Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

___________________ ____________________________________________ RUSSIAN RAILWAYS IN CENTRAL ASIA. 381 about 40 miles to the north-west, was chosen in its stead, and a waste placg converted into a well-equipped harbour. In order to render the railway as self-supporting as possible, extensive workshops, capable of turning out all kinds of rolling stock, from a goods wagon to a locomotive, have been erected at Kizil Arvat, which a little more than a century ago was a stronghold of the barbaric Turco- mans. The sons of men who fought for the prophet with spear and flintlock are handy mechanics in the shops. This brief account of the Central Asian Railway should not close without reference to another great scheme—the Orenburg to Tashkent line—which, was completed in 1905. (See sketch map.) Orenburg, a fortified town of 60,000 inhab- itants, is situated on the river Ural. It has been said of it that if Peter the Great built St. Petersburg as a peep-hole into The Orenburg- gurope jie ugej Orenburg as Tashkent Line. a window to look into Asia. For two hundred years it has been the base for “ research ” expeditions into the heart of the continent, and also the terminus of the old posting road along which came the merchandise of Asia—silks, skins, and carpets—to be ex- changed for sugar, grain, and hardware of all kinds. When Orenburg was connected to Samara, on the Trans - Siberian Railway, a project was set on foot for building a line south-eastwards to .. Kazalinsk on the north- east of the Aral Sea, up _______ the Syr Darya valley to Perovsk and Türkistan town, and thence across the open steppes to Tash- kent. The route mapped out followed very closely KR48WOVODSK. MERV, and TASHKFAD. Distl E M Krannovodik...dp Kasandjik ........... KlsilArvad ...dep Askabad .... arr ,, ... dep 7 23 2a47 5 aO 11 aO 4 p48 lla28 ' 4 P21 _____ __________8 p31 ,,___(323a) ...dep 8 p58 Chardish .....arr 3 a33 ....7 a25 . ..arr I 4 p2 .dep!4 p22 • ----------------8 p36 1064 Cherniavo323Aarrllp35 ... i ,, .dep'12alS 1159 Tashkent! 319 arr 5 al5i< 16! 109 345 451 558 Dushak Merv ■■ .arr 9 14 6a48 9 a38 709 ............. 7*3 [Kagan (323a) 939 Samarcuna.... *• I ...... 1009 Dshisak_____ 5 p23 llp21 4 all 5 alO 1 p27 5 3a48 4 a 15 9a8 ]2pl9 1 plO 6 p30 E.MI I p.m. I I — Herr.......dep 9f30 ... 106 Sari-Jasi.....I 4 a6 ... 195|Koo«hk .....arr|9 a41| ... | t—Sun., Tue«., and FrLonly. the old posting road, and had the double advantage of passing through easy country and taking a course that for sentimental reasons appealed to the Slav imagination. Prince Khilkoff, who knew more about rail- way work than any other Russian living, took the matter in hand with his characteristic energy. Construction was begun at the Euro- pean end and pushed ahead vigorously, and in 1901 the engineers began operations north- wards from Tashkent. In 1904 the two sec- tions met, and the following year the line was opened for passenger traffic. Great was the joy of the inhabitants of Tashkent, for the new railway put them within seven days’ journey of St. Petersburg, as compared with, the twenty-two days’ journey by road and rail which previously had been the alternative to travelling 1,500 miles to the Caspian, cross- ing to Baku, and thence taking rail northward. Their rejoicing was shared by the people of Merv and Fergana, who now had a second- outlet for their" cotton. Viewed from the strategic aspect, the railway is most valuable as a feeder for the large garrison at Tashkent, which is rapidly increasing the number of its European residents. One wonders, in fact, why this route was not adopted in the first instance in preference to that from the Caspian. The future may see Tashkent put in com- munication with Omsk, to complete a triangle of .... which the Samara-Oren- burg-Tashkent line and the Samara-Omsk section of the Trans - Siberian Railway form the other _________________ two sides. Though much has been done, railway building in Central Asia is still in its infancy. Tashkent!...dep Chernijvo 6 30) 8 0 .......arr Ila38,1 al3 ...dep 12p25j 2 aO ......... 4 p2 4 a5'i .. ..arr 8 pts1 9 a8 ,...dep!9 p29 9 a28 .......I 6 a9 4 p29 .......I0a26 8 plO .......arr;6 p40 2 a46 ....dep 7 pl3 3 »20 .......1 a24 8 a20 ... arr.7 al9 1 p7 ., -.dep 7 a54 1 p35 KisilArvad......3 pl6 7 p3S Kasandjik .....6 p20 9 p54 Krainovodsk in 4 alO 6 a 16 Dshisak... Samarcand.. Kagan ....__ Chardish ... Merv ..... Dushak Askabad MERV and KOOSHIC E.M. — Cbernievo ... 119 ! Kokand......... 103 Audl«ban . IKooshk...dep 2 $19 ... ISari-Jasi .|7 p46 ... |Merv......arr|2 al5| ... । t—Mon., WeU., and Sat. only. CHKRAIEVO and i p.m. i a.m. . ino’n p.m. •dep; 2 6i 2 20 Andtahan.....dep!12 0 8 45 ...|9 p30'8 a36 | Kokand ...jfi p36 3 al3 .arr >3 »U2 pl3 i Cheraievo ___arr,llp24 10a i THE TIME-TABLE OF THE TRANS-CASPIAN RAILWAY AND ITS BRANCHES, (By courtesy of the Proprietors of Bradshaw's “Continental Railway Guide.")