Mines.
The only mines actually being worked at present are those at Fushun; others are in course of inspection.
Enterprises.-Working of various Railways.
When the railway was taken over, the old system was maintained till the Company had so far perfected its organization as to permit of the introduction of improvements. The actual period of working under the Company was from the 1st April to the 31st September, that is, 183 days. During the period under review the mileage open to traffic, including that carried on on the five miles between Changchun and Menchiatun, was 514 m. 14 ch.; on the Mukden-Antung line, 188 m. 56 ch.
The mileage covered by trains on the main line during this period reaches a total of 1,165,665 miles; on the Mukden-Antung line of 145,527 miles.
Passengers numbered 704,300, and the amount received in fares came to 174,833, the busiest periods being April and May, the slackest June and July. The latter are apparently two months during which little travelling is ever done, and in this particular year matters have been made worse by the heavy floods, which in many places caused all communication to be cut off.
Merchandize.
The amount carried was as follows:--
Tons £ Ordinary merchandize 11,544 228,715 Full-car loads 468,411 Total 479,955Page 7
The following Table shows the chief restoration work carried out to make good the damage done:-
Embankments repaired 2,997 tsubo Bridges, parapets, &c., repaired 227 Bridges and accessories repaired in 48 localities Track repaired 28 chains débris cleared 36 tsuboThis does not include ordinary repairs for the maintenance of the line. On the Antung-Mukden line maintenance of the track is an arduous task. This road was built hastily during the war for military purposes. It runs, too, through a difficult and inaccessible country full of steep gradients, while the bridges, which number 450, are only temporary structures, which, since the three years they have been standing, have for the most part become rotten. Nor are matters made easier by the frequently recurring floods, particularly those of the last summer. For instance, the bridges and embankments north of Pensihu were destroyed in this way on the 12th June last. Scarcely was the work of repairing completed, when two days of heavy rain in August, causing the rivers to rise from twelve to seventeen feet, undid all the work done; twenty-seven bridges were washed away, and almost incalculable damage done to earthworks, culverts, &c. The result was suspension of traffic for some time, for, notwithstanding the energetic manner in which repairs were pushed forward, it was not till the last day of September that the whole line was free again.
The following Table gives statistics of the work done to repair damages of this kind:
Embankments, &c., repaired 680 tsubo Bridges (temporary) repaired, Culverts repaired 3,723 feet Covered drains repaired 3 places Track débris cleared 13 chains relayed 242 tsubo 1 m, 32 chFreight charges
The principal articles transported were as follows:-
Classification Quantity Classification Quantity Tons Tons Rice 9,685 Flour 6,661 Wheat 1,086 Beans 47,458 Bean-cake 2,862 Tobacco 1,040 Miscellaneous cereals 22,718 Paper 1,767 Salt 13,760 Lime 3,360 Sake 4,186 Dyes and chemicals 1,137 Cotton yarn 837 Cars and their materials 1,875 Silk and cotton tissues 7,335 Lumber 22,039 Earthenware 1,058 Marine products 2,969 Copper and iron goods 8,872 Provisions 3,415 Firewood 1,152 Bones (cattle) 1,024 Kerosene 1,607 Stone materials 8,574 Coal 47,618 Building materials 91,518 Fruit and vegetables 3,950 Rails 4,756 Sugar 3,010 Sleepers 15,510There were taken over with the railway 302 locomotives, 145 passenger cars, and 4,476 goods cars, making a total of 4,923.
There are at present in the Company's possession 307 locomotives, 289 passenger cars, and 4,507 goods cars, making a total of 5,103.
Details are as follows:-
Main Line Taken over in April Now in existence Increase or Decrease Locomotives- Narrow gauge 6-wheeled tank, B 6 30 8-wheeled tender, F 2 30 Total 220 Broad gauge- American A 10-wheeler F 190 217 3 Consolidation H 422 +++ Total 8 +2 Passenger cars- Special bogie 3 8 +8 2nd class 128 2 3rd class 100 100 +100 4th class 259 +114 Mail cars 12 12 Water tenders 10 15 +13Maintenance of the Line.
Considerable damage was done to the line during the past summer owing to the unusually heavy rains and to the floods therefrom resulting. In particular, on the 17th July, bridges, embankments, &c., were swept away in numbers, and for a short time communications were suspended. Again, during the heavy floods after the extraordinary rains on the 5th August, two bridges over the Fuchow River were destroyed, and parts of the neighbouring embankment swept away. On the 17th of the same month another flood took place, destroying the work but recently repaired. On this occasion the line was not restored till the 27th of the month. Altogether train traffic was suspended for twenty-one days.
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(To be continued)