Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-02-18
Mistellaneous Reaaina.
THE PANAMA RAILROAD.

| THE PANAMA RAILROAD.
Digging Big Ditch Has Caused Recon
struetion Of Line.
During recent years a strip Of lant
curving about 470 miles, so that Il
closely resembles bent finger, has oc.
cupied a large amount Of public atten-
ton. Since the days Of Grecian glory
no such patch Of land as the Isthmus
of Panama has gained equal distinction
1t has been the scene Of stirring adven-
ture and the site Of the wealthiest city
in the world. 1t has been the subject
Of epoch-making diplomacy and q
sphere of political disturbance. 1t IL
the seat Of the greatest engineering
enterprise In HISTORIAN enterprise
which Is destined to. But that is an
other story.
AS the construction Of the Panama
canal progressed 1t became necessary
from time to time to abandon small
sections Of the original Panama rail-
way line, which was constructed in
1S50-55 by three Americans-Aspin-
wall, Stephens and Chauncey. In
1908 the section between Mindi and
Tiger Hill was lifted and placed else
where, as the old line passed right
through the site Of Gatun Dam and
locks. In 1910 the section between Pc
dro Miguel and Corozal was shifted,
establishing line permanently at an
elevation sufficiently high to be above
the level Of the Miraflores lake; and on
February Is, 1912, the new line between
Gatun and Matachin was put into SER
vice, as the rising water Of the Gatun
lake, due to the closing up Of the Cha
gres river at Gatun, would soon have
flooded the old line between these
points. ..
Finally, with the completion Of the
Panama canal, new railway will have
been constructed, running from Colon
to Panama, entirely on the east side OF
the waterway, instead Of continually
crossing the track, as 1t did previously.
DuripS the whole Of the changes traf-
| fic across the isthmus was not sus-
pended at all. although passengers for
some considerable time Travelled In q
roundabout way between the two cities
at each side of the republic. Engines
had to be changed at one point and
the train taken back almost whence 1t
had come, so as to enable 1t to negoti-
ate the newly made line, which extend
ed In a different direction. Here anoth-
er locomotive attached itself at the
head Of the train, and 1t proceeded to
the end of the journey.
The new line Of the Panama railway
is All miles long, or slightly shorter
than the old one. From Colon to Min
di. AT miles, and from Corozal to
Panama, 2.S3 miles. the old line Is used
but the remaining forty niles are new.
From Mindi to Gatun the railway ru..'
in general parallel to the canal and
ascends from few feet above the tide
water elevation to nearly ninety-nVe
feet above that. level. At Gatun the
! lliua !. leaves the vicinity OF the canai
and runs east along the valley OF the
Gatun river to a point about four and
half miles from the center line OF the
canal. where It turns southwark again
and skirts the east shore of Gatun lake
to the beginning Of the Culebra cut al
Bas Obispo. In this section there are
several huge fills" Of rock and eartn'
occurring where the line crosses the
Gatun valley and near the north end OF
culebra cut, where the line was taken
round 80 as to furnish waste-dumps
for the dirt excavated from the canal.
Originally It was intended to carry the
railway through the Culebra cut on a
forty-foot beam ten feet above the wa
ter level, but the numerous landslides
made this plan impracticable, and the
line was taken around the cut, and is
known locally as the Gold Hill Line.
Leaving the canal at Bas Obispo, the
Gold Hill Line gradually works into the
foothills, reaching distance from the
center line Of the canal of two miles
opposite Culebra; thence 1t runs down
the Pedro Miguel valley to Paraiso'
where it is only 800 feet from the CEN
ter line of the canal. This section OF
the road is laid down on a maximum
grade Of 1.25 per cent, and has a total
length of nine and three-eights miles
The sharpest curve on the whole line is
seven degrees. From the south END OF
culebra cut at Paraiso, the railway
runs practically parallel with the canal
to Panama, with a maximum grade OF
0.45 per cent. Where the railway cross
ed the Gatun river, a bascule steel
bridge has been erected; and a steel
girder bridge, a quarter Of mile long
with a two hundred-foot through-truss
channel span, is in use across the Cha-
gres river at Gamboa. Small streams
are crossed on reinforced concrete cui-
verts. Near Mirafores a tunnel 73t
feet long has been built through a hill
The relocated line was made apso-
lutely necessary by the new plans ol
the Isthmian Canal commission roi
building an eighty-five foot level lock
canal. Some serious landslides occur
red on the new line during the process
of construction, when several peculiar
accidents happened to various kinds oi
heavy machinery and to the railway
metals. The greater part Of the time
taken and expense was necessitated by
the crossing Of the Gatun valley. From
the point where the road leaves the
Gatun ridge to the hills near Monte
Lirio, a distance Of three and a hall
miles, the line crosses the main valley
of the Gatun river and its tributaries
In this section there have been placed
$500 600 cubic yards Of embankment
The foundation Of a part OF this en-
bankment was very poor, causing Its
base to be spread over a much wider
area in order to reduce the pressure
per square foot on the natural ground
and prevent upheaval beyond the foot
| of tho slope. The total cost of the new