Machines | Panama Canal Construction in 1912 | American Vintage Documentary

★ CHECK OUT OUR T-SHIRTS: https://bravestgeneration.com/collections/all ✚ Watch our "Old America" PLAYLIST: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaGAbbh1M3ImKavW8ZY0aZyFK1c-PLCAj ►Facebook: https://facebook.com/TheBestFilmArchives ►Google+: https://plus.google.com/+TheBestFilmArchives ►Twitter: https://twitter.com/BestFilmArch Vintage documentary on the Panama Canal construction in 1912. Narration describes the construction of and history behind the Panama Canal. Footage primarily of trains, construction machinery and workers. Includes Gatun Dam. About the Canal: The Panama Canal (Spanish: Canal de Panamá) is a 48-mile (77 km) ship canal in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean (via the Caribbean Sea) to the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. There are locks at each end to lift ships up to Gatun Lake, an artificial lake created to reduce the amount of excavation work required for the canal, 26 metres (85 ft) above sea level. The current locks are 33.5 metres (110 ft) wide. A third, wider lane of locks is currently under construction and is due to open in April 2016. France began work on the canal in 1881 but stopped due to engineering problems. The United States took over the project in 1904, and opened the canal on August 15, 1914. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, the Panama Canal shortcut greatly reduced the time for ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, enabling them to avoid the lengthy Cape Horn route around the southernmost tip of South America via the Drake Passage or Strait of Magellan. Colombia, France, and later the United States controlled the territory surrounding the canal during construction. The US continued to control the canal and surrounding Panama Canal Zone until the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties provided for handover to Panama. After a period of joint American–Panamanian control, in 1999 the canal was taken over by the Panamanian government, and is now managed and operated by the government-owned Panama Canal Authority. Annual traffic has risen from about 1,000 ships in 1914, when the canal opened, to 14,702 vessels in 2008, the latter measuring a total of 333.7 million tons. By 2012, more than 815,000 vessels had passed through the canal; the largest ships that can transit the canal today are called Panamax. It takes 6 to 8 hours to pass through the Panama Canal. The American Society of Civil Engineers has named the Panama Canal one of the seven wonders of the modern world. About the construction: The construction of a canal with locks required the excavation of more than 170,000,000 cu yd (129,974,326 m3) of material over and above the 30,000,000 cu yd (22,936,646 m3) excavated by the French. As quickly as possible, the Americans replaced or upgraded the old, unusable French equipment with new construction equipment that was designed for a much larger and faster scale of work. About 102 new large, railroad-mounted steam shovels were brought from the United States. These were joined by enormous steam-powered cranes, giant hydraulic rock crushers, cement mixers, dredges, and pneumatic power drills, nearly all of which were manufactured by new, extensive machine-building technology developed and built in the United States. The railroad also had to be comprehensively upgraded with heavy-duty, double-tracked rails over most of the line to accommodate new rolling stock. In many places, the new Gatun Lake flooded over the original rail line, and a new line had to be constructed above Gatun Lake's waterline. The construction of the canal was completed in 1914. The United States spent almost $375,000,000 (roughly equivalent to $8,600,000,000 now) to finish the project. This was by far the largest American engineering project to date. Panama Canal Construction in 1912 | American Vintage Documentary TBFA_0049