The citizen., 1913-09-05

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and freight were considerably above
$2,000,000. The last rails were laid
the night of January 81, 1855, 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 $S.000,000
and its gross earnings in the same
time we're little more than that sum.
The rate across the isthmus was put
at S25 gold. being intended to be to a
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 SOS 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.
/
got control of the directorate and
wrecked the road. When de Lesseps
came over to dig 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 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
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 1t
| is four and a half miles from the
/ canal, and then south again on great
| embankments 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 a
lake with an area of about 164 square
miles. The Gatun valley is one of
1 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
/ limbs above the waters. Here and
/ 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 Bas Obispo. Orig
inally it was intended to carry the rail
road through the Culebra cut on 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 /
to a distance of two miles from the |
canal until it reached the Pedro Mi /
guel valley down which it runs to |
Paraiso and the canal again. Thence |
1t runs almost parallel with the chan |
mel to Panama There are two big |
steel bridges on the line. One, near |
Monte Lirio, has a center lift span to |
permit access to the upper arm OF Ca |
tun lake; the other. quarter of a |
mile long, across the Chagres river at |
Gamboa The total cost of building |
the new line of the railway was $780, |
392. In addition, large sum has been /
expended in increasing the terminal
facilities.
OF course, even after the canal Is
opened, the railway will have a good
deal of business. transporting people
and goods between Colon and Panama.
and serving the needs of the operating
forces of the canal. But its days OF
glory have departed. and J. A. Smith,
the American who has been it's eff.
cient general superintendent, recog |
nizing that fact, has resigned and re-
frrpad m tha OF