El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-03-14

trainmen use smoked glasses to keep
nom becoming snow blind.
Worlds Most Wonderful Railroad.
But before L describe the scenic
wonders about me let me tell you
something of this road from the sea to
the clouds. 1t is the worlds greatest
wonder in the way Of railway con-
structiOn. 1t begins on the Pacific
ocean at the port of CauaO, and IN 1uU
miles it climbs Up the mountains to an
attitude of 1866 feet II crosses the
pass at 200 feet lower, and then goes
Gown to the indian market town OF
OrOya on the other side Of the range.
OrOya is not a great distance from the
HaNlSaDIe tributaries or the Amazon
river, and the day will probably come
When this road win form part OF a
steam route across South America
Leaving Lime for this 100 miles the
track steadily rises.
From the sea to the top Of the pass
lhe average grade is about per cent;
ana there is no place where a train or
q car, II left on the main track would
not slide by gravity clear down into
the ocean The road is or standard
cage and its rolling stock IS largely
American The engines burn fuel oil,
men comes from northern Peru, and
the Journey throughout IS accom-
pllshed without dust or cinders- The
system OF brakes, which assures saIe-
W IS both British and American and
IN me descent a pilot car always goes
in advance Of the train,
This road is known as the Central
hallway OF Peru. 1t belongs to the gov
eminent and is under the management
or the PERUVIAN corporation a BRITISH
company that has control Of the rail-
ways OF the republic. The railway runs
from CallaO, on the Pacific, to Huan-
cayoI 20 miles distant. on the Atlantic
side OF the Andes. 1t crosses the coast
range at ,665 feet, with a branch Of
nine miles to the MOrOcOcha mines,
upon which the altitude is almost 49,
900 feet
Built By An American.
The road was suggested by a Peru
constructed the greater part OF It was
Henry Me1ggS an American MelggS
raised the money to build it. and IN
fact, he is entitled to the credit Of its
construction He began to work on II
away back in 1870 and in 1875, when
he died, he had completed it as far as
ChlCla, point more than two ana one
half miles above the sea By that time
the $27,000,000 or S28,O00,0O0 which he
had raised for its construction was eX-
hausted and the work stopped. 1t was
resumed some years later and IN 1888
was completed to OrOya, a distance Of
1873 miles from the coast The extern
sion to the rich valley Of Huancayo
was finished only six years ago.
The road was originally planned to
reach the rich silver and CONFER mines
or CeIIQ Q6 EdSCds Out dALbL 6Clil5 over
the pass at an altitude of 49, 65 feet, 1t
came down about 5000 feet and stopped
at OrOya- Then the mines were bought
by an American syndicate, and this
syndicate has built a standard gage
railway from Oroya, along the high pla-
teau Of the Andes to its mining cen
ter, which is still at an altitude OF IA
2O8 feet. expect to go over that road
within a few days and shall write
Of it later
The Central Railway Of Peru is con-
sidered by experts the most wonderful
piece Of railroad engineering on earth.
1t reaches the highest point ever
crossed by rail, and its course from the
sea to the tops of the mountains is al
most straight up into the air. The dis
lance as the crow flies from the Moro
cocha Pass to the ocean cannot 1
should say be so miles, and, with all the
windings of the road with its loops,
twists and turns, its zigzags and its
tunnels and its other cOntoruons by
which it climbs up this widest part OF
the world, it is only 100 miles All OF
this is accomplished without the rack
or pinion or cog systems used on other
high roads, and that with a grade or
only about four percent There is not
one inch Of down grade from the sea 10