Summary: The Panama Railroad's Culebra Station was located on the summit of Culebra Mountain Range, the highest point of the Continental Divide in Panama.
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| (title; second line) "View of Culebra or the Summit. The Terminus of the Panama Rail Road in Dec. 1854." (first line, left) "C. Parsons, Lith." (center) "Sketched from nature by F.N. Otis M.D. Surgeon in U. S. M. Steamship Co's. Service." (right) "Printed by Endicott & Co. N.Y." (third line) "Entered according to Act of Congres [sic] by F. N. Otis 1854, in the Clerks Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York." 1854 toned lithograph with applied watercolor by American physician, urology pioneer, art collector and author Fessenden Nott Otis (March 6, 1825-May 24, 1900); lithography by Hampshire, England-born American artist and lithographer Charles Parsons (May 8, 1821-Nov. 9, 1910): No known restrictions on publication, via Library of Congress (LOC) Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) |
The Culebra Station of the Panama Railroad was located on the summit of the Culebra Mountain Range (Spanish: la sierra Culebra; Snake Mountain Range), which marked the highest point of the Continental Divide (Spanish: la divisoria continental de América) in Panama.
The construction of the Panama Railroad had begun in May 1850, with the clearing of swampy land on the western end of Manzanillo Island (Spanish: Isla Manzanillo) for the railroad's northern terminus on the Caribbean, northern coast of the Isthmus of Panama (Spanish: Istmo de Panamá). The new town created by the construction of the terminus and associated harbor facilities was named Aspinwall in honor of American businessman William Henry Aspinwall (Dec. 16, 1807-Jan. 18, 1875), one of three co-incorporators of the Panama Railroad Company on Saturday, April 7, 1849, in New York. In 1890, the Republic of New Granada (Spanish: República de la Nueva Granada; Oct. 20, 1831-April 11, 1858), which held sovereignty over Panama, renamed the transport hub Colón in honor of late 15th and early 16th century explorer and navigator Christopher Columbus (Spanish: Cristóbal Colón; ca. 1446/1451-May 20, 1506). The Portugal-based explorer of the Americas had explored Panama's Caribbean, northern coast during his fourth and last voyage to the Americas (May 9, 1502-Nov. 7, 1504).
In January 1854 the Panama Railroad Company's crew began excavation on the summit of the Culebra Mountain Range. "Here is a little native settlement called "Culebra" ("the Snake"), noted as having been the terminus of the road in 1854," as noted by American physician, urology pioneer, art collector, author and U.S. Mail Steamship Company and Pacific Mail Steamship Company's ship surgeon (1853-1861) Fessenden Nott Otis (March 6, 1825-May 24, 1900) in Illustrated History of the Panama Railroad (1862; page 121). The reach of the summit-ridge in January 1854 took place ". . . distant from the Atlantic terminus thirty-seven miles, and eleven miles from the city of Panama," noted Otis in Isthmus of Panama: History of the Panama Railroad; and of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company (1867; page 36).
Culebra Station's alternative designation of Summit Station reflected the station's placement at the highest point of the Continental Divide of the Americas in Panama. The Continental Divide of the Americas also is known as the Great Divide (Spanish: Gran Divisoria), the Western Divide or the Continental Divide (Spanish: divisoria Continental). The designation references the spine of mountaintops stretching from the Bering Strait, a meeting place of the Arctic and Pacific oceans, southward to Chile's (Republic of Chile; Spanish: República de Chile) Strait of Magellan (Spanish: Estrecho de Magallanes), the natural passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The Continental Divide separates watersheds flowing into the Atlantic Ocean from those draining into the Pacific Ocean.
Culebra Station was located southeast of the Obispo and Empire stations in the Obispo River Valley (Spanish: valle del río obispo). Between the Obispo and Empire stations, the "narrow' valley abounded with ". . . fine rolling and luxuriant woodland, where the delicious wild mango, the zapote, the nispero, and the guava are frequently seen; also occasional native huts, surrounded by cultivated fields," as described by American physician, urology pioneer, art collector, author and U.S. Mail Steamship Company and Pacific Mail Steamship Company's ship surgeon (1853-1861) Fessenden Nott Otis (March 6, 1825-May 24, 1900) in Illustrated History of the Panama Railroad (1862; pages 116, 121). After the Obispo Station, the grade began ". . . ascending, with a maximum of sixty feet to the mile. Continuing to rise for about three miles, you pass the 'Empire Station,' and reach the 'Summit,' or highest elevation of the railway above the mean level of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans" (page 121).
With the temporary terminus at Culebra, the Panama Railroad Company's crew moved south to the Gulf of Panama (Spanish: Golfo de Panamá) and built from the Pacific, southern terminus at Panama City (Spanish: Ciudad de Panamá), also known as Panama (Spanish: Panamá), northward back to Culebra. The railroad was completed at Culebra at midnight, Saturday, Jan. 27, 1855.
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| Obispo, Empire and Culebra stations were established in the Obispo River Valley (Spanish: valle del río obispo); occupying the most southeasterly location, Culebra neared the upper boundaries of the Rio Grande River (Spanish: el río Grande), where ". . . surrounding scenery now becomes bold and picturesque in the highest degree" (F.N. Otis, Isthmus of Panama, 1867, page 121); "View of Obispo, On the Panama Railroad," illustration of Obispo Station, in Robert Brown, The Countries of the World (1876), page 57: Not in copyright, via Internet Archive |
With the temporary terminus at Culebra, the Panama Railroad Company's crew moved south to the Gulf of Panama (Spanish: Golfo de Panamá) and built from the Pacific, southern terminus at Panama City (Spanish: Ciudad de Panamá), also known as Panama (Spanish: Panamá), northward back to Culebra. The railroad was completed at Culebra at midnight, Saturday, Jan. 27, 1855.
Between January 1854 and January 1855, south-bound isthmus transiters disembarked at Culebra for transfer to transport by mule. "Then, passengers arriving at this place by the cars from the Atlantic shore were compelled to mount upon mules, and flounder on through heavy sloughs and rapid streams, along the borders of deep ravines and over precipitous mountains, exposed to drenching rains in the wet season, and a broiling sun in the dry, not unfrequently attacked and plundered by banditti, with which the road was then infested, until, after a whole day's labor and peril, they arrived at Panama, only twelve miles distant" (page 121).
The upper boundaries of the Rio Grande changed the landscape beyond Culebra. "At this point commences the Pacific slope of the road, with a descending grade of sixty feet to the mile" (page 121). "Lofty conical mountains," "irregular ridges," "steep, rocky spurs" and "profuse and gorgeous vegetation" dramatized the railroad's intended, southward path (pages 121-122).
A "huge" basaltic cliff boldly transformed the Culebra Station's environs. "At about a mile from the summit the road passes along the side of a huge basaltic cliff, whose great crystals, nearly a foot in diameter, and from eight to twelve feet in length, lie at an angle of about forty degrees. In the earlier days of the road this cliff presented a lofty, broken, and jagged appearance, that seemed almost to overhang and threaten the safety of those passing along the track below. These great crystals of basalt, firm and compact, but easily dislodged, have been so extensively used in the ballasting of the road, etc., along this section, that the once grand and picturesque appearance of the cliff is almost entirely destroyed; enough, however, remains to strike the beholder with admiring wonder, on contemplating this curious formation, at the still visible regularity and beauty of its crystallization, and with awe when he reflects upon the gigantic internal forces that have resulted in its upheaval" (page 122).
The basaltic cliff near Culebra impressed with its rarity. "It is one of the few known examples in the world where the natural perpendicular which basaltic formations always assume (so beautifully seen in the Fingal's Cave at Staffa, and along the 'Palisades' of the Hudson) has been so rent and displaced" (page 122). Fingal's Cave is a sea cave of hexagonally jointed basalt columns on the uninhabited island of Staffa (Scottish Gaelic: Stafa; Old Norse: Stafi-oy) in the Inner Hebrides archipelago (Scottish Gaelic: na h-Eileanan a-staigh) of Scotland (Scots: Scotland (Scots; Scottish Gaelic: Alba). The Palisades, also known as the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson River Palisades, occur as steep, basaltic cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in northeastern New Jersey and southeastern New York.
The Panama Railroad Company debuted the first rail transit of the Isthmus of Panama Sunday, Jan. 28, 1855, the next day after the railway's midnight completion. The train traversed " . . . 47 miles, 3,020 feet, with a maximum grade of sixty feet to the mile" (Otis, Isthmus of Panama, page 36).
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| The landscape near Culebra Station was distinguished by a huge basaltic cliff, with a "lofty, broken, and jagged appearance" created by its ". . . great crystals, nearly a foot in diameter, and from eight to twelve feet in length," which angled at about forty degrees; "Basaltic Cliff," illustration by American physician, urology pioneer, art collector, author and U.S. Mail Steamship Company and Pacific Mail Steamship Company's ship surgeon (1853-1861) Fessenden Nott Otis (March 6, 1825-May 24, 1900) in Isthmus of Panama: History of the Panama Railroad; and of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company (1867), page 123: Not in copyright, via Internet Archive |
Acknowledgment
My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.
Dedication
Dedication
This post is dedicated to the memory of our beloved blue-eyed brother, Charles, who guided the creation of the Met Opera and Astronomy posts on Earth and Space News. We memorialized our brother in "Our Beloved Blue-Eyed Brother, Charles, With Whom We Are Well Pleased," published on Earth and Space News on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, an anniversary of our beloved father's death.
Image credits:
Image credits:
(title; second line) "View of Culebra or the Summit. The Terminus of the Panama Rail Road in Dec. 1854."
(first line, left) "C. Parsons, Lith." (center) "Sketched from nature by F.N. Otis M.D. Surgeon in U. S. M. Steamship Co's. Service." (right) "Printed by Endicott & Co. N.Y."
(third line) "Entered according to Act of Congres [sic] by F. N. Otis 1854, in the Clerks Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York."
1854 toned lithograph with applied watercolor by American physician, urology pioneer, art collector, author and U.S. Mail Steamship Company and Pacific Mail Steamship Company's ship surgeon (1853-1861) Fessenden Nott Otis (March 6, 1825-May 24, 1900); lithography by Hampshire, England-born American artist and lithographer Charles Parsons (May 8, 1821-Nov. 9, 1910): No known restrictions on publication, via Library of Congress (LOC) Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) @ https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003664222/; Public Domain, via Amon Carter Museum of Modern Art @ https://www.cartermuseum.org/collection/view-culebra-or-summit-terminus-panama-railroad-dec-1854-19753; via Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens Digital Library @ https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p16003coll4/id/1494/
(first line, left) "C. Parsons, Lith." (center) "Sketched from nature by F.N. Otis M.D. Surgeon in U. S. M. Steamship Co's. Service." (right) "Printed by Endicott & Co. N.Y."
(third line) "Entered according to Act of Congres [sic] by F. N. Otis 1854, in the Clerks Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York."
1854 toned lithograph with applied watercolor by American physician, urology pioneer, art collector, author and U.S. Mail Steamship Company and Pacific Mail Steamship Company's ship surgeon (1853-1861) Fessenden Nott Otis (March 6, 1825-May 24, 1900); lithography by Hampshire, England-born American artist and lithographer Charles Parsons (May 8, 1821-Nov. 9, 1910): No known restrictions on publication, via Library of Congress (LOC) Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) @ https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003664222/; Public Domain, via Amon Carter Museum of Modern Art @ https://www.cartermuseum.org/collection/view-culebra-or-summit-terminus-panama-railroad-dec-1854-19753; via Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens Digital Library @ https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p16003coll4/id/1494/
Obispo, Empire and Culebra stations were established in the Obispo River Valley (Spanish: valle del río obispo); occupying the most southeasterly location, Culebra neared the upper boundaries of the Rio Grande River (Spanish: el río Grande), where ". . . surrounding scenery now becomes bold and picturesque in the highest degree" (F.N. Otis, Isthmus of Panama, 1867, page 121); "View of Obispo, On the Panama Railroad," illustration of Obispo Station, in Robert Brown, The Countries of the World (1876), page 57: Not in copyright, via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/countriesofworld03brow/page/56/mode/1up
The landscape near Culebra Station was distinguished by a huge basaltic cliff, with a "lofty, broken, and jagged appearance" created by its ". . . great crystals, nearly a foot in diameter, and from eight to twelve feet in length," which angled at about forty degrees; "Basaltic Cliff," illustration by American physician, urology pioneer, art collector, author and U.S. Mail Steamship Company and Pacific Mail Steamship Company's ship surgeon (1853-1861) Fessenden Nott Otis (March 6, 1825-May 24, 1900) in Isthmus of Panama: History of the Panama Railroad; and of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company (1867), page 123: Not in copyright, via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/isthmusofpanamah00otisrich/page/123/mode/1up
For further information:
For further information:
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Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/panamapastpresen00bishuoft/
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/panamapastpresen00bishuoft/
Brown, Robert. "Chapter III. The Isthmus of Panama." Pages 48-58. The Countries of the World: Being a Popular Description of the Various Continents, Islands, Rivers, Seas, and Peoples of the Globe. London; New York: Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co. , 1876.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/countriesofworld03brow/page/48/mode/1up
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/countriesofworld03brow/page/48/mode/1up
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Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/panamacanalhaski00haskrich
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Available via UFDC @ https://original-ufdc.uflib.ufl.edu/AA00015332/00001/
Available via UFDC @ https://original-ufdc.uflib.ufl.edu/AA00015332/00001/
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Available via Linda Hall Library @ https://www.lindahall.org/experience/digital-exhibitions/the-land-divided-the-world-united/02-the-lure-of-the-pacific/
Marriner, Derdriu. "Panama Railroad Train First Transited Isthmus of Panama Jan. 28, 1855." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025.
Available via EASN @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2025/02/panama-railroad-train-first-transited.html
Available via EASN @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2025/02/panama-railroad-train-first-transited.html
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Available via EASN @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2025/03/panama-railroad-reduced-isthmus-transit.html
Available via EASN @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2025/03/panama-railroad-reduced-isthmus-transit.html
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Available via HathiTrust @ https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015056089751&seq=161
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Available via HathiTrust @ https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/012371850
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Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia801607.us.archive.org/29/items/illustratedhisto00otisrich/illustratedhisto00otisrich.pdf
Available via Library of Congress Book/Printed Material @ https://www.loc.gov/item/04005049/
Available via HathiTrust @ https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/012371850
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/histoillustrated00otisrich/page/n11/mode/2up
Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia801607.us.archive.org/29/items/illustratedhisto00otisrich/illustratedhisto00otisrich.pdf
Available via Library of Congress Book/Printed Material @ https://www.loc.gov/item/04005049/
Otis, F.N. (Fessenden Nott). Isthmus of Panama. History of the Panama Railroad; and of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. Together With a Traveller's Guide and Business Man's Hand-Book for the Panama Railroad and the Lines of Steamships Connecting It With Europe, the United States, the North and South Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, China, Australia, and Japan. With Illustrations by the Author. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1867.
Available via HathiTrust @ https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001353545
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/isthmusofpanamah00otisrich/
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Available via HathiTrust @ https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001353545
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/isthmusofpanamah00otisrich/
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/cu31924021538214/
Otis, Fessenden Nott. "View of Culebra or the summit, the terminus of the Panama rail road In Dec. 1854." Library of Congress > Prints & Photographs Online Catalog.
Available via Amon Carter Museum of Modern Art @ https://www.cartermuseum.org/collection/view-culebra-or-summit-terminus-panama-railroad-dec-1854-19753
Available via Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens Digital Library @ https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p16003coll4/id/1494/
Available via Library of Congress (LOC) Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) @ https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003664222/
Available via Amon Carter Museum of Modern Art @ https://www.cartermuseum.org/collection/view-culebra-or-summit-terminus-panama-railroad-dec-1854-19753
Available via Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens Digital Library @ https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p16003coll4/id/1494/
Available via Library of Congress (LOC) Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) @ https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003664222/
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Available @ http://www.bruceruiz.net/PanamaHistory/panama_railroad.htm
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Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/railsacrosspanam0000unse
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/railsacrosspanam0000unse
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Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/incidentsoftrave02stepuoft/incidentsoftrave02stepuoft/
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Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/panimain185500tomerich/
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Available via UFDC @ https://ufdc.ufl.edu/PCMI004442/00001/citation
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