A work upon Mexico would be incomplete without a description of the railways and the present progressive railway movement. Nothing has contributed in such a degree to the great progress that has been made in the last quarter of a century in Mexico, as the rapidly increasing railway lines. This is true not only of the influence these advance agents of progressiveness have had upon commerce, but they have enlarged the intercourse with other nations, especially with the United States. Through this means the dormant energies and ambitions of the Mexican people have been awakened, and a new era has dawned in our Latin neighbour.

The centres of population in Mexico have always been situated in the great central plateaus in the interior. Only a very small proportion of the population live on, or near the coast. Communication with the ports was over long, narrow and rough trails. The transportation of commerce was slow and expensive, and required great droves of slow-moving pack mules and patient burros, and whole armies of cargadors. Furthermore, the very isolation of the people and difficulty of communication kept them aloof from modern progress, and left them content with things as they were, with no ambition for anything more advanced or better than had been enjoyed by their forefathers. It also prevented the development of a real, national spirit, because one community was, in a true sense, not familiar with the neighbouring cities, and took a special pride in its local interests rather than in the idea of a homogeneous, strongly-centred whole.

So jealous were those employed in the business of transportation in the old crude way, that, in order to placate them, some of the earlier roads were obliged to commence construction at the point furthermost from the port, in order to give employment to these people in transporting the material from the port to the place of beginning. Those who are familiar with the great development of the west, since the construction of our own trans-continental lines, will better appreciate the change that railroad construction has wrought in Mexico. There is this difference, however, that the people were in Mexico before the railroads were built, and, instead of a newly-developed country it is a rejuvenated old country.

Prior to the beginning of the railway movement, Mexico was noted chiefly for its minerals. Now, although only a small portion of the mineral wealth has been dug out of the earth, mining has become of secondary importance. The increase in commerce and manufacturing, and the stimulus to agriculture brought about by these avenues of communication, have swelled the general wealth of the country far more than the millions of white metal extracted from old mother earth each year. Manufacturing plants have sprung up on every hand, and the products of the mills are increasing in volume and variety each year. Mexico could, probably, after a fashion, supply all the wants of her people without any imports from the outside world. The factories include almost every line of trade from the making of articles to adorn the outward man to the solid and liquid goods which cheer and sustain the inward man.

The railroads have tended to enlarge the wants of the people by throwing them into contact with other civilizations and have raised the general standard of wages so that the people have more money to expend for material needs and luxuries. The abolishment of the alcabales, or local customs, was the logical result of the development of railways and was almost revolutionary. From the time of the Spanish conquest each city had collected a local tariff on all goods brought into the town for sale, and had raised a great part of its revenues in this way. Changes come slow in this country, but are nevertheless sure. It may be that at some time in the future the brown back of the burden-bearing cargador will be relieved of its load. It is a question, however, whether this change would be welcomed by the dusky descendants of Montezuma.

The encouragement given to railroad construction has been done with a lavish but well-directed hand. It is estimated that more than one hundred and fifty million dollars have been spent by the Mexican government in subsidizing railroads and in developing harbours, and the end is not in sight yet. Perhaps the motive has not been altogether unselfish for no one influence has assisted so much in centralizing the power in the hands of the Diaz government or been such a potent force in tranquillizing a naturally turbulent people, as the railways and the telegraph lines which always accompany them. Instant notice would be sent of any embryonic revolutionary movement and troops could be hurried to the affected district at once. There were at the close of 1906, according to government report, twenty-one thousand six hundred and eleven kilometers of railway track in Mexico, or about thirteen thousand five hundred miles, and this is increasing at the rate of several hundred miles each year. The subsidies on the principal lines have averaged from $10,000 to $15,000 per English mile, with the provision in most instances that after a certain period (generally ninety-nine years) the roads shall revert to the government at a certain fixed valuation. Construction is either of such a difficult character, or over such long stretches of semi-desert territory with poor and scattered population, that most of these roads would never have been built except for government assistance.

After the manner of the Romans and with equal truthfulness, the Mexicans say that all roads lead to the City of Mexico. This saying is almost literally true. The Valley of Mexico is traversed from every direction with the ferro carriles, or roads of iron, converging toward the capital. It now has direct communication by rail with almost every part of the republic except Yucatan and the Pacific slope, and can reach this coast at one point by a roundabout way to Salina Cruz.

The back-bone of the extensive railway system is formed by the two great trunk lines which reach out to the north from the City of Mexico, gradually diverging until at the places where they cross the muddy Rio Grande they are several hundred miles apart. These railways traverse the broad central plateau of which Humboldt, the great traveller, wrote, “so regular is the great plateau and so gentle are the slopes where depressions occur, that the journey from Mexico to Santa Fe, New Mexico, might be made in a four-wheeled vehicle.” There are hundreds of miles where construction work was exceedingly easy, as it consisted simply of shovelling up a slightly raised bed and laying the ties and rail. Rough mountain construction in other places, and especially in entering the Valley of Mexico, required the work of the very best engineers. By whichever route the traveller enters Mexico it would be well if he could sleep over the first two hundred miles while the train is passing over the semi-desert plains of Northern Mexico where the dust filters through the car windows in clouds.

The government of Mexico has entered the railway field for economic reasons. It is simply another indication of the intention on the part of President Diaz to control the railway situation in behalf of the people by preventing excessive rates through the pooling of interests. The spectre of railway consolidation similar to the merging of the great systems in the United States influenced the officials more than anything else, and the government did not want the railway situation in Mexico controlled by any of the large American companies. The project was begun only a few years ago by actual purchase in the open market of a controlling interest in the National railroad. This purchase was made by a select firm of New York brokers, and the real buyer was not revealed until sufficient stock had been secured to insure control of the properties. These lines are now known as the National Lines of Mexico and have a mileage of about eight thousand miles. They will be held by a corporation with a capital of $250,000,000, organized under the laws of Mexico, the control of which will be vested in the Mexican government, although there will be a minority board in New York. They include one hundred and sixty miles of track in the United States from Laredo to Corpus Christi, Texas.

The main line of the system is the former National Railroad extending from Laredo to the capital, a distance of eight hundred and thirty-nine miles, several hundred miles shorter than the Central. It passes through the important cities of Monterey, Saltillo, San Luis Potosi and Celaya. Originally constructed as a narrow gauge line, it has been changed to standard width throughout its entire length. The Mexican International Railroad, which enters Mexico at Eagle Pass and runs through Torreon to Durango with a branch to Monterey, has been added. The Interoceanic Railway, whose main line connects the capital with Vera Cruz, passing through Puebla, the third largest city in Mexico, is also now a part of this system. At the present time this line is narrow gauge, but preparations are now being made to widen it to standard gauge. Quite recently the government purchased the Hidalgo Railroad, which extends from the City of Mexico to Pachuca, State of Hidalgo. It is the intention of the government to extend this line immediately to Tampico, thus making a short and direct route to this port.

In December, 1906, the government announced the purchase of the Mexican Central Railway, its only large competitor, and this road will be added to the system known as the National Lines. The reasons for this purchase were stated by Minister of Finance Limantour to be “the aggressive attitude assumed by certain great railway systems in the United States.” It was feared that the great railways of the United States would step in and absorb this important line, and saddle upon the people the trust evil. The Mexican Central is the largest railway system within the republic and owns more than three thousand five hundred miles of track. The main line extends from El Paso, Texas, to the capital in a southeasterly direction a distance of one thousand two hundred and twenty-four miles. This was the first road constructed to the United States border and received the largest subsidy of any line, amounting to $15,200 per mile. Construction work was begun in 1880 at both terminal points and rushed to completion so that through trains were running less than four years later. This made an average of nearly one mile for each working day. It traverses sections rich in agriculture and mineral resources and passes through many of the important cities. Among these are Chihuahua, Torreon, Zacatecas, Aguas Calientes, Leon, Irapuato, Celaya and QuerÉtero. It reaches a population of several millions on the table lands.

Two important branches of the main line run to the gulf port of Tampico, which is second only in importance to Vera Cruz. One of these lines branches off at Aguas Calientes passing through San Luis Potosi, and the other at Torreon, passing through Monterey. At Irapuato a branch line runs west to Guadalajara, the second largest city in Mexico, and is being extended through to Manzanillo, a good harbour on the Pacific coast. It is expected that this road will be completed January, 1908, and will give the capital what has long been needed—a direct route to the Pacific. The difficulty and great cost of construction in reaching this coast has delayed the various projected lines, for the drop from the high plateaus to the sea level is very abrupt. It is estimated that the last hundred miles of this extension will cost $5,000,000 in gold. Another branch of this system extends south from the capital through ancient Cuernevaca to the Balsas River, with an ultimate destination of Acapulco, the finest harbour on the Pacific Coast of either North or South America. There are also numerous smaller and less important feeders.

The Mexican Railway which connects the port of Vera Cruz with the City of Mexico is the oldest railroad in the republic. It was first incorporated under the empire in 1864 as the Imperial Mexican Railway and exceedingly favourable concessions were granted. Owing to the political disturbances it was not completed until 1873. It was built with English capital and cost a fabulous sum. The monopoly which it held for years enabled it to pay big returns to its owners for a long period and even now its earnings compare favourably with our own western lines. This road is noted as one of the most picturesque railways in the world, for in a few hours one is transported from the high plateaus to the sea level.

The Mexican Southern Railway is another English road extending from Puebla south to Oaxaca, which was opened for traffic in 1893, a distance of 227 miles. This road received a bonus of about $10,000,000 in government bonds, and well it needed such an inducement, for the traveller wonders in passing over the line where the profit can come from, as there are only a very few places of any size between the two terminal points. It opens up a rich agricultural and mineral section in the Valley of Oaxaca, and will probably develop into a profitable property in the future. As the line runs through narrow ravines a great part of the way, following streams, the traveller does not see the best part of the country traversed.

The Southern Pacific has a branch which runs from Benson, Arizona, to Guaymas, the chief port on the Gulf of California, passing through Hermosillo, the capital of the State of Sonora, the home of the Yaqui Indians. It passes through an intensely interesting country, possessing a wealth of scenery and natural resources. This line is being extended farther south, with an ultimate destination of Guadalajara or possibly the capital city.

Another important link in the system of railroads in Mexico, and one which is practically owned by the government is the Vera Cruz and Pacific Railway. This road extends from Vera Cruz to Santa Lucrecia, a station on the Tehuantepec National Railway which is described in another chapter. A branch line also extends to Cordoba, there connecting with the Mexican Railway, and forms what is at present the only all-rail route from the capital to a Pacific port. This road runs through the heart of the tropics and alternately passes over prairie and through tropical jungle.

A trip over this road is a revelation to the traveller who has never visited a tropical land. No one except those who assisted in the work fully appreciates the enormous difficulties that had to be overcome. I doubt if even mountains present more perplexing problems in railroad construction than these level prairies and swamps, where there is no solid rock or gravel and the country is deluged with an annual rainfall of from twelve to sixteen feet. The surface is a soft clay unfit for roadbed or ballast. After heavy rains the ties and often the rails would sink into it until completely covered. For a few years the road was practically abandoned for several weeks during the heaviest rainfall. The track would sometimes slip sideways, or in a cut the banks would slide in and cover it. In the two hundred and forty-two miles of the main line, the road crosses six large rivers, whose size is due to the amount of rainfall rather than the extent of territory drained. These rivers and many smaller streams require an average of more than one bridge for each mile of track. The uncertainty and inefficiency of native help and difficulty of getting skilled American labour to go there because of the fear of tropical fevers, rendered the work of the contractor no easy task. Even an American workman could not accomplish more than about half as much as in a colder climate.

I made this trip when it required twenty-six hours to cover the two hundred miles from Vera Cruz to Santa Lucrecia. No one asked the engineer to go faster, and we considered ourselves in luck not to run off the rails, which in many places resembled the track made by a wobbly wheel after we had passed over it. It has now been placed in better condition, and the run is made in much quicker time. No one must expect quick time on Mexican railroads, for twenty-five miles an hour is fast travelling and the average is nearer fifteen miles. The section traversed by this road must inevitably be the richest part of Mexico in the near future, now that it has an outlet. It passes through the region best adapted for tropical plantations where the soil is inexhaustible.

One of the dreams of the late James G. Blaine was a Pan-American railroad or all-rail route from the United States to the southernmost republics of South America. President Arthur appointed a commission in 1884 which was sent to the republics of Central and South America along the proposed route. At the first Pan-American conference held in Washington, this projected railway was discussed at considerable length. All the representatives were in favour of it and a survey was decided upon. Several parties of surveyors were set to work at different points along the proposed route, and a complete survey was made from Oaxaca, Mexico, to the northernmost point reached by the railways of the Argentine Republic. The proposition excited a great deal of interest and discussion at the time, but little has been heard of it in recent years. There is one man in Mexico, however, who has not lost sight of the great project, and that man is J. M. Neeland. He organized a company to build the Pan-American Railroad from San Geronimo, a station on the Tehuantepec National Railroad to the boundary of Guatemala, a distance of about three hundred miles. The Mexican government promised a subsidy of $10,000 gold, per mile. He has followed the base of the mountain range in order to lessen the expense of construction, and render it easy to connect with the ports by means of branch lines. It follows as nearly as possible an old military road constructed by the Spaniards.

Quietly and unostentatiously this line has been pushed forward until it has been completed to Pijijiapam, only one hundred and twenty-six miles from the Guatemala boundary, and a contract has been let for its completion by the close of the year 1907. The importance of this line to Mexico can hardly be overestimated, for it connects the seat of government by an all-rail line with the most remote corner of the republic. It also opens up the rich coffee lands in the State of Chiapas, the best coffee territory in Mexico. The ports along this coast are all open roadsteads without piers, and freight is carried to and from the steamers in lighters. At one time a steamer on which I was a passenger lay at San Benito, the most southerly Pacific port of Mexico and on the line of this railway, three days in order to load a few thousand bags of coffee. This part of the country has been so isolated heretofore that it has never been developed to any extent. The completion of this Pan-American railroad will greatly increase the influence of Mexico in the little Republic of Guatemala, and will have a tendency to render that country less turbulent. The promoters aim to continue this road through all the republics of Central America, clear to the Isthmus of Panama. They have already secured a concession with the promise of a good subsidy from Guatemala, and will utilize a portion of a railroad now in operation in that country. A remarkable fact in connection with this road is that it is already meeting its operating expenses and fixed charges, which is an unusual showing for a newly-built Mexican railroad.

The government is now endeavouring to have a railroad constructed from some point on the Pan-American Railroad to connect with the railways of Yucatan. This road and the other lines already under construction will connect all parts of the republic with the bands of steel, with the single exception of Lower California. It will not be many years before this great plan of a great president will be a reality. Step by step progress has been made but the improvement has been permanent. In some places the innovation was not welcomed at first, because of extreme conservatism. Now everyone reaps some benefit from it. Before the days of railroads each community lived by itself, and the poor natives were at the mercy of the rich plantation owners in the dry years which sometimes occurred. Now, transportation is cheap and quick, and everyone can have food at a reasonable cost. The paternal character of the government in this respect was shown a few years ago, when the corn crop was a partial failure and a “corner” was attempted by the dealers. The government immediately removed the tariff, imported great quantities of grain, and sold it to the people at cost. This could not have been done except for the facilities afforded by the railway lines. The traffic does not seem large, and there is only one train per day each way on most of the lines, and on the branches this is frequently a mixed passenger and freight train. The tonnage is increasing each year as the wants of the people increase, and money to purchase things heretofore regarded as luxuries becomes more abundant.

Note to Revised Edition. In 1911 the railway mileage of Mexico exceeded 15,000 miles. The Pan-American Railroad is now completed to Mariscal, on the Guatemala border. Work on the connecting link with the lines of that republic, only about thirty miles, is progressing, and it is estimated that within a year it will be possible to travel by rail from New York to Guatemala City. The Pan-American and the Vera Cruz and Pacific Railroads are now a part of the National Lines. The name of the latter has been changed to the Vera Cruz and Isthmus Railroad. The Manzanillo branch was completed almost on time. The extension of the Southern Pacific as far as the city of Tepic, and the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway are described in a succeeding chapter.