254 siijKuiA. 



Tlio continuation of tlio Sibf;ricin railway from Sretcnsk situatod on the Sliilka, a trib- 

 utary of tlie Amoni-, up to tin; town of Khabarovka standing on the right bank of this latter 

 liver, a total distani;i' of 2,000 versts, has not beon thoroughly investigated in detail, and 

 only some slight roconnoitcring has been done, which shows that from verst 4,'dbO to verst 4,000 

 the line will have to be laid along the valleys of tho Shilka and Amour. Further on, the line 

 may be shortened by diverting it from the Amour and crossing it at verst G,350 on a bridge, 

 1,200 sagcnes long. The construction of the line will be subject to the same topographical 

 conditions as the line of Mysovsk-Srctensk, besides which the construction of the line of 

 Sretensk-Kliabarovka will be rendered more difficult by the completely desert nature of the 

 country covered with dense virgin forests, the silence of which has never been broken by the 

 voice of man, especially in those places where the line diverges from the Amour where 

 there is a total absence of any habitation or means of communication, and likewise in con- 

 sequence of the necessity of conveying workmen and all ready-made railway appliances from 

 European Russia by a circular route across the Pacific Ocean. 



After crossing the Amour the line for a distance of 400 versts follows the valley of 

 the river Ussuri which falls into the Amour and makes the boundary between the Russian 

 and {'liiiiese cnipire.s. The valley of this river is by no means wide and the numerous streams 

 falling into the Ussuri separated by high spot summit levels, formed by the branches of the 

 Sikhotce-Alin chain, entail a large amount of constructive works. The largest bridges are 

 planned at versts 6,445, C,585 and G,697 across the Khor, Bikiu and Imau rivers; they will 

 be each 120 sagenes long. In some places the track approaches the edge of the Ussuri and 

 it will be necessary to support the slope of the earth work. At verst 6,755 the line crosses 

 the Ussuri river on a bridge 120 sagenes long. Further on, the line follows the foreland of 

 lake Khaiika and the valley of the Lefu river which falls into this lake before reaching the 

 Xikolsk station at verst 6,982. Starting from this station the line runs along the valley of 

 the Suyfun river, sometimes traversing places submerged by the waters of that river, and 

 sometimes crossing the branches of the mountain chains approaching it: in these cases it is 

 necessary to lay the track with an incline of 0.015, whilst the gradients on the whole of the 

 other part of the line from Khabarovka to Vladivostok do not exceed 0.008. The line issues 

 from the valley of the Suyfun river and passes on to the shore of the Ouglov aud Amour 

 gulfs, terminating at the town of Vladivostok, the station being situated on the shore of 

 the bay of the Golden Horn. The total length of the Siberian railway from Cheliabinsk to 

 Vladivostok along the main line is 7,083 versts, and 7,112 versts including branch lines to 

 the principal rivers intersecting the main road. 



For superintending the work of laying down the railway aud in accordance with the 

 gradations to be observed in its construction, the line is to be divided into seven sections: 

 the Western Siberian from > Cheliabinsk to the river Obi, including branch lines 1,328 versts; 

 the Central Siberian from tlie Obi to Irkutsk, 1,754 veists; the Baikal circuit from Irkutsk 

 to the pier of Mysovsk on lake Baikal, 292 versts; the Transbaikal from Mysovsk pier to 

 the town of Sretensk on the Shilka river, 1,009 versts; the Amour section from Sretensk to 

 Khabarovka on the Amour, 2,000 versts; the Xorth-Ussurisk from Khabarovka to the vil- 

 lage of Grafsk, 347 versts; and the South Ussurisk from Grafsk to Vladivostok, 382 versts, 

 or 7,112 versts in all. 



