The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-02-22
NEW RAIL LINE ID
 LINK GAUTEMALA
 WITH BIRMINGHAM
Hundred Miles of Railroad in Central America Will
 Open Rich Territory
By GuEBELLERMo vnLExzrELLA.

By GUERELLERaIO VELENZUELLA.
 Mobile, February 2L-(special)-Bir mingham, through the Port of Birming- ASm, is going to be closely linked with Guatemala and Salvador, and Birming- ham mills are going to construct the link.
 little strip of lrailroad just trifle over 100 miles in length is the link It is going to run, according to the surveys which have already been completed. from Zacaps, in the Republic of Guatemala, to Santa Ana, in the Republic of Salvador. in all probability the steel rails and structural work for spanning the many ravines, chasms made by now extinct volcanoes, rivers and gullies, which make the undertaking one of the most difficult in the history of engineering in the little , Central American republic, will be made in mills of the Birmingham district, be loaded at the Port of Birmingham, go down the Warrior. out through Mobile Bay and the Puerto Barrios.
 The city of Birmingham should benefit in many ways from the construction of this little line of railroad. Beside making another market for Birmingham steel it is going to bring the products of some of the richest country in Guatemala and Salvador to the door of Alabama's s me- tropolis. Many of the main products from this country have been going to San Francisco and other Pacific ports for it5e reason that exporters from that dis trict could not get their goods to the Atlantic port With this added line the district is connected with the Guatemala railroad, running from Guatemala City to Puerto Barrios At the latter city it will be loaded on steamers which will bring it direct to Mobile, New Orleans and other gulf ports at a great saving in mileage over the Pacific ports. It IS even possible according to the plans which I understand are being made. to connect Puerto Barrios and Birmingham by an all-water route. In this event lm- porters and exporters of Birmin gham may rest assured that they will find new and profitable business with Guatemalean and Salvadorean merchants.
 Fifty-five miles of this little line are in Guatemala and, so in the republic of Salvador. The surveys were made and the line located by F. M. Bulfinch in the Salvadorean part and by Dr. Bryant Pearson's engineer, in the Guatemalean part Concessions have been given to Minor c. Keith, who, with Bradley Pal mer, Percival Farquhar and others have had control of the International Railways of Central America Keith being president of the company. These concessions cover the whole line in both countries and subsidiary of s7,000 per kilometer was agreed to for the finished line.
 Construction of the line would have started in August. 1914, if it had not been for the World War, and it is prob. able that it will be taken up again at an early date1< President Estrada Cabrera of the Republic of Guatemala, in his message to Congress the 1st of March, 1919, announced that the work On this line was ready to be started and that all efforts would be made to have it finished '%ithin a short time.
 The railroad goes through very rugged country, but reaches a summit of but 2500 feet The maximum grade of the line is but per cent compensated and the curvature has maximum of IS degrees The cost of the line will be high per mile. especially now that material is Sd