The Devil's Nose
Dec. 27th, 2017 06:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jwgIn 1901 they were constructing the railroad between Quito and Guayaquil and had to deal with ascent/descent down the side of a mountain. The found a spot locals called the Condor's Aerie and proceeded to build a zig-zag course of switch-backs so that dropped 500 meters in about 12 kilometers such that the train would go back and forth while ascending or descending. It got the nickname the Devil's Nose because of the difficulty and the deaths of workers; this name has stuck. It is hard to get a really good big picture view since we were on the train and you'd have to be further away. Several times the train stopped and members of the crew went out to look at the wheels of one car - whatever it was they fixed it or anyway it didn't matter. There was very nice mountainous views and very few people or buildings in the section of the trip.
Click for pictures:
Click for pictures:
