Ferromex's Linea A - Torreon to Irapuato

Torreon is the largest terminal on the Ferromex system. It serves as a key clasification point for traffic between Juarez/El Paso, Piedras Negras/Eagle Pass, Monterrey and the southern points of Guadalajara, Manzanillo and Mexico City. Between Torreon and Irapuato, Linea A is Ferromex's busiest stretch of track, serving as a trunk between the northern lines and southern lines. The line is all single tracked dark territorry, dispatched by track warrants.

Immediately south of Torreon, Linea A enters a deep valley along the Rio Aguanaval. This military train is backing into the siding at Picardias in order to let two northbound trains pass by.

Official Ferromex map of Division Centro Mexico

The same military train crossing Rio Aguanaval as it enters a narrow canyon.

One of the last pasenger train in Mexico runs on this territorry from Felipe Pescador to Torreon. The weekly train serves the isolated rural communities in parts of Durango and Zacatecas states. Here the train is passing through the short canyon between Picadias and Juan Eugenio on its southbound run to Felipe Pescador.

Near Juan Eugenio, a northbound manifest train is entering the canyon along the Rio Aguanaval.

North of Felipe Pescador, Linea A connects with FC Coahuila y Durango's southern line to Durango. Above, a southbound unit grain train is seen approaching the junction. The track in the foreground in the north leg of the wye. Below, the DPU's are visible as the trian curves toward the town of "Felipe."

Felipe Pescador

Felipe Pescador, Zacatecas is a the crew change point for trains between Torreon and Aguascalientes. It is a real railroad town, home to a large contract car shop and a small yard. A hotel across from the depot lodges train crews while they layover.

A yard job sits on the mainline in front of the depot at Felipe Pescador. Meanwhile in the yard workers begin a day of repaing a line of boxcars.

An outbound engineer is inspecting the locomotives of his northbound train prior to departing for Torreon.

Another northbound train pulls up to the depot while several outbound crews wait for their trains to arrive.

As a northbound grain train departs Felipe on the mainline, the brakeman runs ahead to line a switch while the train keeps moving.

The depot at Felipe is a busy place. Most of the town's comerce is located right around the yard. Above, a local ice cream vendor carries his cart across the tracks to the depot while another northbound train approaches.

A southbound grain train departs Felipe Pescador. The large car-shop building is visible to the left, as is the venerable water tower.

At Mezquite, a northbound grain train winds through the curves in the early morning.

Zacatecas

The Colonial city of Zacatecs was built near the summit of a high pass between two valleys. Because of its trading position and local silver wealth, it became an important Mexican city. The railroads built through the pass, climbing a stiff grade on both sides. Today, the railroad has little presence in the city of Zacatecas, but the climb to the summit uses many impressive curves, looping around the city. The sounds of struggling locomotives and whistles often echo throughought the whole city, bouncing off the faces of the mountains above.

A northbound manifest train is descending the north slope of the grade from Zacatecas.

The tracks loop through the residential neighborhoods of Zacatecas before reaching the summit at the old passenger station. Although passenger trains no longer serve Zacatecas, the station building and platforms are maintained very well.

A northbound automobile train is looping around a canyon while climbing the south slope toward Zacatecas.

A southbound intermodal train is passing through the looping curves on the south side of Zacatecas. The church to the left is located at the summit of the pass, on the edge of the historical centro.

A long northbound manifest train is down to a crawl as it climbs toward Zacatecas. La Buffa - the famous bluffs above the city - are visible above the locomotives. (low resolution scan from slide)

South of Zacatecas, Linea A drops into the valley of Aguascalientes. This northbound is climbing out of the valley where the tracks wind along the hillsides.

This nothbound is beginning the climb away from Aguascalientes.

South of Aguascalientes, the tracks wind through northeast Jalisco state. This is where the line enters the Bajio - the historic and fertile central valley of Mexico. Above, a southbound grain train is dropping into Santa Maria Traspontina - near San Juan de los Lagos.

A southbound unit grain train passes through some curves near San Juan de los Lagos.

The same train is setting its out cars at a grain elevator.

A southbound manifest train leaving the city of Leon. This train is nearing the terminal of Irapuato, the junction between lines to Guadalajara and Mexico City.