Panama Canal Railway
The Panama Railway also operated a significant shipping line, connecting its service with New York and San Francisco. It ran a Central American line of steamships linking Nicaragua, Costa Rica, San Salvador, and Guatemala to Panama City. The shipping service was greatly expanded when canal construction began. Ships included the SS "Salvador", SS "Guatemala", SS "Cristobel", and , which became the first of the ships to cross the completed canal in 1914.
In 1904 the United States took over the license to build and operate the canal. The choice to use locks and an artificial lake (Gatun) meant that the old railway route from 1855 had to be changed because it followed the Chagres River valley, which would be flooded by the lake. Also, the railway would be extended and altered continuously for the building process. The stock of the Panama Railway Company, vital in canal construction, was entirely controlled by the United States Secretary of War.
William J. Oliver (industrialist)
When the United States government announced it would be hiring a contractor to build the Panama Canal, Oliver sent agents to Panama to investigate for a possible bid. He formed a partnership with New York-area contractor Anson Bangs, and the two compiled a bid of 6.75% of the canal's construction cost (the construction cost had been estimated as high as $465 million). When bids were opened on January 12, 1907, Oliver's bid was the lowest of the four submitted, slightly lower than George Pierce and Company's bid of 7.19%, and easily ahead of the bids submitted by MacArthur-Gillespie (12.5%) and the North American Dredging Company (28%).