The Hershey train, or as some locals call it "the chocolate train,"
is a vital link between Cuba's capital Havana and a string of remote
towns stretching east from the capital for 60 miles 96 (kilometres)
along Cuba's eastern coast.
It's only two cars long and runs on electricity.
The train's starting point adjacent to Havana Bay gives little indication of its importance to the lives of the people who use it regularly, or its unique history.
A run-down station called Casa Blanca, or "White House," marks the start of the train's 60-mile run.
The train takes passengers through a picturesque landscape of Cuba's rugged interior, ending in Matanzas, 60 miles east of Cuba's capital.
The line was established by U.S. chocolate magnate Milton S. Hershey in 1916, who also went on to build a factory to process sugarcane, and a town to house the thousands of Cuban workers hired by the company.
It's still a source of nostalgia for some.
"I know he was a chocolatier who came to invest in Cuba's sugar industry and I think, even today, I think his grandchildren still produce Hershey chocolate," said the train's conductor Ernesto Ortiz.
Surprisingly, that history is still part of local folklore, and many of the buildings and housing built by the company remain inhabited by locals to this day.
"This was an American town, a headquarters, the headquarters of Mr. Hershey. He had that and what we call the company housing, the old company housing," Javier Caraballo said on the town's train platform.
The company housing lines many of the streets of the town, that still bears his name.
Solidly built southern California-style bungalows housed company workers, and now Cuban families in post-revolution Cuba. A church still stands on a corner.
For many, it's the only form of transportation available on a regular basis, linking the agricultural interior with the coast and two major cities, Havana and Matanzas.
It's only two cars long and runs on electricity.
The train's starting point adjacent to Havana Bay gives little indication of its importance to the lives of the people who use it regularly, or its unique history.
A run-down station called Casa Blanca, or "White House," marks the start of the train's 60-mile run.
The train takes passengers through a picturesque landscape of Cuba's rugged interior, ending in Matanzas, 60 miles east of Cuba's capital.
The line was established by U.S. chocolate magnate Milton S. Hershey in 1916, who also went on to build a factory to process sugarcane, and a town to house the thousands of Cuban workers hired by the company.
It's still a source of nostalgia for some.
"I know he was a chocolatier who came to invest in Cuba's sugar industry and I think, even today, I think his grandchildren still produce Hershey chocolate," said the train's conductor Ernesto Ortiz.
Surprisingly, that history is still part of local folklore, and many of the buildings and housing built by the company remain inhabited by locals to this day.
"This was an American town, a headquarters, the headquarters of Mr. Hershey. He had that and what we call the company housing, the old company housing," Javier Caraballo said on the town's train platform.
The company housing lines many of the streets of the town, that still bears his name.
Solidly built southern California-style bungalows housed company workers, and now Cuban families in post-revolution Cuba. A church still stands on a corner.
For many, it's the only form of transportation available on a regular basis, linking the agricultural interior with the coast and two major cities, Havana and Matanzas.
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