"ملخص للأحداث الرئيسية. ١٩٠٨" [و‎‎١‎٨] (١٥٦/٤٠)

affected The severe snowstorms of February continually blocked the line
between Aktyubinsk and Chelkar and between Iletsk and Orenburg, and it was
only with the greatest difficulty that passenger traffic was kept open during this
month while goods traffic was practically suspended as the number of engines
was insufficient to provide the two engines to each train which were required at
the time In April, when melting snows caused floods on the Sir Darya, the line
aoain was interrupted between Orenburg and Aktyubinsk. The most serious
interruption however occurred in July and A.ugust when the floods on the Sir
Darya, which are described as the worst for twenty years, caused a total suspen
sion of traffic for over a month. It is estimated that the resultant losses to the
railway amounted to oyer £160,000. The preliminary accounts for the year,
vide next page, show only a total loss of £95,000; thus had it not been for the
floods some £60,000 profit would have been made.
The urgent necessity of re-aligning the Turkistan-Perovsk Section of the
railway, which is the sole means of preventing an annual recurrence of the
breaches to the line, was engaging the attention of the authorities at St. Peters
burg; in September. During that month the “ Novoye Vremya stated that a bill
was to be presented to the Duma asking for a further grant of £3x5,000 for the
reconstruction of the line and that work was to be commenced at once. In
October the same paper reported that a special committee had lelt St. leteisburg
to carry out preliminary surveys of the new alignment.
Other cases of interruption of a minor nature were as follows:
On the 19th. February a severe snow storm destroyed a number of the telegraph poles on
the Jusala-Razabnsk section, and the attempt to run trains without telegraphic communica
tion resulted in a general dislocation of traffic.
On the 6th March, owing to a broken or intentionally loosened rail which was concealed
under a snow drift, the Orenburg-Tashkent mail train was derailed and wrecked between
Berchogur and Karaganda. Twelve persons were killed and 36 more or less seriously injured.
On the 24‘th 25th April traffic was interrupted between Besh-Arik and ALuna by
torrents, caused by melting snow.
On the 16th June a collision at Tashkent between a passenger and a goods tram damaged
the line and destroyed several goods wagons. ^ ^ ,
On the 13th September a passenger tram was derailed between Darbaza and Keles.
In the middle of October Hoods on the Sir Darya endangered the safety of the embank
ment near Kamishli Bash station.
Many of these accidents and interrupt ions are apparently attributed by the
authorities to ignorance on the part of subordinate railway employes, and in
March it was reported by the Turkistan News that a special committee was to
assemble in that month to examine railway servants in their knowledge of
their duties and that this examination is in future to be an annual one.
Bridals The frequent wash-outs that have occurred between Besh-Arik
and Sauran, a distance of 16| miles, have necessitated the construction of a
series of br.daea over this section at a cost of some £o,300. These bridges were
rnmoleted in the course of the year, and it was hoped would prevent a recurrence
of interruptions to this portion of the line by floods in the future, but see above,
Turkistan-Perovsk section.
Bollinq.stocJc.— Vide also this sub-head under the Central Asian Railway
nn r>a°‘e 22 According to the 1908 summer time-tables that are issued, ap-
mrentlv confidentially, to the Railway Staff, the total number of engines avail-
able on the Tashkent Railway, which officially extends from Kmel to Tashkent,
a distance of 2,090 versts or 1,385! miles, is as follows
(a) In time tables —2 postal ; 2, or now that the tri-weekly service
V ; has been altered to daily (see below) 4, passenger ; 4 military ;
2 emigrants ; 2 mixed ; 11 through*goods ; and 85 local goods ;
giving a total of 110 ;
(h\ Not in time-tables .—2 passenger and mixed ; 4 for service of
line ; 20 ballast and workmen’s; 4 station ; and 6 reserve;
giving a total of 36 ;
• * a owand total of 145. But at the end of 1906 the number of engines was
stated officially to he 150 with 1,600 goods-wagons. These latter have been