The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-09-29
THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERU.
Salt Lake People Are Interested in Bringing Country Into
Prominence-Man Who Has Been There Tells About
Affairs and Conditions

Interesting in the extreme is a COM
munication written at the request of
The Herald by ]. z. Hogan, who has
just returned from Peru after stay of
three years. Mr.. Hogan, before going
to South America, was employed as
dispatcher on the salt Lake Route In
Peru Mr.. Hogan served one year as
operating manager of the Peruvian
Central and two years as assistant su-
perintendent of the CerrO de PaScO
railway. Mr.. Hogan has gone to Kan
sas where his family is. Mr.. Hogan
says:
1T was three years ago on Sept.
since I left Salt Lake City for La
Oroya, Peru. The voyage consumed
twenty days continuous travelling over
a distance of about 1000 miles, the only
delay being three and half hours in
New York City. The steamer used
seven days from New York to Colon.
Then we We're four hours crossing the
Isthmus of Panama, where a boat was
waiting. sailing as soon as we were on
board. The trip TO Callao took ten
days, including three stops, Guayaquil,
Pyta and Salaverry, for freight and
passengers. Heavy swells We're notice.
able between New York and Colon, but
from Panama to Callao the sea was
like a mill pond and there was no sick
ness south of Panama.
Lima, the capital and largest city Of
Peru, is eight miles inland from
Callao. and there are two ways of
reaching it-via the Peruvian Central
railway or the Callao-Lima electric
railway. The fare is ten cents via eth
er route. We did not change the GUS
tom of laying over at Lima few days
before going to La Oroya, 40
miles away, and at which point the
Cerro de PascO Railway company has
its offices. This trip is made over the
Peruvian Central railway, the train
leaving Lima Mondays, Wednesdays
and Fridays at $50 O'Clock in the
morning and arriving at La Oroya at
4:30 O'Clock in the afternoon; leaves La
Oroya at 1920 a. m. on Tuesdays,
Thursdays and Saturdays. The fare is
$3.50 in United States currency in each
direction. 1 was not unlike the great
majority who have made the trip, but
had the usual heavy headache, flushed
face and WORKOUT feeling on my ar
rival at La OrOya. This sickness is
called sorOchi. and usually lasts a day
or two. You seldom sleep the first
night.
Peruvian Central Railway.
The Peruvian Central railway was
built by Henry c. Meiggs for the Pc
ruvian government. It was started in
the EOS and stands alone in its class.
The train line, CallaO to La Oroya, is
1873 miles in length, and in that dis
lance you pass through sixty tunnels.
one of which is one and a quarter miles
long. In the middle of this tunnel the
highest point on the main line is
reached. There are thirteen switch
backs on the main line and three on
the Morococha branch. The road starts
from sea level and crosses the Andes,
through the TiCliO-Galera tunnel, at an
altitude of 1865 feet. The total curva-
ture on this road amounts to twenty
five complete circles. They use Ameri-
can locomotives weighing eighty-five
tons, including tank of water and ten
der of oil or coal. They handle but four
loads of fifteen tons each up hill, a
brakeman is stationed on each car. and
hand brakes alone are used on freight
cars. The grade in places reaches AS
per cent. This was one of the very
first railroads to use oil as fuel. The
most mountainous country traversed
by railroads is found here.
The Mccune Road.
"The McCune line Of railway. or the
Cerro de Pasco system, starts from La
OrOya and runs through TO Cerro de
PaScO, eighty-twO miles, a little east
Of north from La Oroya. On this road
there are no tunnels and only one
ewitchback. The heaviest grade is 21b
per cent, and there are but few places
over ~ per cent. This road runs
through a barren region and skirts the
Jumir lake for about thirty miles.
There are no trees and but little grass
along the line. This is a very simple
line in point of construction, in COM
parisOn with the Peruvian Central
railway. On the former most cunning
methods were adopted by the con-
structing engineer to make a turn at
the end of a valley, by putting in a
turn table on the side of the hill. at the
end of a grade. by using a tunnel
though the mountain to loop back.
Attitudes and population of the prin-