1904 Mexican Central Railway Railroad Tourist Map of Mexico

This is a 1904 Mexican Central Railway railroad map of Mexico. The map depicts the region from Dallas, Texas, to Guatemala and from southern Baja California to the western Yucatan Peninsula. Created for the American tourist, thick black lines trace the lines of the Mexican Central Railway from Ciudad Juarez south to Balsas and Manzanillo on Mexico's Pacific Coast. Major cities are labeled by large block letters, including Tampico, Monterey, Chihuahua, Cuernavaca, and Mexico City. Smaller stops along the Mexican Central's routes are also identified, as are cities not served by the Mexican Central. It is unclear precisely what the dashed lines mean, but these likely refer to planned extensions of the Mexican Central's rail network. Thin dashed lines in the Gulf of Mexico highlight ferry routes, many of which operate out of Tampico and Veracruz. Three profiles illustrating changes in elevation along the Mexican Central's network are included in the lower-left corner and provide viewers with some understanding of the diversity of Mexico's topography.

The Mexican Central Railway

The Mexican Central Railway, founded in Massachusetts in 1880, began operation between Mexico City and Ciudad Juárez in March 1884. It provided connections between the Mexican capital and the Southern Pacific Railroad, Texas and Pacific Railway, and the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway. The railroad fell under the control of the Mexican government in 1906, and the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México took over the railroad in 1909. Mexican railroads were privatized in the 1990s, and Ferromex bought most of what was once the Mexican Central.

Publication History and Census

This map was created for and published by the Mexican Central Railway in 1904. Two examples are cataloged in OCLC and are part of the collections at the University of Texas at Arlington and the Huntington Library.