International Railroad Discussion > Ferronor/FCAB Chile on the Atacama

Now back to home base with slides from September's quick trip up north,  here are a few images of Ferronor/FCAB on the Atacama Desert.

1-3.  Ferronor 2002E with sulphuric acid empties heading to BHP Escondida mine from the export facility at the port of Mejillones.  Power is
        EMD Indiana GT32ACs.  The train is traversing the double S curves as it nears the summit at Cumbre.  9/25/26

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4-5.  Same train entering the summit at Cumbre   9/25/26
6.  Same train a few miles east of Cumbre heading downgrade to the Atacama desert for the long haul to the Escondida open pit mine



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2026 01:24AM by masterphots.

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7.   FN 2007E at the junction with the EFE-owned line and FCAB mainline at O'Higgins.  The tailings and white mounds in the background are lithium.  9/24/26
8.   FCAB GT22CU-3 heads a train of pure copper cathodes westbound east of Prat.  9/24/26  The copper sheets are in locked containers  so as to
      thwart robbery of the sheets by roving bandits.  The car in the background was armed security following the train.
9.   Early morning shot of FCAB GT42AC 3214 at Cumbre.  9/25/26

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Thanks for the great show.  Gerry

'Like a trip to the moon in your backyard... Thanks, Alan

The mining operations in the Atacama that rely on the railroad operations depicted above are equally as impressive.  Just do an online serach for that topic to get an eye-full.  Adobe Stock has lots of photos of the mining ops themselves.

Greg Stadter
Phoenix, AZ

Great sequence. Thanks for posting this. 

Very interesting series of photos.
John

Nice set and thanks for the post.