The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-01-12

road Mr.. Greener says:
THE Sibirski ListOk' contains some
interesting remarks about the building
Of the Siberian railroad CT which the fol-
lowing is a summary:
In the haste OF construction and the
anxiety to get everything cheap, on both
the Siberian and the Trans Baikal lines.
a special kind OF light rails. weighing
twelve pounds to the foot instead Of the
usual twenty-four pounds to the foot, was
used. Wooden bridges were built wher-
ever it was possible. and crossings were
made far apart Under such conditions,
quick travelling on the road IS almost an
impOssibility. and more than twenty miles
an hour cannot be made Only one pa
senger and two freight trains a day are
run.
To add TO the danger they have put on
the line one Of heaviest engines in exist
ence-the compound system. The light
weight Of the rails. the steep inclines. and
the high gradings combined make travelling
risky. On steep iucliues. the compound
runs at rate OF nifty veTsts (thiTty-t three
miles, an hour, turning the rails. out. and
there is no way of stopping it At the
station of Poloviuoy. eleven cars were thus
destroyed.
HrrOnNtrufNtUn NeCehAuFN-
In such a condition do we find the
Siberian Railroad at the present time. Fast
travelling is impossible as the rails are too
light while on the other Land, slow
travelling can not be always controlled. as
the heavy engines can not be held back
on the inclines. The committee, of
MchalOvsli have come to the CONCLUSION
that everything must be reconstructed. But
this will cost a great sum Of money on
the -Baikal line alone there will have
TO be spent NOT less than 100000 rubles
tS7.T25. 000I. almost 80 per cent of the en-
tire cost of the line; on the whole Siberian
Railroad there will have 10 be spent not
less than 10000 rubles (S25. 80 0g0l
The lightweight rails must be put aside
and wooden bridges turned into fTCwOOd.
everything must be rebuilt and the num-
Der OF stations increased
Another newspaper. the 'Dalny NOstOk'
says,
Opinions about the Great Siberian
Railroad vary widely; We think that its
general plan is excellent. but there is room
/ for Improvement
On account Of economy the road was
/ built very light. little ballast being used In
many places. rails on the western half Of
/ the road. especially, weigh not more than
/ . Kilograms l529 pounds 20 the metre.
/ thus making IL dangerous for speed,
. travelling.
Further. the engineers thought it ad
! visable 10 lay the line on marshy ground
| instead OF on the ueighbOring highlands,
I where the ground is solid and firm, and in
the near future il will have to be relaid.
( In some districts. again. a mistake was
committed in the choice OF the direction or
/ the line TOmsk the capital OF western ST.
! IBERIA. was left so versJs t5& miles, on the
/ side, aud connected with the railroad by a
I bad road. Further. in order 20 foster home
/ trade. the movable supplies and rails were
Z ordered principally from Russian iron
! works in the Ural districts, and they cost
/ twice as much as II they had been obtained
/ IN England A great deal Of material was
/ provided In advance and rOtted before il
| was used.
The general cost Of the Great Siberian
| Railroad is estimated to be $50. 600 .OCo ru-
bles tslS0. $50 Oe0l. including 1lS.000.OC0 ru-
Llcs $3.50 40. 900, for the construction Of he
Amur line from SJretinsk to khabarofsh
I which project has been changed by the
building Of the Manchurian line. The last
T viii cost 100 coo. coo rubles 1871. 500. 00Ol.
10 is true that the Manchurian Railroad Is
constructed by a joint stock company. but,
| as most OF the shares are in government
hands the greater part Of the money must
come from the Government treasury.
&c The cost of one mile Of railroad is
calculated at about $4,000 rublos G1S.025
I for the West Siberian division; 1000 ru-
/ hles ISIS. I5Oj for the Trans Baikal and Us
suriau line. The construction Of the rail-
/ road in North America under similar cir
I cumstauCes cost a great deal less than the
| above-meution cd sums. and yet these are
I calculated Tor 1891 The real cost will
be probably increased 10 about 10000 600
! rubios $50 600 .OOOl more. or g. 600 rubles
/ 1894 300 per mile. for the Trans BailIal
line.