New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-02-28
GLIPsEs OF BRAZIL.
HE COFFEE RAILWAYS.
.xcIs1hsc DIFFICULTIES OF THE COAST
.xdMvALRIEs BETWEEN THE pRovIS.

Barra do Pirahy, January 80.
Thtoast Range, under different names, extends
,ronhpe St Rogue to the southernmost Province
~ Pzil. A second group Of mountains traverses
noJns Of the great interior States Of Goya1
sn|Minas Geraes, and Is connected with the
rItime range by the Sierra dos Vertentes. These
,hntain barriers have offered unparalleled engi-
FIRING difficulties in railway construction but
tese have been successfully overcome at Rio
md Santos tho main shipping points Tor conee
produced in the high natfaus inland. All inc
railways leading out of Bio pass through the noun
tain eorres The section between Mana and kaiz
A. Serra and Petropolis have already described
t. attains an attitude OF 2'so4 iee'
.hov. the Goa in 4. distance OF four miles
from The basc Of the Organ Mountains
The Corcovado Railvky. which inspected unoer
tho conduct OF Euehc Honold. OF New-oreahS,
ono =, tho dircctor OF the company, II opera.cu
an tho Ricrenbash system. with thlr'eeh-.oh
,..on,n,;y.s having a central cog-wheel running
49,, ,hs middle cograil OF thrce-rail TRACK
IN. ,,.irs mach an altitude Of 2,l9s rect IN
distance Of TIVE and one-third miles, cnunoi'is
~. Corcoyado in grades OF IS or 80 per cehC'
,.ss;no over series Of viaducts and commanding
macni6cent prospects There is small hotel
-. ,h. ,srm;n,s. which is speedily 10 be replaced
~, n mount,in house accommodating very
LARGO number Of guests. When tins Is zone
C.voovodo will be the headquarters OF all
,1ranocrs visiting Rio during the hot season
49,. ,,irh,s src as cool and comfortable there IN
.,idsummer as at Petropolis, and the distance
$500 81. O,yidor by train and bond street-carl
!. ha,.Iv five miles. From the summit. 100 feet
.hove the railway terminus series OF most
,orderful prospects opens in every direction. Inc
80 NJ The Tiluca are higher, but less accessible
80 ,ho ,icws from them are narrower In COM
..ss The prospect from COrcovado' almost )ustl-
g. tourney Of 5000 miles from New-lo rk
rhesc are mountain ascents close at hand.
Across he BAY. at NiCtheroy, another railway
runs mr. the coast fortyfve miles TO Cachoeiras,
,rherc ,,e train is divided into sections ana
carried by the Fell system 3,545 feet ABOVE lhe
90. IN The course of something over elght miles
Nova Friburgo, fourshinG town. with ue-
Ueb,frl climate lies short distance pcyohu 'he
crest but tie railway has been extended 10 the
Lower waters Of the Parahyba, opening one VI
tho richest sections OF the cohee pcH' III 'ne
opnosite direction stretches the Dom feuro II
Railway. from the main station al the fIaca uo
.cclomacao. in the heart OF Rio. This Is Ihe
crea. railway # Brazil, designed 70 connect oah
psulo and Minis GeracS, the most popuious anu
e.u,shinc stacs. NTH the capital. and built at
,r.ins are w,l out of the suburbs
and have passed Belem, they aScehe
49, coast ,ane in heavy grades through
e,,s.r tunnas the longest Of which involved
enormous endnecring difficulties and seven years
- eYcavatin and construction. The scenery
t,orn The bse of the mountains all the way 10
p.,ra' do Rrshy is maGnift ent-a succession oil
.nchantin rprospects anI sudden surprises. FROM
p.,ra the rains separate in every direction One
..c,,on cos up the ParahyDa Valley TO san Paulo,
,ne ~ te finest cities in Brazil, where connec
,iors ar, made with lines running TO Campinas
and alltmportant towns IN the SOuthcTn Co.'eo
belt. mother section descehds the tai Ia d., 20
and neetraus 10 the rcmOtest confines OF the MO
coyer cit From Entire Rios still announcer gieae
hrancf leads over ranges OF MOUNTAINS 10 Cuio
Prefo. the commercial centre OF Mlnas Ceiae, "a
Sac EQUAL in territorial area to California ana
frah There are many smaller Dranches con
nectA with this central system Barra is tile
cbieirailway junction where northern anu sou' ~
ern rains gre made up. 1t Is small to"h ~
sL reocra,hical centre OF the Rio cofee Delt
Ire plnn.ations, TO which was FURNISHED WIN
ietsrs OF ntroduction surround IL, ana ne trains
running rorth and south pass through 'iousanuS
oil T TIe Taway system Of Brazil dates from $50
r,en re charter for the Mana Line TO the 1901
n the organ Mountains was granted. ana con
oss;on were sanctioned for two Otner enter
srises designed for the development OF tIc Gonee
.rade One OF these concessions guaranteed the
navrxnt of . per cent from the lTcdeuiS VI
paS.i Of SIC, 300, 900 for thirty-three years for
. rAilway TO connect Minas Gefacs with The
csttal The Province of Rio de Janeir0 suDsc,
qtntly added per cent to the guarantee, anu
a the end Of ten years the line was opneu
rom Rio TO this town. The most costly sectlon
II the railway had been built over the mountains
hut the capital was exhausted The lmPrlaI
Government then interviewed, and after purchasing
the rights of the stockholders completed the rall
way 70 Ouro Preto and all the other points now
reached by numerous branches Ihis Is the Dom
Pedro Rallway-One of the two great conee lines III
Central Brazil. The other is the Santos,J undiahy
line with its extensions and connections, which
was opened in 1867 after eleven years OF negoila-
diniculties encountered between this town and
Rio had 10 be mastered near San Paulo In sealing
the Serro do Mar by four steep lncllnes OF CAME
nail This railway brings all the coffee from
Campinas and the San Paulo belt TO Santos. an
unattractive coast town. now developing great
trade at the expense OF Rio, which IS supplied
with coffee from the Parahyoa valley. 1heSe
two coffee ia lways, with the Oeste de San Paulo
and the Mana are broad gauge lines. Nearly all
the other railways in Brazil are narrow-g gauge
hines. The railways, with thelr branches IA
every direction where large fazendas are accessible
have wrought a marvellous development OF the
coffee industry, dispensing with olh-time methoas
Of transportation, and greatly facilitating DELIVERIES
from the farms 20 the warehouses IN port. Inc
San Paulo railway system is now practically
selfsupporting, almost the only profitable enter
prise Of the kind in Brazil. The operating ex-
penses Of the Dom Pedro line are very heavy,
owing 10 the number OF branches maintained.
hut the coffee traffic before many years must prove
sufficiently remunerative TO relieve the Treasury
of all burden.
The construction Of this series OF coffee rail
ways naturally excited rivalry and dissatisfaction
in other portions Of the Empire, which were al
ways jealous Of favors granted 20 the South.
Petitions for railways from every province flooded
the Government Offices and concessions and guar
sntees had TO be freely dispensed in order TO aay
sectional feeling. After 1873 railway building
was carried to a ruinous extent and tie Treasury
to-day is overweRhted with burdens imposed by
speculative and wildcat enterprises Concessions
with per cent guarantees were lobbcd through
the Chambers and then disposed Of 10 construction
companies equipped mainly with foreign capital.
There are now over 5000 miles of railway In
operation with several additional thousands OF
miles either under construction or projected. The
STATE owns nine lines outright, for which it paid
$50 600, 900. and on which IL is receiving a net
revenue Of 3l-2 per cent, while paying a much