Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1913-07-29

vestors In the states had become dis
couraged and the cost Of labor had adj
vanced. But hurricane came to the
rescue. Two ships loaded with gold
seekers we're forced to anchor near
Manzanillo island and the passengers
paid the company a handsome sum to
carry them to Gatun in work cars. The
news that the road had carried more
than a thousand passengers reached
New York and funds again flowed into
the Golfers of the company.
AS the work progressed passengers
we're hauled longer and longer dis
tances and before the line was COM
pleted the receipts from passengers
and freight were considerably above
$2,000,000. The last rails were laid
the night Of January q, 1856, and the
next day the first train passed clear
across the isthmus from the Atlantic
to the Pacific. The entire cost of the
road up to December 81, 1853, had
been something less than $4,000, 900
and its gross earnings in the same
time were little more than that sum.
The rate across the isthmus was put
at S25 gold, being intended to be to
certain extent prohibitive until they
could get things into good running or
der, but so great was the volume of
travel that the rate was not reduced
for more than twenty years. Soon aft
er its opening the road began to de-
clare "a per cent. dividends, and at
one time it's stock went up to $50.
In the COS the company fell on hard
times 1t lost much of its freight traf-
fic. was held UP by the politicians in
Bogota and then suffered by the COM
pletion of the Union Pacific railroad
Next Russell Sage and others like him
got control of the directorate and
wrecked the road. When de Lesseps
came over to dig a canal his company
bought up the stock and used the road
to help in its work.
Then in 1904 the United States
bought out the French company and
also acquired the railway and so 1t
became the first American road to be
owned by the government. So eco
nomically and efficiently has it been
conducted since then that it is cited
as an argument for the government
ownership Of all our railways.
The building of the canal and espe-
cially the creation Of the artificial Ga
tun lake made necessary the reloca-
ton of the Panama railroad along
most of it's route. The old roadbed
now is under water for much of the
way, the old line still in use being only
about seven miles in length, from Co
lon to Mindi and from Corozal to Pana-
ma. From Mind to Gatun the grade
ascends to So feet above tide level.
From Gatun the road runs east until it
Is four and a half miles from the
canal, and then south again on great
entertainments across the Gatun valley.
Along this stretch passengers OBJ
tain an unusual view. Because of the
construction of the Gatun dam across
the channel of the Chagres river, the
Chagres valley and all its tributary
valleys have been converted into
lake with an area of about 164 square
miles. The Gatun valley is one OF
these drowned arms and as the train
crosses. wide stretches Of water are to
be seen on both sides Of the track.
Down below the surface are still Wis
ible the tops of giant trees that have
been killed by submergence, and along
the edges of the lake the tallest and
hardest of the trees reach thir dead
ha nk he nd
there is a pretty little island that not
long ago was the summit OF hill, and
the shore line is most picturesQuely
broken up by capes, peninsulas and
bays.
From Monte Lirio the line skirts the |
shore Of the lake to the beginning OF |
the Culebra cut at Bias Obispo. Orig
lnally 1t was intended to carry the rail |
road through the Culebra cut on a 40 |
foot beam along the east side, ten feet |
above water level, but this plan was |
knocked out by the slides and breaks.
The line was carried around Gold Hill
10 a distance Of two miles from the |
canal until 1t reached the Pedro Mi |
yuel valley down which II runs to |
Paraiso and the canal again. Thence
/ runs almost parallel with the chan
lel TO Panama. There are two big |
steel bridges on the line. One, near
Monte Lirio. has center lift span to
permit access to the upper arm of Ca
un lake; the other. a quarter of a
nile long, across the Chagres river at
lambda. The total cost of building
he new line of the railway was Ss.S66,-
92. In addition. large sum has been
appended in increasing the terminal J
ABILITIES.
OF course. even after the canal is
pened. the railway will have a good
eal OF business. transporting people
nd goods between Colon and Panama.
nd serving the needs Of the operating
orces OF the canal. But its days OF
Tory have departed. and ]. A Smith.
he American who has been its EN-
lent general superintendent. recog-