Delmar.] 



332 



[Jan. 15, 



The first railway, 15^ miles in length, was opened in 1848 from Barce- 

 lona to Mataro on the line now completed from Barcelona to Gerona. 

 The following table shows the progress made from time to time since 

 that year : 



Close of the Yeae. 



1848 

 1850 

 1856 

 1857 

 1858 

 1859 

 1860 

 1861 



Miles 



Opened. 



15i 



17 



326 



418 



529 



713i 



1,191 



1,475 



Close op the Yeak. 



1862 

 1863 

 1864 

 1865 

 1866 

 1870 

 1872 

 1874 



Miles 

 Opp:ned. 



1,694 



2,208 

 2,525 

 2,982 

 3,184 

 3,380 

 3,711 

 4,100 



From this table it will be observed that from 1848 to 1860, inclusive, a 

 period of thirteen years, hardly 1,100 miles of railway were cor_ 

 structed in Spain ; while from 1860 to 1874, inclusive, a period of fifteen 

 years, nearly 3,000 miles were opened. 



The area of Spain proper is 190,257 square miles, and of California 

 183,981 square miles. At the close of the year 1878 there were 1,368 

 miles of railway constructed in California ; so that Spain with about the 

 same area had nearly three times the railway mileage of California. 



Beside the above there are many other roads in course of construction; 

 for example : One from Seville to Lisbon via Merida and Badajos, the 

 distance from Seville to Badajos, which is on the Portuguese border, 

 being some 150 miles. (C. R., 1871, 1029.) One from Cordova to Bel- 

 mez, 45 miles. {Ibid.) Opened in 1873. (C. R., 1873, 959.) 



Concerning the roads which form the line between Madrid and the 

 French frontier, the American Counsel at Bilboa, wrote in 1864 to the XT. 

 S. State Department, as follows : 



"The Great Northern Railway, Linea del Norte, was opened (asa 

 through line) on the 20th of August, 1864, for passengers and merchan- 

 dise, from Madrid to Irun, on the French Frontier, where it connects 

 with the railway to Paris. The line has been operated through Castile 

 and other sections, for a considei-able period; but the heavy character of 

 the work — the engineering difficulties of cari-ying the line over and under 

 the Pyrenees, which here break up into detached spurs — has long de- 

 layed the enterprise, lately so happily completed. The largest tunnel — in 

 Guipuzcoa — is 2970 yards in length, and is 1869 feet above the sea-level. 

 Besides this, there are 22 other tunnels, measuring in all, six miles. The 

 Viaduct of Orinostiqui is 1120 feet long, and is carried over five arches, 

 each having a span of 150 feet. 



The construction of this road is a grand tribute to engineering skill, 

 and will place Madrid within 35 hours of Paris." (Com. Rel., 1864, 279.) 



