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Mapa del Ferrocarril Central Mexicano desde Paso del Norte pasando por los estados de Chihuahua, Durango, Coahuila, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Guanajuato y Queretaro hasta Mexico: Mapa del Ferrocarril Central Mexicano desde Paso del Norte pasando por los estados de Chihuahua, Durango, Coahuila, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Guanajuato y Queretaro hasta Mexico

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  • Title:
    Mapa del Ferrocarril Central Mexicano desde Paso del Norte pasando por los estados de Chihuahua, Durango, Coahuila, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Guanajuato y Queretaro hasta Mexico: Mapa del Ferrocarril Central Mexicano desde Paso del Norte pasando por los estados de Chihuahua, Durango, Coahuila, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Guanajuato y Queretaro hasta Mexico
  • Author: FERROCARRIL CENTRAL MEXICANO COMPAÑIA LIMITADA
  • Subjects: Railroad
  • Description: Date estimated. "A colossal (almost 3 metre / 10 foot long!) cyanotype (blueprint) engineers’ masterplan of the Ferrocarril Central Mexicano (Mexican Central Railway), the 1,969 kilometre-long railroad that connected Mexico City with El Paso, Texas, so creating the first great Mexican-American commercial-trading nexus, revolutionizing Mexico’s economy; the railways was by far and away the grandest project of ‘El porfiriato’ (1876 - 1911), the era of unprecedented political stability, economic growth, scientific progress, and booming infrastructure that Mexico experienced under the rule of the military strongman Porfirio Díaz Mori; the railway was owned by a Boston-based corporate syndicate and was built at lightning speed, between 1880 and 1884, by a team led by several of America’s greatest engineers; the unrecorded map, was seemingly executed in 1881, shortly after construction of the railway commenced, and was printed in Philadelphia by an architectural drafting shop in only a handful of examples to be used by the railway’s executive board, major investors and the engineering team as a vital strategic aid; it is seemingly the only surviving example of the largest, most detailed, and most beautifully composed cartographic record of Mexico’s principal railway, rendering it a critical original artefact from an endeavour that irrevocably linked the socio-economic destinies of Mexico and the Unites States. Prior to the 1870s, Mexico suffered from a severely underdeveloped economy with very little modern industry, terrible infrastructure, and communications systems, and grinding poverty, following decades of corruption, stagnation, internal instability, and foreign invasions that robbed the country of a third of her territory and much of her potential. This was even though Mexico boasted phenomenal natural resources wealth and human capital. Almost always, the best laid plans came to naught, a situation that frustrated the bright and ambitious figures in the Mexican elite. All this changed during ‘El porfiriato’, the 35-year long presidency of Porfirio Diaz Mori (1876 - 1911), which marked an era of unprecedented political stability, economic growth, and scientific progress. That being said, the Porfiriato, which collapsed into a decade of revolutionary turmoil, holds a controversial legacy, as it also saw profligate corruption, cronyism, political repression and rising income inequality. Diaz succeeded in rapidly modernizing Mexico, fostering industrialization, international trade and foreign investment, infrastructure programs, privatization, educational reforms, and advancements in science. His agenda was anchored in several mutually-dependent developments. First, was the privatization of vast amounts of federal land (new private land investment in Mexico grew from nearly nil in 1876 to ￡19.7 million in the 1910s). Second, was the professionalization and deployment of the armed forces to secure the countryside and the integrity of the republic’s borders. Third, were programs to improve land management, especially with respect to agriculture and forestry. Fourth, was fostering industrialization and mining (decade totals for mining grew from ￡1.3 million in 1880s to ￡11.6 million in the 1910s!). Fifth, was encouraging and managing urbanization, as Mexico was transformed from an overwhelmingly rural country into land of fast-growing cities. However, the critical element enabling all these advancements was the ‘Railway Boom’. During ‘El porfiriato’ the country’s railway network grew from only 640.5 km to 24,720 km, utterly transforming the country! Indeed, prior to Diaz’s administration, the only significant railway in the entire country was the British-backed Mexican Railway (Ferrocarril Mexicano), completed in 1873, that linked Mexico City to Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico. While the Ferrocarril Mexicano represented a great leap forward, what was really needed to jumpstart El porfiriato was a grand trunk line running up the spine of Mexico, from the capital to the U.S. border, connecting the country with its largest foreign inventor and trading partner, and integrating the soon-to-be burgeoning Mexican railway system with that of the U.S. Such a line could dramatically increase economic growth and lead the modern development of central and northern Mexico, especially one its intended spur lines were completed. Toward the end of the 1870s, the Diaz administration opened tenders for what would be one of the era’s most ambitious mega-projects. As with all the other major endeavours in Mexico during the era, it was automatically assumed that it would be spearheaded by foreigners, most likely Americans, as the immense costs and technical expertise far exceeded any domestic capabilities. By from 1876 to 1900, it is estimated that U.S. $500 million of American capital was invested in Mexico, of which 70% went into the railways. The bidding was won by an American syndicate led by the legendary banking and brokerage firm Kidder, Peabody & Co., which, on February 25, 1880, incorporated the Ferrocarril Central Mexicano Compania Limitada, charted in Boston, Massachusetts (the railway was to be run exclusively out of downtown Boston for the duration of its existence). The enterprise secured highly favourable terms from President Diaz, who wanted the railway built quickly and securely, regardless of the costs, extending U.S. $32.5 million in construction subsidies (then an astounding sum!), as well as tax breaks and military protection. Importantly, the railway to be by far and away the financially largest and technically most ambitious endeavour of El porfiriato. The railway’s board immediately proceeded to organize the construction of the Ferrocarril Central Mexicano (Mexican Central Railway), which was to run from Mexico City up to Paso del Norte (from 1888 called Ciudad Juarez), to connect with the U.S. railway system just across the Rio Bravo del Norte (Rio Grande) at El Paso, Texas. Shortly thereafter, the Compania purchased the rights to build major spur lines; one departing the main line from Aguascalientes, through San Luis Potosi, to come to the Gulf Coast at Tampico; and the other to depart for the main line at Irapuato to run to Guadalajara as then the Pacific at San Blas. However, the priority was to build the Mexico City-Paso del Norte trunk line. The Compania wisely recruited an all-star team of engineers to plan and construct the railway, that included some of America’s most seasoned veterans, plus some of the brightest and most innovative young minds in the field. The project was overseen by Rudolph Fink (1834 -1913), who served as the railway’s General Manager and Chief Engineer. A German immigrant, based in Memphis, Tennessee, he had already been responsible for building several of the key lines in the U.S. South and was a driven and uniquely skilled manager of men and logistics. Fink’s right-hand man was Arthur Mellen Wellington (1847 - 1895), the railway’s Assistant General Manager, was a hugely accomplished engineer, who had held senior roles in planning and building many of the great railway projects in the U.S. and Canada. He supervised much of the day-to-day construction of the line. He was well-known for his line “An engineer can do for a dollar what any fool can do for two”. The priority was to set the precise intended route of the railway, an exceedingly difficult task, as it was to run over hundreds of kms of mountains and deserts, while the proper land concessions, etc. needed to be arranged in advance of construction. This charge was assigned to the brilliant young American engineer and urban planner Frank Henry Olmstead (1858 - 1939), who despite his youth, already had valuable experience working in challenging environments in places such as Idaho and California, as well as being a professional cartographer and draftsman. He subsequently became well known for laying out the urban plans for the cities of Fullerton, California and Billings, Montana. An exciting and consequential addition to the team was the young Norwegian immigrant Olaf Hoff (1859 - 1924), who was nothing short of a genius when it came to designing bridges and tunnels. He served as the railway’s chief engineer of bridges, and as the chief locating engineer, placing him in charge of fine-tuning Olmstead’s plan for running the route – a tremendous level of responsibility for a man in his early 20s! Critical to the present map, Olmstead and Hoff were responsible for setting the course of the Mexican Central Railway as showcased here in grand scale. Last, but not least, the other principal of the engineering team was Charles Adelbert Morse (1859 – after 1929), a young man who would subsequently become one of America’s greatest railway builders; he served as the Ferrocarril’s chief division engineer. While none of these men are today household names, they all became legends in the field of railway engineering and played critical roles in allowing North America to enter the modern age. The main line of the Ferrocarril Central Mexicano, running from Mexico City to Paso del Norte (Ciudad Juarez), being 1,969 kilometres (1,224 miles) long, was constructed with stunningly rapid, even lightning speed, albeit with great skill and care, with the entire project completed in only in 3. years! This was a testament to Fink’s superlative organizational skills, the almost super-human abilities of the engineering team, and the lavish funding provided by both the Peabody, Kidder syndicate and the Diaz administration. Construction started from the south, in Mexico City, on September 25, 1880, and the line was opened to San Juan del Rio the following year, with the continuation northwards as far as Lagos finished by 1882. Meanwhile, in the north, the line was constructed from Paso del Norte to Chihuahua by the end of 1882. By December 31, 1883, the line in both the north and south had progressed such points that only a 153 km gap existed in the middl
  • Publisher: McCollin’s (draftsmen)
  • Creation Date: 1881
  • Language: English
  • Source: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
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