Construction of the Panama Railroad

by Jon Ashurov

Hundreds of years before completion of the Panama Canal made water travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans possible across the Isthmus of Panama, people dreamed of a means of traversing the isthmus to avoid the thousands of miles of otherwise unavoidable travel around South America. Both England and France, enticed by the prospect of constructing a canal or railroad crossing the isthmus, had to abandon ambitious plans due to the magnitude of obstacles associated with such an undertaking. When the United States gained possession of Oregon and California, the need for a route from the East coast to the West coast became increasingly apparent. Perpetuating the necessity of such a travel route were the demands of the United States Post Office and the swarm of so called “Forty-niners” traveling from all over in search of their share of the gold recently discovered in California.Reassured by the claim by a group of engineers that the construction of a railroad across the isthmus was feasible, a group of visionaries led by William H. Aspinwall incorporated the Panama Railroad Company. The company formally entered a contract in 1850 with what was then called the Government of New Granada for the privilege of constructing a railroad across the Isthmus of Panama. Facing dense jungle terrain, swarms of insects, muddy swamps and rivers along with the probably contraction of merciless disease, workers began construction in May 1850 with the optimistic expectation of a six month completion time. As illness and death tolls skyrocketed, laborers were shipped in from all over the world, many destined to meet their demise in the unforgiving jungle.Less than two years into the project, finances were drained as a mere seven miles of track were complete. Work stopped and the project seemed to be a failure. But the well-timed arrival of two ships that were forced ashore by a hurricane while carrying thousands of gold seeking Forty-niners changed everything. Lured by the prospect of riches at the end of their journey, the Forty-niners did not care that the railroad only stretched seven miles across the fifty mile wide isthmus; they would take seven miles if they could get it. The high fares charged by the trainmen brought in enough money for work to resume. Despite the seemingly insurmountable challenges, the railroad was completed in five years, with the first train traveling from ocean to ocean on January 28, 1855.The successful construction of the Panama Railroad gave Panama the long term upper hand as the site for construction of the much anticipated canal, with the eventual construction of the Panama Canal situated parallel to the railroad. The present day railroad is the result of a complete relocation and reconstruction of the railroad, which was completed in 1912.About the Author: Jon Ashurov, of Cpanama Real Estate Corporation, is an expert on Panama real estate. For more information, please visit http://cpanama.com

Comments? Questions? Email Here

© HowtoAdvice.com

How to Advice .com