The Mena weekly star., 1906-09-20
THE TEnUANTEPEC RAILROAD.
New lnter.0ceanic Ronte 10 Be Opened
 Next Month.
rrom tbe New Orleans Picayune.

finished between Coatzacoalcos, ou the Gulf of Mexica, and Salina Crnz. on the Pacific, but as q factor in the worlds commerce it's value will not be felt until .be harbor works at these ter minals have been completed, which will be some time m Oc- tobsr. The extension ot the Mexican Central railroad, vest ward from Guadalajara, will not be opened for business for iuily eighteen months yet. Theroute, which trAverses some of the most picturesque portions of the Ke- public, will ultimately connect with the existing railroad at Co- lima. by means of which 1t will have access 10 Manzanillo, on the Pacific coast. Extensive im- provements are being made at Manzanllo which, when done will make that harbor naturally one of the safest and most con1- nodious on tue western littoral, thoroughly modern in every re spect.
 Az the crow flies the distance from ocean to ocean across the I,thnus of Tehuantepec IS l2o miles, but the sinuosities of the track are such that the railroad IS DO miles in length. It rises quite gradually from Coatacoalcos or the gulf c)ast to the Chivela pass, the highest point on the divide, abort 735 feet above sea" level. The scenery is attractive, bat the hills and valleys which contribute to the travellers grati- 6cation have necesssitated much heavy constructioual work. lu the Malatengo canyon, for iu- stance, for a distance of about eip ht miles, and in the Chlvela pass, for about eighteen miles, the engineering problems were oi a high order. At Chivela the construction of two horseshoe curves and one tunnel was necessary. After leaving Chivela the decent Is more or less abrupt, the grade being in places as much as 16O feet to the mile. The main line is supplemented by a branch about fifteen miles long connecting Julie and San Juan Evangelista. At Lucrezia, con- nection is made with the Vera Cruz & Pacific railroad, over tue line of which trains are now operated to Vera Cruz and Cor dovs, thus giving uninterrupted cess to all parts of the republic.
 Destroying the Vegetation.
 The equipment of the Tehuan- tep road is oi inc most modern de crip,ion. The gauge is the stand ,rd one of four feet eight and one-hAlf inches. Oil, i'm ported from Beaumont, Tex, is used in lieu of other fuel. Steps are now being taken to rectlfy the five most important curves, aud in time the heavier grades will be reduced. Eventually, 1t is expected to double-track all the line. The bridges which are of steel with abutments of solid masonry, are numerous and, as in the instance of that over the Jal!epec river at Santa Lucrezia, of considerable size. The Jalte- pee bridge is 560 feet loag and consists of five spans. The road has been relaid throughout its lenght with eighty. pound rails. The ties are of creosoted pine, native hardwood and California redwood. One of the many curious problems which had to be solved was presented by the luxuriant veg getation which thrives all along the route, and which, left to itself, would soon overruu the track and stop trans portation. The company uses an ingenious device for sprinkling the roadbed with chemic lls, which destroy even roots of the plants. But manual labor has also to be employed in the un- ending contest, the maintenance ot which cuts quite large figure in the annual budge; of the road.