New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1918-06-01
STEEL LINK YIELDS
west WITH EAST
j. s. Locomotives Meet Caravans
From Interior Of Asia


East are meeting daily in the Orient,
where American-bui locomotives
connect at kalgan on the border Of
Mongolia with caravans from the far
interior of Asia.
Steel rails have broken the artificial
boundary Of the Great Wall of China
which remains only as a relic of the
past, while long trains go putting
through a tunnel underneath, bearing
to the sea priceless furs, rugs wool
and turquoise, and to the interior the
manufactured products Of the United
States and other foreign nations
The story of railroad development
in the Orient and the possibilities
open there to American enterprises
are set forth in a series of reports to
the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic
Commerce by Frank Rhea, formerly
connected with the Pennsylvania rail-
road and the General Electric COM
pany, who recently returned from
tour as special agent through China,
Japan, the Philippines, New Zealand
and Australia.
In all China there are only $500
miles of railroad, of which $500 miles
are Chinese government lines. Most
of the railroad development has been
in north and central China. All eX-
cept one of the government lines are
American type, of the standard four
feet, eight and one-half inch gauge,
and on the line to Kalgan which
pierces farther into the interior than
any other, so of the sc LOGON motives
are merican-made. Giant Mallet
compound engines, each with a trac-
tive effort of $4,000 pounds, parallel
the Great Wall to Ching-Lung- Chiao,
then pass beneath it until they meet
the east bound caravans of camelS,
gaily caparisoned Mongol horses and
the queer amel-drawn carts of Mon
golia at Kalgan, which is one of the
strangest and greatest markets of the
world.
Japan has about 5000 miles of
railroad which cost 100000 a mile to
build through the steep mountains Of
Nippon. All of it is government
owned and organized on a military
basis, like the German roads, each
employe having distinct rank and be-
ing responsible to his superiors like
a soldier Many electric lines are be-
ing built in Japan. Locomotives and
electrical equipment have been pur-
chased from the United States, but
freight and passenger cars have been
bought largely in England or built at
home, because the roads are of three
feet six inch gauge. The Japanese
government is considering widening
the railroads to standard gauge as
military measure at a cost equal to
the original construction.
In the Philippines American equip
ment has been used except on the Is
land of Luzon, where the railroads
were built by British capital. All the
roads are organized on the English
system. In the hill country of the is
lands where official society spends the
hot season American motor BUSES are
used
Australia and New Zealand have fol-
lowed their mother country in build
ing railroads. A peculiar feature of
the Australian roads is that, in the
total of $4,000 miles, there are three
different gauges, and in only one in
stance do any two states have con-
Meeting lines of the same gauge. A
traveller from Brisbane to Perth must
change cars eight times.
The disadvantage of different track
widths in the Orient was strikingly il
Illustrated when there was talk of Jap
an undertaking operations against the
Germans in Russia. In discussing
plans it was brought out that the
railroad from Port Arthur to Dairen
which the Japanese forces probably
would use to reach Chang Chun, the
connecting point with the trans-con-
tinental line, is five feet three inches
wide. Trains cannot be transferred
from one line to the other and in any
operations there would be much loss
of time in unloading and loading
equipment.
Great difficulty also was experienced
in ADAPTING for American Use loco