Snapshots of the Past

Guayaquil-Quito (Ecuador) Railroad's famous switchback Nariz del Diablo" (Devil's Nose). Train approaching with the Devil's Nose rising in center of picture" – Antique Wall Art

Guayaquil-Quito (Ecuador) Railroad's famous switchback Nariz del Diablo" (Devil's Nose). Train approaching with the Devil's Nose rising in center of picture", [between 1900 and 1940] — historic photograph
Guayaquil-Quito (Ecuador) Railroad's famous switchback Nariz del Diablo" (Devil's Nose). Train approaching with the Devil's Nose rising in center of picture", [between 1900 and 1940]. Historic photograph from the Railroads & Depots collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Few images capture their era like this historic photograph of Guayaquil-Quito (Ecuador) Railroad's famous switchback Nariz del Diablo" (Devil's Nose). Train approaching with the Devil's Nose rising in center of picture". Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

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Guayaquil-Quito (Ecuador) Railroad's famous switchback Nariz del Diablo" (Devil's Nose). Train approaching with the Devil's Nose rising in center of picture"

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The Nariz del Diablo, or Devil's Nose, is a steep cliff on the Guayaquil-Quito line that forced engineers to zigzag the track up the Andes. Here a train approaches while the rock rises at the center of the frame, showing how sharp the grade was. The railway, completed in 1908 after decades of stop-and-start construction, was one of the most celebrated feats of Andean engineering, with trains reversing direction on switchbacks to climb past the cliff. The print came from the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, so it was likely circulated to promote transport ties across the Americas.

Created / published[between 1900 and 1940]
Medium1 photographic print.
GenrePhotographic prints 1900-1940.
NotesFrom Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, Washington, D.C. No. EC-87.
SubjectsRailroads--Ecuador--Guayaquil--1900-1940. Mountains--Ecuador--1900-1940.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,536 × 1,147 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-171418

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