There is honestly nothing like the Panama Railroad anywhere else in the world. Completed a mind-blowing 170 (!) years ago, its construction was a story of human endurance. Suffering deadly diseases and relentless exhaustion that claimed about 10,000 lives, workers continued to hack their way through impenetrable virgin jungle, endured torrential rains for eight months each year, and navigated political turmoil and staff shortage, all while relying on almost everything from construction materials to food shipped from New York and New Orleans. Such was the monumental cost of linking two oceans and making what would become the most vital transportation artery in the world. Shall we take a ride?