The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-09-25

OF the Volga Tue chief of the railway
branch Of the Interior Department Of st.
Petersburg, with whom talked the other
day, tells me that the work on the Trans
Siberian road IS still going on and that
about 80 miles OF II have been built from
Fladivostock, on the Pacific, to the west
and that the work is advancing in other
parts of Siberia. This Siberian road will
run from Vladivostock across Siberia to
Russia, and it is estimated that when it is
completed passengers will be able 10 go
from Moscow TO Vladivostoek in fifteen
days, and the time around the world ought
TO be then reduced to less than fifty days. l
am told that the road will cost about
500, 900. 600.
The Russian Government has made sur
veys OF all the possible routes, and the one
that will probably be adopted will take ad.
vantage OF the Davigable rivers on the way
and will by this means he able to largely
reduce the amount OF track. If an all-rail
route is made 1t will be nearly 5000 miles
through Siberia alone and IL will cost $780,
100000 BY the use of the rivers the neces-
sary track can be cut down from three to
two thousand miles, but In this case the
road will be practically useless for six
month"; OF the year on account Of the freeZ-
ing of the rivers and lakes during the win
ter. General Annenkoff. the builder OF the
Trans Caspian road, estimates that the ST.
berian road can be completed in five years,
and that by 1897 we may have trains run
ming from the Baltic to the Pacific.
This road Will open up some OF the rich
est wheatgrowlng countries OF the world,
and it will enable machinery to be taken to
the Siberian gold mines, which are now
practically unworked for the lack Of it.
Siberia Is being rapidly colonized by the
Russians. but the country Is so vast that
they can make but little impression upon 1t.
This railroad would increase the immigra-
ton from about ten thousand year, which
4 a M IN hun Ira IF fhNn nd nd
will result In the opening up of North Asia
to civilization.
The fate of this Siberian road will prob
ably be the same as the Trans Caspian. 1t
is being built bJ the Government as mill
tary line, but 1t will eventually become q
great commercial highway. The Trans
Caspian road Is well constructed and well
managed. 1t was largely made by Asiatic
labor and 1t cost only little over $4,000 a
mile. The ordinary w0rkmen received only
fifteen cents day for their labor, aud the
probability is that the Siberian road will
find cheap workmen from China, Mongolia
or Siberia. The trains on the trans Caspian
now run at the rate OF thirty miles an hour
and the locomotives burn nothing but petro-
leum.
1 have travelled on many cars here in Rus
sia which are moved by petroleum, and all
the engines Of Central and South Russia
are worked with this fuel 1t takes $4,000
tons OF petroleum every year for the Trans
Caspian road alone, and though tho first
cost Of this is greater than the same weight
in coal General Annenkoff estimates that
coal oil is four times as cheap in Its steam
producing power as coal. and am told by
engineers here that pound Of oil will pro-
duce twice as much steam as pound OF
coal. / have been travelling this week south
OF Moscow and / have taken look at the
engines which use this fuel oil.
The oil is kept in a tank back OF the en-
CINE and is injected through pipe SO made
that 1t meets a jet of steam aud this steam
converts the oil Into spray before 1t meets
the fame, and 1t is SO regulated that q