Panama Railroad

Pacific side terminal in Panama City on Central Ave.

Pacific side terminal in Panama City on Central Ave.

Pacific side terminal in Panama City on Central Ave. which has been closed since the 1950s, it can be seen in the background of the first two photos (post cards).  The RR pulled back into what was the old Canal Zone by making the Ancon station the starting point from the Pacific side.

1908 Time Table

The Panama Railroad history has been lost in history. It was built during the Gold Rush and many people died building it. Many people know of the deaths during the construction of the Panama Canal, but thanks to the Spanish American War & General Gorgas the cure for the many diseases which including cholera, dysentery, yellow fever & smallpox that killed so many people were discovered. There was no cure or preventative medicine during the building of the railroad & many died during the construction of the railroad. It was finally opened & originally ran from pier to pier on the Atlantic & Pacific sides of the isthmus. For a detail report on the Panama Railroad see http://www.panamarailroad.org/history1.html  I remember the railroad well, when I was a kid growing up there, a passenger train ran “coast to coast” every hour, I would go home to dinner by the 5pm train passing our play ground.

PRR Time Table circa 1977 CZ phono book.