The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1913-09-12

"a H7S -RzLI<fz7O
vestors in the states had become dis
couraged and the cost of labor had ad
vanced. But hurricane came to the
rescue. Two ships loaded with gold
seekers were 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
were 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 we're laid
the night of January 81, 1866, 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, 1858, had
been something less than $8,000,O00
and its gross earnings in the same
time were little more than that sum.
The rate across the isthmus was put
at $25 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 its stock went up to $50.
In the COS the company fell on hard
times. 1t lost much of it's 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 it |
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 its 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
Ion to Mindi and from Corozal to Pana
ma. From Mindi to Gatun the grade
ascends to 95 feet above tide level
From Gatun the road runs east until Il
is four and a half miles from the
canal, and then south again on great
across the Gatun valley
Along this stretch passengers OBJ
tain an unusual view. Because of the
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 1874 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
BILE the tops of giant trees that have
been killed by submergence, and along
he edges of the lake the tallest and
hardest of the trees reach thir dead
limbs above the waters. Here and
here is a pretty little island that not '
ong ago was the summit of hill, and I
he shore line is most picturesquely l
broken up by capes, peninsulas and 9
rays.
From Monte Lirio the line skirts the
hore of the lake to the beginning OF
he Culebra cut at Bias Obispo. Orig. {
nally it was intended to carry the rail
Dad through the Culebra cut on 40
cot beam along the east side, ten feet {
bove water level, but this plan was b
Knocked out by the slides and breaks i,
The line was carried around Gold Hill v
o a distance of two miles from the /
anal until II reached the Pedro Mi S
uel valley, down which it runs to q
'araiso and the canal again. Thence Il
runs almost parallel with the chan
el to Panama. There are two big h
teel bridges on the line. One, near q
Ionte Lirio, has a center lift span to "
ermit access to the upper arm Of Ca IL
IN lake; the other, a quarter of e.
lille long, across the Chagres river al
amboa. The total cost of building
be new line of the railway was SS,s66.
%. In addition, a large sum has been 7
expended in increasing the terminal
ABILITIES.
OF course, even after the canal is q
pened, the railway viii have a good 3
cal of business. transporting people Of
nd goods between Colon and Panama, "
nd serving the needs Of the operating al
'rces of the canal. But its days of 81
Iory have departed. and J. A Smith.
le American who has been its eff. 81
emf general euparfntandant racog. ID