look after the right-of-way. Still, copper thieves moved in and stripped the elec- trification — some of it only 15 years old. Construction encroached on the right- of-way, and street trackage between the Atlántico and Pacifico stations was paved over. Catenary poles were cut down for scrap, with only the concrete bases remaining today. Some locals believe the railway was shuttered to help the trucking industry. A decade after its closure, the tide had turned. Vehicular traffic in the San Jose area is legendary, with the streets in a constant state of snarl — so much so that driving restrictions based on license plate numbers are in place during week- days. It can take two hours to get from downtown to the airport, a distance of only 15 miles. In 1998, a section around Limon was opened for freight and cruise ship passengers. The first section around San Jose was brought back in 2005. And
for the past ten years, the railway has been steadily climbing back from extinc- tion, with route miles reopened every couple of years and additional trains placed in service, which now extend past the morning and evening rush and include
Saturdays. Today, about 45
miles of track is operational. The system is well-patronized, with many of the trains standing room only. There is talk of the purchase of new locomotives and cars and even restringing the electrifi- cation, as well as possible conversion to standard gauge if funding can be found.
Current Operations
Photographing the downtown trains is fairly straightforward. No car is needed, with many shots in a distance of less than two miles. A ride on the train costs only a few dollars, but will need to be paid for in colones with tickets purchased at the station.
The Estación Atlántico, built by Ferro- carriles de Costa Rica, is the busier of the city’s two main stations, with trains coming in from Cartago to the east and Heredia to the west. Calle 23 (23rd Street) runs right past the station throat, and is a good place to start. The Atlántico station is also home to Costa Rica Northern 2-6-0 59, built by Baldwin in 1907. It’s in a fenced-in compound and not easily shootable, but the locomo- tive is kept in good condition under its roof. The station itself was built in 1908. Some of the platforms are made from recycled narrow gauge flat cars, a nod to the shoestring budget of the railways. About 1.5 miles
across town is
the Estación Pacifico, built in the Mid-Century Modern style with glass block windows and sleek curves. The concourse floor is adorned with a mosaic inlaid with the likeness of electric and steam locomotives of Ferrocarril Electri- co al Pacifico (Pacific Electric Railway, no relation to the storied California line of the same name). Out in the courtyard is FEalP electric motor No. 3, a 1930- era boxcab built in Germany. Passen- gers are kept inside until train time, and the platform can’t be accessed without
OPPOSITE: General Electric U6B 51, belonging to the Instituto Costarricense de Ferrocarriles (Incofer), has just left the Pacifico station in San Jose, Costa Rica, heading across town. LEFT: In an effort to upgrade and modernize the service, Incofer has been receiving secondhand DMU cars from Renfe in Spain. A married pair approaches the Atlántico station in downtown San Jose on December 12, 2016. BELOW LEFT: Pacific Electric Railway motor 3, a 1930- era boxcab built in Germany, is on display in the courtyard of the Pacifico station in San Jose. BELOW: Incofer GE U6B 51 negotiates the tight median along Calle 13 on a run between the Atlántico and Pacifico stations in downtown San Jose on December 13, 2016.
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