International Railways of Central America - Specimen Stock Certificate

Specimen Stock printed by American Bank Note Company. Please specify color.

International Railways of Central America (IRCA, United States-based company that controlled key railroads in Guatemala and El Salvador. In 1912 IRCA assumed ownership of nearly all Guatemalan railways, including Guatemala's only link with the Caribbean, and purchased a major Salvadoran Railroad. The company connected the Guatemalan and Salvadoran lines in 1929 to provide El Salvador with access to the Caribbean. The United Fruit Company of Boston purchased controlling interest in IRCA in 1936. IRCA and its parent company became targets of economic nationalism and labor activists during the Guatemalan Revolution (1944–1954). Critics attacked IRCA's monopoly on freight transportation and its inequitable rate structures. United Fruit sold much of its IRCA holdings after the revolution. The government purchased IRCA in December 1968 and placed rail transportation under the auspices of a state-owned agency, Ferrocarriles de Guatemala (FEGUA).