Exploring lost railroads of Mexico .

Modern Ruins: An Artist’s Vehicle Designed to Traverse 9,000 Kilometers of Abandoned Railways in Mexico
http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/06/m ... of-mexico/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Some stunning photos here.

How do you loose a railroad? Forget where you put it? Alright, abandoned. In one of those pictures the railroad looks in pretty good shape for an abandoned line. You'd think they'd pull up the rails and use them elsewhere.

philipmartin wrote:How do you lose a railroad? Forget where you put it? Alright, abandoned. In one of those pictures the railroad looks in pretty good shape for an abandoned line. You'd think they'd pull up the rails and use them elsewhere.

The Mexican government took the tainted advice from their north American neighbour and privatised their system. The companies that took over the lines -(?Union Pacific etc) insisted on dropping passenger service. I shall never visit Mexico.

george matthews wrote: I shall never visit Mexico.

Back on the dangerous places thread, the Juarez area isn't too healthy, I understand. I visited Juarez years ago, walking across the bridge between there and El Paso. I felt a little uneasy, but nothing happened. The people lived in mud huts, and the choir in the cathedral sounded like the Vienna Boys Choir.

george matthews wrote: The Mexican government took the tainted advice from their north American neighbour and privatised their system.

Again, this is something that I know nothing about, but I am surprised that a Marxist leaning government like that of Mexico would privatize anything.

philipmartin wrote:

george matthews wrote: The Mexican government took the tainted advice from their north American neighbour and privatised their system.

Again, this is something that I know nothing about, but I am surprised that a Marxist leaning government like that of Mexico would privatize anything.

It's not in any way Marxist. There might have been a Marxist phase about the time of the Revolution.

When I was there in the late 1980's , Mexico had an extensive passenger system. It was difficult to obtain seat space, though I was there around Easter , a big holiday in a catholic country. The last train I rode was brand new, and an attempt to improve things, with at seat meal service.
I understand bus service improved rapidly in the latter years, and ate into railway passenger patronage, still it is hard to see how passenger service shrunk to almost nothing now ( a few copper canyon excursions).
I have read that what George said was true, a condition of the USA railroads buying into the Mexican railroads was for passenger trains to end. What public opinion was on this , I do not know, but i would say a good number saw superior bus and air services, and said , oh well , too bad.

I hear that these thousands of children, (up to age 26,) are going through Mexico on sealed trains; straight from Mexico's southern border to its northern border.

philipmartin wrote:How do you lose a railroad? Forget where you put it?

Reminds me of a sketch from the old British comedy show Beyond the Fringe. Alan Bennett is interviewing Peter Cook, posing as a senior police officer, about the Great Train Robbery. At some point Cook feels it necessary to make clear that the term "Great Train Robbery" is inaccurate as at no time were any trains actually stolen; it was only money that was stolen. The whole sketch is on YouTube but I can't access YouTube on my current internet connection so I can't post the link.

Here's the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUrhdIxTJSA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this stuff up.
Thank God for British entertainment. I remember Martyn Green when the D'Oyly Carte, (Gillbert & Sullivan,) came to New York after the war. Those performances put me in another world. I was listening to "The Gondoliers" yesterday.

Trans Mexican train ride.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHDsyOpuyNw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;