lNTERNATIONAL AMERICAN CONFERENCE.
141
CHILI.
This country, consisting of tbe torritory betweeu the mountains and the Pacific
coast from Peru southward for auout 1, 00 miles, has been woll covered by rai1ways,
a.Ufl wa the first of Bonth American countries to buil<l tllem, having opened the one
from Caldera to Copiapo
in
Jauuar,y,
18:>:t.
The tirst nülways were built from the
sca-coa:st towards the interior, aULl afterwanls e:stemled iu all directions nntil the
couutry is united throughout. Tllis is strictly true for the soutLem part, and
i11
t!Je
north a railway is projected which will give alruost nnbrokeu comtuunication
throughout the entire State. Two trausandine lines are uuder construction antl will
be tiuishetl at au early üay, one from Valparaiso, across tlle Uspallata PaRs atan ele–
vation of 10,600 feet, witb a tunuel seveml miles iu lengtb, to Mendoza aml thence to
Buenos Ayres, l:í70 miles, the other from Znmbel in Chili to Babia Blanca. To these
might be adued the Antofogasta line, which will soon be complete<.l to Huanchaca in
Bolivia, where it will join t!J.e liue nnder con ·truction from Bnenos Ayres, thus form–
ing_a transcontinental line. Anoti.Jer hat: abo been spoken of from San Antonio on
the Copiapo Railway, crossing
the
Andes at
27
degrees south longitude, following
tbe
Jorquera, Turbes, and Cachelos Rivers, cncling at Pucba Puclta on tbe Argentino
froutier, and another frum Conception to Buenos
Ayn~s.
On the line now being constructed, t!Je grade in sorne portions is
422
feet per mi1e,
to overcome whicb the Abt rack-raíl system is to be usell.
Atable is given
in
the report of the tlelegate from Chili, frorn which
I
extract tlte
following:
Lines oj1·ail1'oacl built and owned
by
the state.
Tcrmini
Kilo–
meters.
1 7
1515
2i0. 9
187.5
45
39
73
72
~2
75
42
Avera"e
cost p;r
kilometer.
Gold.
$69, 781
3? 171
2;: 412
26,436
22,783
9,
820
28,
OíO
55, 98"2
2R,
070
55,982
5, '-12
The total receipts for
1887
were
~6,349,621.20
aml the expenses
54,197,250.66,
leav–
ing
a
olear gain of $2,152,370.64.
Of prívate lines tlJere are quito a number,
a~gregatiug
1,000 mile , and tbe Congre. s
has recently approved a contract maclo by tbe execntive with l\lr. Newton B. Lord for
the construction of ten lines, aggregating 608. 4 miles, the total cost of whicb will
be about 17,500,000, the average cost per mile being €2 ,700, more orle . I have
found a description of these in the Engineering News wbich ia liere gi ven in fnll:
THE NORTH Alffi SOUTII
A.1EIUCA~ CO~STRUCTION CO~IPA..."'l'Y
IN ClllLI•
. Ths roads which are to be constructecl by the North and ...;outh American Cou truc–
tiOu Company are
briet~y
ana.lyzeü a follows, be riuniug
a.t
the uwst
uorth~rly
one
t
bhy Uol.
~-
J::I.
Lockett, who wa:; oueoftbe rer rcsentativill! of the syndicate in secnring
e conceaswn.
tb(l) Road from Hua.sco to Vallmar, 1-meter
gan~e,
50 kilometors
Ion~: .
etnrt. at
e port of Huascb, a village of abotLt 1,000 iuhabitauts, Jying ou a blulf uear the