The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

RAILWAYS.4G9long. Yet, nofcwithstanding all these facilities, the Yolga still remains unconnectedwith the Western Dvina, Xiemen, Dnieper, and Don, while the last named is alsoisolated from the Dnieper. All these canals are, moreover, constructed withlocks, and have an extreme depth of scarcely 6 feet.Far more developed is the railway system, notwithstanding the prejudices ofCzar Nicholas, who, however, so far yielded to the pressure of public opinion aswith his own hand to trace the rigidly straight line between St. Petersburg andMoscow. Since his death in 1855 the total length of rails has risen from GOO to252. Russian Railway System.Scale 1 : 217,000 000.E 3f 3E cf 314.117 miles in 1878, exclusive of the Caucasus and Finland, and representing acapital of about £250,000,000. The system has thus proved far more costly thanmight be expected from the nature of the land, where the only great engineeringworks are the bridges over the rivers, and the causeways across the marshydistricts.Most of the companies, being protected by the Government security forthe interest on their investments, have been able to dispose of a lavish expenditure,while about half of the capital belongs to the State. The Eussian network atpresent ranks fifth in extent, being exceeded only by those of the United States,Great Britain, Germany, and France ; but taking area and population into account,VOL. V. I I