M Y O B

Ecuador used some very colorful paper money when I was there. However, in 2000 the government adopted the US Dollar as its currency, so the bills shown below are no longer valid.

10.000 Sucre bill

1.000 Sucre bill

500 Sucre bill

100 Sucre bill

50 Sucre bill

20 Sucre bill

10 Sucre bill

5 Sucre bill

There were other things going on in Quito while I was there. Most of my weekends were taken up with railroading, but many evenings were spent in el Ejido park. There was a major shortage of power in 1979: the diesel generators were down for maintenance, and the expected flows of water did not materialize for their hydro-power, so electricity was severely rationed. The Hotel Colon, where I stayed, had its own generators, so we were cozy and comfortable. The Colon also had a rear entrance, which made it possible for me to sneak in looking like something the cat dragged in after a weekend of riding the railroad. It also allowed me to bring in tricks without passing through the lobby and front desk. Very convenient!

But I quickly discovered that when the word got around that the usual lighting in the park was turned off several nights each week, the local folk got out, got down, and got dirty in great numbers. Yours truly was right there among them, sucking dick as often as possible, which was frequently. There seemed to be an unwritten rule that the police did not venture into the park, lights on or lights off. Once in a while one would walk through the park, usually just going from one place to another.

Many nights I would sit on the base of the statue of Eloy Alfaro, pretty much in the center of the park. If the lights were on, I just enjoyed the fine weather; if the lights were off, I’d be cruising up tricks. I have found world-wide that Catholic boys are particularly horny, and the Ecuadoreños were no exception!

One event struck me as quite unusual. Located as it is, Quito has all sorts of unusual climate phenomena, one of which is the sudden development of a thin fog—and the equally sudden evaporation of it. Sitting in the park of a cool night, the fog might form and be there for twenty minutes or less, then be gone. During just such a situation, a uniformed policeman appeared out of the fog, groping himself madly: I had him down on the grass in a trice, and had him off in time to make his departure moments before the fog lifted. He thanked me appreciatively and disappeared!

Altogether, I had a wonderful time in Ecuador, but of course it was the railroad that really left the most lasting impression. Here are a few more shots taken here and there along the G&Q.

SCENES IN AND AROUND DURÁN:

A view of the shops at Duran

Wrecker Number 1. It probably got a lot of use!

Air compressor

Car number 28 being rebuilt for the nth time.

Freshly painted car. These date to the beginning of the railroad.

Engine 18 at Duran. It was on the S&C line originally

SCENES ALONG THE LINE:

This old structure near Milagro was disappearing into the jungle.

Autoferro in the hole for an up-bound mixto hauled by Diesel power

Number 11 hauling freight

Engine Number 51 thunders into Sibambe

SHOPS AT SIBAMBE:

The Sibambe shops are perched on a hillside above the town

Number 51 at rest in her home

Number 17 at Sibambe looked to be in poor health

ALONG THE RIGHT OF WAY:

The diesel engines were powerful: that’s an 9-car train on the Nariz

A mixto pulled by a diesel engine crosses the Alausi bridge

The world’s highest mountain, according to some, seen from Riobamba

Some of the motion on Number 11

The counterweights outside the frame gave these engines the moniker of “weed-whacker”

There will be one more post about the G&Q: I rode it to Ibarra, and got a few photos before night fell.

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