The construction of the Panama Canal from and 1914 in color Part 1

Spectacular (silent) film footage of the construction of the Panama Canal more than a century ago.The film shows the construction of the Miraflores and Gatun locks in detail as well as the digging of "The Culebra Cut" including steam trains, steam shovels and steam dredgers at work and scenes of the locks an the Canal in its first days op operation in 1914. Wikipedia: The Panama Canal (Spanish: Canal de Panamá) is an artificial 82 km (51 miles) waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit for maritime trade. Canal locks are 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 m (85 ft) above sea level, and then lower the ships at the other end. The original locks, "Miraflores" in the South and "Gatun locks" in the North, are 32.5 m (110 ft) wide. France began work on the canal in 1881, but stopped because of engineering problems and a high worker mortality rate, caused by malaria and yellow fever. 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, hazardous Cape Horn route around the southernmost tip of South America via the Drake Passage or Strait of Magellan and the even less popular route through the Arctic Archipelago and the Bering Strait. Thse footage has been motion-stabilized, speed-corrected, contrast- and brightness enhanced, de-noised, restored, upscaled and colorized by means of state-of-the-art AI sofware. It took over a month to restore and colorize all available footage, our largest project ever! This restored film is without sound. The reason is the difficulty to find nearly one hour of suitable (copyright-free) music. Please help to improve this Timeline:00:00 Miraflores Locks in the South02:10 Steam shovels in "The Cut"02:26 West Indian workers drill holes in the rock for explosives03:44 Not every explosion goes as it should...04:18 Workers along the railway line05:40 Steam shovels at work10:10 Steam trains remove the rocks11:42 Another blast12:50 Views from a high point of "The Cut"14:10 The railway tracks15:07 Freight trains pass a check point15:50 Special trains push earth and rocks aside16:47 Close up view of a special train in action18:21 West Indian workers shift the railway tracks19:15 Workers climb up the mountain20:22 Fresh workers arrive by steam train21:38 Another day ahead for the workers and the steam shovels24:22 Shifting a huge drum24:45 More steam shovels at work25:16 Steam trains with special equipment25:58 Workers removing rails26:30 Gatun locks in the North still under construction26:52 Flooded rain forest forming Gatun Lake27:19 The huge lock doors have been installed27:28 Testing floading the locks28:48 A lock filling up29:10 Small ships enter the lock30:05 A train ride along the canal30:38 Preparing to blow up the last dam31:07 Spectators gather for the blasting of the last dam31:58 Opening a huge valve32:42 Blasting of the last dam33:18 Water flows into the Canal33:27 Dredgers enter the Canal33:44 More blasting along the Canal34:20 Gatun locks open35:32 Numerous ships enter the locks37:10 The next lock chamber opens38:46 Small boat with dignatories on the Canal40:33 Views of the Canal and Gatun Lake41:05 Dredgers at work to deepen the Canal41:36 More lock views43:03 Busy scenes at the locks43:52 Spectators on the opening lock doors46:01 A pilot rowing boat on its way to receive the ropes of a ship46:42 Inner lock chamber scenes47:45 Lock doors opening48:49 Ship leaving the locks49:13 More steam dredgers at work50:02 Close up view of an active steam dredger50:36 Rubble is released through the bottom of a barge into the lake51:18 Flushing rubble away with a watercanon52:40 Dredgers seen from a high viewpoint53:52 Final views of the Canal In view of the amount of available enhanced footage, Part-2 will follow shortly!

Director

Ricks Film Restoration