The herald., 1897-07-26
THE GUAYNAS LINE
THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC'S LAT
EST ACQUISITION
The Story Of an Old Railroad Enter
prise Revived-Great Possible
ties Once Conceived

The latest railroad deal reported is
the acquisition by the Southern Pacific
company of the Arizona and Sonora
railway, leading from Benson, Ariz., to
Guaymas, Sonora, Mex, point on the
Gulf of Mexico, 265 miles from the bound
airy of Arizona and Sonora, south, and
1853 miles from Benson, it's junction with
the Southern Pacific The swap is I'M
derstood in some way to have been the
Southern Pacific interest in the line from
the Needles on the Colorado to Mojave,
to the Santa Fe company, the builders
of the Sonora line. This trade closes the
history of a strange, perhaps remark
able instance in railroad building, begun
and completed at period when railroad
managers and builders were making
some Of their widest and most inexpli-
cable plunges. In the early part of 1882
the Southern Pacific was racing over
dismal and torrid deserts and scaling
rugged mountains in pursuit of an At
lantic outlet, and the line then known
as the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fee
was hurrying down from the interior of
the continent hunting for Pacific out
let. 1t was generally understood at the
time that neither company entirelyreal-
ICED just what they were after or where
they would bring up. But a junction was
effected after some checks and pawns
had been duly noted, at Deming, N. M.
Both the territories of Arizona and New
Mexico were prosperous in those days.
Mining interests were booming every
where, and SO there seemed to be great
local traffic to strive for. The Santa Fe
seemed to have unlimited means at COM
mand and apparently all a promoter or
engineer had to do was to glance over
map, indicate with a blue pencil where
he wanted to build road, and the au-
thority and means were Immediately
forthcoming. This company had an
eye on port on the Gulf of California.
with something of a Utopian idea of
future Pacific commercial possibilities,
and so selected Guaymas as it's terminue
and commenced to build north. Building
around Deming ceased for some time,
but work at the southern end was
pushed, and the managers of the two
companies haggled over rates, rights
and privileges. When the construction
reached the boundary, directly south of
Tucson, the town of Isaacson was
founded-since changed to Nogales-and
the San Pedro river valley seemed to
offer a favorable route to a junction.
With an astonishing disregard of all
physical conditions, displayed conspicu
ously on every hand in the way of tre-
mendous gorges cut by irresistible floods,
bottom land gouged out and water
marks high up on the cliffs, the engineer
constructed his road up the San Pedro
valley to Benson, 1856 miles west of DEM
ing, with no possible chance to connect
the two ends on account of impass BILE
mountains. In the meantime, however,
the Santa Fe had become dissatisfied
with the negotiations for track privi
leges over the Southern Pacific line from
| Benson and made elaborate preparations
| to build from Deming to Tombstone via
Mule pass, and connect with the south
end at or near Fairbanks. Some ten
miles of roadbed were graded and pre-
pared for the ties. Suddenly all building
operations ceased at Deming and, build
ing continued down the valley. AT Ben
son a most elaborate system of yard,
sidetracks, office and freight buildings
was devised and built, some ten or more
sidetracks being over three miles in
length. sufficient for city of 100000 in
habitants. The town of South Benson
was established.
The company had enthusiastic ideas
of commercial advantages, through the
gulf port and their great road reaching
even to New York and Boston in their
compacts. The steamship City of Puebla
| pioneer of great line-was purchased
and fitted out for Southern Pacific coast
traffic. Her first trip was her last. There
proved to be mo basis for the commercial
anticipation. The road for it's entire
length has been, since the day it was
opened, dead drag to it's owners, and
has suffered severely every season from
floods and washouts, an expensive dis
appointment from the first, and no one
can tell to this day why it was built
1t has always'stood as uncontradicteG
that the basis of arrangements between
the Santa Fe, its builder, and the South
ern Pacific, was that the former hauled
freight from the Atlantic seaboard to
Guaymas, on the gulf, and paid the lat
ter So per cent Of the freight money for
the privilege Of having the cars hauled
over 1856 miles of their track.
For fifteen years the "burro road" as
| it is known along its entire length, has
been merely feeder for its great con-
meeting link, the Southern Pacific, and
an unending nightmare to it's stock
holders, and no doubt both parties to
the trade are betterd by the transaction.
S
WANTED-A SAFE-CRACKER