History
Among the great engineering works constructed during the 19th and 20th centuries, the Ojinaga-Topolobampo Railroad line is of great importance. The railroad has contributed much to the economic development of Mexico. Mexican engineers demonstrated their ability to resolve the problems of location, as well as construction and development, due to the geography of the region, where the tracks would be laid.
 Within the plans to develop the national railways, one has to keep in mind the networking between the regions that have a high supply and demand rate of items that are commonly shipped long distances in large quantities. For this reason, the Ojinaga-Topolobampo Railroad Line satisfied the goal. The Federal Government invested heavily in this great operation that connected the northeast region of Mexico to the Pacific coast as of 1961.
At the end of the 19th century, some had already contemplated the importance of having a railroad line. In 1861, Albert Kinsey Owen came to Mexico. He was an engineer from a railroad company, and he traveled the Pacific coast, coming to Ohuira Bay, called “Enchanted Place”, in the Cahitan language, or what is known today as Topolobampo Bay. He saw the advantage of forming a Mexican-American company to accomplish his goal and build a railroad that would unite the Midwest United States with his most recently discovered bay. In 1863, in a conference with governors and members of the U.S. Congress, he presented his idea, but he did not succeed with this endeavor.
From 1875 to 1879, Owen dedicated himself solely to the task of promoting his plan and proposing various social service projects to the Mexican Government. He finally was granted a concession to build a railroad between Piedras Negras (Black Rocks) and Topolobampo, with branch railway lines to Mazatlan, Alamos and Presidio del Norte (Fort of the North), which is the city of Ojinaga, Chihuahua, today.
Stages of Construction
 After many transfer negotiations, the American, Foster Higgins obtained concessions and formed the Railroad of the Rio Grande, Sierra Madre & Pacifico Company. The company built the stretch between the city of Juarez and Corralitos in 1897. The following year, they built the line all the way to Casas Grandes, for a total of 259 kilometers (about 161 miles).
It was Enrique Creel and Alfredo Spendlove who were granted concessions, in 1897, to build a railroad line from Chihuahua to any place near the Pacific. Their company, called “Chihuahua al Pacifico”, built 194 kilometers (120.5 miles) of tracks in the state of Chihuahua, between the capital and the town of Miñaca.
Under a new law, the American company, Kansas City, Mexico & the Orient, came to being and between 1902 and 1908, it built 88 kilometers (54.7 miles) of track between La Junta and Temosachic in Chihuahua and the stretch between Topolobampo and San Pedro in the state of Sinaloa.
The first real attempt to build a railroad between the United States and Pacific Coast of Mexico came from Arthur E. Stilwell. He was an important businessman, who had the vision of attracting the transportation of cargo from the Orient to the Midwest United States via a shorter railroad route: Kansas City – Topolobampo.
During the Mexican Revolution, companies were able to finish some of the railroad lines. From 1910 to 1914, the Northeast Railroad was able to finish the stretch between Temosachic and Casas Grandes. Kansas City Railroad, though their administration changed, finished the stretch between Chihuahua and Ojinaga. Lastly, the Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad Company, owned by Enrique Creel, constructed the line between Chihuahua and Creel.
In the year of 1940, the Mexican Government obtained the rights to the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railroad Co., and in May 1952, they took hold of the railroad line operated by the Mexican Northwestern Railway Co. Both of these companies were merged in 1955 into the Chihuahua al Pacífico Railroad Company.
The Great Challenge
The only remaining stretch, between the station in Creel in Chihuahua and San Pedro, Sinaloa, was the most complex 258 kilometers (160 miles) of railroad tracks. The railroad would cross the bulk of the Western Sierra Madre Mountains. The Federal Government was partly responsible for finishing this project. The railroad tracks were inaugurated on November 24, 1961 as the Chihuahua al Pacífico Railroad. The construction and reconstruction took a great amount of human and technical effort in order to overcome all the obstacles presented by the Sierra Tarahumara, as well as the notable investment of $1,104,600 pesos ($92,050 US dollars) on June 30, 1961.
Union
On June 11, 1987, in accordance with a new presidential decree, the Chihuahua al Pacífico Railroad became part of the national railroad organization, National Railroads of Mexico.
Privatization
The Federal Government, on June 22, 1997, by way of the Secretary of Communications and Transportation, granted concessions to the Pacific-North Railroad Company for 50 years to operate the main railway, Pacific-North and the short route, Ojinaga – Topolobampo (Chihuahua al Pacífico). The concession did not include the stretch between La Junta and Nuevo Casas Grandes in Chihuahua, closing down this portion of the tracks. The Federal Government had already shut down the railroad between the city of Juarez and Corralitos due to a lack of business since 1993. On December 4, 1997, the Mexican Railway Group was granted the concession, which later became the Mexican Railroad Company, and they began operations on February 19, 1998.
Chihuahua al Pacífico (Q Line)
To distinguish one rail line from the other, they were each assigned a letter of the alphabet. In the case of the short route between Ojinaga and Topolobampo, the letter ‘Q’ was given.
This rail line begins in the city of Ojinaga, Chihuahua, which borders the city of Presidio, Texas, and it ends at the airport of Topolobampo, on the Gulf of California in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico. The length of the line is 941 kilometers (584.7 miles); it crosses a semi-desert zone of 268 kilometers (166.5 miles), plus 653 kilometers (405.8 miles) of agricultural, mountainous, and canyon zones.
The stretch also includes picturesque villages scattered along the way, until finishing at its final 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) at sea level.
Great Engineering Maneuvers
Along the Chihuahua-Pacífico Route
- KM Q-562: Continental Tunnel; 1,260 meters of length (4,133.8 feet); called this because it crosses the Continental Divide of the Western Sierra Madre range.
- KM Q-592: The Loop. The train makes a loop on itself while winding through the hills.
- KM Q-639: “La Laja” (the Flagstone) Bridge. Built with pre-stressed, concrete crossbeams and sleek piers as long as 50 meters (164 feet) high. Its length is 155 meters (508.5 feet) and it was the first bridge in the country to be built with pre-stressed crossbeams.
- KM Q-707: Temoris Switchbacks. The railroad snakes its way from the river bottom to the top of a ridge. It includes many tunnels, viaducts and bridges, where the Santa Barbara Tunnel, 217 meters long (712 feet), curves and the La Pera (Pear) Tunnel, 937 meters long (3,074 feet), makes the train do a 180 degree turn while in the tunnel.
- KM Q-710: False “Frankenstein” Tunnel. With a length of 234 meters (656 feet), it is the largest of its kind during it construction.
- KM Q-748+282: Chinipas Bridge. It is 234 meters long (767.7 feet) and 102 meters high (334.6 feet); it is the highest bridge in the Q Line.
- Q-779+881: Aguacaliente (Hot water) Bridge. Located above the El Fuerte River, 45 meters (147.6 feet) high and 498.5 meters (1,635.5 feet) in length, it becomes the longest bridge in the Q Line.
- Q-754+600: El Descanso (the Rest) Tunnel. The first and longest tunnel – 5,966 ft., over a mile. When it was first built, it was longest tunnel in the entire country.
General Information
 To get an idea how enormous the task was to accomplish one must realize it took 86 tunnels, of which only 22 are false (either did not penetrate the mountain and/or they were covered with concrete), for a total length of 18 kilometers (11.2 miles). Then there was the construction of 175 bridges with varying structures for a total length of 5, 000 meters (3.1 miles). Thirty-seven of these bridges were built using the pre-stressed concrete, used for the first time in Mexico on some of these bridges.
Independently of the afore mentioned information, the majestic fortress of the Western Sierra Madre Mountain Range was penetrated, uniting the worlds of development and production. An alternate route was provided for shipping large loads and quantities from the Midwest U.S. to the coast of the Pacific Ocean and vice versa.
Of Interest to Tourists
- Chihuahua – Anahuac Stretch: This route follows the Santa Isabel River, where there is production of cattle and agriculture, and the town of San Andres in located (called Riva Palacio today). This is also where General Francisco “Pancho” Villa married Ms. Luz Corral.
- Anahuac, Chihuahua: The Bustillos lagoon and fertile lands full of apple orchards, cattle and agriculture are found here.
- Cuauhtemoc, Chihuahua: Though it contains many of the characteristics of Anahuac, it is also known for the mining of the region. There are many Mennonite colonies here that have large agricultural productions and dairy products.
- La Junta, Chihuahua: (actually called Lopez Mateos) It was founded the same time as railroad. The largest and oldest repair shops of the railroad exist here, but are no longer in use. It is also produces cattle, agriculture & apples.
- San Juanito, Chihuahua: It is the main lumber center in Chihuahua. This is the coldest region in Mexico, dropping to 9.4 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.
- Creel, Chihuahua: For more than 50 years, it was once the last stop on the Q Line. There are many hotels that offer tours to the attractions around this frontier town. There is Arareco Lake, Cusarare Waterfalls, valleys with rock formations, canyons, rocky cliffs, the town of Batopilas and Basaseachi Waterfall.
- The Loop (KM Q-592): The train makes a loop on itself while winding through the hills in order to keep the continuity of the rail line.
- Divisadero, Chihuahua: Elevation 7,200 ft. Overlooks 2 of the 6 major canyons: Tararecua and the Copper Canyon in the Copper Canyon system. The Urique River flows through the Copper Canyon at this point. Other major canyons are Urique, Batopilas, Oteros and Sinforosa. The Copper Canyon system is four times the size of the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
- Temoris, Chihuahua: A place of great beauty much in part for its high, Rocky Mountains. Jesuit missionaries founded Temoris in 1677. It was the name of a tribe of Indians in the area. The railroad snakes its way from the river bottom to the top of a ridge.
In short, to talk about the Chihuahua-Pacífico route, is to talk about the marvelous and risky engineering construction, challenging the canyons, cliffs, mountains, forests and ravines. For this reason, there is a constant flux of articles, films, documentaries, newspaper articles printed about this marvelous area with magazine and television networks coming from all over the world, charmed by the pristine view and engineering marvels of its construction.
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