Photo of the Week

I found this photo from the A.B. Nichols famous collection and read the last line, how that they insured that the Stephen's Tree was preserved during the laying of new and expanding track. This was in 1912. Stephens’ Tree, named in honor of one the founders of the Panama Railroad, John L. Stephens, was a landmark along the line. Pictures of it occur in early travel accounts from the 1850s, shortly after the railroad was completed. In those pictures, the tree is shown next to a single track. The double track shown here was one of the improvements made after the Americans began their efforts in Panama. John F. Stevens, the American engineer who came to lead the project in 1905, found that the Panama Railroad he inherited was hopelessly out-of-date and described it as a “phantom railroad.” Double tracks were installed across the Isthmus, dock capacity was increased, heavier rail was installed, and bridges were strengthened. By December 1905, the line had been rehabilitated, and Stephens’ Tree had been preserved through it all.

I recently did a study of the Motor Cars of the Panama Canal Construction Days. I find these little cars very fascinating like the one in this photo. This is No. 7 and traveled all over the contruction areas for inspections and VIP tours. There were a total of seven, but could be six depending on the the boss G. W. Goethals. You can read all about the motor cars of the Panama Canal by clicking here. I have been working on this for some time now and felt like it was time to let it go. I still don't have the answer as to what ever happened to these wonderful little machines.