The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-02-17
ANOTHER LETTER FROM
PANAMA.
The Panama KailrOad-tts Equip
mcnts and Employees.
AspINwALL. Jan. 2G. 1915.

AspGNwALT, Jan. &c, 1875.
Dear hehdoH!-I am going to write you
railroad letter, something that think
will interest you more than anything else
To begin with, will try to give you some
thing of an idea Of the Panama railroad
property in Aspinwall They own four
piers for the use of which they charge the
different steamers and vessels fifteen dol
lars per day (thc Pacific Mail own one and
the Royal Mail one. Connected with
their largest wharf is the freight house, a
stone building two hundred and fifteen
feet in length, two stories high-a very
good building. The superintendent Of
flee is in a two story stone building,
should think two hundred feet in length
the first story is occupied as baggage
room, ticket Office and waiting room. The
second story by the superintendent, cashier
and assistant cashier, freight agent and his
clerks, Panama railroad telegraph and o.
lon cable, Colon being the native name for
AspinwalD. All trains start Just in front
of the superintendent Office. The ma
chnc shops, car shop and buildings for en-
gres and cars are not very large, but are
all in good repair and seem quite handy.
The company also own quite large num-
Der of cottages, boarding and lodging
houses, all situated on the beach, facing
the north - altogether the best part of the
town.
The present officers of the company are
as follows VIM. Thomson, superintend-
ent ID. NJ. Corwine, general agent PAN
anna c. +. Wise, freight agent, (Aspin-
walD; NJ. Conklin, cashier F. f. Ramsey,
assistant cashier j. +. Remon, auditor :;
Mansell, agent, Panama, besides freight
clerks, ticket agents, check clerks, &C.,
Nc. Also last, but not least Gin size Thos.
Sharpe, road master--an Englishman, who
has been on the load twenty years. Mr.
Thomson has been here twenty-four years
rather longer than expect to stay.
February list there will be some change.
f. {. White, general superintendent ;
G. i. Wise, freight agent, Aspinwall r.
ID. Dole, freight agent, Panama j. =.
Woodbury., treasurer j. McMichael, mas
ter mechanic Geo. II. Davis, master car
builder, (present incumbents).
The commissary department, once very
importaNt one, is to be done away with
also the hospital with its surgeon. The
harbor master, think, also, will be abol-
ishcd The clerks and employees are from
all parts of the globe, Maine, Vermont,
New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania,
South Carolina, England, Columbia, ia
maiCa, &c. The language of the country
is Spanish. There are nineteen stopping
places on the road, only nine of them hay.
ing station houses. The local travel is
considerable, last Saturday Mr.. Welch col
lected, the round trip, S41-mostly second
class passengers, at five cents per mile.
The rates of fare are as follows: First
class, S25 second class, SO local fare,
white men, % cents per mile, Columbians
and negroes, riding in the coach, 10 cents
mile, Communication tickets pay $40 for
three months, Sl5 for six months, $25 for
one year, Aspinwall to Panama, though
they are entitled to ride as often as they
please by paying -, so in American gold or
its equivalent, Everything to the Panama
railroad must be paid in gold-American
gold being five per cent premium.
Here is sample of their freight tariff.
Bananas, Monkey Hill to Aspnwall, SIS
per car-two miles. Extra baggage, As
piuwall to Panama, or local, cents per
pound, beef, ! cent per pound, blinds and
shutters (wooden) II cents per pound,
brooms, cent per pound, cigars so cents
per pound, camphOr, so cents per pound,
live cattle (through) per car, $50, way sta
tons, $40, ono draw back, coal, SIS per
gross ton, marble, for buildings, 1 cent per
pound. But that is enough to give you
some idea as to their rates. Two conduc-
tors do all the work. Mr.. Welch leaves
Panama at a. m, returning, leaves here
at p. m. Charles Stillson leaves here at
Z a. m, returning, leaves Panama at p.
IN. The freight trains, which are run as
often as necessary, are In charge OF the en-
gineer-ten loaded freight cars making a
big load for an engine up the grade. Yes
terday, after the arrival of the steamship
Henry Chauncey from New York, twelve
car loads of passengers went out on one
train, and noisy crowd they were, too,
two-thirds of them being steerage passen-
gers.