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Luis De La Llave* O D a L L O G E D Luis De la Llave* o d a l l o g e D o i c i r u a M 91 rom the first years a fter Mexico’s inde pen - Other more fortunate experiences followed , but dence and throughout th e nineteenth cen - it was not until 1857 that the government granted Ftu ry, the railroad seemed the most prom - the license that would finally be used, overcom - ising tool for resolving all the country’s problems. ing all difficulties, to connect the port of Vera cru z Or at least, that was the imaginary of a people with the nation’s capital. The route Arrillaga picked who had only just wrested their independence was surprising to some, but the one the Es can dón fro m Spain. Despite being impoverished and dev - brothers chose in 1858 s purred irate protests. It astated by the years of fighting, Mexico would was the result of field research done by U.S. engi - still have to confront serious violent conflicts that neer Andrés H. Talcott and his technical team, would coincide in time and space with the con - hired by the licensees to determine the direction struction of the first railway lines and would sig - an interoceanic railway to join the Gulf Coast with nificantly delay the completion of the country’s Acapulco on the Paci fic should take. first long-distance rail line. The first stage of the route was planned to This article reviews the progress of Mex ican le ave the port of Veracruz, going through the towns Railways through the Great Mountains in central of Córdoba and Orizaba —known during the vi ce - Veracruz. The story began in 1837 whe n the Mexi - royalty as las Villas — and continue to ward Mex ico c an government granted Francisco Arrillaga the City. first permit for building a railway. But he failed to Córdoba was located on the edge of a hot, lay a single track. marshy area, while Orizaba was situated in a fer - tile, healthy valley irrigated by the waters of the * Architect, professor at the Veracruzana Uni ver sity Citlaltépetl or Orizaba Peak. The two villas were School of Architecture in Córdoba, Veracruz. Cu - rren tl y doing research about the architecture of rail - located on a road used for cattle drives, the least way stations. favorable for setting up a railroad. l e i t n o M e i s l E 92 l l e e i i t t n n o o M M e e i i s s l l E E Today, the ravine’s tunnels and bridges are not in service, and although the trains no longer run there, the whole structure maintains its ma jes ty and is a living demonstration of the ingenuity and skill of its builders. The train first had to cross the coastal plain as Under French control, the builders arrived at the rapidly as possible; this area was uninhabited be - Macho Pass in 1864, a village 76 kilometers from cau se of the diseases that flourished there such as the port on the edge of a plain barely 460 meters “black vomit” and malaria. Then it had to go above sea level. The railroad would stop there for through the deep White River or Metlac Ravi ne almost six years without advancing an inch, fac - canyon, where the most complicated viaduct of ing the mountains and the Chiquihuite Ravine. the whole line had to be built. Finally, before re ach - In 1867, lacking the support of the French army, ing Mexico City’s 2,223-meter summit, it had to Maximilian was executed, national troops recov - ascend almost 1,000 meters over a short distance on ered Mexico City and Benito Juárez reestab lished the steep slopes of the Eastern Sierra Madre. constitutional order. The railroad then kn own as To do the job, in 1861 the licensees founded Mexican Imperial [Railway] ran 139 kilo meters in the the Veracruz to Orizaba Railroad Company, in clu d - opposite direction, from the ca pital to Apizaco in ing important political figures and well-known the state of Tlaxcala. re gional merchants on its board. However, the ini - President Benito Juárez’s intention of pardon - tial construction the company began in the coas t - ing Escandón’s dealings with the Empire in the al region coincided in late 1861 with the land ing public interest caused a great deal of indignation of French Emperor Napoleon III’s invading troops and political debate. However, Congress decided who came to impose a monarchy headed up by the in favor of the company, which changed licenses foreigner Maximilian of Hapsburg. for the fourth time in 1868. The railway that was 93 intended to reach the Pacific Ocean once more To allow the train to get closer to the town, engi - lowered its expectations and changed its legal neers George Foot and Donato Murray changed status. The new Mexican Railway Com pa ny, Ltd., the original route and built the station on a wide, committed to build the 255 kilometers that the slightly sloping curve. Their gesture was well re - Talcott project had established be tween Apizaco ceived and motivated local inhabitants to also build and Macho Pass, besides adding a 50-kilometer an urban train that would extend its service to th e length of track to the city of Puebla. new station. Activities were immediately resumed in the The tracks stopped at Fortín Station, located lowlands; crossing the Chiquihuite Ravine took a at the foot of Metlac Ravine. The technical team , year’s work, and, even though the village of Ato - headed up by engineer Guillermo Cross Bu cha - yac is only six kilometers from Macho Pass, the nan, had to build a 304-meter-long, 114-meter- steam engines did not arrive until January 1871. high viaduct, already planned in the time of the Bet ween Atoyac and Córdoba is the Atoyac River, Imperial Railway, or come up with a new design making it necessary to build a 100-meter bridge to cut costs and construction time. today used for pedestrian traffic. They decided to go around the ravine, going From the Chiquihuite Hill on, the scenery down its slopes until they found the best place to changes; the temperature drops and the railroad cross the Blanco River. They built several tun nel s goes through a rich agricultural region, with a tem - and three bridges; the main bridge was a 135-meter - perate, humid climate, the home to innume rable long curve, 28.15 meters above the river itself. pre-Hispanic settlements and later, important The Metlac viaduct was finished in 1872 and haciendas that cultivated sugar cane, coffee and over it rode the famous, unique English double-boil - tobacco. er Fairlie locomotives, built especially for moun - The villa of Córdoba, founded in 1618 to p ro - tainous regions. In 1928, with increased freight, vide safety to freight and passenger traffic, saw its the mountain length of track was electrified and first locomotive in August 1871. By that time, it new locomotives, built by the American Loco mo - was nationally important be cause the treaties that tive Company, ran over the Metlac Ravine. granted Mexico indepen dence had been signed Today, the ravine’s tunnels and bridges are not there on August 24, 1821. in service, and although the trains no longer run l o e i d t a n l l o o g M e e i D s l o i E c i r u a M l e i t n o M e i s l E 94 l e i t n o M e i s l E l l e i e t i t n n o o M M e i e i s l s l E E there, the whole structure maintains its ma jes ty you look at it. The fact is that since then, in addition and is a living demonstration of the ingenuity and to the Cocolapan factory founded in 1836, other skill of its builders. important textile factories were built there: San When you leave the ravine, the scenery chan - Lorenzo in 1881; Cerritos in 1882; the Orizaba In - ges; you can see to the end of the Sumidero Valley, dus trial Company ( CIDOSA ) in 1889. New indus - which looks narrow because of the closeness of tri es continued to be built: in 1893, Santa Gertru dis , the mountains. The train went through this area a plant specialized in jute processing was es ta b - for the first time on September 5, 1872, when it lished. The runoff from Ori zaba Peak, in addi tio n arrived at Orizaba station, outside the villa and to being abundant, had a low mineral content, which very close to Cocolapan, a prosperous thread fac - was taken advantage of by another new company, tory owned by the Escandón family. the Moctezuma Brewery, starting in 1896. From the beginning it was a hum of activity; Mute witnesses to all that activity are still left the project was ambitious. The builders reported today: the daring bridges, the tunnels that can be the station house finished in 1875. It was an int er - walked through, and innumerable railway stations , esting brick building on a long platform where one for every town in the mountains. warehouses and restaurants were also built. The complex kept growing: the most important ma chi ne shop, carpenter’s shop and sheet metal and boiler shop FURTHER READING of the whole line were built in the patio.
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