finished. It is not probable, therefore, that the Mexican Southern will compete with the latter company.
Leaving the Pánuco River, the route will be southeasterly toward Tulancingo, and thence southwestward to the City of Mexico.
The line will be easy to construct as far as Victoria. South of this station it will extend through the mountains on the eastern edge of the great table-land, and will require rather heavy grades[1] and some tunneling. This division will traverse the Huasteca country, which is one of the richest portions of the Republic both in agricultural products and in mineral deposits.
The proximity of this railway to the seaboard should also be considered. This company has the choice of extending branch roads to Tuxpan and Vera Cruz. This scheme would, of course, be a formidable opposition line to the Mexican Railway Company.
Judging from the topography of the country, the new American road will be easier to construct than the Mexican Railway.
The southern division may be described as follows:
Leaving the City of Mexico, the Mexican Southern Railroad will run parallel with the Mexican Railway (as, in the terms of the charter, it is not allowed to cross it) to Irolo (45 miles). This division of the road will compete with the English line in the transportation of pulque, to the capital. It is said that the Mexican Railway Company makes a net profit of $1,000 a day on the "pulque" train.
From Irolo the track will be continued over a level country to Puebla (111 miles). Thence the line will run southeasterly to Tehuacan (183 miles). A tramway leads from this station to Esperanza, 31 miles distant. (Vide Section II.)
The road will go south from Tehuacan, following the
- ↑ Two-and-a-half percent grades.
