The Railway Conquest of the World

THE success with which San Francisco was brought within two or three weeks of Europe by means of the Union and Central Pacific railways prompted far-seeing individuals to aspire for a similar acceleration of travel around the other half of the northern hemisphere. This could be done by driving the iron road straight across Europe and Asia, and it was pointed out, in support of the scheme, that the industrial and commercial centers of western Europe would be brought within about a fortnight's journey of China.

The construction of a railway across Siberia was discussed for over half a century. In 1851 Count Mouraviev-Amoursky, the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, suggested that he should be brought into more immediate touch with the heart of the Russian Empire. He suggested that first a highroad should be built across the continent, upon which the iron rails should be laid later, thus converting the channel of vehicular and pedestrian traffic into a railway.

It was a brilliant idea, but like many other great schemes suffered from being premature. However, as Siberia developed, the building of independent railway lines in various parts of the country, to be connected together by short links, thereby forming a chain of railways stretching from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, was mooted frequently, The Government viewed the recommendations sympathetically, but nothing definite was arranged.

In 1869 the administrative authorities scattered throughout Asiatic Russia became so energetic in their demands for improved communication with western Europe that the