"To the Foothills at Cruzeiro" Cruzeiro Travelogue by glabah

The railway restoration group at Cruzeiro has only offered public trips in very recent years. The only operating locomotive on the property right now is this tiny 0-4-0 steam locomotive.

General Electric 70 ton switcher at Cruzeiro

As reported in my introduction page to Cruzeiro, this city used to be served by both broad and narrow gauge long distance railroads. The narrow gauge lines serve one side of the station (see above photo) and the broad gauge lines serve the other (see intro page for Cruzeiro).

The day I rode the train, on the other side of the station there was a General Electric 70-ton switch engine, used to perform small switching tasks on the line around Cruzeiro.

Concrete and Steel railway tie at Cruzeiro

The lines on the other side of the station have been modernized by the MRS Logistica with these hybrid concrete and steel ties.

Wood on the passenger car of the locomotive.

The locomotive is a wood burner, and so wood for the fire is piled up on the single passenger car that is used to move passengers on the line.

Locomotive and train in field, near Cruzeiro

For most of the trip through Cruzeiro itself, the line runs down the middle of a median in the center of one of the city streets (see my intro page for Cruzeiro).

As Cruzeiro is a small city outside a major urban area, the train does not take long to reach the fields of the farmland surrounding the city.

Train near the end of the line, Cruzeiro

The train spends a brief time climbing the hills on part of the restored line near Cruzeiro.

The end of the line is Rufino de Almeida station

The current end of the line is at Rufino de Almeida station. There is no real community here, but there are several houses, and the station is now a private residence. Here, there is a siding for turning the train.

The locomotive changes ends of the train

The locomotive swaps ends of the train before we return to Cruzeiro. As you can see in the background, the line becomes quite mountainous past this station. The line was at one time quite spectacular, and there are some who want to see the line restored to operation beyond this point.

The line used to continue northward, and connect to the same line where the Trem das Aguas in São Lourenço operates.

More photos of the ABPF operation in Cruzeiro are available at the EF Brasil railway photo archive.