Track
10 - South of the Border -
Mexico and Central America
While most of the Official Guide's
focus is on the
U.S. and Canada, it did for much of its history carry information on
the passenger services in Mexico, Central America, and Cuba. I strongly
suspect that much of this information is abridged and that a number of
smaller stops are missing from the timetables, but there is little that
I can do about that at this late date.
Please take note of the following
abbreviations for States and Territories in Central America and the
Republic of Mexico as were used in the Official Guide during the
streamliner era and which have been used on this website:
Aguascalientes: Ags. |
Costa Rica: Cos. Ric. |
Jalisco: Jal. |
Oaxaca: Oax. | Sonora: Son. |
Baja California: B. Cfa. |
Distrito Federal: D.F. |
Mexico: Mex. |
Puebla: Pue. | Tabasco: Tab. |
Campeche: Cam. |
Durango: Dgo. |
Michoacan: Micho. |
Queretaro: Qro. | Tamaulipas: Tam. |
Canal Zone: C.Z. |
Guanajuato: Gto. |
Morelos: Mor. |
Quintana Roo: Q.R. | Tiaxcala: Tiax. |
Chiapas: Chis. |
Guatemala: Guat. |
Nayarit: Nay. |
San Luis Potosi: S.L.P. | Vera Cruz: Ver. C. |
Chihuahua: Chih. |
Guerrero: Gro. |
Nicaragua: Nic. |
Salvador: Salv. | Yucatan: Yuc. |
Coahuila: Coah. |
Hidalgo: Hgo. |
Nuevo Leon: N.L. |
Sinaloa: Sin. | Zacatecas: Zac. |
Colima: Colima |
Honduras: Hond. |
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The Trains:
The Aztec Eagle
Through
service from San Antonio to Mexico City via Laredo and Monterrey,
operated in the U.S. by Missouri Pacific and in the Republic of Mexico
by N. de M.
Aztec Eagle
- December, 1952
Cuban Passenger Trains 1 & 2
Overnight
sleeping-car service across the breadth of Cuba between Havana and
Santiago de Cuba via Santa Clara and Alto Cedro, with connecting
service available to Guantanamo.
Trains 1 & 2 (Cuba) -
May, 1957
El
Chepe
Promoter
Arthur Stilwell's dream of a link between Kansas City and Topolobampo,
Sinaloa Mexico (the closest Pacific Ocean port) was finally realized in
1961,
33 years after his death, when the Mexican government completed
the Chihuahua Pacific Railway. Better known to many as the "Copper
Canyon" route, it continues to carry passenger service to this day.
El Chepe
- October, 1962
El Fronterizo
National
Railways of Mexico operated this long-distance service from Ciudad
Juárez on the northern border at El Paso through the heart of the
country to México City.
El Fronterizo - October, 1962
El Tapatio
National Railways of Mexico's overnight, all-Pullman service between
Mexico City and Guadalajara.
El Tapatio/Trains 9 & 10/Trains 11 & 12 - October, 1962
El Tapatio/El
Costeno/El Mexicali - March 1968
Panama Railroad
The most expensive fifty miles of railroad
ever built in terms of both money and lives, it was the first to
connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and paved the way for the
eventual construction of both the Overland Route and the Panama Canal.
Passenger Service -
December, 1948
All
comments, original material and page design copyright ©2006-2015 by
Eric H.
Bowen. Page updated 2015-07-08.