The Augusto C. Sandino sugar mill, located just west of Havana, was home to one of the very last three-foot narrow-gauge sugar railways still operating in Cuba.
Cuba’s sugar railways were never easy to track. Their status was constantly changing—locomotives reported as derelict one year might be back in service the next; a mill running on diesel one season could return to steam the following year; and a mill thought closed could suddenly reappear in full operation. Nothing was ever truly permanent.
Augusto C. Sandino was a perfect example of this uncertainty. In 1995, the mill appeared completely abandoned. No cane was being processed, rusty rails lay everywhere, and a dispiriting line of dumped locomotives sat beside the road leading into the complex. It seemed certain that one of Cuba’s last three-foot-gauge sugar railways had closed forever.
But by the start of the 1996 harvest, the impossible had happened. Augusto C. Sandino was back in operation. Much of the track had been relaid, and many of the locomotives had been overhauled. What only months earlier had looked hopeless now felt nothing short of miraculous.
Augusto C. Sandino became one of the great resurrection stories of the 1990s—a three-foot-gauge railway completely rebuilt in just a few short years, worked entirely by steam, and powered by 80-year-old 2-8-0 locomotives that refused to disappear.
In the context of the sugar industry in Cuba, a
copio (short for centro de acopio or copio de caña) is a sugar cane collection point or transfer station located in or near the fields.
It acts as a critical logistical hub where sugarcane, freshly cut by macheteros (cane cutters) or mechanical harvesters, is transported to be loaded onto trucks, tractors, or, historically, railroad cars for transport to the sugar mill (central).
It serves as a central clearinghouse for the harvested cane, allowing for the consolidation of smaller loads into larger, more efficient, and often cleaner, transportation loads.
The copio helps manage the logistics of the harvest, particularly in the collection and transportation of cane from distant fields to the mills.
The cane is brought to the copio to be processed (often including removing impurities), weighed, and then transferred to transportation vehicles.
In the context of the Cuban sugar industry, these hubs are vital for efficiency in what is often a time-sensitive, manual-to-mechanical process.
“Stay with us for one final, dramatic shot as No. 1404—built in 1919—thrashes uphill toward the mill.”
In February 1998, the four of us—American railfans—found ourselves here in Cuba, standing alongside this line. After the cold, demanding travel we’d known in places like China, Cuba felt almost effortless: warm air, welcoming people, and the familiar sight of American-built steam still earning its keep.
That year the railway was alive with activity. Multiple trains were at work at the same time, heading out to different loading points scattered through the cane fields. It felt less like a relic, and more like a system very much in motion.
The railway workers and the people of Cuba were always friendly to Americans despite the geopolitical differences. The children were also friendly and curious though relentless might be a better word. Once spotted they flocked to us and deluged us with their presence. Even after the gum and other gifts were dispensed they would press for more so we learned to simply endure it.
In Cuba, the impossible seemed to happen with remarkable regularity. With only the most basic facilities—and replacement parts often fabricated on site—it is hard not to wonder how Cuban crews managed to keep these locomotives running at all.
Yet if you wanted to see true miracles performed, a little time in the working shadows of a Cuban sugar railway proved it happened there every day.
We’re now going to show some of the mechanics and operations at the copio followed by a loaded train leaving the copio. Be sure to stick around till the end as there are two dandy scenes of these beautiful ancient early 20th century American engines thrashing their way to the mill.
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