International Railroad Discussion > Chinese deception

Argentinean presidential elections next month

The Chinese Propaganda Ministery aranged a photo op for the visiting Peronist Transport Minister

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/COP5XKLWwAEzC1h.jpg

http://www.elpatagonico.com/esta-lista-la-primera-locomotora-de-carga-fabricada-argentina-n1289214

Argentine press seem to be accepting and running with the story, even the specialist foamer sites

http://portaldetrenes.com.ar/articulos/529/fue-presentada-la-primera-locomotora-china-para-trenes-argentinos

Apparently CRRC painted up a domestic model in Trenes Argentinos livery

The minister stated "Today is a day of joy because we saw the first finished locomotive and comply with the deadlines, as we have done with passenger cars kilometer zero we have built in recent years.". The actual locos are months away, what a wally, the local foamers will have a field when they wake up and do a bit of research.

Lets hope that this stays posted, and the politically correct who have previously objected to my posts and had then taken down, do not get their panties in a bunch

Not sure many people will actually care....

I don't see anything not "politically correct" about this. And even if the post isn't who cares? Sick of all the P.C. nonsense. 

Looks like the loco is a HXN5B tarted up for the photo opportunity

http://bbs.railcn.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&action=printable&tid=1264252
http://www.csrgc.com.cn/g3794/s7393/t224099.aspx
 

What is your beef?

You don't like China? Argentina?

 

Will MacKenzie
Dundas, ON

Chinese Dim Sum - yum  Argentinean beef - Let's eat more of it.  The unit has distinctive GE look to it.

YY

jmt doesn't like any governments and loves to pile crap on just about any foreign politicians he can connect dots between. Just about every post of his here and on railpage.com.au is about some foreign railway and how the government is corrupt or full of it. Good laugh sometimes.....

Satelite Ferroviario has reported a lot of the "re-nationalization" of the "Trenes Argentinos" dba "Nuevos Ferrocarriles Argentinos" with the old logo and all!

New bicentennial paintscheme, lotsa brand new Chinese coaches. They look nice. The Chinese locos DO NOT look cooler and more reliable than the old  "export Geeps" (GT22's)... Keep rebuilding them and they'll run awesome...

Now they're focusing on refurbishing the old narrow gauge Belgrano cargas lines apparently...

They've also invested a lot on the Buenos Aires-Mar del Plata line...

 

Since the loco pictured has an AAR-style "bottom shelf" coupler, jmt is probably correct in his guess that the unit is a standard Chinese model painted to look like one for Argentina. It is obviously not meter gauge, and only the meter gauge lines in Argentina (Belgrano Cargas) use AAR couplers; the broad and standard gauge lines still use British-style side buffers and hook-and-chain couplings, which are not on the unit pictured. Interestingly, the Chinese locos already shipped to Argentina for passenger service are fitted with more European-style buffers (rectangular, not circular or elliptical) and coupling chains. Also, the unit shown is equipped for hauling air-baked trains only, while Argentine RRs usually specify dual-fitted (air and vacuum) units for braod gauge, so that they can also haul passenger cars when needed (freight cars were converted to air brakes over the last 50 years, but broad and standard gauge passenger cars have remained vacuum braked for some obscure reason -- probably money flowing into the wrong pockets!).

Roger Lewis (airbrakegeezer)  

Roger Lewis, thanks. I do not frequent International news everyday but your responses apply facts to otherwise unknown circumstances. I always wondered why Argentina, a large country with a lot of resources and demand for railway services, does not have better railways. I know the various gauges are a problem. But it is mosty a flat country with most traffic going one way...to the ports on the coastline. Seems to me geographically easy to manage, but I do not speak Spanish. Most is  terribly old rail and almost unballasted track, the most critical element for serious railroading, Why has not  privatization a decade or more ago not been able to re-invest in the freight lines and make a success out of them? Some are American companies. Seems sad.

tp117, without going into a whole lot of (very boring!) details, the fundamental problem with the Argentine RRs privatization is that they used the British/European model: that is, only the operations (and, I believe, the rolling stock) were privatized, while the track and all the other "infrastructure" remained part of the "National Patrimony" (i.e., owned by the government--errrrr, "the people"!). The private operators were supposed to invest in new equipment, while the government invested in the "infrastructure". What happened? Well, I'm sure you guessed it -- the guvmint never put a dime into the track, so after the private operators bought a few new locomotives (and many used-but-good ones from overseas, particularly Spain), they decided it wasn't much use spending any more money on good equipment that was just going to fall off the deteriorating track, or through a broken bridge -- so of course everything pretty much went to heck. Henry Posner's Railroad Development Corporation made a pretty good effort in partnership with Brazil's ALL, but in the end they decided there was too much red tape and risk, and too little opportunity to do anything good, so they sold out to ALL. So now the government has taken it all back, stating that they can thus "increase efficiency, reduce corruption, etc" -- which were exactly the same reasons for privatization in the first place...

I apologize for ranting on like this, but I was born and educated in Argentina, and it is sad to see what was once a fine group of railroads get trashed the way they are.

Roger Lewis (airbrakegeezer)

Aibrakegeezer, tanks for the very informative comment. It rings all too true.

Aibrakegeezer, thanks for the very informative comment. It rings all too true.