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Detailed map of the Mexican International Railroad, showing the line from Ciudad Porfirio Diaz (now Piedras Negras) to Durango, with other connections to Saltillo and Lampozas.

The map was prepared very shortly after Piedras Negras was granted City status and its name changed to Ciudad Porfirio Diaz on December 1, 1888, and is almost certainly the first commercial map to use this new city name. The map reflects the success of the recently developed coal discoveries in the region and reflects its commercial importance in the 1880s.

The map focuses on the state of Coahuila and shows a number of other towns, roads and topographical features, most notably the routes of the Ferrocarril Central Mexicano and the Ferrocarril Nacional Mexicano. A key below th title identifies routes which are completed and routes which are under construction.

Title on the cover is: Mexican International Railroad: International bridge over the Rio Grande between Ciudad Porfirio Diaz, Mexico and Eagle Pass, Texas.

Relief shown by contours. The prime meridian is Mexico City. The map also includes a distance chart and 2 profiles showing altitude by meters and feet. On the verso, there is promotional text, train schedules, list of railroad stations, connections, travel information, ill., and location map on verso.

The map is quite rare. OCLC lists only an 1890 edition (University of Arizona and University of Texas Austin).

On June 15, 1850, a group of 34 men (commanded by Andrés Zapata, Gaspar Salazar and Antonio Ramírez) met with Colonel Juan Manuel Maldonado to give the news that they had created a pass point at Piedras Negras, to the right of the Rio Grande, south of Fort Duncan; and having given it the name of: Nueva Villa de Herrera. Later on, it would be renamed Villa de Piedras Negras. In Otto Schober's "Breve historia de Piedras Negras," the local historian points out that the 34 men in in question were repatriates (Mexican Americans) that arrived on June 15, 1850, in what was then called "Colonia Militar de Guerrero en Piedras Negras."

Due to the discovery of huge deposits of coal at the region, in 1881 a railroad track was begun, finishing in 1883. With this construction, the regional economy flourished and on December 1, 1888, it was granted the status of city; this time with the name of Ciudad Porfirio Díaz. After the fall of Diaz in 1911, the city reverted back to Piedras Negras, Coahuila.