Photo by A. W. Greely 

 TYPICAL pioneers: YOUNG, VIGOROUS, AND AMBITIOUS 

 In the background are the women and children in the triple-decked emigrant cars 



traffic, to suit the changing conditions of 

 the mountainous country to the east, and 

 especially to provide for the exigent de- 

 mands involved in the transportation, 

 feeding, clothing, equipment, and opera- 

 tions of armies of hundreds of thousands 

 of men. This road is being gradually 

 brought up to European standards. Much 

 work was progressing in the direction of 

 reduced grades, modified curves, im- 

 proved alignment, and other betterments. 

 Enlarged sidings and yards, improved 

 freight facilities, and extended sections 

 of double track are adding greatly to the 

 transporting capacity of the road. 



It may be added that in the year 1910 

 the railroad transported 1,869,183 passen- 

 gers an average journey of 975 miles, 

 and 7,508,675 tons of freight — military, 

 private, and service. The rolling equip- 

 ment is being increased, and beautiful, 

 powerful locomotives of various types — 

 wood, coal, and oil-burning, as economy 

 demands — were in evidence. As will be 

 shown later, the accommodations and 

 facilities for passengers are excellent. 



THE TRANSBAIKAL RAILWAYS 



Excluding the main Manchurian stem 

 (which across North Manchuria is or- 

 ganized and technically known as the 

 Eastern Chinese Railway), there are 

 three Russian branches to the Transibe- 

 rian Railway. The original plan looked 

 to a system entirely within Russian terri- 

 tory, and the perfection of this scheme 

 caused two roads to be built — one of 178 

 miles, from Karimskaia to Stretensk, on 

 the Chilka River, and the other of 337 

 miles, from Nikolsk, near X'ladivostok, 

 to Khabarovsk, on the Amur. Stretensk 

 and Khabarovsk, it may be added, have 

 intercommunication by river steamers 

 during the navigable season somewhat 

 irregularly, about once a week. 



By far the most important branch is 

 that toward China proper, which by a 

 road 139 miles in length from Harbin 

 connects with the South Manchurian 

 Railway system, of which the center is 

 Mukden. 190 miles farther to the south. 

 From Mukden there is one Japanese road 



1080 



