the Civil War ended, there was once again interest in trans-isthmus routes, in particular for a canal. A commission was appointed by the US Government in 1872. A new survey of the Tehuantepec route had been carried out by Admiral R. W. Shufeldt in 1870, but in spite of his positive report the commission recommended a route through Nicaragua in 1876. No government action resulted, however, and actual canal construction was started in Panama in 1881 by a French company headed by Ferdinand de Lesseps. A radically different solution was proposed by James B. Eads - a ship-railway. Rather than a canal, he proposed a 6-track railway across the isthmus, with ships of up to 6,000 tons carried in a specially designed cradle. Eads' ideas received considerable support in the USA, but he died in 1887, and this was effectively the end of the proposal. Railroad construction actually continued during this period, and the line was completed in 1894. However it had many problems, including inadequate port facilities at each end, and varying standards of construction along the route. It soon became clear that a complete overhaul was necessary, and Weetman D. Pearson was contracted by the Mexican Government to undertake the work. The line was stabilized, and where necessary structures were rebuilt. Port facilities were established at Coatzacoalcos and Salina Cruz. The newly refurbished line opened in 1907. The locomotives on the line were oil-burning steam locomotives. The Tehuantepec Railroad was one of the first to use this source of power. The American-Hawaiian Steamship Company, which had been operating from San Francisco and Hawaii to New York through the Straits of Magellan contracted to provide connecting steamship lines to both ends of the railroad, allowing a 25 day service between San Francisco and New York. Sugar became a major part of the freight, amounting to 250,000 tons annually, and most of the sugar from Hawaii to Philadelphia and New York was carried on this route. The railroad prospered for seven years, until the Panama Canal opened in 1914. Despite optimistic forecasts that there was plenty of business for both the railroad and the canal, business declined drastically after 1914, not helped by the Mexican Revolution and the onset of the First World War. The railroad continued to handle substantial passenger traffic well into the fifties, but ceased to be a significant carrier of freight. Transport Routes in the Isthmus