A G12 diesel-electric locomotive at the Jundiaí station in September 1971. This legendary machine - still in operation! - has an unforgetable roar. During my trips from São Paulo to Garça or Vera Cruz the departure from the Cabrália Paulista station was really a special one. At that time (up to the middle seventies) the electrified section ended at Cabrália; the electric box or baratinha locomotives were replaced by two G12 units. Each departure wit the G12's was memorable, but Cabrália Paulista was the first one of the trip: two powerful beasts roaring in the struggle to move the 20 luxury cars of the Trem Azul, contrasting with the quiet humming of the electric locomotives. I consider this angry, urgent roar as one of the archetypes of the Companhia Paulista: The Missionary Spirit, the No time for a kiss dear, the Fate of the Universe is at stake!-approach that characterized that legendary railroad. The song remains the same, even in this strange millennium beginning: our computers allow you to hear one G12 departing from a station, at full speed blowing its horn or climbing a hill... Sometimes I heard this wonderful simphony ten miles away from the railroad, at a farm in Vera Cruz! The same model of locomotive can be seen at the FEPASA page, with the very first ("emergency"), the second and the third liveries. This machine was nicknamed Cabeça de Saúva, that is, Saúva's Head. Saúva is a kind of Brazilian ant, extremely destructive to our coffee plantations and easily identified by its big head. So this nickname came after the big dynamic brakes in the extremity of this locomotive. The metric gauge version of this locomotive has smaller dynamic brakes. This photo was taken by Ivanir Barbosa, from Jundiaí SP. The sound samples were kindly sent by Hermes Yoity Hinuy ("blowing its horn") and J.B. Lago ("departing from a station" and "climbing a hill"). J.B. Lago recorded these sounds during The Last Walz trip, between Campinas and Bauru, in December 17, 1999.
See a faithful HO model version of this loco at César Sacco Car & Locomotive Works.
Veja um detalhado modelo HO desta locomotiva na página da César Sacco Car & Locomotive Works