ROUTE NEAR THE THIRTY- SECOND PARALLEL. 95 



ness of the line, 1,600 miles, from the navigable waters of the Mississippi to the Pacific, and the 

 temperate climate on the elevated portions in this southern latitude. 



The principal characteristic of this route is the great extent of high, arid, smooth, and nearly 

 horizontal table-lands which it traverses, reaching an elevation of 4,000 feet upon the dividing 

 ridge between the Brazos and Colorado rivers of Texas, near which elevation it continues until it 

 descends from the pass of the Sierra de Santa Catarina to the Gila river, a space of nearly 600 

 miles. 



The elevation at the summit of the Llano Estacado is 4,700 feet, and in the passes of the Gua- 

 dalupe and Hueco mountains, east of the Rio Grande, 5,700 and 4,800 feet respectively. Between 

 the Rio Grande and the Gila, the greatest elevation, which is twice attained, is 5,200 feet; 

 the mean elevation before the descent to the Gila is commenced being 4,100 feet. 



From the eastern edge of the Llano Estacado to the pass of San Gorgonio, 1,052 miles, the 

 route crosses three rivers the Pecos, the Rio Grande, and the Great Colorado of the West. 



The peculiar features of the arid region over which the route lies, from the eastern edge of the 

 Llano Estacado to the summit of the San Gorgonio Pass, have been sufficiently explained in the 

 detailed topographical review already given of each portion of this route. Those very charac 

 teristics which were thought to offer the greatest obstacles to the construction of a railroad, 

 prove, when closely examined, the most favorable, since they have obviated the necessity of 

 much of that most costly item in railroad construction, the preparation of the road-bed for the 

 superstructure. Throughout the distance of 1,052 miles, with few and limited exceptions, this 

 preparation is already made by nature, and quite as perfectly as, if not better than, it could be done 

 by the hand of man. This item alone usually amounts to from one-half to two-thirds and some 

 times three-fourths of the whole cost of a railroad. 



The mode and probable cost of obtaining supplies of water over these dry regions have been 

 pointed out and will be subjected to practical tests. Even if these should fail (of which there is 

 no probability) in bringing the required supplies to the surface, the permanent streams and large 

 springs already existing are at distances sufficiently near for the purposes of a railroad, special 

 arrangements having been made to meet the difficulty. 



For a 20-ton engine, on four drivers, wood and water, if carried with the train for 25 miles, 

 weigh about ^th of the maximum load on a level, and for 100 miles ^d part; with coal and 

 water the proportions are, for 25 arid 100 miles y^l-h and ^gth; but as the load usually carried 

 on freight and passenger trains is much below the maximum, we may safely assume that the 

 trains (freight and passenger) can carry fuel and water sufficient for 100 miles over grades not 

 exceeding 30 or 40 feet without additional cost, the maximum load of this engine on grades of 

 40 feet, in the best condition of rail, being 252 tons, and in the worst condition 180 tons. 



That required for the use of the \vorking parties can be hauled without seriously enhancing the 

 cost of the road, for it must be remembered that the working parties will be small over those por 

 tions of the route where the road-bed has been already prepared by nature. We have seen, 

 too, that fuel for culinary purposes for the working parties will probably be found over the 

 greater part of these regions; and where it cannot be found conveniently, that it can be supplied 

 from points so near to the work that its cost will not exceed double that of fuel for the same pur 

 poses in the eastern States. 



From the eastern limit of the Llano Estacado to the Pacific, 1,200 miles, the plan of building 

 the road has been indicated so as to secure the greatest economy of time and means. Three 

 points remain to be considered: the mode and cost of supplying ties and lumber generally; the 

 mode and cost of supplying fuel; and the manner in which the daily examination of the road 

 can be made and the rails adjusted and protected. 



