Northbound trip in 1919

This video archive documents a regular northbound trip on the Panama Railroad during 1919. At the beginning of the footage, a train is seen departing from the Panama station, located at Plaza 5 de Mayo—a building that today houses the Reina Torres de Araúz Anthropological Museum. The consist is led by locomotive No. 204, manufactured in 1906 by the American Locomotive Company for the Isthmian Canal Commission, followed by the hospital car used at that time.

The next scene shows Corozal station, built in 1916 and demolished in 1956. Then, a double-track section is seen where one of the motor cars belonging to the railroad’s fleet crosses. The train then passes through the Miraflores tunnel and a view of the Pedro Miguel locks is shown.

Further along, the convoy makes a brief stop at Pedro Miguel station while the track is cleared of a freight train traveling in the same direction. In the following shot, the train is seen climbing through the Summit sector, in the heart of the country’s central mountain range. A farm on land adjacent to Culebra Cut is also visible, before entering the Gamboa bridge, built in 1908.

The recording concludes with the train arriving at the Colón passenger station, located on Avenida del Frente and Calle 8, inaugurated in 1909.