The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1852-11-20
From the New York Express
Notes on the Panama Railroad.

This great work is now done 10 Barbacores, twenty
miles from Navy Bay and its continuation IS now perse.
vered in with great vigor About 500 men are now at
work the road from Barbacorcs to Gofgona, prnci-
pally Carhagenians (some natives aso) whom The Brit.
ish steamers bring up each voyage These Carhagenl,
from 81 TO 81 SO per day. They dig, lay the track or
fill up About three OF them do the work OF man in
the North here but northern man there, In that eli
mate could not do much better There some four
FIVE thousand wheelbarrows ont there, pile driver, three
locomotives and twelve or fourteen passenger and
some sixteen baggage cars Dir. cars are lnnumerabe
which was lately blown OFT The tcket-olice is OF brick,
Two and half stories. There are some SIX or eight
stores there also The fare up to BaIbacoiss eight
to 200 rods and the bridge TO cover II IS commenced
The stuff came from the States. and is expected to be
done in two months. Crhe boats on the Chagres river
will not be used after this season. Navy Bay begins TO
have Yankee look Including the Atlantic Mail Steam
eTs Companys Office large wooden three story build
ing, there about fifty houses already Chagres 60
ing down. and all The foreigners have quit residing there
Nobody lett but natives
The bridge over the Chagres river from Barbacores San
Pablo (opposi'e is TO rest on fine stone abuimens SIM
liar to granite got out the line OF the roalIoad there
The is eight feet long, two feet thick four wide
From San Pablo 10 Gorgona is six miles BY the river,
about three miles by the road and when the bridge and
the three miles of road are finished will take pas
sengers from Navy Bay 10 Gorgona. The road TO Cor.
gona will be open this probably by March Work
is going on from Gegona to Cruces, tsix mes,) and this
is 10 be done the next rainy season. which ends in De
cember year From Cruces to Panama IS twenty miles
by the mule route-the road will be about fifteen miles,
and the intention is TO have this done year IRON August
next The route is surveyed, lumber cut, and prepara
tons are going on This will be the toughest but not
the worst part OF the road through rocks the codleas
and alongside OF the river. The grade will be about six
" feet to the mile The swamp part OF The road, from
Navy Bay Barbacores, the worst part, s all done
Twohrds of that part stands on driven piles and la
borers now filling up that part with DIRT and dirt
cars The 60 slowly as yet about seven miles an
hour .
Mr.. Story, from Poughksepsie New York, and Mr.
Law (Geoge) had the contract 10 make the road from
Barbacores 10 Panama. Mr. Young. late chisf engineer
of the road former chief engineer OF the Hudson River
road is the president, in lieu OF John L. Stephens,
deceased The contract price is SAID 10 be three and
half millions of dollars for these tweniyone miles from
Barbacores 10 Panama. Agents are al Carhagenia drum
ming up laborers from all directions and gathering as
many as they can There are great many Irish and
Germans on the road, with American They
all go from New York by the steamers Al least $500
men be at work all parts oil the road. Houses
are built all along the line OF The Ioad-mos, OF them
framed-the having pretty good quarters hospitals,
and the best OF physicians, skilled IN the climate 10
take Of, advise, and make comfortable The en-
ployees
TAe British steamers are building dock and wharves
al Navy Bay Passengers now get out OF the Ameri-
directly into the cars and the baggage Is
thus also iranshpped. The American Steamship Com
pany have built on the point Of lsthmus island light
house which be ten miles at sea- bearing south
half west. They keep il up, and pay ITS expenses
Considering all The enormous Disadvantages under
which the builders OF this Panama railroad labor, 1t must
be considered the great work, II not the wonder, oil the
age They not only demonstrate Tor themselves an en-
ergy and an enterprise that amazing but their coun
Try and its nvigoraing institutions they also bringing
immortal honor. When IL through 10 Panama, the Pa
cihc will be in respects American Passengers.
baggage, and freight will be unshpped on the Atlantic
directly into the cars, and then resbpped again directly
into other steamers or sailing craft. Machinery now
does so much of what hard labor did, that the tran
shipments will not cost the 6telh part OF what would
have been the cost lew years ago. The reason why
the Panama part OF the road the heahiest part, Is not
worked on is that II would cost too much TO take the
materials around Cape Horn and hence they are to be
taken this side, as the railroad prepares the way,