“Other steamship operators were quick to invest in lower-risk alternatives. Cornelius Vanderbilt, flush with cash from his East Coast steamships, started a line that transported passengers and freight across Central America by floating them down the Chagres River. And Aspinwall himself began planning the first transcontinental railroad in the Americas: a fifty-five-mile-long line spanning the Panama Isthmus that would allow his steamships to make regularly scheduled arrivals and departures. The Panama Railroad would be the crown jewel of his transportation empire. Ujifusa, Steven. Barons of the Sea: And their Race to Build the World's Fastest Clipper Ship (p. 157). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. link to The Path Between the seas discusses these railroads Ujifusa, Steven. Barons of the Sea: And their Race to Build the World's Fastest Clipper Ship (pp. 156-157). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. ”
