The American Dream of a New York Railroad

The Pacific Mail Steamship Company inked to deal with the Colombian government to build a railroad through Panama. The company imported workers from China, Ireland, and elsewhere for the job but most workers were blacks from Jamaica or Cartagena. More than 6,000 laborers, perhaps twice that many died in the railroad's construction. Completed in 1855, the railroad allowed passengers to cross the Isthemos and leave Panama more quickly in three hours instead of three days required by Muellerboat.