Kansas City daily journal., 1897-02-07
Around the World in Thirty Days.


The railroad which the Russian govern
ment is building across Siberia, from the
Ural mountains to the Pacific ocean, will
be $500 miles long when completed. 1t will
be the longest single line of railroad in the
world.
Connecting with trans-Russian railways,
1t will form continuous track from ST.
Petersburg to Vladivostok on the Pacific
of $500 miles. This is considerably more
| than twice as long as any American con-
| Meeting lines of railway. which are the
| next longest lines in the world.
The Siberian road is completed for long
| distances from the Ural mountains east
and several hundred miles are finished on
| the Pacific end of the lines. The gaps are
| being filled up rapidly. and it is believed
that the entire road will he in operation
within four years. Russia has negotiated
with China for cession of territory by
which the eastern terminus of the road may
| be located at some point several degrees
south of any present Russian Pacific port.
I The route of the Siberian railway and
| the temperature along the latitude that it
| will follow have been interesting subjects
of discussion in recent publications. 1t has
| been compared with the Canadian Pacific
| railway in these respects, and statistics
have been printed IN railway journals. The
Canadian road passes through an unfavor-
| able zone, and some divisions. especially
that along the north shore of Lake Supe-
rior are of little or no value for travel or
freight traffic during inclement seasons of
| the year
| Weather tables published in regard to
Siberia show that extreme weather visits
4 some sections of the line. The codast
weather known ranged from 80 to IS deg.
below zero. The average of winter cold
| ranges but little below zero. The atmos-
phere is very dry and the snowfalls are
light. Blizzards and even high winds are
unknown. This would greatly help rail-
road operations in severe weather.
Prince Hlkoff. who is at the head of one
of the internal departments of the Russian
government, during his recent visit to the
United States gave a favorable account of
the progress of Siberian railroad construc-
tion He said that Immediately after the
completion of the road it will be possible to
make the circuit of the earth in thirty
three days After the track is settled and
all improvements made the time may be
reduced to thirty days.
II is now possible, if close connections
are made, to go around the world in sixty
six days. The approximate time table is as
fellows:
N.u, vor,, 70 sout,onntOn lsto,,,,or, Days
Southampton TO Brindisi, Italy, via
Paris (steamer and raiD................ 81.
Brindisi to Yokohama, via Suez Red
Yokohama to San Francisco (steamerj. 10
San Francisco to New York (raiD ........ A.:
ICldl .bO
l After the opening of the Siberian railway
the long journey by rail from Paris tc
Brindisi and by steamer from Brindisi by
7 way of Suez and the Red sea to Yokohama
now requiring forty-two days. will be un,
necessary. The new rail and steamer route
, around the world will be as follows:
: Days
l Bremen to ST. Petersburg IraiD. ........... II
st. Petersburg to NladeVerta rail,
, thirty miles an hour r).....................10
Nladeverta to San Francisco............. 10
{ San Francisco to New York............... A.
| 1Olal ......-.............-..... -.....Sj
OF course, such a hurry -scurry as wouli
be required in getting around the world il
3 thirty or thirty-three days, or even i,
siNty-six days. is seldom or never prac
S ticed. 1t would be useless for either bust
ness or pleasure. 1t might be done on
: wager.
/ But the remarkable triumph of science
and enterprise in producing this route O
: travel marks an era in the history of civil
0 iZntion.