The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-11-09
'rHE rRaNsayDgAy R,ILR0AD.

70 a large extent. The upper valleys are
a. nearly open and a. free 20 travel ~ they
ever are New attention IL for this reason
directed To the new transandean railroad
which links Busnoa \yres with Valparaiso.
the south Atlantic with the south Pacific.
, The road Ia now virtually entering upon It's
career OF active operation.
IL Il true the road has been. technically
I speaking. open since the early part Of Last
april. when Don Eseaulsl Ramos Mejis,
Minister OF Public Works OF ArHentina. and
Don Eduardo Delano. who held the same
ONCE In Chile. met az tho intsrustional
boundary and declared the line com plctr
| and the railway systems OF the two repuh-
lies welded together. But a trsn.ardean
railroad can hardly he expected to do much
business IN the bitter winter months Of
June. july and August
In fact the very day after the inaugura ton
Of Tanscontinental trnffic the nrst snow
fall OF the season took place. bringing the
service to q temporary standssill. Only
those who have seen winter snous In high
/ mountain regions can have any conception
Of the obstacles that the months Intervening
since then must have thrown In the way Of
the management The extent to which the
problem OF winter operation was recognized
from the outset. however. Ia Indicated by a
clause in the contract between the con-
cessionaries and IN. chilean and Argentine
Governments II provides thar no penalty
shall be coll-ctibie for an interruption Of
-erNic. during rhe winter months unless
IL shah exceed forty day. this despite the
precautions which have been taken In the
construction of the road 70 protect II from
avalanches. lanislides or other special
mishaps
SO nobody pretends 10 has~ on che exper-
fence Of the last ~ x months'any Judgment n
To whether the rood will Justify its existence
or not All those interested in the question
will watch the results OF the half year just
begun. Before the SHOWS NJ iOii begin TO
fall fair guess ought to be possible. they
think. ~ to whether the road will he a
success or a failure.
There are many who think that IL starts
omt b1dly handicapped in at least two par
t'culars. The Journey from coast To coast
they aay. Is subject 20 vexatious delay-thnt
IL the first drawback and sec ondly. the
fares charged ar, unreasonable high. prac-
ticAlly prob thitive
The great advantage of the road to Chile
10, Of course, that IL opens \ way TO the At
lantic, 10 EASTERN North America and to
Europe. which eliminates the perilou. navi.
CATION ~ tho Strait ~ Magellan and saves
from len 10 twelve davs in the transit from
ocean 20 oce,n. The gain NJ Argentina 10
that u acquires prosp~ctively the control Of
trnfi~ from or IN 'he north and esst. having
inc PACING Nttor1I Tor IT'S dsSvfnit or
point ~ departure Roth republics have
great hopes Of a reorganization Of trans
p icifr trade and 'r.vsl The new route
cuts IN ~" miles md nine days from the
journey from Western Europe 20 tuatr1iil
or View I~'l1nd and eRsc'a a proporIionafe
reduction in other lines n 'rafir
In a certain sense the road IL q rival to rhe
Panama canal NJ least " Is a precauisoI
against some possible consciousness 81 the
iaav ~ sh - o.. l.
that the canal will benefit the Pacific ports
81 South America 20 the north ard 81 her NJ
her ey pense and To her de,rin,en. Callao L. !
roughly. c.rr miles nearer TO Panama than
Valparaiso is But ny the combination Of
the railroad with the steamship lines hav-
ing their terminal In Ruenos Avres she
capital Of 'htle. N. railroad sy stem Of Chile !
all Chile. are placed for NJ least half the year
in as closa relations with the markets 81
Europe and tho eastern nitrd 81 fes ~ any !
section of the south Pacific coast II is TN.
necessary 20 eVpatistn on the advantages
NJ the project 70 Argentina. whose capital
ia tho natural point Of trans ipmen- There
IL no difficulty in IN understanding why both
perceived in lpHt that the time
had come for the full realization ~ sn idea
first proposed in Al, and which had actually i,
been IN course Of development for moro
than thirty years. " the Arxrn,In- and !
chilean railroads leading NJ 20 the morn
ain region are taken into accor nj In fact
n concession for the com plete work was
granted by Argsnrine IN 1850 but owing to
he financial difficulties " the Government
shortly aftsrvnrci !, was abandoned
Though daring enough IN conception.
he tran-andenn route dos nat rom
pare In difrculry with acme railroad lin-- /
hat have preceded IL nv many years II
toes not rise abov" sea level within .Sss
meters about 5000 feet Of the Peruvian
central line. and tha dit'cuIt PORTION the +,
Pacific approa "h. is M more steep and NJ
much lsss length The crr<r NJ the line
Inc Tunnel 10 In Crmbre. - indeed hardly
h CHER than tho Tenne@a"r Pass on the Den
yer and R,o Grande Railroad. the figures
Dcin9 .rns meters in ~" former and 1.iis
n ,h~ latter instanc" But this comparison
" heights gives no idea 81 the relative DIM
-ulties Of the .ngineernz problem for the
Tennessee Pass l. approached on both
.ides by prac,icahl" n NOT easy grades
whereas in the tndean road tho under
skinr might he compared to making n
railway train climb the wall of q broadway
,ky-craprr som" twenty Ave miles Of
he road on the Argentine aide and more
han ffty miles on ~" chilean have to be
,p~ rated by means 81 Co1whrcls and rack
For This the so.c called Ab' svStem has been
adopted
Among -evsr'i routes surveyed one
p ss'ng through r.o- Andel. Rio Bi1nco
Iuncal on the Pacific aid" and Men6oz, on
ne 'u'nric was adopted II follows In n
general way tho course Of the old wagon
'o-d which crn~s~s Ia tumhr. Pass and
u the summit ~ vhsh. =. oSO meters above
-l level upon the boundary line between
'hile and Argentina stands the statue Of
'hr!st the Red~-mcr. crested in 100, In ;.
'ommem orItton Of the settlement ~ an
dispute through tho srbi,ra-
ion NJ King Edward OF England The
ontric' for the construction Of the line
rom M-ndozs. where II connects with
,reeyltinQ Argentine railroads. to 1os
\ndes. where II links W with the chilean
inca 10 Santiago and Valparaiso. was
ward~d to william Grace 4 Co in
December iao3 at ~ .Na.77s This firm
omrleted the work IN a litr!e more than six
'ears
The easy portion NJ tho task. compare
iyely -pe king. was the Argentine approach
where " hesins. IL about ono miles
inland from Bu~nos fyres and has IN eleya-
ion Of ia meters. or about 1850 feet. II 10
onn.s-tsd ~ith the capital nv the Buenos ,
'yre- al Parifro Ra ilrosd. which also has