World of Steam: South America
By the 1990s, steam trains were few and far between in South America, but it was still possible to find
interesting locos performing in spectacular scenery.

Volume 1: Steam in South America

We initially visit the all-steam Central Railway of Paraguay, before heading for Bolivia, where we follow a steam special between La Paz and Lake Titicaca. In Ecuador we travel the western section of the Guayaquil & Quito Railway (including the Devil’s Nose) behind ageing Baldwins (filmed in 1988) before swooping down into Chile to travel on steam specials in the Atacama Desert, the Santiago area, and the deep south.

To complete the programme, we visit the two 750mm lines in the Patagonia region of Argentina, and ride steam specials in Buenos Aires. Coverage is also included of electric mine traction and a vintage railbus in Chile, and the historic Buenos Aires underground.

Steam in South America (on VHS tape) runs for 105 minutes and costs £19.50. 

In November 1988, Ecuador G & Q 2-6-0 Baldwin no. 11 pauses at Yaguachi station with the mixto for Alausi.

In Paraguay, North British built 2-6-0 no. 59 awaits
departure from Encarnacion with a passenger train
for Asuncion.

Volume 12: The West Revisited

We look at both Europe and South America, and initially visit the Harzquerbahn and the Dresden branch lines. The February 1996 material was taken at a time when heavy snow allowed some beautifully atmospheric shots, in sharp contrast with earlier productions in this series which were filmed in high Summer.

The South American coverage (November 1995) starts with graphic footage of a steam special working from Montevideo in Uruguay across the Pampas. Then to Paraguay, for a trip from Encarnacion to Asuncion on the all-steam Central Railway.

Bleak Patagonian landscapes, coupled with mournful chime whistles, are likely to send a shiver down any enthusiast’s spine when we visit Esquel and Rio Gallegos! Also in Argentina, we see the recently-built  500mm gauge tourist line at Ushuaia on Tierra del Fuego.

The West Revisited (on VHS tape) runs for an hour and costs £18.