Original Line Station: Culebra

Culebra was a town located at the geographic center of the former Canal Zone, right at the highest point of the cut through the Central Mountain Range. It is said that the settlement was formalized as a town around the 1850s, when the first American engineers arrived on the isthmus to carry out surveying work in preparation for the construction of the Panama Railroad. Once the railroad became operational, Culebra gained prominence and underwent significant development.

During the years of the French canal construction, worker housing and temporary workshops for excavation machinery were established in the area, but after the failure of the company, these structures were demolished. During the construction of the Panama Canal, this community became the administrative center of the Interoceanic Canal Company. The United States developed significant infrastructure to support construction and social development, including churches, a commissary, schools, a police station, and clubhouses.

Among the most notable buildings were the first Canal administration building and the residence of the chief construction engineer, George Washington Goethals. The railroad station was located at the northern end of Culebra, somewhat apart from the rest of the structures, since the town was built along the hillsides. Culebra was depopulated after the completion of the Panama Canal in 1914; in the meantime, the administrative offices and housing for white employees were relocated to the town of Balboa.

All community structures were demolished, although today some roads remain visible, and the vault of the first administration building can still be seen.