The train to the SKY… SKY… SKY…
Dennis, at www.guanguiltagua.com, who organized our car and driver for Ecuador, tried to tell us that we should come back to Quito through the mountains. I tried to tell him that I don’t really like mountains, nor windy roads that make me motion sick. Plus, we had read that the Andes are so high that people get altitude sickness. The altitude is extremely high, in the 10,000 ft range. Just what I need – altitude sickness and motion sickness.
No thanks I said. Once, twice, maybe half a dozen times, I politely said “No!”
But he insisted. And insisted. I was getting a little ticked. Finally, after I agreed that we’d think about it and make a decision when we get near the mountains, he laid off. Jeez.
Well of course he was right, and so was I. We did have altitude sickness, but we had the most amazing experiences in the Andes Mountains!
The most incredible was the hair-raising Devil’s Nose 1920’s train up one of the highest mountains, zigzagging back and forth at dizzying heights and sharp cliffs looking down to a tiny ribbon of the river below.
The trip starts in Riobamba and the railway snakes up a mountain known as El Nariz del Diablo (The Devil’s Nose). This nearly vertical wall of rock was the greatest natural obstacle engineers encountered during construction of the Southern Railway. The mistake of going over instead of around the Devil’s Nose has become a point of engineering pride.
A team of engineers came up with an ingenious solution of carving a series of tight zigzags into the side of the mountain, which allowed the train to climb a gradient of 1-in-18 meters from 6000 ft to 9000 ft, by going forwards then backwards up the tracks. Today an incline of 1-in-100 meters is considered steep!
Moreover, inclines and curves in the track, especially ones as dramatic as those of the Devil’s Nose, limit the speed of trains and the loads they can carry. Whenever possible the tracks follow topographical contours.
I read that engineers ruled out tunneling through the mountain and decided that they must either go up it or around. They chose up! This decision made sense in 1900 but unfortunately it made it unusable as a freight or passenger line. It is being used only as a tourist train, but still it is closed every few days for track repairs.
People used to ride on top of the train as well, but a few years ago, someone was killed, and this practice was stopped – awww!
The arduous task of building the railroads in Ecuador also killed thousands of indigenous and Jamaican workers hired to do the climbing and blasting and building.
Between gasps of amazement one minute, in fear the next, here are a few of the photos I managed to take:
First, the Train Station
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Wildest Train Ride Ever
The train…
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Lining up with tickets…
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Inside the train… gorgeous wood…
Wildest Train Ride Ever 
The ticket…
Hand Brakes???
Leaving the station. Notice the flat car behind the engine? T says this flatcar behind the engine is not normal, but the brakeman on the flat car is there to put extra hand brakes on going up the steep slopes, in case the engine brakes are not enough! He will be working extremely hard.
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Here we go…
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Going up…
Wildest Train Ride Ever
And up…
Wildest Train Ride Ever
And up…
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Devils Nose Train going up into Andes Mountains
Wildest Train Ride Ever
The tops of the gigantic Andes Mountains disappearing into the Clouds…
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Up and up…
Barely grazing by sheer rock cliff walls… someone yelled,
“Keep your arms inside the car!”
And I did, just in time.
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Sharp cliff-side drops on the other side….
And still going up and up….
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Incredible views…
Wildest Train Ride Ever
The river a ribbon far below…
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Railroad Workers
Passing workers who barely have enough room between the moving train and the steep bank into the deep valley below them…
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Workers sitting on a rocky outcrop, enjoying the view…
Wildest Train Ride Ever
OMG! Higher still…
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Arms out the window taking pictures while holding my breath!
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Train Goes Backwards
Going forward and back to get up the steep grade of the Devil’s Nose!
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Higher and higher…
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Oh My God!
Wildest Train Ride Ever
And still going straight up…
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Two more zig-zags to the top of the Devil’s Nose! This has to be the wildest train ride ever!
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Amazing views…
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Traditional Ecuadorian Dancers
Now starting back down the Devil’s Nose, with a stop at a little train station where tradition Ecuadorian Dancers performed…
Traditional crafts…
Waiting for the train…
Back Down the Devil’s Nose
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Unbelievable views
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Wildest Train Ride Ever
Wildest train ride ever!!!
El Nariz del Diablo (The Devil’s Nose) – the train to the SKY!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMJpho6r0xU
Note: Passengers used to ride on top of the train, until several people were killed.
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P.S. The views and challenges are serious in the Andes Mountains. If you are inclined to do some mountain climbing and need some genuine mountain gear, check out the Smart Lad’s website.
