A line from Las
Cabullas, on the main road, to Salcedo was promptly built and opened
to traffic, but the Moca extension was delayed by civil disturbances
and not completed until 1917.
The gauge of the Samana-Santiago road is 1.10 meters, about three feet
six inches. It rises very gradually from sea-level at Sanchez to the
altitude of La Vega and Moca, about 400 feet. The engineering problems
attending its construction and preservation have been those connected
with the crossing of the Gran Estero swamp, and the bridging of
numerous small tributaries of the Yuna River, which from modest
brooklets in the dry season swell to turbulent torrents in rainy
weather. The bridge across the Camu River near La Vega has been washed
away repeatedly and further trouble has been caused by the river
changing its course.
The journey from Sanchez to La Vega, including the side trip to San
Francisco de Macoris, consumes five and a half hours. After leaving
Sanchez the end of the Samana range is soon reached and for miles the
train travels across a mangrove swamp, where the bushy vegetation is
exceedingly dense and the roadbed is covered with grass.
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