The Central railway was built by C. P. Huntington and his associates, and is the oldest and, for a long time, was the only railroad in the country. It is about seventy-five miles in length and is a well-constructed road. The most of the traffic from the capital and interior to the Pacific passes over this line to its port, San Jose, which is very similar in its facilities to Champerico.
[Illustration: SAN JOSE, THE PORT OF GUATEMALA CITY.]
This road, in connection with the Guatemala Northern, completed a year ago, makes the third interoceanic railway south of our own borders, the other two being the Tehuantepec National, in Mexico, and the Panama railroad. Another road will soon be completed in Costa Rica, so it is claimed. Over the Guatemala Northern Railroad it is now possible to travel from Guatemala City to Puerto Barrios, the principal Gulf port, by rail. This road was the dream of President Rufino Barrios a quarter of a century ago, as he had already at that time granted a concession for its construction. The first spike was driven in 1892 and two years later the line was opened as far as El Rancho, a distance of one hundred and twenty-nine miles, while the entire distance from port to capital is nearly two hundred miles. The government finances running low by that time, it was leased to a private company who operated it for revenue only. It was not a bonanza for the operators even when they used all the income for profit and operating expenses without placing any of it back in the road. The difficulties in the operation of a railroad in a tropical country are many and they were all encountered here. The ties soon decayed, and in the rainy season the streams became raging torrents which washed away bridges and the tracks along their banks. The rolling stock was likewise neglected and in a few years the road was practically abandoned. Furthermore, the road being without a good terminus, the freight offered for transportation was relatively small.
Only one train each week to connect with the mail steamers was run for several years. Finally, in 1902, the government took up the project with renewed vigour and secured the services of Sir William Van Horne, the man who made possible the Canadian Pacific transcontinental line, and later built the Cuban railways. Hundreds of men were placed at work reconstructing the road, building new bridges and completing the gap to the capital of about seventy miles. This last extension was within the mountain ranges and required some remarkable engineering feats. There are many tunnels and cuts through solid rock and the longest stretch of straight track is less than a mile. This last section was finally opened for traffic on the 19th of January, 1908, and imposing ceremonies were begun that day which continued throughout the entire week. President Cabrera and his cabinet, and the diplomatic corps took part in the ceremonies, and were passengers on the first through passenger train which was run from the capital to the Gulf on that date. The dream of several presidents and the despair of many engineers has at last become a reality, and another ocean-to-ocean line has been thrown open for the world’s commerce.