Omaha daily bee., 1914-08-09

Copyright. 1914, by Frank G.. Carpenter)
~ PAZ-The iron horse of trans
portation and commerce has
~ climbed over the Andes and is
now forcing his way through
h4tk4sl,I the wilds Of Bolivia Fifteen
- years ago all the railways OF
this country did not cover 800 miles. To-
day more than 1900 miles are in opera-
tion' more than 500 miles are being con-
structed' and something like $500 miles
nave been surveyed or projected. When
last came to la Paz I rode over the
FeruVian southern railway from Mol
lendo to Arequipa, and thence on to Puno
on Lake Titicaca.
crossed that lake on steamer to
Chillilaya, Bolivia, and came with the
mails on a stage across the plateau to
la Paz. This year have come by the
same route far as the lake. and thence
TO Guaquil. where an express train brought
me in comfort right into the heart Of the
Bolivian capital
In leaving La Paz to return to the sea-
coast I was hauled by mules on a long
three-daY gallop down to Oruro. where I
got the narrow gauge line that crosses
the mountains and desert to the port Of
Antofagasts. have gone over the same
road this year, but 1t has now been ex-
tended from Oruro TO La Paz and there
are branch lines that will soon connect
with the Argentine railway system and
give transcontinental line across south
ern Bolivia to the Atlantic ocean at Bue-
nos Aires Then Bolivia had no through
railway to the sea. 1t has now three,
the third being the short cut TO the Pa
cific at africa. The africa road was com.
pleted only about a year ago, and the
trains are just now beginning TO run
safely over it, During my stay in La
Paz have had talks with the managers
of the several roads; and at Arequipa and
Lima I gathered the latest information
as to the Peruvian Southern which, with
its extension from Lake Titicaca TO La
Paz, forms one of the most important
outlets to the trade of this country.
Only Available Ladder.
These Andean railways are the only
ladders up which one can climb to the
golden roof of the South American con-
tinent, and they are the only downspouts
through which mineral and other products
of the plateau can be sent to the seacoast.
From here to the Isthmus of Panama
there are now five such ladders. The
first is Ecuador. 1t runs from Guaya-
Gull to Quito, passing in fun view of
Chimborazo and Cotopaxi The second is
the Central railroad of Peru. It climbs
over the coastal range to the great cop
per mines of Cerro de Pasco, reaching an
altitude which is far above that of any
other railroad point of the world The
third is the Peruvian Southern It climbs
over a pass of more than 1900 feet to
Lake Titicaca; and the fourth and fifth
are the Arica-La Paz and the Antofa-
gasta-La Paz roads, which cross the
Chilean desert and end at the Bolivian
capital
The highest of these roads is the Cen
trail Railway of Peru. 1 crossed it at an
altitude which is more than three miles
above the sea, and on one of its branch
lines assembled to a height Of 1896 feet,
which is the highest place now reached by
rail. The Peruvian Central crosses the
Andes through the Galera tunnel and
then goes down into the fertile valley of
Huancayo, and it will some day be ex-
tended to the navigable tributaries of the
Amazon river
Railroad in Clouds.
The Southern Railway of Peru crosses
the Andes at an altitude of 14,4O0 feet.
Its highest point is about that OF Pixies
Peak, which is 14,1H feet above the sea.
1t then descends to Lake Titicaca. and
from there drops down to La Paz, which
lies in hollow almost two miles and
quarter above the sea. The Central rail-
road goes up three miles in altitude over
about 100 miles OF track, and its total