Panama Canal: The Eighth Wonder of the World1998

Thomas Goethals:
[referring to engineer John Frank Stevens] His most remarkable contribution was that he decided that the most important problem facing anyone attempting to dig the canal was what you did with the spoil. That is, the earth, the dirt that you took. What did you do with it?

Narrator:
Stevens carefully plans an innovative track layout for disposing of the immense amounts of excavated soil. He devises a railroad system that becomes the backbone of all canal operations. Within a year, crews have completely rebuilt the line with heavier rails that can withstand the enormous loads. The cornerstone of success is double-tracking. Trains can run virtually nonstop in both directions the entire width of the isthmus. More efficient trains mean harder-working steam shovels.

Thomas Goethals:
They were moving constantly - 160 a day through the Culebra Cut. taking spoil out while it was being dug. As many as 67 of these steam shovels at work during the height of the Culebra Cut excavation.

Narrator:
The Americans would ultimately dig out more than 230 million cubic yards of earth from the bed of the canal. In the nine-mile stretch of the Culebra Cut, the dense, unstable passage through the mountains, cars full of rock and soil run a continuous circuit on the main line of the railroad. At the dumping ground, a 3-ton steel plow pulled by a winch unloads the entire 20-car train in a single sweep - all in about ten minutes. The unloader does alone what used to take 300 men. The simple act of turning the Panama Railroad into a conveyor belt is a turning point for the entire effort.