Peru Rail: The Central Railroad of Peru
by The original contractor for the Central Railroad of Peru was Henry Meiggs, who told the government that he would build a rail line where only llamas walked.
The Central Railroad of Peru was built in several different phases. The Central Railroad of Peru is an engineering marvel. Railway systems engineering involves unique problems in each situation. For the railway that was recently completed in China, engineers had the problem of building a railway on frozen earth, for almost half of the distance covered by the railway.
Alpamayo Mountain, Peru-Image via Wikipedia
In Peru, one of the main problems engineers faced was the height of the mountains of Peru, the Andes. It’s not easy to place rails in places where usually only llamas walk. The railway in Peru was once the highest in the world. It is currently the second highest railroad in the world.
Henry Meiggs-Image via Wikipedia
The Central Railroad of Peru reaches a height of 15, 807 feet above sea level, at the La Cima railway station. The Galera Tunnel, which is a part of the railroad system, is the second highest tunnel in the world, at 15,692 feet above sea level. The Galera summit tunnel is located under Mount Meiggs.
The Central Railroad of Peru crosses a distance of 535 kilometers, across many different kinds of terrain. The railroad required a large number of tunnels and steel bridges. Sixty-eight tunnels were carved to accommodate the railroad. The Central Railroad of Peru crosses 61 steel bridges. Many switchbacks were also used in the construction of the railroad.
Railroad Switch- Image via Wikipedia
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Post CommentWizard Brown
On February 28, 2011 at 10:41 am
Cool article. Interesting read. Thanks
SharifaMcFarlane
On February 28, 2011 at 11:42 am
Thanks Wizard
jemialbert
On February 28, 2011 at 11:44 am
good share
webseowriters
On February 28, 2011 at 11:54 am
An awesome share
CHIPMUNK
On February 28, 2011 at 12:56 pm
lovely
Borhan
On February 28, 2011 at 1:28 pm
Nice topic. Thanks for sharing.
buenavida
On February 28, 2011 at 2:25 pm
Thanks for this mini trip to Peru. I would love to travel on this railroad!
LewSethics
On February 28, 2011 at 5:29 pm
Fun article, Sharifa.
Sharif Ishnin
On March 1, 2011 at 12:17 am
That really an amazing feat. It sounds scary enough take a ride through it Sharifa.
SharifaMcFarlane
On March 1, 2011 at 7:30 am
Buena and Sharif, it would certainly provide some excellent photo opportunities.
SharifaMcFarlane
On March 1, 2011 at 7:33 am
Glad to hear Lew
Hi Borhan. Thanks.
SharifaMcFarlane
On March 1, 2011 at 7:41 am
Thanks Webs.
Thanks Chip.
john smither
On March 1, 2011 at 9:33 am
Good informative article on this railway and its construction.
MountainGirl
On March 1, 2011 at 10:59 am
Awesome information.
nz2rdfox
On March 2, 2011 at 12:26 am
This article has been indexed in
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Read more articles written by this author in our blog
Michal Dorcak
On March 2, 2011 at 2:01 pm
Interesting information. I must admit that I did not even know this railroad existed. Though, there is a llama walking around the fence only some 200meters from where I live.
LCM Linda
On March 2, 2011 at 11:23 pm
Interesting topic. I wonder what will be the scenery if riding on this railroad.
1hopefulman
On March 4, 2011 at 11:53 am
“He would build a rail line where only llamas walked.” And he did! Amazing!
Raj the Tora
On March 6, 2011 at 5:45 am
nice history+geography lesson once again Sharifa. Thanks.
mtrguanlao
On March 7, 2011 at 10:14 pm
This is very educational! Now I know where the second highest railroad can be found,thanks for this Sharifa!
yes me
On March 20, 2011 at 8:59 pm
Smashing stuff old chap cheers
wonder
On March 24, 2011 at 1:57 pm
What great effort is involved to make these tunnels, I enjoy tunnels.A lovely post as usual.
SharifaMcFarlane
On March 31, 2011 at 8:07 pm
Thanks for your kind comments.