The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-08-04

eighty five-foot level with the Mira
nors Lake. and tho next stop beyond
IS at Miranores Itself, where the ships
make their final descent to the Pacific
sea-level- We then 20 on through th-
ono tunnel~ot the line, and leaving
the canal route, cross level ground TO
Panama. the capital OF the republic.
There Is q branch road running on 10
Balboa, but here the line practically
ends. the two towns OF Panama ana
Ancon being Joined together almost in
front of the station.
AS we stop VIC look at our watches
| We have been just about two hours
crossing the 1sthmus. and nave come
through on time. the rate OF travel
being about twenty-five miles per-
hour There are three or four pas
senger trains each way daily. but
more on sunday due TO the fact that
that is holiday. when the canal en-
ployes ride hack and forth visiting
their friends.
A Truin Every Fonr Minutes.
! In trip like this one sees some
thing OF the enormous traffic which is
going on in the Isthmus. In addition
TO the Panama Railway proper. are tho
construction roads OF the canal whicn
are sending rivers Of earth ana rock
( out 10 the dumps on Lidgerwood cars
I There arc so many trains that the
tracks actually seem TO be moving
I This is SO both on the commercial
road and on the excavation lines. Al
/ together. something like 5000 cars are
/ in use. and the engines number moro
than 500. There are twenty seven
trains which are always at work car
rylng out coarse rock from Culebra TO
/ Gatun. and there is q great number
which ara moving out toward Balboa.
! Altogether. the average is 3s6 trains
every day. which Is equal to oae train
every four minutes, day and night,
all the year through. These trains 90
ali the time. with the exception of
SUNDAYS and II seems to me that tho
commercial road is almost as busy at
night as In Jhe day time. II has u
cold storage train at O'Clock in the
( morning and another train at 8. 1t
! has a regular work train al $40.
starting out from Ancon. and another
an hour later. which is filled with
clerks. officials and tourists. Every
one gets up early here, and girls who
have never seen the sun rise are
crawling out OF their beds these hot
| mornings even before he comes up. In
order that they may have a chance 10
sec the canal.
At present, in addition to the regular
traffic. we have what are called the
rubber-neck traius These are cars
which have been put on to take Wis
itors through the canal. They make
special trips through the various d.
visions with a loud mouthed conductor
and the charge IS n dollar a trip.
Handling the Traffic.
1t is big job to handle $50 trains
day on a hfty-m!ie tne and It's
branches. and I am told that that job
is better done here than it has ever
been done elsewhere. The trains move
Ike clockworlS. and every engineer
and every brakeman has TO be Johnny
on-the-spot to catch the signals and
mot cause complications.
In the first place the labor trains
have to be on time to get the men to
their work. ana the scenes at the
roundhouse when the engines start
out are worth notice. There are 100
and more engines at Pedro Miguel,
all OF which leave at $50 ~ NJ. Every
| engineer is ready before that time,
and when the whistle blows the con-
ductors and brakemen are all in their
places. We have record of dis
patching 100 engines from that yard
| within five minutes, and tne usual
time required is only seven minutes
/ cOlnc OIL tucS engines 10 TO MllaHOIeS,
some to tho Culebra Cut and others TO
other places.
At the same time other engines are
sent out from other yards and the
whole system moves like one fine ma
chine. In order to keep the engines In
Ishapc. they are gone over every night
las soon as they come in from the
work aud are cleaned up and repaired
| before morning. Those which need IL
are sent to the repair shops. where
tho work is done chiefly by electric
Hight. all the defects being remedied
between I T. NJ and A. NJ.
| In addition to tho regular trains.
there arc wreclsing tSains. which keep
up steam night and day. There are
| lJosratal cars. which hre especially
fitted with mattresses and berths for
carrying the sick or those who meet
| trains. which go through the canal
when the work is not in progress ana
load the steam snovels and supply the
blacksmith shops and other places
whore coal Is needed.
| The handling of tee trains and the
managing of the switches is a great
work. The trains arc moved by flags
and signals, a green flag meaning
south bound and a yellow ono north
bound. The semaphoro is also en-
ployod and when the steam shovels
are working in the cut a negro
stands at each switch and turns 1T
as the yardmastor signals. Indeed. the
system is such that accidents arc com
paratively few.
On nm oiI-BurninE Locomotive.
the machinery and equipment of
| these railroads are of tho most mod.
hauling out tho earth and rock arc tho