Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1895-10-30
SIBERIAN RAILWAY.
1t will Shorten the Journey Round the
World by Twenty Days.

It will Shorter the Journey Round the
World by Twenty Days.
The works in connection with the great
Siberian railway are being pushed along
with much energy, and there can be lit
tie doubt but that this extended line will
be completed earlier han was anticipat-
ed. Before six. and perhaps even before
five, years have elapsed it will be possible
to complete in ten, twelve or fourteen
days a railway journey over a vast region
which a few years ago was comparative
ly unknown, n the trip around the
world will probably have been shortened
by some twenty days. From st. Peters
burg the journey via Moscow and So
mora to the Ural mountains can be done
in three days. The distance from st.
Petersburg to the Siberian frontier by
rail is about 100 miles. At Tschetju-
binsk commences the West Siberian rail
way, which has a length of nearly 900
miles. This section of the line passes
through a fiat, fertile, somewhat mo-
notonous country, and crosses the four
rivers, Tabol, Ischjin, Irizsch and Oh.
The cost of this portion of the Siberian
railway has proved to be rather less than
was originally calculated, and the works
ave been so rapidly advanced that it
was possible in the early part of the
present year to open the Siberian sec
ton of the town of Omsk, on the Irtzsch.
NSAOAN liz SLAO VI LOU Nv ~ VII
be completed as far as the river Oh,
and there will then be an unbroken line
stretching eastward from Paris for IL
distance about $50 miles greater than
the longest American transcontinental
line. In nine days it will then be pos
sible to travel from the borders of the
Atlantic into the heart of Asia.
Construction becomes more difficult be-
tween the river Oh and the city OF II
kutSK, Which is close to the Baikal lake.
The works on this section have been
pushed forward rapidly during the last
two or three years.
AT hrosnOjarsk a bridge of 5000 feet
length across the Jenisey is required.
Although the transport of rails has been
very difficult, there is every reason to
believe that the railway will be completed
as far as Krosnojarsk before the end of
1896. According to the original plan.
it was expected that the line as far as
fc by the year 1900, but it may now be
confidently predicted that this date will
be considerably anticipated. The Kros-
noJarsk-lrkutsk section will now be
pushed forward with a considerably in
creased staff Of workmen.
There will be about 200 railway sta
tons distributed over the line. Wher-
ever it is impossible for passengers to OBJ
tain private accommodations, hotels will
be attached to the stations. The rolling
stock will comprise 2000 locomotives,
1000 passenger carriages and $4,000 wag-
ons. The passenger traffic will, with
few exceptions, be confined to third and
fourth-class, and the tariff will be very
low. The whole distance from Tschel-
bajinsk, at the Asian frontier, to Omsk
costs at present about % shillings third
class, and half that on fourth-class. Be-
tween any two stations (Which on the
average are twenty-siX miles apart the
fares are respectively 1 shilling f pence
and s pence. According to this tariff
it will be possible to travel from one end
of Asia to the other for about Els. There
will be restaurant cars on some of the
trains.
The average speed decreases eastward.
Whilst from London or Paris to st. Pc
tersburg the average speed is some 81
to % miles an hour, it is barely % miles
between st. Petersburg and the Ural
mountains, and in Siberia only ID miles
an hour. The goods tariff will be fxe.1
at a very moderate basis and although
the distance between Wladiwostok and
Paris is about $3.50 miles, it is expected
that valuable goods, such as silk. tea
spices, ETC., from the east, westward
and dry goods. machinery, in the opposite
direction, will be profitably carried by
the Siberian MISUNDERSTANDING.