Panama Historical Society marks 150 years of the Panama Railroad

community

For 150 years, the morning train ride through the jungle has been one of this country's special treats.
For most of that time Gatun Lake has been part of the scenery

On the Panama Railroad's 150th birthday

article and photos by Eric Jackson

The Panama Railroad was finished on January 28, 1855, the result of American engineering and investment and the labor of an international force that brought West Indian and Chinese workers to the isthmus in great numbers. Its construction entailed the filling of pestilential swamps, dangerous blasting and machete work in snake-infested jungle. The old claim that for every tie on the 47-mile railway a construction worker died is an exaggeration, but an estimate that's not all that egregiously inflated.

Most of the original route was abandoned and covered with rising waters when the Chagres River was dammed to make Gatun Lake. A new route, much of it on causeways over shallower parts of the lake, was used during most of the Canal Zone's existence. Handed over in obsolete condition to the Panamanian government in 1979, the railroad was mismanaged, poorly maintained and all but closed in short order. But then under the Pérez Balladares administration the Kansas City Southern Railway got control of the route in a railway privatization deal and, along with some partners, completely renovated the tracks with a business plan of shuttling containers among the country's ports and the Colon Free Zone.

The plan hit a snag when the local subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa shook down the Panamanian government for a rent break by going slow on its development of the Port of Balboa, which in turn limited the container traffic. But meanwhile the tourism industry and Colon Free Zone merchants asked the railroad to offer passenger service that it hadn't planned to provide. Kansas City Southern agreed, and though the ride is not price-competitive with the buses or as quick as the commuter flights, it has proven to be a success.

The Panamanian government paid scant attention to this anniversary, but some of the communities whose history is intimately tied with that of the railroad did. The Panama Historial Society has an international membership, but has most of its roots in the American community. At this year's Antillean Fair the railroad anniversary was the theme of the stage decorations.

So what to do when a group of history buffs takes a train ride to Colon in the morning and has a day to kill before the return trip in the afternoon? It wasn't a matter of looking hard to find things to do, but choosing among the too many historical sites to visit in one day. In addition to the places shown on this page, the Historical Society also visited the Episcopalians' venerable Christ Church by the Sea, the Colon 2000 cruiser port, Fort San Lorenzo and the former Fort Gulick.

Starting the day with coffee and muffins --- something that's part of the lifestyles
of many of the regular riders, most of whom are Colon Free Zone merchants

Once off the train and onto the buses, professional guides like Gold Coast Tours proprietor Skip Berger took over

The first stop was just across the street from the train depot, at the
Aspinwall monument that honors Colon's American founders

Then to the Columbus statue on Central. Across the street the Moscoso administration installed a monument to Quibian, who led the indigenous resistance when
Columbus and his men were discovered trespassing on Panama's shore. Unfortunately, the Quibian monument is ugly, stereotypical and poorly placed

Cristo Redentor greets visitors to the beach on Colon city's north end...

...as does the Virgin Mary

The Colon Museum isn't much, but it's a start

Cash Alley is more squalid than ever, and the wild life for which it was once renowned has moved elsewhere