The first line to be considered would run from San Felipe to Puerto Cabello. Puerto Cabello already occupies a prominent place in the economic life of Venezuela, being one of the principal ports and a port of call for all American and European steamers. The proposed railroad would be approximately eighty kilometers in length and would pass through one of the best cacao regions of Venezuela. This section is especially favored due to the trade winds which blow across it, giving this locality a special aptitude for the raising of a superior brand of cacao; it is from this section along the coast that the best cacao in the world comes. At present, due to the lack of transportation facilities, it is useless to develop the region, for the product can not find its way to market. A railroad here would serve to make available a huge, rich territory for cacao which could then find its way into the markets of the world.
2. San Cristobal to Valencia.
The second proposed railroad is one from San Cristobal to Valencia passing by way of Barinas. Considerable construction work would be necessary as this line would be about 615 kilometers in length, through rich, fertile lands which at present lie untouched due to lack of communications with the outside world. The railroad would lie over flat level land except for a stretch of approximately fifty kilometers over the mountains.
All along the southeast of this road lies fertile table land suitable for the raising of cattle. In fact, the llanos extend all along the route while to the north stretches the coffee producing section of Venezuela. Near Barinas there are large cacao and tobacco plantations but they are not developed to any appreciable degree nor to their real capacity, due to the lack of proper forwarding agencies. Furthermore, the opening up of this region by railroad would give great impetus to further settlement and investment in the interior, for it is an observed fact that after the railroad come cities and civilization. The situation is similar to that existing in our own history when, simultaneously with the building of the trans-continental railroads, caravans pushed their way westward and have left as their heritage the great cities of the West. This lesson from our own history should not go unnoticed, for the same opportunity exists in Venezuela and to the pioneers will come rewards similar to those reaped by our own dauntless settlers.
Even now before the building of this railway, English companies have acquired large concessions of territory near the proposed line. This is only a start and soon they will be extending their concessions and if Americans do not act before it is too late they will find the choicest land already taken. Most of the English concessions lie in the Apure district, the best cattle land in Venezuela, whose only disadvantage lies in the fact that the land is frequently inundated by the overflowing of the waters of the Apure River. The value of the land, of course, depends on its fertility and the availability of water, but it may be stated that a square league, that is, twenty-five square kilometers (9 square miles), varies in price from two thousand to five thousand bolivars, or from $400.00 to $1000.00. And this for land in the best cattle section of Venezuela! Among other sections of the country well suited for cattle raising are the llanos of Marturin, extremely fertile lands, swept by the trade winds. As they are situated in the northwestern part, shipment could be made through the port of Guanta which, it is predicted, will be the future main port of Venezuela. In this same vicinity lie the llanos of Barcelona, even closer to the port high tablelands, but somewhat dryer than the llanos of Maturin. To develop this land, a railroad from Ciudad Bolívar, a port used now on the Orinoco and Barcelona, is necessary. This would connect with the present line from Barcelona to Guanta, thus connecting two important ports and serving a rich cattle section, necessitating the building of only three hundred kilometers of road.
Further west, running parallel to the last mentioned line, lies a region between San Fernando and Cagua, and as Cagua is already on a railroad line, shipments can be made either to Puerto Cabello or La Guaira. The llanos of Guárico which lie in this region are high table lands but with numerous oases which provide sufficient water for the cattle. At times, parts of this region are subjected to inundation which makes the land very rich and fertile. This is another section merely waiting the day when capital will develop railroads. It may not be amiss to remind American investors that the English have already secured three large concessions along this route.
Another important consideration deserving of mention is that along this route lie coal mines which have not been developed due to lack of transportation facilities. These mines would serve as an easy means of procuring fuel for the road.
3. Limon-Castilletas.
Another railroad projected is that from Limon to Castilletas. About Limon are rich oil fields now being developed but which are handicapped by the fact that Maracaibo, the present shipping port for oil, lies inside the Gulf of Maracaibo and only small ships can enter due to deposits which are continually filling up the strait. Maracaibo is not always available for small ships and a line from Limon to Castilletas, which is a port lying outside the bar and on the shores of the Gulf of Venezuela, would solve the present difficulty and, besides, effect a saving of over two hundred kilometers in sailing distance.
4. Yuruari-Orinoco.