The Chihuahua al Pacífico (ChP) railroad is the only railroad that has been international in its vision since its inception. This engineering marvel took almost 90 years and 90 million dollars to complete. The first Mexican train to traverse the complete route was in 1961. The route is through 5 climatic zones from sea level to 8,000 feet elevation.
The original route of the Kansas City Mexico Orient Railway (forerunner of the ChP) was 1600 miles long. It ran from Wichita, Kansas, through Oklahoma and Texas, crossing the border at Presidio, Texas and Ojinaga, Chihuahua. It continued on to Chihuahua City, then went west across the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountain Range, ending up at Topolobampo Bay on the Sea of Cortez, near Las Mochis, Sinaloa. The purpose of the KCMO Railway was to shorten the shipping route to the orient by 400 miles.
The ChP tourist line presently is the 400 mile route between Chihuahua City, Chihuahua, and Los Mochis, Sinaloa. The Readers Digest says it is the most dramatic train ride in the western hemisphere. To enjoy the most scenic part of this route during daylight hours, S & S Tours always begins our tours in Los Mochis.
The ChP engineering challenges include 37 bridges and 89 tunnels on the route. At one point the train does a 180° turn inside the mountain, and at another point loops over itself. The longest tunnel in Mexico, over a mile long, is on this route. In the mountain region, there is a drop of 7300 feet elevation in 122 miles.
Two Americans were directly involved in the conception of this railroad. Arthur Stilwell of Kansas City, Kansas, was responsible for completing 1000 miles of the total 1600 miles of track built. (Note: My name is Sue Stilwell. We are in the family line of Arthur Stilwell, so this history is of great personal interest to me.) Albert Owens, a Pennsylvanian railroad engineer, surveyed the western end of the line.
Each February, S & S Tours has a
Rail Fan tour
which travels the whole 400 miles by train between Los Mochis and Chihuahua City over a period of a week. We visit the sugar cane factory in Los Mochis to see their 1920s vintage steam engines. We have a privileged tour of the ChP roundhouse in Chihuahua City. This tour is particularly for rail fans, but the fabulous scenery and the Tarahumara Indians make the trip enjoyable for non-rail fans as well.
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