The San Francisco call., 1896-04-08
BUILDING TO THE COAST.
The Sierra Madre Railroad to
Mazatlan in Course of
Construction.
It Will Penetrate the Rich Mining
Districts of Mexico and Bring
Trade This Way.

A full corps of engineers and surveyors
have been put into the field at Ell Paso,
beyond the frontier, and they are now
heading toward the Pacific Coast. This
means that the Sierra ,Madre trunk line.
known as the Gulf, Rio Grande and Pacific
Railway, intends to build a transcontinen-
tai line through Northern and Central
Mexico. The Ell Paso Telegram and Mexi-
can Herald have given considerable space
to the project, holding that it is destined
to be an important factor in the develop
ment of rich mineral and timber regions
IN Mexico.
The new railway also has direct sig
nificance for San Francisco, and indeed for
the whole Pacific Coast. 1t will open a
wonderfully rich and fertile country now
awaiting settlement and development
and at the same time bring that region
into communication with San Francisco.
Much of the business in freighting down
there now passes down the eastern de-
clivity of the Sierra Madres and isabsorbed
by ST. Louis and Western and Eastern
cities, the Mexican Central and Mexi-
can international lines diverting the
traffic from California. With the new
sroad in operation the remunerative tusi-
ness of the mines already in operation
done with the Pacific Coast to the exclu-
sion of Eastern competitors.
The company constructing the road has
built several hundred miles of railway on
the east side, with the intention of having
through trunk line from Tampco to
Juarez City, just over the border from Ell
Paso, and thence to Mazatlan, on the Pa
capital to carry on this work. 1t is under
stood that graders will fall to work lmme-
diately behind the engineers.
In commenting on the enterprise the
Mexican Herald remarks: BOSS" Shep-
herd said in recent interview that the
building of such road would put SO, 900
American miners at work along the route
inside of two years-and the boss knows
something of the resources of the Sierra
Madre.
These miners would have to he supplied
almost wholly by California and the other
Pacific Coast mineral States, and in this
particular alone close bond between Cali
fornia and Northwestern Mexico would
be inevitable.
districts of Western Chihuahua and Du-
range, almost in due Southwestern Y
course to the Tamazula pass into the State
of Sinaloa, and thence down the foothills
of the Sierra Madre to Mazatlan.
The line will pass through the Mormon
settlements on the CasaS Grandes River.
Instead of running over the parched
plains of practically desert country, as
the Mexican Central does for 800 miles
after the first 100 miles from Juarez, the
Sierra Madre road will be everywhere
fanked by country containing much and
extremely fertile farming land, abundantly
watered overgrown with dense forests OF
the finest construction timber and ribbed
with the richest of metalliierous veins, u
says the Mexican Herald.
This is the character of the country to
be traversed down to the TamaznIa pass,
distance of about 800 miles. Beyond
there, and on to Mazatlan, about 25C
miles, the road will probably hug the foot
hills OF tn. Sierra Madre, having the great
mines of San Dimas and other famous dis
tricts tributary on the left and the richest
agricultural and fruit lands in all Mexico
on the right. with vast forests Of the finest
cabinet woods and dye woods, wild indigo
and other mordant plants, all ABOUT it.