270 A YEAR IN BRAZIL. 



The Leopoldina line is of one metre gauge and 203 kilo- 

 metres in length. It extends from Porto Novo (Estrada de 

 Ferro Dom Pedro II.), on the Parahyba river, to Presidio. This 

 railway was opened in July, 1877. In one half year its receipts 

 were' 430,077 milreis, and expenditure 287,055 milreis; in the 

 next six months the receipts amounted to 836,047 milreis, and 

 the expenditure 316,188 inilreis. 



The Minas and Rio Railway was constructed by Mr. James 

 Brunlees (then President Inst. C. E.) as the engineer, Messrs. 

 Waring Brothers being the contractors. The line was opened 

 with a grand ceremony by the Emperor, who, with the Empress 

 and the Conde d'Eu, went over the whole length on the 22nd 

 and 23rd of June, 1884. A column and a half appeared in the 

 Journal de Commercio, describing their triumphal progress and 

 detailing all particulars of the line. The railway extends from 

 Cruzeiro, on the Sao Paolo line, near Queluz, in the province of 

 Rio, to Tres Coragoes, on .the Rio Verde, an affluent of the Rio 

 Grande. The total length to Tres Coragoes is 170 kilometres 

 (132 miles). The gauge is one metre. The most important 

 work is a tunnel through the Mantiqueira Mountains, 997 metres 

 (1080 yards) long. There are also five small tunnels. This line 

 has furnished the text for a lengthy and somewhat bitter corre- 

 spondence, both at home and in Brazil, on the railways and 

 finances of that country. But it is not my intention to add my 

 quota here to the matter in dispute, as my statements concerning 

 Brazilian finance will be found in a later note. ^ 



It is needless to say anything respecting other railways pro- 

 posed, though not yet commenced ; but I must refer for a moment 

 to the line on the survey of which I was engaged. This rail- 

 way, the Minas Central, is to extend from Christiano Ottoni 

 (Estrada de Ferro Dom Pedro II., 438 kilometres from Rio de 

 Janeiro) to Pitanguy, with a length of some 250 kilometres and 

 a gauge of one metre. It has an authorized extension to Sao 

 Antonio dos Patos, whence it is to proceed into the province of 

 Goyaz, which province is at present far removed from all such 

 means of civilization and communication. Starting on the Rio 

 Paraopdba, which is there a mere stream, it will pass across the 

 head waters of that river to the important town of Entre Rios, 



