An old picture (Spanish ?)

Don't know the details but I found this picture on hobbytrens. Taken in 1872, credits say its from the ministry of culture. Look at the two chappies with their backs to the camera in the foreground.

Chain Gang There's copyright stuff so use this link.AAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaargh it's gone.

Oh well to hell with &copy

An amazing old loco obviously very proud of it judging by the number of people around for the photograph.
It reminds me of the Darjeeling railway locos that have a crew of 5, a driver, fireman, coal shoveler and 2 sanders on the front, I suppose it helps with the employment.

It will be a posed photo of course so a quarry engine like that would usually just have 1 crewman, maybe 2, but everyone gathers round for the magical picture man...

The crane wagons in the background are great, some excellent reference material there.

The locomotive slightly reminds me of a Dean 0-4-2 517 class, the early cabless ones though in 1872 the GWR was still mostly broad gauge.

Yes loved the cranes too - I can't make out the letters on the buffer beam looks like "A.V.T or A.N.T no 24", what would AVTor ANT have been ? doesn't sound Spanish, and the uniforms and general appearance they don't look Spanish. I would have thought it was from USA (from the style of clothing)but the loco looks very european and it looks like broad guage which would not be a quarry line surely Martin.


and what about those two chappies ?

Its definitely 'A V T no 24'

Luvvit - thanks FC .

Ok it could be - Ferro-Carrill deAlmansa a Valencia y Tarragona, but it the pic was took in 1872 the engine (no 24) was not built til 1891, but that was a Sharp & Stewart 1-2-0 (2-4-0) the one in the pic is a 0-2-1 (0-4-2)

Check this out - it's all gobbeldegook (Spanish)but some interesting pictures and data/info

ATV.PDF


Don't try it Mikey 6.42mb

thanks Patrick, my finger was hovering over the link!!

Mikey

This link to Wikipedia .es might thorw some light it seems that No 24 could have been a J.F Cail, from Paris. The date looks more promising and it looks like this would have been the No 24 in question. Scroll to bottom, table of locos.

Wiki AVT Link

The smokebox doors on AVT No. 24 are very similar to those on the CFBS No. 2, which is also a Cail.

It could be a contractors loco and the works going on around it is the line being built?

AVT might even then refer to the contractor... so almost impossible to trace!

I'm still placing my bets on a quarry though.

I've just compared the height of the man standing on the footplate on the right of the smokebox to the distance between the loco's wheels and the gauge of the engine is almost exactly his height - a tiny bit less maybe, so unless this is the little known Hobbit railway from the Shire, it's broad gauge. What gauges were in use in Spain in the 1870s guys?

Quote :

What gauges were in use in Spain in the 1870s guys?

All sorts Martin. Which is no help at all really - just my little joke.


OK competition is over - nobody won the trip for two on the Orient Express.


The two chappies in the foreground are CHAINED TOGETHER.

pjti wrote:

The two chappies in the foreground are CHAINED TOGETHER.

LOL, well I saw that straight away! Didn't bother commenting since it was so obvious from the thread title. Was there a competition then?

No Martin, but no one mentioned (spotted) it and I thought it added a degree of interest to the photo.