East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1904-11-25
Costly Railroad Around
Lake Baikal

large sheet of water, one of the big
gest lakes I'm the world, has had to ,
be traversed by various means, ac-
cording to the season of the year;
by steam ferry. ice-breaker, and,
when the ice was strong enough. by
carriage; and finally, since the out
break of the war, by a railway laid on
the ice.
This line around the lake has been
under contemplation from the out
set but the natural conditions of the
country through which it had to
pass offered multitude of obstacles
to the engineers. and several distinct
plans have been under consideration.
This should be taken only as apply
ing to the section as far as Kultuk,
beyond which place the direction of
the line was decided upon as early as
1899, while the former section could |
not be taken in hand till 1901.
The railway was not expected to be |
ready before the beginning of next |
year, but the work has progressed
so fast since the beginning of the
war that it is now practically COM
piete. Although water supply and
the full complement of sidings allow
of IA trains per day in each direction,
it was proposed to run only seven
trains a day in each direction and to
use the ferry, the arrangements for
which have been improved, as
kind of auxiliary and reserve.
Where the Line Runs.
The line evidently chosen is the
one proceeding from the station call
ed Baikal to Kultuk, and from thence
to what is now the town of Mysso-
wek, along the shore of Lake Baikal.
Proposals were made in favor of an
alternative line passing over the ele-
waited country beteween Irkutsk and
Kultuk, which at places rises more
than 1000 feet above the level of
Lake Baikal, which is again some
1000 feet above the sea.
Among the reasons why this plan
was discarded were the heavy gradi
ents, in some places over IT per
cent; and the unfavorable quality of
the rock. The total length of the
shore line which was eventually
chosen is 24S versts, the calculated
expenditure is 52,523,695 rubles,
part of the aggregate expenditure in
Guiding some works connected with
the extension of the harbor at Tan
choi, which materially increases the
capacity of the ferry traffic.
The railway is thus the most ex-
pensive line ever built within the
Russian empire, and the one which
has presented the most serious en-
Il gineering difficulties, it's building ne
i cessitating a large number of special
d" constructions, such as tunnels
: bridges, viaducts, etc. The coast OF
u Lake Baikal, from the mouth of the
river angara to Kultuk, a distance OF
( some so versts, is very mountainous
: the rocks in many places leaving but
! a narrow strip of foreshore, while in
others they descend sheer into the
lake, rising to a height of 1000 feet
{ above the level of the water
Many Tunnels and Bridges.
q These mountains are, besides, IN
a many places intersected by awkward
r. cretIces and clefts on this section
II of the line there are no fewer thar
g 32 tunnels, in addition to which there
l., are 21O bridges, viaducts, special sup
" ports The railway, like huge snake
e crawls along the side or makes it!
way through the mountains i'm a va
q riety of twists and bends, at one plac,
If having to cross an inlet of the lake
IT II has often been necessary to tax,
= special precautions against the fall;ni
20 ha ~ mic Of
n az the mountains in this region have
q been much affected by volcanic erup
tions. Water is apt to make its Wal
d into the tunnels from the same cause
= The looseness of the rock in many
d places has also necessitated the
Is brcking up of the tunnels to- fal
= greater extent than was originally
|, calculated. The amount of rock aiit
e earth work is enormous, the 'rmeI
e even reaching the figure of 10000
= cubic saschen 10000 cubic feeD pei
verst.
The other section of the new line
from Kultuk to Myssowek, runs ovel
an entirely different kind of country
and has in every respect been mucf
: easier to build, nor has there beer
any wavering as to its direction.
Beyond Kultuk the mountains OF
the whole recede further from .ht
shore leaving ample flat land for th'
railway which, on the whole of thii
section, only passes one tunnel. Or
the other hand, several large streamI
have to be crossed, necessitating thu
building of bridges up to almost 50'
feet in length. The country is almos
ur inhabited and the soil is Away
frozen the mean temperature Of th'
year is half degree centigrade o
. frost The bridges are all built o
2 stone and iron, as are the viaducts
3 The railway has the ordinary Rus
. sian gauge and only one line Of rails
: but the tunnels are constructed wild
. enough for a double track. The traf
: fic. under ordinary circumstances, 1
> calculated to comprise seven train
: daily in each direction, a numbe
) which. however. as already men
toned, can be doubled. The maxi
. mum gradient is per cent lin tn
; tunnels considerably less), and tn
smallest radius of curve is about 1,
|. ! non faat