Espartaco - Cienfuegos

ESPARTACO
CIENFUEGOS

This mill was originally known as Hormiguero.   Between 1900 and 1933 the entire working class of Cuba was semi-enslaved, and
In 1933 the sugar mill was occupied by nearly 2000 workers and peasants from the area, demanding a daily salary. The
occupation lasted for five days. The mill was retaken and the leaders of the rebellion were captured by troops although later
released. Despite the setback, a salary increase and some concessions were achieved.   Following the successful revolution the
mill was one of the first to pass into the hands of the people.   It was agreed to change its name to Espartaco (Spartacus) in
memory of the Thracian slave who was one of the leaders of the rebellion against the Romans in 71BC and who has become a
symbol of repressed people across the centuries.

Espartaco was another 2’6” narrow gauge
line with a number of Baldwin 2-8-0s and also
two 0-4-0 fireless locomotives, one built by
Orenstein & Koppel and the other by
Baldwin. Even in the mid-1990's there still
seemed to a popular belief amongst some
Cubans that visiting steam enthusiasts were
controlled by CIA and were intent on
industrial spying! Thus while access to the
lineside was tolerated, many mills and
engine sheds were known to be out of
bounds to visitors. Access to Espartaco mill,
just a few miles from Mal Tiempo, was
usually denied by a man with a large and well-
oiled rifle but on my very first visit there it
was his day off and to our astonishment we
were welcomed in with open arms! A
subsequent visit in 1997 found not only three
of the 2-8-0 Baldwins on line work but also
the mill's two fireless locomotives busy in
and around the mill yard.

Two of the Baldwin 2-8-0's stand
in front of the shed at Espartaco.
No.1327 was built in 1911 and
No.1328 in 1915. Both engines
were going strong during my visit
on 2 April 1997

Baldwin 2-8-0 No.1329 (built 1919)
shunts the copio at Paso del Medio
on the longest of the three mill
lines at Espartaco (3 April 1996)

The terrain at Espartaco was
largely flat and uninteresting but
shortly before arriving at the shed
there was a small river bridge.
Nere No.1329 brings its train in
from the Paso del Medio loading
point (3 April 1996)

No.1329 in front of the shed at
Espartaco - the name of the mill can
be seen on the side of the mill chimney
- often the only landmark available for
spotting sheds in pre-GPS days. Most
navigation was done by means of the
'Atlas De Cuba'

Just over a year later and during
a subsequent visit to the mill
No.1329 was at work bringing in
cane on the same line but seen
here immediately before arrival
at the shed

No.1327 arriving at the mill yard
with another loaded train from
the loading point to the east.

Two fireless locomotives were
also in use during our 1997 visit.
A fireless locomotives has a
steam accumulator rather than
a boiler. This reservoir is
charged with superheated water
under pressure from a stationary
boiler. The engine works like a
conventional steam engine using
the high pressure steam above
the water in the accumulator.
As the steam is used and
pressure drops, the superheated
water boils, replacing the used
steam. The locomotive can
work like this until the pressure
has dropped to a minimum
useful level or the water runs
out, after which it must be
recharged. This is Baldwin 0-4-0
No.1131 built in 1916 and has
cylinders at the front of the
locomotive.

Despite their diminutive size the
locomotives were certainly
powerful enough to move four
or five loaded cane wagons at a
time as No.1131 demonstrates.

The other fireless locomotive
was Orenstein & Koppel 0-4-0
No.1130 (built 1914) Whilst
working on the same principle
of No.1131, this engine had its
cylinders mounted at the rear of
the locomotve underneath the
cab as can be seen in this 1997
picture

No.1130 busying itself as it shunts
wagons around in the mill yard at
Espartaco