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105-680: The United States Mail Steamship Company – also called the United States Mail Line , or the U.S. Mail Line – was a passenger steamship line formed in 1920 by the United States Shipping Board (USSB) to run the USSB's fleet of former German ocean liners that the United States had seized during World War I or been awarded as war reparations after the end of the war. Receivers were appointed for

210-408: A French company was given a concession for the construction of a road, rail, or canal route across the isthmus. An initial engineering study recommended a sea-level canal from Bahía Limón to the bay of Boca del Monte, 12 miles (19 km) west of Panama City. The proposed project collapsed for lack of technology and funding needed. Following the United States' acquisition of Alta California in 1846,

315-664: A canal. The choice to use locks and an artificial lake (Gatun) meant that the old railway route from 1855 had to be changed because it followed the Chagres River valley, which would be flooded by the lake. Also, the railway would be extended and altered continuously for the building process. The stock of the Panama Railway Company, vital in canal construction, was entirely controlled by the United States Secretary of War . The construction of

420-536: A canal. The road over the crest of the continental divide at Culebra was completed from the Atlantic side in January 1855; 37 miles (60 km) of track having been laid from Aspinwall (Colón). A second team, working under less harsh conditions with railroad track, ties, railroad cars, steam locomotives, and other supplies brought around Cape Horn by ship, completed its 11 miles (18 km) of track from Panama City to

525-418: A cemetery that accepted nearly continuous burials. Cholera , yellow fever , and malaria took a deadly toll on workers. Despite the company's constant importation of high numbers of new workers, there were times when progress stalled for simple lack of workers. All supplies and nearly all foodstuffs had to be imported from thousands of miles away, greatly adding to the cost of construction. Laborers came from

630-649: A corporation had been set during the construction of the Panama Canal during which the Panama Railway Company was charged with much of the construction and had its stock entirely owned by the US Secretary of War . The Shipping Act had explicitly empowered the board to found such a company, which was done with issuance of $ 50,000,000 in stock all initially held by the board; the majority portion had to be retained, and another provision required

735-600: A massive wartime program. Though it was sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board, the official title remained the United States Shipping Board. The board was to address the shortage of shipping through acquisition of existing hulls and, with the declaration of war by the United States on Germany on 6 April 1917, a construction program through its Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) was created 16 April. The precedent for using such

840-530: A minor factor. A Maritime Intelligence Department in the division and a separate Division of Planning and Statistics collected and analyzed shipping data to help determine what level of shipping was necessary for commerce and how much could be shifted to the war effort. As of 1 June 1917, the USSB established a recruiting service with headquarters in Boston , with the first of an eventual 43 training centers, in recognition that traditional methods were too slow for

945-548: A new section, techniques were developed by William Bierd, former head of the Panama Railroad, to lift large sections of track and their attached ties by steam-powered cranes and relocate them intact, without disassembling and rebuilding the track. A dozen men could move a mile of track a day – the work previously done by up to 600 men. This allowed the tracks used by both the steam shovels and dirt trains to be quickly moved to wherever they were needed. While constructing

1050-409: A roadbed. Fortunately, they had found a quarry near Porto Bello, Panama , so they could load sandstone onto barges and tow it to Aspinwall to get the backfill needed to build the roadbed. Built as the steam revolution was just starting, the only power equipment was a steam-driven pile driver, steam tugs, and steam locomotives equipped with gondola and dump cars for carrying fill material; the rest of

1155-594: A rush of emigrants wanting to cross the Isthmus of Panama to go to California. The first steamship used on the Pacific run was the $ 200,000 three-mast, dual- paddle steamer SS  California . It was 203 feet (62 m) in length, 33.5 feet (10.2 m) in beam, and 20 feet (6.1 m) deep, with a draft of 14 feet (4.3 m), and grossed 1,057 tons. When it sailed around the Cape Horn of South America, it

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1260-605: A state of neglect until 1998, when a project to rebuild the railroad to haul intermodal traffic began; the new railroad opened in 2001. The original line was built by the United States and the principal incentive was the vast increase in passenger and freight traffic from the Eastern United States to California following the 1849 California Gold Rush . The United States Congress had provided subsidies to companies to operate mail and passenger steamships on

1365-475: A study into the possibility of building a railway from Chagres (on the Chagres River ) to the town of Panama City. This study was carried out between 1827 and 1829, just as locomotives were being invented. Previously railroads used horses for motive power. The report stated that such a railway might be possible. However, the idea was shelved. In 1836, United States President Andrew Jackson commissioned

1470-476: A study of proposed routes for inter-oceanic communication in order to protect the interests of Americans traveling between the oceans and those living in the developing Oregon Country of the Pacific Northwest. The United States acquired a franchise for a trans-Isthmian railroad; however, the scheme was disrupted by the economic downturn after the business panic of 1837 , and came to nothing. In 1838

1575-459: A term of two years. The members of the board gathered in Washington in the first week of January 1917 to plan and organize while they awaited confirmation, which came in late January. The board's formal organization was on January 30. US vessels had suffered a disadvantage, and the laws passed by Congress had in some cases had the effect of giving advantage to European shipping, instead of

1680-400: A three-ton steel plow was put on the last car (or a car carrying the plow was attached as the last car) and a huge winch with a braided steel cable stretching the length of all cars was attached to the engine. The winch, powered by the train's steam engine, pulled the plow the length of the dirt loaded train by winching up the steel cable. The plow scraped the dirt off the railroad cars, allowing

1785-546: A time the Panama Railroad also owned and operated ocean-going ships that provided mail and passenger service to a few major US East Coast and West Coast cities, respectively. Known as the Panama Railroad Company when founded in the 19th century, today it is operated as Panama Canal Railway Company ( reporting mark : PCRC). Since 1998 it has been jointly owned by then Kansas City Southern , now Canadian Pacific Kansas City , and Mi-Jack Products and leased to

1890-457: A year, and had to be replaced with ties made of lignum vitae , a wood so hard that they had to drill the ties before driving in the screw spikes . The line was eventually built as double track . The railroad became one of the most profitable in the world. Upon completion, the railway was proclaimed an engineering marvel of the era. Until the opening of the Panama Canal , it carried the heaviest volume of freight per unit length of any railroad in

1995-670: Is a railway line linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in Central America . The route stretches 47.6 miles (76.6 km) across the Isthmus of Panama from Colón (Atlantic) to Balboa (Pacific, near Panama City ). Because of the difficult physical conditions of the route and state of technology, the construction was renowned as an international engineering achievement, one that cost US$ 8 million and

2100-557: The American Civil War , and remained in use in Panama until the railroad was rebuilt in 2001. The next step was making things permanent and upgrading the railway. Hastily erected wooden bridges that quickly rotted in the tropical heat and often torrential rain had to be replaced with iron bridges. Wooden trestles had to be converted to gravel embankments before they rotted away. The original pine railroad ties lasted only about

2205-462: The Culebra Cut (Gaillard Cut), about 160 loaded dirt trains went out daily and returned empty. The railroads, steam shovels, steam-powered cranes, rock crushers, cement mixers, dredges, and pneumatic power drills used to drill holes for explosives (about 30,000,000 pounds [14,000 t] were used) were some of the new construction equipment used to construct the canal. Nearly all this equipment

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2310-600: The Great Lakes built ships, originally War Bayonet , which became USS Lake Superior for the first war and USS Tuluran for the second. Others among the ships found service in the next war; for example, War Dido was torpedoed and sunk as Empire Springbuck in 1941, and War Dragon was seized by Japan and sunk as Renzan Maru by USS  Porpoise on 1 January 1943. Some being built for domestic shippers had long careers, with Orizaba and Oriente being examples. The Board's construction program, most notably

2415-554: The Hog Islander ships, was executed through the Emergency Fleet Corporation, which it established on 16 April 1917. The shipbuilding program was concluded with the 9 May 1922 delivery of the ship completed and delivered as Western World , launched as Nutmeg State 17 September 1921, by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at Sparrows Point, Maryland . When ships were delivered from the builder to

2520-689: The Oregon Territory in 1848, and the Mexican–American War and with the prospective movement of many more settlers to and from the West Coast, the United States again turned its attention to securing a safe, reliable, and speedy link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In 1846 the United States signed a treaty with Colombia (then the Republic of New Granada ) by which the United States guaranteed Colombian sovereignty over Panama and

2625-672: The Pacific Mail Steamship Company —to provide connecting steamship services between New York and Panama on the Atlantic and Panama and San Francisco on the Pacific . However, the company also maintained its own fleet of smaller watercraft for local work, and over the course of its history also ran two of its own steamship lines. The first of these, the Central American Line, was established on

2730-443: The Panama Canal was envisioned by John Frank Stevens , chief American railroad construction engineer, as a huge earthmoving project using the extended railroad system. Many tracks were added temporarily to transport the sand and rock from the excavation. Stevens used the biggest and most durable equipment available. The French equipment was nearly all judged obsolete, worn out, or too light duty, and nearly all their railroad equipment

2835-883: The US Department of Commerce (regulatory functions only, 1950–61); the US Federal Maritime Commission (regulatory functions only, 1961–); the US Maritime Administration of the Department of Commerce (all other functions, 1950–81); and the US Maritime Administration of the US Department of Transportation (all other functions, 1981–). From 1924 to 1933, the board was instead chaired by T. V. O'Connor . Panama Canal Railway The Panama Canal Railway (PCR, Spanish : Ferrocarril de Panamá )

2940-525: The US president with confirmation by the US Senate as the United States Shipping Board (USSB) to acquire and construct suitable vessels and to create corporations under its control to execute the programs. In essence, the board was given "complete control over American ships and shipping." US President Woodrow Wilson made public his nominations for the board on December 22, 1916, with some dissatisfaction in

3045-538: The United States , Europe , Colombia , China , the Caribbean islands, and also included some African slaves . Many of these workers had come to Panama to seek their fortune and had arrived with little or no identification. Many died with no known next of kin, nor permanent address, nor even a known surname . For most of the 19th century, the Panama Railway relied upon third-party companies—most notably

3150-458: The 120 inches (3 m) of rain each year in the April–December rainy season also made the trails hard to maintain. A transit from the Atlantic to the Pacific or vice versa would usually take four to eight days by dugout canoe and mule. The transit was fraught with dangers, and travelers were subject to contracting tropical diseases along the way. William H. Aspinwall , the man who had won

3255-561: The EFC. Shipbuilding before America entered the war had been expanded to some extent, with domestic shipping companies replacing ships withdrawn from trade by belligerents and both the United Kingdom and neutral countries contracting for ships in US yards. The UK had contracted for ships through private British companies for security and for US neutrality needs. In March 1917, just before

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3360-508: The Pacific in 1856, and linked ports in Nicaragua , Costa Rica , San Salvador and Guatemala to Panama City. This shipping line initially proved highly lucrative, providing sufficient trade to justify the deployment of seven steamships, and for a time actually outdoing the railway itself in profits. Eventually, however, Britain’s Pacific Steam Navigation Company began providing stiff competition, and with overall profits declining due to

3465-515: The Pacific, being 263.9 feet (80.4 m) above the mean tide of the Atlantic Ocean and the summit ridge 287 feet (87 m) above the same level. The gauge was 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ) in 53 lb/yd (26 kg/m), Ω-shaped rail. This gauge was that of the southern United States railway companies at the time. This gauge was converted to standard in the United States in May 1886 after

3570-550: The Panama Railroad Steamship Company was renamed the Panama Line. The line continued in service, excepting an interruption during World War II , until 1981, when the last of its ships was sold and the government-owned steamship service between the United States and Panama came to an end. In 1904 the United States obtained consent from the newly-formed Panamanian government to build and operate

3675-630: The SS Georgia and the SS Philadelphia , with about 1,000 passengers, were forced to shelter in Bahía Limón , Panama, owing to a hurricane in the Caribbean . Since the railroad's docks had been completed by this time and rail had been laid 8 miles (13 km) up to Gatún on the Chagres River, it was possible to unload the ships' cargoes of emigrants and their luggage and transport them by rail, using flatcars and gondolas, for at least

3780-564: The US entered the war and the USSB shifted to full wartime operations, there were about 700,000 tons of new construction underway for the private US owners, and all 234 building ways in the US were occupied by either those or by ships for neutral and domestic shipping lines. There was no possibility for a quick expansion of capacity to incorporate the USSB/EFC shipbuilding program. The most readily available hulls were 91 German vessels of 594,696  GRT aggregate tonnage refurbished for use by

3885-417: The US registry and operate under the US flag and to repeal certain penalties for those using foreign-built vessels. The net effect was negligible as shipbuilding in the United States declined almost equally with the benefits gained. The US entered the war just over two months after the board had begun its work, which completely changed its focus from generally strengthening the nation's maritime position to

3990-471: The US yards for ships over 2,500  DWT . The first order was signed by Chairman Hurley on 3 August 1917, to be executed by the EFC to secure control of the shipyards and construction already underway. The action was immediately protested by nearly every shipyard and owner of the ships under construction, with the foreign owners protesting through the US State Department . A large number of

4095-765: The USSB and under legislation of 12 May 1917 and an executive order of 30 June 1917 giving the USSB formal power to seize the vessels and enter them into the US registry. The report of December 1918 showed one Austrian steamer, 87 German steamers that now included four from Cuba, and seven sailing vessels seized. Some of Germany's premier liners, such as Amerika , George Washington , Kronprinzessin Cecilie , Astoria , Pensacola , Aeolus , Mercury , Pocahontas , Powhatan , Prinz Eitel Friedrich , Republic , President Lincoln , Kaiser Wilhelm II , Antigone , Rhein , Kronprinz Wilhelm , Covington , Friedrich der Große and Vaterland , were among

4200-474: The USSB was initially the head of the EFC, but the General Manager had all real authority except the power to sign contracts. The division of authority between the USSB and the EFC and the construction program's direction led to conflict between USSB Chairman Denman and EFC General Manager Major-General George Washington Goethals . That resulted in the resignation of both men and the reconstitution of

4305-420: The USSB withdrew from the commission agreement and decided to deal with shipping workers directly. The commission ceased operations on October 1, 1920. The USSB operated a shipping business with its surplus ships until 1920, when the overseas freight market collapsed, and it began to lay up its vessels. In 1925, Henry Ford bought 199 of the out-of-service ships for $ 1,697,470 as part of an investigation into

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4410-575: The USSB, they came under the management of the Division of Operations, which allocated them to the US War Department , US Navy Department , or commercial service, based on needs and the class and type of ship. By December 1918, the division had become the largest ship operating entity in US history, with a total fleet of 1,386 vessels totaling 7,498,075  DWT owned outright, managed, or chartered. For more control of traffic required by

4515-546: The United States, the Caribbean Islands , and as far away as Ireland , India , China , and Australia . After almost 20 months of work, the Panama Railroad had laid about 8 miles (13 km) of track and had spent about $ 1,000,000 to cross the swamps to Gatún . The project's fortunes turned in November 1851 – just as they were running out of the original $ 1,000,000 – when two large paddle steamers ,

4620-433: The adjustment and control of wages, hours, and conditions of labor in the loading and the unloading of vessels. In 1918, the initial operation and policies of the commission was agreed to between the USSB and the following parties: Subsequently, additional shipping companies and labor organizations entered the agreement with modifications. William Z. Ripley was chairman of the commission from 1919 to 1920. In July 1920,

4725-617: The bid for the building and operating the Pacific mail steamships, conceived a plan to construct a railway across the isthmus. He and his partners created a company registered in New York, the Panama Railroad Company, raised $ 1,000,000 from the sale of stock, and hired companies to conduct engineering and route studies. Their venture happened to be well-timed, as the discovery of gold in California in January 1848 created

4830-465: The board and the corporation. The new USSB composition, which remained throughout the war was Edward N. Hurley as chairman, with Raymond B. Stevens replacing James B. White as vice-chairman and John Donald, Bainbridge Colby and Charles R. Page as members. Rear Admiral Washington L. Capps , formerly Constructor of the Navy and Chief of the Navy's Bureau of Construction, became the General Manager of

4935-548: The buildings in the new town had to be built on stilts to keep them above the water. As more worker housing was needed, abandoned ships brought to the mouth of the Chagres River as part of the California Gold Rush were towed near the island and used for temporary housing. A steam-powered pile driver was brought from New York. Docks were constructed on pile-driven timbers, more of the island was stripped of vegetation, and elevated living spaces, docks, warehouses, and

5040-469: The canal where it could and was moved and reconstructed where it interfered with the canal work. In addition to moving and expanding the railroad where needed, considerable track additions, extensive machine shops and maintenance facilities were added, and other upgrades were made to the rail system. These improvements were started at about the same time the extensive mosquito abatement projects were undertaken, by Stevens, to make it safer to work in Panama. Once

5145-508: The captain deserted to seek their fortunes in the city and the gold fields. The ship was stranded for about four months until the company could buy a new supply of coal and hire a new – and much more expensive – crew. The route between California and Panama was soon frequently traveled, as it provided one of the fastest links between San Francisco, California , and the East Coast cities, about 40 days' transit in total. Nearly all

5250-407: The city of Aspinwall (now Colón ) was founded on 650 acres (260 ha) on the western end of Manzanillo Island, a treacherously marshy islet covered with mangrove trees. The board solicited bids from construction companies in the United States to build the railroad. George Totten and John Trautwine initially submitted one of the winning bids. After surveying the railroad's proposed course and

5355-469: The coasts, and supported some funds for construction of the railroad, which began in 1850; the first revenue train ran over the full length on January 28, 1855. Referred to as an inter-oceanic railroad when it opened, it was later also described by some as representing a "transcontinental" railroad, despite traversing only the narrow isthmus connecting the North and South American continents . For

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5460-512: The company had finished 23 miles (37 km) of track and reached the Chagres River, where an enormous bridge was to be built. The first wooden bridge failed when the Chagres rose by over 40 feet (12 m) in a day and washed it away. Work was begun on a much higher, 300-foot-long (91 m), hefty iron bridge, which took more than a year to finish. In all, the company built more than 170 bridges and culverts. In January 1854, excavation began at

5565-404: The company. Since there were no harbor facilities on the Atlantic side of the isthmus, they needed to create a town with docking facilities to unload their railroad supplies there. Refusing to allow Law onto the board, the directors decided to start building harbor facilities, an Atlantic terminus , and their railroad from the vacant site of Manzanillo Island. Starting in May 1850, what would become

5670-540: The completion of the transcontinental railroad in the United States—which provided a direct link between that country's East and West coasts—the Panama Railway liquidated the Central American Line in the late 1860s. When construction of the Panama Canal began in 1881, the shipping service from New York to Panama had to be greatly expanded. Rather than continuing to rely on third parties for these services,

5775-552: The contracts and ships under construction for foreign accounts were for the United Kingdom, and the protest was solved with the British government's agreement that the ships would be used in the total war effort. With one exception, a new ship from Union Iron Works that had already loaded for departure, War Sword , the contracts and the ships were requisitioned. Out of 431 such ships, totaling 3,068,431  DWT , 414 of

5880-484: The desired effect of making the country no longer heavily dependent on foreign shipping. With the outbreak of war in Europe, the national fleets of the warring countries became involved in those countries' wartime efforts and were withdrawn from commercial trade, which was vital to US commerce. One initial step was granting authority to the president to allow registration of foreign-built ships owned by US companies to enter

5985-434: The entire trainload of dirt cars to be unloaded in ten minutes or less. The plow and winch were then detached for use on another train. Another plow, mounted on a steam engine, then plowed the dirt spoils away from the track. When the fill got large enough, the track was relocated on top of the old fill to allow almost continuous unloading of new fill with minimal effort. When the steam shovels or dirt trains needed to move to

6090-401: The era. The company bought exclusive rights from the government of Colombia (then known as Republic of New Granada , of which Panama was a part) to build the railroad across the isthmus. The railway carried significant traffic even while it was under construction, with traffic carried by canoe and mules over the unfinished sections. This had not been originally intended, but people crossing

6195-443: The first large-scale uses of large electrical motors. Electricity-powered donkey engines pulled the ships through the locks on railroad tracks laid parallel to the locks. New technology not available in the 1850s allowed earth cuts and fills to be used on the new railroad that were many times larger than those done in the original 1851–1855 construction. The rebuilt, much improved, and often rerouted Panama Railway continued alongside

6300-431: The first part of their journey up the Chagres River on their way to Panama City . Desperate to get off the ships and across the isthmus, the gold seekers paid $ 0.50 per mile and $ 3.00 per 100 pounds of luggage to be hauled to the end of the track. This infusion of money saved the company and made it possible to raise more capital to make it an ongoing moneymaker. The company's directors immediately ordered passenger cars, and

6405-399: The full length of its grade on January 28, 1855, more than one-third of its $ 8 million cost had already been paid for from fares and freight tariffs. At $ 25, the first-class fare, one way, was one of the highest rates in existence for a 47 miles (76 km) ride. High prices for carrying freight and passengers, despite very expensive ongoing maintenance and upgrades, made the railroad one of

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6510-450: The gold that was shipped out of California went by the fast Panama route. Several new and larger paddle steamers were soon plying this new route. In January 1849, Aspinwall hired Colonel George W. Hughes to lead a survey party and pick a proposed Panama Railroad roadbed to Panama City . The eventual survey turned out to be full of errors, omissions, and optimistic forecasts, which made it of little use. In April 1849, William Henry Aspinwall

6615-528: The government of Panama. The Panama Canal Railway is primarily dedicated to freight transport, but it has also operated a passenger service between Panama City and Colón . The Spanish improved what they called the Camino Real (royal road), and later the Las Cruces trail, built and maintained for transportation of cargo and passengers across the Isthmus of Panama . These were the main routes across

6720-452: The industry. One of the USSB organizations that as specifically concerned with the issue was the Marine and Dock Industrial Relations Division, which was to coordinate all labor related matters, and by late 1918, industry and labor had begun referring disputes to the board and thus avoided any stoppages. The National Adjustment Commission was established in 1917 as an adjunct to the USSB for

6825-424: The isthmus for more than three centuries. By the 19th century businessmen thought it was time to develop a cheaper, safer, and faster alternative. Railroad technology had developed in the early 19th century. Given the cost and difficulty of constructing a canal with the available technology, a railway seemed the ideal solution. President Bolívar of La Gran Colombia (Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, Colombia) commissioned

6930-414: The isthmus to California and returning east were eager to use such track as had been laid. When only 7 miles (11 km) of track had been completed, the railway was doing a brisk business, charging $ 0.50 per mile per person for the train ride and increasing to $ 25 per person (first class) when the line was finally completed. By the time the line was officially completed and the first revenue train ran over

7035-609: The key individuals in building the railway were William H. Aspinwall, David Hoadley , George Muirson Totten, and John Lloyd Stephens . The railroad was built and originally owned by a publicly traded corporation based in New York City , the Panama Rail Road Company, which was chartered by the State of New York on April 7, 1849, and the stock in which would eventually become some of the most highly valued of

7140-549: The like were constructed. Before the railroad construction could get fully started, the island was connected to the Panamanian mainland by a causeway supported by pile-driven timbers. The first rolling stock, consisting of a steam locomotive built by William Sellers & Co., and several gondola cars, arrived in February 1851. The required steam locomotives, railroad cars, ties, rails, and other equipment were unloaded at

7245-574: The line after financial improprieties and massive losses came to light. After review of the financial data, a United States District Court ordered that all the US Mail Line ships be returned to the USSB. This article related to a United States ship transport company is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . United States Shipping Board The United States had a maritime position that had been eroding for decades with some congressional concern. Some remedies actually worsened

7350-447: The lives of an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 workers. Opened in 1855, the railway preceded the Panama Canal by half a century; the railway was vital in assisting the construction of the canal in the early 1900s. With the opening of the canal, the railroad's route was changed as a result of the creation of Gatun Lake , which flooded part of the original route. Following World War II , the railroad's importance declined and much of it fell into

7455-442: The loosened material lay. The steam shovels, moving on one set of tracks, picked up the loosened dirt and piled it on the flat cars traveling on a parallel set of tracks. The dirt was piled high against the one closed side of the car. The train moved forward until all cars were filled. A typical train had 20 dirt cars arranged as essentially one long car. On arrival of the train at one of the approximately 60 different dumping grounds,

7560-504: The mosquitoes were under control, much of the railroad was ready to go to work. The railway greatly assisted the building of the Panama Canal. Besides hauling millions of tons of men, equipment, and supplies, the railroad did much more. Essentially all of the hundreds of millions of cubic yards of material removed from the required canal cuts were broken up by explosives, loaded by steam shovels , mounted on one set of railroad tracks, loaded onto rail cars, and hauled out by locomotives pulling

7665-448: The most profitable in the world. Engineering and medical difficulties made the Panama Railway the most expensive railway, per unit length of track, built at the time. It is estimated that from 5,000 to 10,000 people may have died in the construction of the railroad, though the Panama Railway company kept no official count and the total may be higher or lower. Cholera , malaria , and yellow fever killed thousands of workers, who were from

7770-414: The new canal and across Gatun Lake . The railroad was completed in its final configuration in 1912, two years before the canal, at a cost of $ 9 million—$ 1 million more than the original. After World War II , few additional improvements were made to the Panama Railway. The United States returned control of the railroad to Panama in 1979, and conditions began to decline. By the 1990s, service had declined to

7875-399: The new rolling stock of about 115 powerful locomotives, 2,300 dirt spoils railroad cars, and 102 railroad-mounted steam shovels brought in from the United States and elsewhere. This work was commenced by the first chief engineer, John Findley Wallace (1904–1905). The steam shovels were some of the largest in the world when they were introduced. The new permanent railroad closely paralleled

7980-401: The newly constructed docks and driven across the track laid across the about 200-yard (180 m) causeway separating the island from the mainland. This causeway connected the Atlantic terminus to the railroad and allowed the ties, iron rails , steam engines, workers, backfill, and other construction material to be hauled onto the mainland. Later, passengers and freight would go the same way. As

8085-428: The point that trains were limited to 10 mph (16 km/h), and the railroad was losing millions of dollars per month. Recognizing the railroad was operating far below its potential, in 1998 the government of Panama offered private companies a 50-year concession to take over and rebuild the railroad. Except for dedicated railroad sections, such as the concrete factory, the broad 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ) gauge

8190-471: The probable construction difficulties and uncertainties, they withdrew their bid. Totten agreed to become the chief engineer on the railroad construction project, working for a salary instead of as a general contractor. A new town on the Atlantic end of the railroad would have to be built on swampy ground that was often awash at high tide. The mangrove, palms, and poisonous manchineel ( manzanilla ) trees and other jungle vegetation had to be felled, and many of

8295-458: The proposed route passed through a jungle of gelatinous swamps infested with alligators , the heat was stifling, mosquitoes and sandflies were everywhere, and deluges of up to 3 yards (2.7 m) of rain for almost half the year required some workers to work in swamp water up to four feet deep. When they tried to build a railroad near Aspinwall, the swamps were apparently deep, often requiring over 200 feet (60 m) of gravel backfill to secure

8400-459: The railroad progressed, more of the island was filled in, and the causeway was expanded to permanently connect the island to the mainland; its island status disappeared and the town of Aspinwall was created. In May 1850, the first preparations were begun on Manzanillo Island, and the start of the roadway was partially cleared of trees and jungle on the mainland. Quickly, the difficulty of the scheme became apparent. The initial 8 miles (13 km) of

8505-417: The railway began passenger and freight operations with about 40 miles (64 km) of track still to be laid. Each year it added more and more track and charged more for its services. This greatly boosted the value of the company's franchise, enabling it to sell more stock to finance the remainder of the project, which took more than $ 8,000,000 and cost 5,000 to 10,000 workers' lives to complete. By July 1852,

8610-481: The railway established a new steamship company, the Columbian Line, in 1893, to transport company equipment, supplies and personnel between New York and Colón . In 1896, the Columbian Line was renamed the Panama Railroad Steamship Company, and with the purchase by the United States government of the Panama Railroad Company in 1905, the steamship company also became wholly government-owned. At this time, ships of

8715-475: The rapid wartime expansion for deck officers, at Cambridge, Massachusetts on 4 June. A second set of schools was created for engineering officers with those engineers destined for turbine powered ships being sent to the builders of turbines for training. The early result, between 1 June 1917 and 1 October 1918 was 11,618 licensed officers. The officer training was expanded to training for crew, deck sailors, firemen, wipers, cooks, and stewards by December 1917 and

8820-558: The requisitioned were completed after cancellations of some contracts for ships of unwanted design that were in early stages of construction or not yet laid down. A very large group of these ships, contracted with names prefixed with "War" and renamed before completion, were being built for the British Shipping Controller of Ministry of Shipping under various shipping line contracts. Examples of such ships are War Topaz , which became USS West Bridge , and one of

8925-725: The secondary use of materials. The first ship reached the Ford River Rouge Complex in November, and all of the remaining ships were broken down and recycled the following summer. The USSB was abolished effective March 2, 1934. Its successor agencies have been the US Shipping Board Bureau of the US Department of Commerce (1933–36); the US Maritime Commission (1936–50); the US Federal Maritime Board of

9030-422: The seized ships. On 15 November 1917, the USSB authorized negotiations with foreign countries that had seized German or Austrian ships with actual discussions that continued until January 1918. The result was the charter or the outright purchase of a number of ships interned from South America to China. The USSB's first action regarding new construction was commandeering every contract, hull, and even steel in

9135-425: The shipping industry about particular nominees and the board's power to set ocean freight rates raising particular concern and skepticism. The initial nominees were William Denman (chairman), who was instrumental in drafting the legislation for the establishment of the board for a term of six years, Bernard N. Baker for five years, John A. Donald for four years, James B. White for three years, and Theodore Brent for

9240-479: The situation since European shipping companies dominated overseas trade, and just over 10% of the value of trade carried in American-owned ships. The 1916 Act was the result of congressional efforts to create a board to address the problem dating from 1914. The legislation was not then a part of any war effort with specific intent, as stated in the act: A board of five commissioners was to be appointed by

9345-467: The spoils cars running on parallel tracks. Most of the cars carrying the dirt spoils were wooden flat cars lined with steel floors that used a crude but effective unloading device, the Lidgerwood system. The railroad cars had only one side, and steel aprons bridged the spaces between them. The rock and dirt were first blasted loose by explosives. Two sets of tracks were then built or moved up to where

9450-629: The steamship company included the Allianca , Advance , Finance , Panama , Cristobal , and Ancon , the latter becoming the first ship to officially complete a transit of the newly-opened canal in 1914. A downturn in world trade during the Great Depression reduced the number of ships from six to two. In the late 1930s, the two remaining ships were retired and three new ones, named Panama , Ancon and Cristobal after their predecessors, were built to replace them; around this time,

9555-419: The summit from the Pacific side of the isthmus at the same time. On a rainy midnight on January 27, 1855, lit by sputtering whale oil lamps, the last rail was set in place on pine crossties. Chief engineer George Totten , in pouring rain with a nine-pound maul , drove the spike that completed the railroad. The next day the first locomotive with freight and passenger cars passed from sea to sea. The huge project

9660-481: The summit of the Continental Divide at the Culebra Cut , where the earth had to be cut from 20 feet (6 m) to 40 feet (12 m) deep over a distance of about 2,500 feet (760 m). Several months were spent digging. In March 1854, 700 Chinese laborers arrived to work for the Panama Railroad Company. Decades later, the Panama Canal project required years to cut through this area deeply enough for

9765-421: The trustees of the EFC to hold stock. During the war, Congress granted the president extraordinary wartime powers, which were used by means of Executive Orders to expand the board's authority and its corporation. The board, as a regulatory and policy body, executed its programs largely through the EFC, a separate entity that was fully under the policy control of the majority stockholder, the board. The Chairman of

9870-422: The war effort required nitrates from the west of the continent. The board's efforts were directed to shift the balance. Enforcement of rates was strict and at one point, before wide compliance, 136 steamers were held in US ports. By December 1918, the USSB directly controlled such a large portion of US shipping through ownership and charter that the USSB's prewar rate-setting regulatory function had largely become

9975-447: The war effort, methods applied by the British were employed in which rates were adjusted and control was exercised through the division's Chartering Committee, whose approval was necessary to obtain license to refuel in US ports. With American-registered ships already under tight control, those regulations were largely directed at neutrals. A specific example was the preferred trade by neutrals in manganese with eastern South America when

10080-414: The work had to be done by laborers wielding machete , axe , pick , shovel , black powder , and mule cart. As more track was laid, the workers had to continually add backfill to the roadbed, as it continued to slowly sink into the swamp. Once about 2 miles (3.2 km) of track were laid, the first solid ground was reached, at what was then called Monkey Hill (now Mount Hope). This was soon converted to

10185-657: The world. The existence of the railway was one of the keys to the selection of Panama as the site of the canal. In 1881 the French Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique purchased controlling interest in the Panama Railway Company. In 1904, the United States government under Theodore Roosevelt purchased the railway from the French canal company. At the time, railway assets included some 75 miles (121 km) of track, 35 locomotives , 30 passenger cars, and 900 freight cars. Much of this equipment

10290-452: Was authorized to build a railroad or canal at the Panamanian isthmus, guaranteeing its open transit. In 1847, the east–west transit across the isthmus was by native dugout canoe (and later by modified lifeboats) up the often dangerous Chagres River. Travelers had to go overland by mules for the final 20 miles (32 km) over the old Spanish trails. The trails had fallen into serious disrepair after some 50 years of little or no maintenance;

10395-488: Was built by new, extensive machine-building technology developed and made in the United States by companies such as the Joshua Hendy Iron Works . In addition operation of the canal used large refrigeration systems for making ice, large electrical motors to power the pumps and controls on the canal's locks, and other new technology. Extensive electrical generation and distribution systems were built, one of

10500-410: Was chosen head of the Panama Railroad company, which was incorporated in the State of New York and initially raised $ 1,000,000 in capital. In early 1850, George Law , owner of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company , bought up the options of the land from the mouth of the Chagres River to the end of Navy Bay in order to force the directors of the new Panama Railroad to give him a position on the board of

10605-406: Was completed. Upon completion the railroad stretched 47 miles, 3,020 feet (76 km), with a maximum grade of 60 feet to the mile (11.4 m/km, or 1.14%). The summit grade, located 37.38 miles (60.16 km) from the Atlantic and 10.2 miles (16.4 km) from the Pacific, was 258.64 feet (78.83 m) above the assumed grade at the Atlantic terminus and 242.7 feet (74.0 m) above that at

10710-407: Was not built for heavy-duty use. Some of this French equipment was melted down and converted into medals presented to men working on the Panama Canal. Also, since the 1855 route followed the Chagres valley (which would become Gatun Lake), the route had to change. The new railroad, starting in 1904, had to be greatly upgraded with heavy-duty double-tracked rails over most of the line to accommodate all

10815-437: Was open to all male citizens of the ages 18 to 20 or 32 to 35 with a goal expanded from an estimated 85,000 to 200,000 because of the revised estimates of ships by the end of the war. To ensure that labor problems did not disrupt necessary war shipping, the USSB employed special labor consultants and entered agreements with labor and other government agencies to resolve labor disputes directly and also to standardize wages across

10920-461: Was the first steamship on the west coast of South and North America . When it stopped at Panama City on January 17, 1849, it was besieged by about 700 desperate gold seekers. Eventually, it departed Panama City for California on January 31, 1849, with almost 400 passengers, and entered San Francisco Bay, a distance of about 3,500 miles (5,600 km), on February 28, 1849 – 145 days after leaving New York. In San Francisco nearly all its crew except

11025-399: Was worn out or obsolete and had to be scrapped. The railway cost some US$ 8 million to build – eight times the initial 1850 estimate – and presented considerable engineering challenges, passing over mountains and through swamps . Over 300 bridges and culverts needed to be built along the route. It was built and financed by private companies from the United States . Among

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