The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-13
THE |NTER0CEAN|C'S Loss
Local Significance of the
Death of a Mexican Rail-
way Manager.
HUNTINGTON WAS INTERESTED
E. w. Jackson Dies. Before Fairly
Started on Completion of
Big Enterprise.

Edward W. Jackson, general manager of
the Interoceanic Railway, Mexico, which
is also known as the Hidalgo line, died in
the City of Mexico last week. The tele-
graphic dispatches that announced his
death were exceedingly meager and gave
no details as to the cause, though his many
friends in railroad circles here believe he
succumbed to prostration from active work
in handling vast enterprises as an engineer
and financier.
His death leaves a railway system of
nearly 1000 kilometers, in which G. 2.
Huntington is interested, without gen.
eral manager. While it could not be
learned from Southern Pacific officials in
this city what the exact figure of Mr..
Huntington's interest in the Interoceanic
line has been of late it was fairly well
known that the Southern Pacific magnate
eral manager. Mr.. Jackson resigned what
was probably the most important railway
Office in Mexico to take charge of the Inter-
oceanic line when he withdrew from the
general managership and vice-presidency
of the Mexican Central, that extends from
Ell Paso, Texas, to the City of Mexico, a
distance of 1854 miles, and has important
branches tapping some of the richest pol
tions OF the southern republic.
The Interoceanic road is laid between
Vera Cruz, on the Gulf of Mexico, and the
Mexican capital, and extends beyond to-
ward the Southwest and the Pacific Coast.
Huntington's interest in this line has been
explained by the fact that the road, when
built clear across the country, would give
new route for the Pacific Mail Company
in its service between this coast and At
lantic ports. This would make him indie
pendent of the Panama Railroad Com
pany, and as it would pass through a
country dotted with large cities, coffee
lands and mining districts, it could be
made to pay handsomely irrespective of
the haul from sea to sea.
Under such conditions the route from
New York via the Interoceanic road could
be made profitable for through freight
business. AS Jackson was in all proba-
bility the best informed man in Mexico on
railway matters, he was chosen for the de-
velopment of the Hidalgo road into the In
teroceanic system. Were it not for the
bright future ahead he would not have re-
linquished the high Office he held in the
Mexican Central.
AS a civil engineer Mr.. Jackson occupied
a high position among his colleagues. The
Vera Cruz road, built by an English COM
pany, has many monuments of his en-
gineering skill. This line crosses the
mountains between Vera Cruz and the City
of Mexico over grades that have nothing
like them on the continent. With the ex-
ception of rack wheel railways this line
presents some of the most daring flights
of engineering. 1t was built on the Eng
lish plan, however, with magnificent
masonry in the mountains across gorges,
often in massive arches and great steel
bridges intended to last for generations.
| The result has been that the line never
| paid interest on the investment. Mr..
Jackson was faced with problem of heavy
| transportation over the mountains on
| these grades and invented strange engine
which has met every requirement., and in
| fact exceeded expectations. His design
was original. 1t comprised two engines
| placed back to back with separate machin-
| cry, and all managed in one cab.
| Jackson was born In London in 1888.
He entered into railroad service twenty
years later, and in 1868 was appointed con-
| structlon superintendent of the Smyrna
Adm. railway, in Turkey. In 1864 he was
superintendent of construction of the Key
han dockyards, and from Septem Der, 1864,
| to October, 1867, occupied a similar posi-
| ton on the Vera Cruz railway. He then
| entered the service of the Mexican Central
road, and worked his way up to the posi-
ton of general manager and vice-presi-
dent. There will be as much, if not, in
deed, more difficulty in finding a man to
take his place as there is in selecting a sue
cessor to the late A. N. Towne of the
Southern Pacific system.