Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1903-10-22


way from Guayaquil, Ecuador, to
Quito has just inaugurated the sta
ton at Guamote, situated at an eleya.
ton OF 10000 feet and 126 miles from
Guayakuil. The authorities and peo.
pie from all parts of the republic were
there TO attend the ceremony. The
most difficult part of the work on the
railroad has now been accomplished.
With the exception of Lhassa in
Thibet, Quito in Ecuador is the only
capital in the world that to this dav
can only be reached for a considerable
part Of the journey from the sea on
mulehack. Once, many Years ago.
President Garcia Moreno made the dis
tance from Guayaquil in thirty-six
hours, He was sojourning in Guaya-
gull, when he heard of a revolution at
the capital. Springing upon his horse.
he reached Quito in a day and a half.
had twenty-five conspirators shot
and was back at the seacoast in less
than a week. In these times, however.
and until the railway had progressed
some distance into the interior. the
Journey took abont nine days. The
traveller from the city or Guayaquh
which stands thirty miles from the en-
trance to the gulf of the same name,
took a steamer up the Guayas to Bahia
koyo, distance of seventy miles
There the mules were packed, and
thence he rode for eight hours along q
read which in dry weather might be
called good, to the foot of the Andes.
Then came climb of 10000 feet,
part of 1T along The rocky tracks to
which the name Of road could hardly
be given. Then there was a descent
e 1000 feet TO the valley of the Chin
DO. and from Guaranda an ascent of
about 5000 feet, bringing the traveller
to the shoulder of Chimborazo. To
cross this, either he had to go up to
such a height as TO run a considerable
risk of suffering from mountain sick
ness or go by q Slightly lower
road and run the risk of
being suffocated in mud From
Chinlborazo to Ambato the traveller
crossed a series of great black moors
and then took a ramshackle coach on
a paved road which started some hun
dred miles TO tfe south and made its
way, with more or less interruption,
to the capital Some years ago the
construction of a railway from Duran,
opposite Guayaquil, to the capital was
begun, and lit was built for a distance
of fifty-eight miles to Chimbo, almost
due east. There the work was halted
until it was taken up by an American
corporation called the Guayaquil and
Quito Railroad Company which was
incorporated under the laws of New
Jersey in September, 1897, with a cap
.ftal of $12, 2S2, 900.
Early in 1889 the American COM
nany obtained possession of the road
as far as completed and in May OF
that year began the rebuilding OF the
old section. which was changed to the
standard gauge, and the continuation
of the work to Quito. Several unsuc-
cessful attempts had been made to
cross the Andes and a number of miles
of road had actually been constructed
in various directions from Chimbo by
various unfortunate contractors, re-
sulting, however, in a useless waste
of time and money.
The present company has at last
overcome the almost insuTmountabde
difficulties and has actually rail- laid
today from Chimbo, the base of the
Andes. to Guamote on the plateau,
distance of fifty-eight miles, over what
is generally conceded by those who
know to be a piece of the most diff
ficu1t construction in the world. From
Bucay Junction, two miles south OF
the terminus. Chimbo, the new line,
crossing the Chimbo river, enters the
Chanchan valley. 1t follows the
circuitous turnings and twistings of
this valley crossing and recrossing the
river by means of fine steel bridges up
ward of sixty times in the sixty miles
completed. At mile twenty-eight on
this new line the engineers encoun-
tered their greatest difficulty. Right in
the center of the Chanchan valley
nature placed an enormous wedge
shaped rock mountain. At this point
it was found impossible TO confine the
line to the valley bottom owing to the
grade limitations Of the contract. The
locating engineers, therefore, lifted
the line from the valley bottom by
means of a switchback, literally hew-
ing the line from the solid rock along
the almost perpendicular side OF this
mountain ascending by this means
several hundred feet above the river
level. This is the only switchback on
the line. Subsequently in the con-
tinuance of the line 1t descends. crosses
the river again and by ascending and
descending, by looping and skillful de-
velopment is kept safely within the
grade limitations of the contract. The
grade in some places reaches as high
as 51h per cent, but no railroad could
be built across these mountains on
any other basis.
The switchback on "The Devils
Nose" is the wonder of Ecuador ana
is already being talked Of all over the
continent. II is constructed with
great care and soiidity, At possible