The thirty-inch gauge "Viacao Ferrovaria Centro Oeste", 250 miles north of Rio de Janeiro, ran a fleet of Baldwin locomotives built in the 1890s and early 1900s, all in immaculate condition. Centered at Sao Joao del Rei, the whole operation was a re-creation of American narrow-gauge railroading in the 19th Century. Although engines such as No. 39 were superbly maintained, much of the rest of the system was run down, including the station and train shed in Sao Joao, as seen here on March 9, 1973.
