Sadly, one of the most spectacular railroads worldwide was destroyed by heavy floods in march 2015, the 1 meter gauge line from Cha?aral via Llanta up to Potrerillos in northern Chile. When you look on Google Earth nowadays, only very few remains of the right of way are visible. In may 2012, the EMD 567 prime movers of nearly black Ferronor GR12 # 401 (built by EMD in 1962 for the EFE) and # 91 (built by EMD in 1965 for Andes Copper Mining, later Codelco) filled the valley with a deafening noise, working hard on about 3.0 % gradient with a long train of 23 empty sulfuric acid tank cars on the way from Llanta through the valley of the Río Salado (Qebrada del Río Salado) via Montandon up to Potrerillos at 2800 m a.s.l. The line was part of the Diego de Almagro division of the Ferronor. The line was built starting 1916 by the Andes Copper Mining Company to connect the Potrerillos copper mine and smelter with Pueblo Hundido (now called Diego de Almagro), where it connected to the state railway network, which continued to Cha?aral.
Landscape photography is difficult due to the challenge of combining good light and good scenery. Good railroad photography enters another level of complexity since it requires the first two while there is a train in view.
