In the early 20th Century, an American financial tycoon named Percival Farquhar was the largest private investor in Brazil. Backed by European investors, Farquhar’s syndicate had controlling interest in Brazilian railways, river steamers, ports, and streetcar lines. He dreamed of creating a rail network that would link all corners of South America and open the continent to development. His boldest achievement was the building of the Madeira-Mamoré Railway, a 227-mile long narrow gauge line cut through the dense tropical forest of northwestern Brazil. His workers called the railroad “The Mad Mary,” and it did seem like madness; but Farquhar persisted. It took five years to complete, at a cost of several thousand lives and 33 million 1912 dollars (equivalent to $787 million today).
