An obscure branch line, extending southwest off the Ferrosur main line near Papaloapan in northeastern Oaxaca was known for a time as Ferrocarril Transcontinental. This article summarizes bits of information that have been found about it. Any additional knowledge would be very appreciated.

Corporate background

“During the past decade [1920s] most of the leading banana export companies of the Caribbean have sought through subsidiaries to establish themselves in a large or small way in Mexico. Standard Fruit and Steamship Corporation, representing the Vaccaro and D'Antoni interests, has operated in Mexico through the Mexican-American Fruit and Steamship Corporation; Joseph Di Giorgio has been actively interested in bananas in Mexico and for a time took over the Mexican-American and its manager, Juan Parachini, from the Standard; and the Cuyamel Fruit Company, controlled by Samuel Zemurray, has operated in Mexico through the Ulua Development Company.

“During the boom year of 1923 agents of Zemurray and of Di Giorgio were busy purchasing from private planters fruit to be exported to the United States. About the same time La Compañía Plantanera Mexicana was organized to sell in the interior fruit rejected by the exporting companies. This national company failed to secure sufficient cooperation from the planters. In 1926, however, its manager, Emilio Baldizán, joined with Leonardo Penagos, a wealthy Spaniard, and Patrick O'Hea, an Irish promoter, in organizing La Compañía Frutera Transcontinental, which secured the backing of prominent Mexican citizens. Transcontinental developed all-rail transportation to the United States and for a time operated on a cooperative basis, dividing the profits with the producing farmers. Thus it obliged older companies to purchase fruit on more liberal terms.

“During the first part of the third decade the United Fruit Company, although not actively engaged in banana production in Mexico, had its under-cover agent watching developments and reporting them frequently. As the industry expanded and competed vigorously with Caribbean production, the United stepped into the field officially, took over the Transcontinental, and struggled for ascendancy over the Mexican-American. Shortly thereafter the United also secured the $200,000 farms and other property of the Ulua Development Company, through its purchase of the Cuyamel Fruit Company. Thereupon the Standard's Mexican-American, with its farms around El Hule (now Papaloápam) and Santa Lucrezia [sic], worth $1,500,000, remained the chief exporter outside the United's fold.” (pages 303-304)

“...in 1928, the Transcontinental Fruit Company, ... acquired in the names of different local societies at swollen prices the best farms in the Tuxtepec, Otatitlán and Villa Azueta zones.” (page 305)

“On December 17 [1932] a letter was mailed to the Tuxtepec planters, ... announcing that the Transcontinental was ceding its rights and obligations to the Standard. As a result one company, the Standard, now controls most of the exportation of bananas from Mexico.” (page 311)

source:

Author Kepner, Charles David, b. 1893.

Title The banana empire; a case study of economic imperialism, by Charles David Kepner, Jr., and Jay Henry Soothill

Imprint New York, Russell & Russell [1967, c1935]

Infrastructure

According to Mexico’s “Estadística de Ferrocarriles y Tranvías” for 1930, the trackage of Ferrocarril Transcontinental was constructed that year as the Ferrocarril de Sebastopol and appears to have been first recognized in the NdeM employee timetable División del Sureste Distritos del Istmo Horario No.1 of 4 de Octubre de 1931, as the Distrito de Sebastopol. The line does not appear in División de Veracruz al Istmo Horario No.8 from 23 de Noviembre de 1930. (Papalóapam was renamed from El Hule sometime between 1927 and 1930.) The Distrito de Sebastopol was coded Línea “GF” and entirely within Papalóapam yard limits, extending 20.4 kilometers railroad north (compass southwest) from Empalme Distrito Sebastopol (2.5 km south of Papalóapam), through Banano 0.7, Gela 5.6, Bartolomé 7.5, Empalme Esperanza 12.6, Cobos 13.8, Tapacamino 15.1, Boca Encinal 18.7, Sebastopol 20.1 to Extremo Vía, at 20.4. A 900 meter branch continued from Empalme Esperanza to Esperanza, and a further sub-branch 500 meters along the Esperanza branch, Empalme Tuxtepec to Tuxtepec. Scheduled service in 1931 was two passenger trains in each direction every afternoon, Papalóapam to Tuxtepec with a flag stop at Bartolomé.

Two single-sheet “boletines” were issued under the name of Ferrocarril Transcontinental S.A. and over the name of the company’s administrator, “aprobado” by NdeM officials. The first bulletin took effect October 9, 1932, coincident with the issuance of NdeM División del Sureste Distritos del Sureste Horario No.2, which omitted the Distrito de Sebastopol and renamed Empalme Distrito Sebastopol to Empalme F.C. Transcontinental. F.C. Transcontinental Boletín No.1 shows the track from Papalóapam, passing through the junction, then to Bartolomé and Empalme Tuxtepec to Tuxtepec. The remainder of the line to Sebastopol or Esperanza was no longer described. Passenger service to/from Tuxtepec was three unnumbered trains per direction, effected by the Papalóapam yard engine and crew, the route remaining within yard limits. Boletín No.2 of 1 de Julio de 1933 is substantially the same as No.1, except the service was reduced from three round trips to two, with adjustments to the remaining schedules. The next documentation was a similarly formatted Boletín, Numero 16 of NdeM División del Sureste Distritos del Istmo, effective 9 de Enero 1938, and containing schedule changes on the two pairs of trains on the branch. The only mention of Ferrocarril Transcontinental was the junction name and the observation that Boletín No.16 cancelled Boletín No.2 of the Transcontinental.

With Supplemento No.11 to Horario no.2 of NdeM División del Sureste (Distritos del ex-VCI y ex-VCA), effective 6 de Mayo de 1948, the branch to Tuxtepec is again formalized as Línea GF, titled “Patio de Papalóapam” and noted as “La vía del ex-Ferrocarril Transcontinental.” Stations were Empalme Ramal Tuxtepec (another renaming from “Empalme F.C. Transcontinental”) at kilometer 0.0, Banano 0.7, Toro Bravo 3.7, Gela 5.7, Bartolomé 7.5, Silverio 9.9, and Tuxtepec 13.5, with Tuxtepec moved 400 meters farther out than previous documents. Also the official direction of the track was reversed, outward from Papalóapam became southward rather than northward as heretofore. Passenger service continued in the same form, “primer viaje” and “segunda viaje” with the yard crew. All stations except Siverio were paradas.

The extension to Sebastapol may have remained in existence undocumented, and reappeared 1 de Octobre de 1961 with the issuance of Suplemento No.1 of NdeM División de Veracruz al Istmo Horario No.4. Effective that date, the line branched from “Conexion Norte Tuxtepec” at km. 12.5, an y-griega identified as “Conexion Sur Tuxtepec” km.12.8 (Tuxtepec remained at the tail of the y-griega), continuing through Adolfo López Mateos 16.4 to Presidente Juárez 19.9, ending at Fábrica de Papel, km. GF-20.0. At the same time NdeM changed the spelling of “Papalóapam” to Papaloapan, and Empalme Ramal Tuxtepec was renamed “Empalme Distrito de Papaloapan”. With Horario No.5 on 10 de Agosto de 1970, the track was renamed again, from Patio de Papaloapan to Distrito de Presidente Juárez (though remaining within Papaloapan yard limits) and the junction with the VCI main line similarly renamed to Empalme Distrito Presidente Juárez. Since then, Tuxtepec has been relocated to km. GF-15.9 and the former Tuxtepec renamed Esperanza (at least with Horario No.9 of 15 de Junio de 1998). In approximately this form, the branch remains in service under Ferrosur administration.

Locomotives

According to a roster of Porter internal combustion locomotives published in “The Short Line”, v.10 no.3 (May-June 1982), in June and July 1929 the H. K. Porter company of Pittsburgh, PA USA, built two 22.5 ton boxcab, gas-electric locomotives (serial numbers 7146 and 7150) for the FC Transcontinental, roster numbers 1 and 2. A builder's photograph shows one labeled “Cia. Ferrocarrilera Transcontinental, S.A.”. It isn’t confirmed that the units were actually used there, but neither has any contradictory information surfaced. Both were sold by the late 1930s to used machinery dealer Equitable Equipment Co. of New Orleans, LA and further disposed of from there.

Electrification

Allen Morrison has information suggesting electrified operation on the Sebastopol branch. See his report at http://www.tramz.com/mx/tx/tx.html

Can anyone contribute more information to this?

Todd Minsk

r.todd.minsk@dartmouth.edu

Hanover, NH USA

June, 2004