The Construction of A Light Mountain Railroad in the Republic of Colombia

Abstract

In the construction of a railroad in a country where sufficient traffic is already in existence to warrant a fair return on the contemplated investment and where capital can be easily procured, the main object should be to build the road with such light curves and grades that the operating expenses may be kept down to the lowest limit, almost regardless of first cost, as long as the interest on the additional capital required does not exceed the saving that will be effected in the operating expenses by the additional outlay, as in that manner the line will be in a condition to face active competition. On the other hand, where a railroad has to be built in a new and undeveloped country to accommodate a light traffic which is not expected to increase materially for many years to come, and where capital is limited, it becomes necessary to adopt sharper curves and heavier gradients than customary, if, by so doing, the first cost of construction can be decreased to such an amount as to make possible an enterprise of otherwise prohibitory cost. The purpose of this paper is to describe a railroad of this nature, built for the Caribbean Manganese Company of Baltimore, Md., in the Department of Panama, Republic of Colombia. The main line of the road at present in operation is 9 miles long·and extends from the harbor of Nombre de Dios to the Nispero and Soledad manganese mines. The Nombre de Dios Harbor is on the Caribbean Sea, about 40 miles northeast of Colon.