supplied with removable extension racks to hold wood as needed. An extra set of netting for the stack was also needed to capture wood sparks. Baldwin's Extra Works Department fulfilled Order No 80 of 5 January 1914.

The Curaray was authorized on 28 January 1907 to build a rail line east from Ambato halfway between Guayaquil and Quito on the G a Q Railway. The 1914 order for the 1 and 2 described the line as having 55 lb/yard (27.5 kg/metre) rail, maximum grades of 2 1/2%, and curves as tight as 29 degrees (radii of 197 feet/60 metres).

The railway had the strategic purpose of competing with Peru for access to the Amazon headwaters and was intended to connect Ambato with the Curaray river on the eastern side of the Andes Mountains. By 1919, only 20 km (12 miles) had been completed. The line eventually reached Ba'os, about 133 km (73 miles) south of Quito.

Class 1 (Locobase 14505)

Data from DeGolyer, Volume 54, pp. 325+. Works number was 44459 in November 1916.

Fox Brothers bought this Mogul for the Cuenca, which used it on their 55 lb/yard (27.5 kg/metre) rail to scale 2 1/2% grades and get around 29 degree curves (radii of 197 feet/60 metre).

Sometime later the railway was reorganized as the Simbambe Cuenca.