The Trans-Siberian Railway and the Problem of Soviet Supply
Author(s): A. J. Grajdanzev
Source: Pacific Affairs, Vol. 14, No. 4 (Dec., 1941), pp. 388-415
Published by: Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2752258 .
Accessed: 18/06/2011 10:22
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless
you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you
may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.
Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at .
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ubc. .
Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed
page of such transmission.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend
access to Pacific Affairs.
http://www.jstor.org
11E
0
i;;
eIJ
0-
>~
0,
-ngt
W.I
3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~4
~~~~~~~~~~.
(DW
Li
THE TRANS-SIBERIANRAILWAY AND
THE PROBLEM OF SOVIET SUPPLY
A. J.GRAJDANZEV
oftheGerman-Soviet
warhasgivenenormous
military
importance
to theinnercommunications
betweenAsiatic
and EuropeanRussia.The commitment
of the UnitedStatesto
supplyaid to theU.S.S.R.maymakethequestionof Soviettransportation
vital.In WorldWar I TsaristRussiawas defeated
chiefly
becauseshe was an industrially
undeveloped
country,
dependent
uponoutsidesuppliesfromBritain,
Franceand theU.S.A. With
Turkeyalliedto theKaiserherbestlinkwiththeouterworldwas
cut off.The Balticsea was blockadedby Germany;Murmansk
portin thenorthwas connected
withSt. Petersburg
by a hastily
builtrailwayonlyin the courseof the war. The Trans-Siberian
Railwaywas single-tracked
in its easternpartand its freight
capacitywas low.Vladivostok
and Murmansk
becamethechiefports
of supplies,
but the trickleof supplieswas not sufficient
to save
the empirefromcollapse.
In WorldWar II theeconomic
situation
of SovietRussiais very
different.
The U.S.S.R.has becomea greatindustrial
Powerwith
herownproduction
oftanks,airplanes,
automobiles,
etc.This does
not mean,however,
thatthe U.S.S.R. is not in need of foreign
supplies:(i) a considerable
partofEuropeanRussiahasbeenoccupiedbyGermany,
whileproduction
in Leningrad
and theUkraine
is presumably
fromdifficulties
suffering
in supplying
rawmaterials;
has at herdisposaltheindustrial
(2) now thatGermany
resources
of almostall Europe,anyincreaseof war suppliesto theU.S.S.R.
is welcome-themorethebetter;(3) economicself-sufficiency
as
reachedbytheU.S.S.R.in i939 was boughtat a highprice:substitutescreatedforproducts
unavailable
in theU.S.S.R.are oftendefectiveor too expensive,
rubber.Tin,
as, for example,artificial
somekindsof refined
rubber,
are
oils,
normally
imported
by the
SovietUnion.SincetheWestern
Ukraineis occupiedbytheenemy,
< 389>>
THE
COURSE
PacificAbfairs
othershortagessuch as sugar are inevitable.Thus, the importation
urgent.
of suppliesfromoverseasbecomesincreasingly
What routesare now open? The Baltic Sea is closed more completelythan in I9I4-I8, because Denmark and Norway were in
thoseyearsneutraland Finland was in Russian hands. The Black
remainsopen so long as Turkey is neutral,but
Sea theoretically
occupationof Aegean islands by the Axis has in fact closed this
route.There remainnow two routesused in World War I, Murmansk-Volkhovstroi
and Vladivostok-Moscow;a third one, via
Iran, has been opened by militaryaction.Iran (Persia) was occupied by the Allies in the last war, but the Trans-IranianRailway
had not yetbeen builtand thisroutecould not thenbe effectively
used. Let us comparetheseroutes:
COMPARISON OF THREE ROUTES
(in Kilometers)
New York-Murmansk-Volkhovstroi.... .
(I)
(2X) New York-Bandar Shahpur (Iran)-Moscow
(3)
Seattle-Vladivostok-Moscow ............
Sea Leg
RailwayLeg
about 7,000
about 2.3,000
I,32-6
about 5,000
8,ii6
9,337
This table shows that the best route for suppliesis New YorkMurmansk;it is the shortestof all. However, its defectsare (i)
dangerfromsubmarines:the routepasses along Norwegianshores
now in Germanhands*; (2) the railwayitselfpasses near the state
and may be cut by land forcesor by bombingfromthe air.
frontier
Under conditionsof peace between Japan and the U.S.S.R. the
is as safe as and much better
route Seattle-Vladivostok-Moscow
This is because the
than the route New York-Teheran-Moscow.
shortageof shippingis now more acute than the shortageof railis almost
way freightcars,and the sea stretchSeattle-Vladivostok
threetimesshorterthanthe routeNew York-BandarShahpur.
If, however,war were to break out between Japan and the
U.S.S.R., the Siberian railways would assume a quite different
significanceas suppliersof the Far Eastern front.
All this makes the investigationof the Siberian railwaysand
theircarryingcapacityextremelyimportant.
* [Note: Owing to the proximity
of Murmanskto the enemylines the port of
Archangelis being used as the terminusof this route,thoughit is not ice-free
duringthe winter.]
<<390 >>
The Trans-SiberianRailway and the Problem of Soviet Supply
HROUGHOUT this articlethe name "Trans-SiberianRailway" is
takento referto therailwayconnectingVladivostokon the Paa railwaystationon theeasternslopes
cificOcean withChelyabinsk,
of the Ural Mountains.This railwaystationis usuallyconsidered
as on the borderlinebetweenEuropean Russia and Siberia,though
the monumenton the line "separatingEurope fromAsia" is to the
west of Chelyabinsk.The lengthof this line is 7,4I5 km. or 4,607
miles.
and technicalpoint of view
However, fromthe administrative
thereis no such thingas the Trans-SiberianRailway. Actually,it
consistsof seven railways,each of which includesmain lines and
branches.The seven railwaysare:
I. Far EasternRailway,fromVladivostokto Arkhara,with offices
in Khabarovsk.
II. AmurRailway,fromZhuravli(the firststationto the west of
in Svobodnyi.
withoffices
Arkhara)to Xenievskaya,
Railway) fromXeni"Trans-Baikal"
III. MolotovRailway(formerly
in Chita.
Zavod (works) withoffices
evskayato Petrovsky
IV. EasternSiberianRailway,fromKnizha (the firststationto the
in Irkutsk.
Zavod) to Taishet,withoffices
westof Petrovsky
(the firststato Vostochnyi
Railway,fromMaryinsk
V. Krasnoyarsk
in Krasnoyarsk.
tionto the westof Taishet) withoffices
to thewestofTatarsk,withoffices
VI. TomskRailway,fromMaryinsk
in Novosibirsk.'
VII. OmskRailway,fromwestof Tatarskto Makushino,withoffices
in Omsk.
An eighthrailway,the South Ural, operatesthat part of the
Trans-Siberian
fromMakushinoto Chelyabinskand pointsbeyond
in EuropeanRussia.
These railwayshave branchlines. The lengthof the important
lines may be seen fromthe followingtable:
I. Far EasternRailway,totallength,i,989 km.,2ofwhich:
themainlineis I,2I0 km.
(i)
1This accordingto the Soviet Handbook publishedin I938; a Japanesesource
in Tomsk.
publishedin I940 (Nichironenkan,
Tokyo), places the offices
timberline froma point between
2This does not includea recentlyconstructed
Khabarovskand Pereyaslavkato Obor, 30-40 km. long.
<<39I >>
(2)
(3)
Pacific Affairs
(connectingwith Manchuria),
Voroshilov-Pogranichnaya
I23 km.
Manzovka-N.Kachalinsk(connectingthe main line with
area to southof it),
Lake Khanka and richagricultural
I27
km.3
Vladivostokwith coal
connecting
(4) Ugolnaya-Soochan-Latsis,
mines,I7i km.
(5)
connectingthe main line with the
Volochaevka-Komsomolsk,
Lower Amur, 354 km.
II. Amur Railway, total length I,498 km., of which:
the main line is I,283 km.
43 km., connectswith the Amur.
Bureya-Raichikhinsk,
(3) Kuibyshevka (Kievka)-Blagoveschensk, io8 km., connects
the main line with the mouth of the Zeya and the Amur,
a rich agriculturalarea.
Skovorodino (Rukhlovo)-Dzhalinda, 64 km., connects the
(4)
main line with upper reaches of the Amur.
38 km., connectsthe main line with
(5) Ushumon-Chernyayevo,
the Amur.
(6) It is reportedthata branchline froma stationnear Skovorodino runs I02 km. north to Tyrma where the B.A.M.
should pass.
(i)
(2)
III. Molotou Railway, total length I,530
km., of which:
the main line is I,OI5 km.
(2)
Kaganovich-Bukachacha,73 km., connectswith coal mines.
(3) Kuenga-Sretensk,54 km., on the Shilka River.
io km.
(4) Priiskovaya-Nerchinsk,
Tarskii
of
366 km., connectswith
(east
Karymskaya)-Otpor,
(5)
Manchuria.
about 20 km.
(6) Yablonovaya4-Mildygun,
(i)
IV. Eastern SiberianRailway, I,304 km., of which:
(i)
(2)
(3)
the main line is I,27i km
Angara-Ussolye,5 km.
28 km.
Cheremkhovo-Angara,
V. KrasnoyarskRailway, I,262 km., of which:
the main line is 803 km.
(i)
-'The Japanesesourcegives as its terminusTuryi Rog and the lengthI41
4As shown on the maps, may be near Yablonovaya.
( 392 >>
km.
The Trans-SiberianRailway and the Problem of Soviet Supply
(2) Achinsk-Abakan
(near Minusinsk),459 km.,connectswith
motorroad intoTannu Tuva and OuterMongolia.
VI. TomskRailway,2,305km.,of which:
(i)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(g)
(Io)
themainlineis 668km.
66i km.,connects
Novosibirsk-Semipalatinsk,
withtheSteppe
regionand further
withTurkestan,
via TurksibRailway.
Altaiskaya-Biisk,
147 km.,connects
withmountainous
region.
Lokot'-Ridder,
335 km., connectswith important
mining
region.
Yurga-Novokuznetsk,
378 km., connectscoal regionwith
steelworks.
266 km.
Novo-Sibirsk-Topki,
Yurga-Topki,
I04 km.
Novokuznetsk-Moondybash-Tashtagol,
I97 km. Lines from
hereserve
(5) to (8) and severalsmallernot mentioned
thenew industrial
regionof KuznetskBasin.
Taiga-Tomsk,88 km.,connects
Tomskwiththemainline.
Tomsk-Asino,
95 km.,connects
withnorth.
VII. OmskRailway,totallength3,304km.,of which:
themainlineis 905 km.
(i)
on the way to Tyumenand NorthernUral,
(2) Omsk-Vagai,
428 km.
504 km.,connecting
withgrainproducing
(3) Tatarsk-Pavlodar,
and cattlebreedingregionsof the south.
on Lake Balkhash,721
(4) Petropavlovsk-Pribalkhash-Bertys
km.,witha branchto Karsakpaiand Baikonur;connects
with grainproducingregionsin the south,with Karaganda coal minesand copperworks.
(5) Kurgan-Sverdlovsk.
8o6 km. (not includedin total),newly
(6) Akmolinsk-Kartaly,
built,connectsKaragandacoal mineswithMagnitogorsk
SteelWorks.
Almost all these lines were built as state railways;only a few
feederswere (before the revolution) built by private initiative,
but now all of themare staterailways.Most of the Trans-Siberian
Railway was built betweeni892 and i899, thoughthe Amur Railway was built before and during World War I. Many new
<<393>>
PacificAfairs
However,
lineswerebuiltor plannedin Siberiaaftertherevolution.
for our purposes(the problemof Trans-Siberiancommunication)
only a few of them are important.These lines are:
I. South Siberian Trunk Line, connectingMagnitogorskon the
and
withTaishetbetweenKrasnoyarsk
Ural (or Orenburg-Chkalov)
Irkutsk.The largerpartof thisline is in serviceas far as KartalyAkmolinsk.The partbetweenAkmolinskand Barnaulhas been surveyed and may be under construction;the part betweenBarnaul
that between Stalinsk and
and Stalinsk is under construction,
Taishet is being surveyed.The presentwar may postponeconthough on the other hand, if the flow of
structionindefinitely,
Americansuppliesgreatlyincreasesthe war may spur its completion.
II. Bai1al-Amur
TrunkLine ("B.A.M."),plannedin the First
startedin 1932, would connectTaishet
Five Year Plan and officially
withthe PacificOcean via northof Lake Baikal. The outleton the
Pacific will be SovietskayaGavan (Port) and, probably,another
portfacingShantarArchipelagoin the OkhotskSea. There is no
on thisline. Judgingby the factthatthe opendefiniteinformation
ing of the line was not announcedin the Sovietpressit is probable
thatthe line is not yet finished.An announcementthatthe line is
readywould be in the interestsof the Soviets,for it would deter
the Japanesefrom militaryadventuresin the Russian Far East.
the defense
Undoubtedly,this line would considerablystrengthen
of the Far East. The latestJapanesesourcessay that the state of
of this line "is not clear." But on the otherhand it
construction
seems definitethat the line was under constructionbetween
Taishet (the startingpointin the west) and Ust-Kut (on the Lena
was
River) as earlyas 1938; it is also known thatthe construction
of
line
in
In
Eastern
the
Molothe
Terminus
1938.
going on from
tov's reporton the Third Five Year Plan, it was mentionedthat
of this line would be speeded duringthe Third Five
construction
Year Plan. The sectionTaishet-Angarawas to be readyforexploitation during the action of the Second Five Year Plan, though,
again,no mentionof its openingappearedin the Sovietpress.The
B.A.M.'s lengthis estimatedat i,8oo km., much shorterthan the
southernpartof the Trans-SiberianRailwaybecause
corresponding
< 394>?
The Trans-Siberian
Railwayand the Problemof SovietSupply
the B.A.M. would followa more northernlatitude.Its cost is estimatedat 1,345 millionrublesor about 670,0oo rublesper kilometer,
is about 200-300,000 rubles.
while the averagecost of construction
This means that (I) topographicand climaticconditionsof the
(compare below conditionsof
projectedrailwayare verydifficult
watersupplyon theAmurRailway), and (2) thatit is builtat once
as a trunkline-with liberalprovisionsin everyrespect.If and when
lines crossthisline is finishedSiberiawill have two trans-Siberian
ing it in an east-westdirection.
mentionedabove, 354 km. long,
III. Volochaevka-Komsomolsk,
RailwaywithKomsomolskon thelower
connectstheTrans-Siberian
Railway
Amur.It is importantin thatit givesto theTrans-Siberian
a secondoutletto the Pacific: seagoingvesselsreach Komsomolsk
and ocean vesselsreach Nikolaevsk near the mouthof the Amur
so thatin the fiveand a halfmonthsof the yearduringwhich the
Amur is navigablethisline mayhelp to undo congestionof freight
in Vladivostokif need be. In this connection,the third Pacific
outletmay be mentioned:Ayan (to the southof Okhotskon the
OkhotskSea) is connectedby road with the upper reachesof the
Maya and steamersply on the Maya, Aldan and Lena to Ust-Kut,
mentionedabove,or even nearer;fromTommot on the Aldan an
leads
excellentroad suppliedwithmodernfacilitiesformotortraffic
southto the Amur Railway stationNever. There is no doubt that
thecarrying
capacityof Ayan-Ust-Kutand Ayan-Yakutsk-TommotSkovorodinoroutesis not large,and Ayan is frozenfromthe end
of Novemberto May. Nevertheless,under certainconditionsthis
routemay acquiregreatimportance,
forgoods of small
particularly
bulk and greatvalue,because the whole regionis richin gold, the
productionof whichreachesa veryhigh figure.The portof Ayan
but the bay is one kilometerlong and one
has no installations,
kilometerbroad,well shelteredfromthe winds and with a depth
of 6-38meters.
IV. Ulan-Ude (Verkhneudinsk)-Kyakhta,
a line the purposeof
to
Outer
whichis connect
Mongolia withthe Trans-Siberianroute,
startedin i936 and
has a projectedlengthof255 km. Its construction
was plannedto be finishedin I937 at a generalcostof 76.5 million
rubles,or 300,000 rublesper kilometer.Sovietnewspapersreported
<<395>>
Pacific Affairs
in 1939 thisline to be in operation.It was reportedin the Japanese
pressin I940 thatthisline is finishedup to Ulan-Bator(Urga). It
is clear that in case of war with Japan this line will be of great
importance.
V. The Turkestan-Siberian
Railway ("Turksib") connectsSiberia with Turkestan,but is importantalso because the railway
would becomea feedereitherof European armiesthroughSiberia
or of the CentralSiberia armiesfromEuropean Russia. It is true
thatthe routeis much longerthan the directTrans-Siberianroute
2,025
km.), yet under certainconditions
(Semipalatinsk-Tashkent,
it may be veryuseful.
From theabove it is clearthat,lookingfromwestto east two railway lineslead to Kurgan,two linesto Omsk, two linesto Tatarsk,
two lines to Novo-Sibirsk(the Trans-Siberianand the Turksib),
two lines connectNovo-Sibirskwith Taiga (or some stationnear
Taiga); but fromTaiga to the east thereis onlyone line to Vladivostok,if we supposethat the B.A.M. is not yet ready.From this
of the Trans-SiberianRailway is
it appears that the "bottle-neck"
its easternpart,especiallybetweenTaiga and Taishet, and UlanUde and Dzhalinda. Freightcomingfromtheeast (and vice versa)
may move from Taiga and Novosibirskfartherwest by several
routes;but thereis onlyone routebetweenTaiga and Taishet and
betweenUlan-Ude and Dzhalinda.
From Ulan-Ude freightin summercan move by water (the
Selenga,Baikal,the Angara) to BratskyOstrogwhichis connected
by rail withTaishet.BetweenKhabarovskand Dzhalinda forabout
seven monthsof the year the steamerscan ply and thus help the
railwayif thereis no war with Japan; but the above-mentioned
two portionsof the Trans-SiberianRailway-Taiga-Taishet and
if supplies can
Ulan-Ude-Dzhalinda (or Ulan-Ude-Karymskaya
come throughManchuria) cannot be supplementedby any other
route and theirfreightcapacityactuallydeterminesthe carrying
capacityof the Trans-SiberianRailway for freightcoming from
EuropeanRussia or,say,fromtheU.S.A.
< 396>>
The Trans-SiberianRailway and the Problem of Soviet Supply
1jTu
S
of theselines,of which
capacity
nowturnto thecarrying
the firstcorrespondsroughlyto the easternportion of the
Tomsk Railwayand to theKrasnoyarskRailwayand the secondto
theMolotov(Trans-Baikal) Railway.
The amountof freightcarriedby the Siberianrailwaysin i935
may be seen fromthe followingtable:
NAME OF
RAILWAY
TOTAL CARRIED, IN THOUSAND TONS
Total
ImportsExports Transit Local
Omsk.......
2o,28o X,879
I2_,048
3,3I0
Tomsk......
3,06i
29,829
5,448
9,987
886
East Siberia.
2-,732
2,I23
8,655
2,200
I,996
393
7,937
Molotov....
398 ......
Ussuri......
I,840
II,464
Total Siberianrailways 78,i65 .
. ... . ......
......
All other
railways... 3I0,368 ...... ....................
.
....
Total U.S.S.R. 388,533
2o,043
I1,334
2,9I4
3,348
9,2 2-6
......
MILLION
TONKILOMETERS
PER CENT
OF TOTAL
(Commercial
freight
only)
I5,5o6
I2-,853
7,059
6,I74
6,87
48,464
2og,602
..58,o66
6.o
5-0
2-.7
2-.4
2-.7
i9.8
8i.2
I00.0
The lengthof the Siberianrailwaysmade i5.5% of the totalnetthe same ratio
work of the Soviet Union in I938; approximately
holds truefor i935, the year under review.However,in thatyear
the freightcarriedby theserailways(in tons) was 20.I% of the
totaland in ton-kilometers
i8.7% of the total.In otherwords,the
on theSiberianrailwayswas heavierthanthe averageon the
traffic
pointsto the furtherinSoviet railways.All availableinformation
oftraffic
on theSiberianlinesafteri935:
tensification
and
1937
betweenI932
the freightsent by all railwaysof the Soviet Union in-
3.03
increased
creasedi.9 times;butthaton theSiberianrailways
times; the Third Five-Year Plan foresawan increaseof freight
movement
by I942 of 35-40%
forcentral
Russia(I937-I00%);
by 5o-55% for Western and Eastern Siberia and by ioo% for
the Far East. Thus therecan be no doubt that the share of the
of the SovietUnion in
Siberianrailwaysin the totalfreighttraffic
I940-I
has beenmuchhigherthanin I935. This maybe explained
lines were
by thefactthatabout one thirdof Sovietdouble-tracked
of the
the
total
has
been
as
length
mentioned,
in Siberia though,
<<397>>
Pacific Affairs
Siberianlinesin thesameyearwas lessthanone third.This question
will be touchedon later.
From the table given above, it is seen thatin i935 the Molotov
Railway carriedtwo milliontons in transit,and the East Siberian
Railway 2.7 million tons; all other railwayscarriedmuch more
freightin transit.'
in the
Taking into considerationthe general growthof traffic
SovietUnion in generaland in Siberiain particularsince I935, we
can estimatethe carryingtransitcapacityof the Eastern Siberia
Railwayand of theMolotovRailwayat not less than4 milliontons
yearlyin both directionsor 2 milliontons yearlyin one direction.
Some of the freightcarriedis badly needed by the localitiesand
cannotbe replacedby war materialsin case of war. On the other
hand, the analysiswhichis given below shows thata considerable
partof the locallyoriginatedfreightmay be replacedby war materialsif necessarywithouttoo greatprivationforthe populationand
for the normal functioningof local industries.This leads one
to the conclusionthat a minimumof 3 million tons of military
freightcan be sent annually along the Trans-SiberianRailway.
in anotherway. The Soviet
This conclusionmay be corroborated
per kilometerof
railwaysin I937 had a densityof freighttraffic
railwaysit should be not less
4.2 milliontons; for double-tracked
thanio milliontonsor,forI94i, notlessthani5 milliontonsin
both ways or 7.5 milliontons one way,of which at least half may
be given to militaryfreight.Or, it may be calculatedin this way:
Trans-SiberianRailway may permitmovement
the double-tracked
of 36 trainseach way.6The averageweightof trainnetin Siberiais
now more than iooo tons.At i,ooo tonsper trainthisgives 36,ooo
direction
ori3,140,000 tonsa year.Ifwe
tonsoffreight
dailyin either
then we
take half of thisamountas available for militaryfreight,
Railhave maximummilitaryfreightcapacityof the Trans-Siberian
5No transitfreightis shown for the Ussuri Railway because it is the terminus
line.
and the startingpoint of the Trans-Siberian
6 In the Russo-Japanese
War when the railroadwas not double-tracked
I2 trains
sectionof the railway
a day each way were used; in I9I4 on the double-tracked
as many as 34 trainsproceededin eitherdirection.But now the railwayis technicallyin a much bettershape than it was in I914, so that if necessaryeven 50
trainsa day in eitherdirectioncan be run.
<<398>>
The Trans-SiberianRailway and the Problem of Soviet Supply
way 6-7 milliontons.7Our conclusionis thenthatfreightcapacity
(for militarypurposes) of the Trans-SiberianRailway under existingconditionsis 3 million tons minimumand 7 million tons
maximum.It is probablynearerthe maximumthanthe minimum.8
The carryingcapacityof the Trans-SiberianRailway for transit
goods is not the same in eitherdirection.This can be explainedin
the followingway: The Trans-Baikaland the Far Easternregions
and manygoods forcivilianand
are not self-sufficient
economically
militaryconsumptionhave to be importedfromWesternSiberia
or even from European Russia, while in Western Siberia these
goods are found locally.Thus thereis a certainirreducibleminipurposeswhich must go to the
mum of freightfor non-military
east,leavingless forpurelymilitarypurposes.It is truethattraffic
from east to west from Novosibirskcarries many non-military
goods which are essentialfor the normal work of the industrial
citiesof the Urals and even of the Volga (grain, livestock,coal,
timber,etc.), and all thesegoods are verybulky.But,as has already
been mentioned,thereare severallines connectingWesternSiberia
with the Urals and the Volga so that for the largerfreightthere
are more lines capable of movingthis freightwest.
Let us now turn to an examinationof the compositionof the
freight.
The westernpart of the Trans-SiberianRailway carriesto
the west coal, coke, cattle,sheep,pigs, horses,butter,meat,vege7 It may be of interest
to note thatthe value of merchandise
sentfromtheUnited
Statesand othercountriesto Russia via Vladivostokand the Trans-Siberian
Railway
des VereinsDeutscherEisenwas about 45 milliondollars in I9I5 (see Zeitschrifz
bahnverein,1929). In this year the sectionVladivostok-Karymskaya
(throughManthe carryingcapacityof the Amur Railway,just
churia) was not double-tracked,
describedbelow
built,was small,so thatnow with all the technicalimprovements
and with the doublingof the whole route fromVladivostokto Chelyabinsk,the
carrying
capacityhas increasedmany times.
8The questionmay be raised here whetherthe installations
of Vladivostokwill
permitit to handle 6-7 milliontons of freight.The amountof freightof all kinds
handledby Vladivostokhas changedas follows (in thousandtons): I9I3-I,570;
Since then many improvements
1923-4-936;
1925-6-1,564;
I934-3,I07.
have
been made and it is reasonableto suppose that 5 million tons could be handled
withoutgreatdifficulty.
However,the portitselfpermitseven greaterimprovements.
Golden Horn Bay alone is 6 kilometerslong and 850 metersbroad with a depth
shelteredfromthe winds,and thisis onlya small partof
10-28 meters,completely
the area which may be used for purposesof reloading.The area of warehousesat
of theportwas 155,400
section
Egersheld
in 1934.
squaremeters
<(399>>
Pacific Affairs
tables,timber,firewood,chemicals,vegetableoils, cereals,hay, oilseeds. Some of these goods, such as butter,meat,cereals,oilseeds,
will be in greaterdemand in war timethan in peace timebecause
the numberof refugeesbetweenthe Volga and the Urals will be
large and the feedingof the army,so far as it will retreatfurther
to the Urals, will fall more and more on WesternSiberia. This
freightcannotbe cut; it should be and will be increasedin war
time.But the situationin respectto timber,firewood,and coal is
tonsof SiberiantimI,I70,000
In i938, forexample,
quitedifferent.
ber were actuallyexportedto European Russia, and meanwhile
358,ooo tons of timberwere exportedfrom European Russia to
CentralAsia. By a decreeof May I7,
i939,
theEconomicCouncil
forbadeexportof Siberiantimberto European Russia and of European-Russiantimberto Central Asia which now is supplied by
Siberia throughthe Turksib Railway.The averagelengthof haul
kilometers.
was 2.5-3.0 thousand
traffic
oftimber
But even moreimportantwas the exportof coal fromKuznetsk
basin to the Urals and otherwesternregions;71/2milliontons of
Kuznetskcoal wereexportedin thisway in I937, an amountwhich,
being eliminated,would permitexportto the west of enormous
quantitiesof war materialsto European Russia along the TransSiberianRailway.
The Ural regionsnow consume about 20 million tons of coal
a year,but theirown productionof coal was only 8.i milliontons
in I938, the balance beingimportedfromKuzbass and fromDonbass. But Karaganda coal mines are nearerby 678 kilometersto
Magnitogorskand Orsk than the Kuznetsk basin. In I938 they
producedmore than 4 milliontons of good quality coal and the
outputfor i942 is expectedto reach around 8 million tons,while
the capacityof newlybuilt mines will be i7-i8 milliontons. FormerlyKaraganda had not directcommunicationwith the Urals
and because of this Karaganda coal was at a disadvantageas
comparedwithKuznetskcoal. Now, aftercompletionof theAkmoline,the Karaganda coal has accessto the Ural induslinsk-Kartaly
trialregionsand severalmilliontonsof freightspace will be availothergoods. But thisspace may be made available
able forcarrying
by othermethodsalso: (i) increasingthe productionof coal and
<<400'>>
The Trans-SiberianRailway and the Problem of Soviet Supply
oil in the Ural regions; (2) economizingconsumptionof coal in
Ural metal works. The Alapaev steel works,for example,spend
0.478 tonsof fuelper ton of steel; Chusovoiworks,0.425; Magnitogorsk,only 0.I78, but the best worksin Russia spend o.i5o and in
the United Stateseven less. It is calculatedthata decreaseof 20%
in coal consumptionin steelworks of the Urals will save 6oo,ooo
tonsof fuel a year.There are also large reservesof naturalgas in
theUrals at presentalmostunused.These few examplesshow that
with certainchangesin methodsof work, changes quite possible
even in war time,the carryingcapacityof the Trans-SiberianRailway in an east-westdirectionwill be greatlyincreased.Let us see
whethersome savings are possible in another direction-westeast.
EasternSiberiaand theFar East importcereals,coal, oil products,
metals,machines,salt, sugar, textiles,cement.The productionof
cerealsin the east has greatlyincreased,but the rapid growthof
populationthroughimmigrationnullifiedthis increase and the
regionforthe nextfew yearsat least will remaingrain-importing;
the moreso in case of war withJapan,when additionaltroopswill
be sentto the Far Easternfrontand good grain-producing
areas of
The situation
will be threatened.
theregion,lyingnear the frontier,
in respectto coal is morefavorable.Rapid increaseof coal production in local coal minesmay freethe regionscompletelyfromdependenceon importedcoal.
With the growthof oil productionin NorthernSakhalin and
with the startof work in the Khabarovskrefineries
the regionis
less dependenton theimportof oil productsthanbefore.But (i) in
the event of war with Japan the demand for oil would increase
and importsshouldincrease;(2) theoil wells in NorthernSakhalin
neartheJapanese
aredangerously
frontier
(350-400
km.) and,more-
over,theymightsufferfromsea attackby the JapaneseNavy. If,
however,the Japaneseshould starttheiroffensivein winter,the
threatof a directattackby the navywill be eliminatedbecausethe
sea along the northernpart of the easternshorewill be frozen.
It is truethatoil has been foundalong the Maya and otherrivers
but it is doubtful
to the northof the regionunder consideration,
thatit can soon be exploited.
<<40I >>
Pacific Aflairs
Thus our generalconclusionshouldbe thatlargeimports(several
milliontons a year) of oil into the Far East would be necessary
in the event of war with Japan.And this is preciselywhere the
freightcarryingcapacityof the Trans-Siberian
Railwayin the westeast directionis importantforour investigation.
Importsof metalsand metal productsinto the Far East can be
expectedto fall somewhatbecause,accordingto the availableinformation, the Komsomolsk Steel Works, the PetrovskyZavod
(Works) are in operationand the works on the Angara (near
BratskyOstrog) are being finished.It is truethattheirproduction
capacityis not veryhigh (PetrovskyZavod-I5o,ooo tons,Eastern
Siberia-500,oootons); but the peacetimedemands of the region
are not large; in i939, for example,only 270,000tons of "black"
metals(iron and steel) wereimported,so thaton thisaccountlarge
savings may be secured.Importsof salt are now being reduced
because of the rapid expansionof the Ussolie and Ust-Kut salt
works,but the Far East properwill continueto importsalt and
it will hardlybe possibleto cut down importsof salt. Cementproductionin EasternSiberiaand theFar East is growingand imports
of cementare less urgent.But importsof machinery,
textiles,and
sugar will continueand cannotbe cut down. It is truethata sugar
is workingnow in theVladivostokregion,but itsproduction
factory
is a smallpartof thetotaldemand.
This shortenumerationshows that in the past few years the
of cuttingdown civilianimportsto give space formilipossibilities
tarysupplieshave increasedgreatlyin the Far East, thoughmany
essentialproductsshould be importedfromEuropean Russia and
WesternSiberia.
Connectedwith the problemof freightis the capacityof the
railwayto carrytroops.It has been mentionedabove that in case
of necessityeven 50 trainsa day eitherway can proceedalong the
Trans-SiberianRailway. Movementof troopsin the eventof war
Let us suprequiressuch intensivebut short-lived
passengertraffic.
pose that mobilizationand movementof troopsto the frontwill
take ten days, that 40 trainsout of 50 will carrysoldiersduring
theseten days.Fortytrains,50 cars per train (a quite feasibleand
even frequentlyreached numberof cars to the train in Siberia),
<<402)>>
The Trans-SiberianRailway and the Problem of Soviet Supply
40 men per car duringio days,give a total of 8oo,ooopersons;to
thismustbe added about 6oo,oootroopsstationedin the Far East,
about 300,000mobilizedin the frontierregionwho will reach the
by trucks,and about8oooo Mongol soldiersin OuterMonfrontier
golia, bringingthe total to about i.8 million men. Probablythe
activearmywill be even less. This calculationshowsthatthe facilitiesforsuch work are availablein Siberia (with the averagenumber of cars requiredabout 6,250 and the numberof locomotives
in the combat area, the
I25). Once the troopsare concentrated
at a rate,say,
problemwill be reducedto supplyingreinforcements
of 6,oooa day-about threesoldiers'trainsa day.
In I935 the numberof passengerstakingpassage on the Siberian
railwayswas as follows:
Region
Far East .... .....
EasternSiberia.
.....
Krasnoyarsk
WesternSiberia .
Omsk..........
Ofwhich
Total(in
thousands) Suburban
I0,573
5,II7
I'499
8,408
5,406
5,82.9
X,6o6
Others
4,744
2.5I1
I57
3,637
4,34'
I,3424,771
i,o65
If we deduct the suburbanpassengers,the Siberian railwaysin
1935
thenumberwas higher
Actually
carried14,432,000 passengers.
because this figuredoes not include those passengerswho started
journeysoutsideof Siberia but whose destinationwas in Siberia.
39.5 thousandpassengers,
The dailyaveragefor 1935 was therefore
or afterinclusionof transitpassengersabout 45,000 passengers.This
for I940. Of
figureshouldbe equal to about57,000 passengers
coursethesefiguresrelateto cases in which the averagelengthof
journeyis short,while in case of mobilizationand reinforcements
it would be verylong (probablyabout 2-2.5 thousandkilometers
on the average); however,thesepeacetimepassengerswere carried
of mobilized
only in passengercars while for the transportation
carswould be used as well. Thus our conclusionshould
men freight
of 8oo,ooomen in ten days or more to the
be that transportation
would not presentinsurmountableobstaclesfor the
battlefronts
at a rate of
Siberianrailways,while the arrivalof reinforcements
easy task.
6,oooa day would be a relatively
in an eastIn case the problemshould arise of transportation
?<403>>
Pacific Affairs
west direction(let us say, troopsmovingto the Urals), the same
in a relreasoningshows that large numbersmay be transported
ativelyshorttime,especiallybecausefromNovosibirskseverallines
may take themto the west.
use of a railroad depends largelyon the state of its
FFECTIVE
L equipment.The most importantsingle improvementin the
of lines.
in recentyearshas been thedouble-tracking
Trans-Siberian
by 1914, UlanThe line Chelyabinsk-Ulan-Udewas double-tracked
in I933-I935, UrushaUde-Urusha(I,570 km.) was double-tracked
and Khabarovsk-Vladivostok
(1,314 km.) in I934-1936,
Khabarovsk
in i936-1939. Thus the whole line fromVladivostokto Chelyabinsk
(through Khabarovsk, Svobodnyi,Chita, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk,
The Ural provincesare
Novosibirsk,Omsk) is now double-tracked.
also connectedby double-trackedlines with Moscow (southern
partially).
route) and Leningrad (northernroute,double-tracked
the double-tracked
However,one caveatis necessaryhereconcerning
Usually"doublelinebetweenKarymskaya-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok.
tracked"is understoodto mean a line withtwo trackswhichare laid
just far enoughapartto avoid the collisionof trainsmovingalong
The
both tracks.The situationin this case, however,is different.
in theSovietFar East compelled
technicalconditionsof construction
the engineersto constructvirtuallytwo lines whichin some places
fromone another.The writeris
pass at a distanceseveralkilometers
as to how oftenthe tracksare laid
not in possessionof information
of construction
difficulties
givenin
in thisway,but the description
Sovietnewspaperssuggeststhatit is quite frequent.If thisis so it
diminishesthewartimevalue of thelinebecausein case of difficulties
on one linethetrainscan be switchedto theotheronlyat therailway
line it is
station (while in the case of the usual double-tracked
comparativelyeasy to arrange connectionat any needed place).
in the Far
Incidentally,when the line was being double-tracked
East, in many cases both trackswere moved some distancefrom
the frontier;this applies particularlyto the sectionin the upper
reachesof theAmurand along theUssuriRiver.
There are no available statisticsof cars and locomotiveson the
Trans-SiberianRailway,theirtypes,carryingor tractioncapacity,
?<404>
The Trans-SiberianRailway and the Problem of Soviet Supply
etc. However,some estimatescan be made which are sufficiently
accurateforpracticalpurposes,i.e., if the totalnumberof cars,for
example,is 200,000, a mistakeof io,ooo cars is not veryimportant.
The Soviet railwaysare staterailways;uniformrules are applied
to them; the same locomotiveand car works are supplyingtheir
rollingstock; coefficients
of exploitationare comparedand efforts
made to bringthe lower to the upperlimit.Thus among the lines
a greateruniformity
should be expectedthan, let us say, in the
United States where different
railwaycompaniespursue different
policies.
If, then,we take the averagesand apply them to the Siberian
railwaysquite satisfactory
resultscan be expected.Of course,besides ton-kilometer
per kilometerof railwayone should take into
considerationthe terrainof the locality:more locomotivesof the
same tractionpower (and in some cases more cars) are necessary
to carrythe same amountof freightthe same distancein a mountainousregionthan on a plain. In Siberia many partsof the line
are mountainous.However, the Chelyabinsk-Novosibirsk
section
and sectionsalong the Amur and the Ussuri are more level than
the averagefortheUnion, whilethe characterof thefreight(bulky
productsas coal and grain exportedin tremendousamounts) permits more effective
use of the rollingstock: throughfreightsare
used in Siberia more oftenthan in any otherplace in Russia. On
the basis of ton-kilometer
distancerun on the Siberianrailwayswe
can expectthatin I940-I the numberof freightcars on the Siberian
railwayswas I20,000 (in termsof two-axlefreightcars), the number
of locomotiveswas about 4,200, and the numberof passengercars
was about 6,ooo.9
During the last ten years a radical change in the type of locomotivesused on the Sovietrailwaystook place. Formerlythe best
were:
types10
Locomotives
Freight
I500 HP
EM
II30 HP
So
Passenger
Locomotives
SU
I330
I-3-I
9 It is interesting
to note thata fewyearsafterconstruction
on the sectionChelyabinsk-Sretensk,
4,ooo km. long, there were 477 locomotives,175 passengercars
and 5,508 freightcars.
?But the usual typewas E.
<<405 >>
PacificAflairs
is chiefly
JS 3,030 hp, 1-4-2; the
Now the passengerlocomotive
FD 2,630 hp,I-5-I. As earlyas in I937, 38% of
locomotive
freight
all locomotiveswere the FD type.
The best effectiveuse of locomotiveFD is at a speed of 65
and of locomotiveJS at a speedof85-I05 kilometerkilometer-hours,
hours.It is importantto note thatFD and JS have manycommon
detailsand thismakes theirrepairseasier.The maximumspeed of
but streamlinedSU can develop a
SU is 80-9o kilometer-hours,
In the last few years therewas an
speed of i30 kilometer-hours.
experimentalproductionof a streamlinedlocomotive2-3-2 with a
and anothertype2-3-2 with a speed
speed of I5o kilometer-hours
but whethermass productionof theselocoof i8o kilometer-hours,
motiveshas begun is not known.
LocomotiveFD's power of tractionis i,8oo ton gross or I,200
ton net at the gradientof 9/i000 usual on Soviet railways;at a
gradientof 7/i000 (many old linesand thesenewlybuiltlineshave
such a gradient)FD's power of tractionis 2,200 tons gross,while
SO's power of tractionat such a gradientis 2,i60 tons gross or
that a new type
about i,450 tons net. ProfessorObraztsovaffirms
of linked (sochlenennyi)locomotivecan take 4,500tons gross or
3,000 tonsneton a 5-7/i000
FD andJSareequippedwith
gradient.
locomechanicalstokers.Mentionshouldbe made of Diesel-electric
motives (E-EL and VM-20), especiallyin Central Asia. For the
Far East special importanceshould be attachedto productionof
condenserlocomotiveSO. Its "condensinginstallationconvertsthe
steamdischargedby the cylindersinto waterto be used again for
steam.The originalwatersupplymay pass throughthe condensation processfromten to thirteentimes,providinga steadyflowof
pure distilledwater for the boilers; withouttakingwater the SO
locomotivecan run from620 to over i,ooo miles. It also reduces
fuel expenditureby I5 to 20 per cent."The chieffieldof its operation now is dryCentralAsia, but it is also used in the Far East
(see
where the water supply problempresentsspecial difficulties
below). The tempo of buildingthis typeof locomotivesis rapid;
in 1938 alone, 406 SO's were built.Needless to say thistypeof the
locomotivewill be especiallyvaluable in war time when water
supplyinstallationsmay be damaged in the war zone.
<< 6?>>
The Trans-SiberianRailway and the Problem of Soviet Supply
It is importantto note thatin 1935the total numberof locomotivesdeliveredto therailwayswas 1,495,of which1,123 were of the
FD type.The Third Five-YearPlan (I938-i942) in its finaldraft
period,
foresawan increaseof 8,ooolocomotivesduringthisfive-year
includingFD-I,5oo; JS-i,5oo; and other locomotivesof heavy
These figuressuggestthecharacter
typeor withcondensator-4,200.
of changesin the locomotivesof the Siberianrailways.
Until recentlythe Siberianrailwayswere dependentupon locomotiveworks in European Russia for the productionof locomoof the Kuznetsk Locomotive
tives.However,in I936 construction
Works (southeastfromNovosibirsk) was begun. Its planned ca230 million
pacityis 540 locomotivesand the cost of construction
rubles.It is clear that theseworks should be more than sufficient
forthe needs of the Siberianrailways.Moreover,the giant works
in i937,
started
in I932 andfinished
in Ulan-Ude(Verkhneudinsk),
will build locomotivesof the SO type,thoughthe annual capacity
of theseworksis not known.These worksalso producesparelocomotiveparts,and theirannual capacityfor completeoverhauling
for the Siberian
of locomotivesis io8o, i.e., again quite sufficient
railways.The cost of constructionof these works is about 400
millionrubles.Besidestheseworksthereare,of course,manyother
repairshopsof local importancealong the Trans-Siberianlines.
The resolutionof the XVIII Congressof the CommunistParty
(Spring I939) called for enlargementof repairbases for locomotives,especiallyin the Ural provinces,Siberia,and the Far East.
It called also for the creationof special repairworks for the condensatorlocomotivesmentionedabove.
As has alreadybeen pointedout, statisticsof cars in Russia are
given in termsof two-axlecars. This has been done in order to
of statistics,
because almost all cars produced
maintaincontinuity
beforeand immediatelyafterthe revolutionwere of the two-axle
type.But sincethattimechangeshave been considerable.As early
as in 1935 the productionof new cars (in physicalunits,not in
termsof two-axlecars) was as follows:
< 407>>
Pacific Affairs
two-axle
Trucks,
...................
...................
Trucks,four-axle
Freightcars(box cars),four-axle.....
Tank car, two-axle.....
.
Tank car,four-axle
.................
..................
Hoppers,four-axle
"
...............
"Gondols, four-axle
four-axle
.
.......... . .
Refrigerator,
%.........
Passengercars............
Total..........................
In termsof two-axles.....
.
50,45I
a
.s867
2,797
3,833
:,550
4,362.
i, 8oo
6ii
797
69,2.7i
85,2294
that
Plan (1942) it is expected
At theendoftheThirdFive-Year
the annual productionof four-axlecars will reach 6o,oooand of
passengercars 4,000. The average freightcapacityof a car was
(becauseof the
24 tonsin I937; sincethattimeit has increased
growingpercentageof four-axlecars), and was planned to reach
28 tons in I942. In I9I3 the averagecapacitywas I3 tons.Mention
should be made of anotherinnovation:the growinginstallationof
automaticbrakes(chieflyof the Kazantsev" type) and of the automaticcouplingsystem.Accordingto the Third Five-YearPlan, in
the i938-42 period 200,000 cars are to be supplied with automatic
brakesand 300,000 cars withautomaticcouplingapparatus.Adding
to this the cars which were supplied with these mechanismsin
i928-32 and I933-37, we may expectthatby I94i about 70% of all
cars are suppliedwith them.
As to the buildingof cars,Siberiahas now a capacityin excess
Uralwagonstroi(the Ural Car Works), the
of her requirements.'2
constructionof which began in I93I, is now working,and its
annual capacityis 54,000 four-axlecars.The cost of the workswas
of the car works
planned at 32I millionrubles.The construction
in Irkutskwas startedin I936 and it was to be readyduringthe
Third Five-YearPlan. Its planned annual capacityis i0,000 fouraxle cars, and the cost of the works is to be iio million rubles.
The Ulan-Ude Locomotiveand Car Works,mentionedabove, has
an annual capacityfor completelyoverhaulingI4,500 freightand
passengercars; it also producesspare parts for cars. To this we
1 The name of a Russianinventorof this typeof automaticbrakes.
12 i.e. If we considertheTagil Worksas part of Siberia.Administratively
theyare
theyare in Asia, on
partof EuropeanRussia (Sverdlovskregion),but geographically
the easternslopeof the Urals.
<<408>>
The Trans-SiberianRailway and the Problem of Soviet Supply
should add many small repair shops along the Trans-Siberian
line.
The widthof the roadbedis usuallyi8.2 feetwherethe railway
is not double-tracked.
The ballast is chieflysand, but in the last
yearsmany sectionswere coveredwith road metal. The gradient
in WesternSiberiais less than 0.007; in the mountainousdistricts
it roseto O.OI74 in I914. Minimum
curves
were(in I9I4) I,050-I,750
feet;since thattimemanyimprovements
have been made.
BetweenChelyabinsk-Choolym
the steepestgradientin i908 was
i:i65 and themaximumcurvei,750 feet,showinghow level is this
part of the route.On the sectionChoolym-Novosibirsk
the max-
imumgradewas I:I35
and the maximumcurvei,750 feet.The
sectionNovosibirsk-Irkutsk
is hilly,thicklywooded; forestswithout
a break continuefor 24-45 miles; the embankmentreaches I9-20
feetat places; afterAchinskthe sectionis mountainous;manylarge
riversare crossed,the Tom, Yaya, Kiya, Chulym,Yenisei,etc.
The principalgradientsand curveswere (i908):
Section
Ob-Achinsk
.........
.
Achinsk-Kansk
..................
Kansk-Nizhneudinsk
.............
N.-Ud.-Zima
....................
Zima-Polovinnaya
...............
Polovinnaya-Irkutsk
.............
Krugo BaikalRailway........
Gradient
and
(Railway aroundLake Baikal)
.
Im:I
Minimum
Curve
ft.
I,750
I:J15
I:66.6
I:57
I,050
I1,050
:90
I :57
I i:1
I1,050
1,050
I:I25
I,050
I,050
The Lake Baikal railwayis a featof engineeringart. The banks
of Baikal Lake are 900-1300 feet above the water level. Justhere
the tunnelsstarton the Trans-SiberianRailway. Between Baikal
and Slyudyanka,over a shortdistanceof 60-70 miles,thereare 40
tunnels,with a total lengthof 4.5 miles,many bridges,retaining
walls,cuttings,etc. East of Baikal the railwaycrossesthe spursof
themountainousrangesShamansky,Khamar-Daban,and Kerkidal.
At a point I25.5 miles fromIrkutskthe railwayproceedsaround
the southerntip of the lake throughmany tunnelsand cuttings
in thehardrock,thedeepestof whichis 74 feet.Three hundredand
seventy-twomiles from Irkutsk the railway crosses Tsagan-da
range,and 60g milesfromIrkutskit crossesthe YablonovoiRange,
<<409>>
Pacific Aflairs
3,I37 feetabove sea level. In descendingthe range the line falls
of 8 miles.Laterthe
I:57 withcurvesof i,050 ft.fora distance
and then of the
of
the
Ingoda
left
bank
the
roadbed goes along
Shilka in very difficultterrain. Grades on Mysovaya-Karym-
and I in I43 on curves(curves,I,050
skayaare I:Io7.5 on straights
feet). Conditionson the Amur Railway where the groundis perbut on the whole the roadbed
manentlyfrozenare verydifficult,
crossesmore level country.On the spurs of the Great Khingan
and Lagar-Aul the grade was I :7I with curvesof 820 feet,while
on othersectionsthe maximumgrade was i :ioo and the minimum
curve i,050 feet;the tunnelswere few.The Amur Railway is now
more changed than any other Siberian railway; even the tracks
to thenorth.
weremovedin severalplacesseveraltensof kilometers
The railwaybetweenVladivostokand Khabarovskhad gradients
curves of 3,500 feet and 2,I00 feet.Between
of i:ioo and I:I25;
Pogranichnaya(Suifung) thereare six tunnels.Between railway
stations Kiparisovo (36 km. from Vladivostok) and Nadezhdinskaya(28 km. fromVladivostok)thereis a tunnel2,450feetlong.
All large bridgesare permanentbridgeson caisson foundation,
stonepiersand steelspans.Many small bridgesare made of stone.
to lay the rails,then
The widthof the bridgesis usuallysufficient
thereare 5-io feetof freespace on each side and a sidewalk for
pedestrianseitheron both sides,or on one side. Such bridgeswere
constructedfor single-tracklines, and when the Trans-Siberian
the problemof what to do with the
Railway was double-tracked,
bridgesarose. Small bridgeswere easilyrebuilt,but largerbridges
bottlenecks;trainswere waiting
were leftintactand became traffic
near the bridgeswhile a trainproceedingin the oppositedirection
was crossingthe bridge.Now, accordingto Soviet press reports,
bridgesso that traffic
all bridgesare suppliedwith supplementary
It is reportedalso that at some strategic
can move smoothly.13
places reservesteelspans are kept.
As to the amountof weightthesebridgeswill support,thereis
no information.
However,the followingfactsmay help: The average weightof a freighttrainon the Siberianlines in I939 was
1 The same problemexistedwith respectto manytunnels.
<< 4I0 >>
The Trans-SiberianRailway and the Problem of Soviet Supply
I,296 tons (in I9I3 it was 570 tons), and manytrainshave a weight
of morethan2,000 tons.They pass the bridgesslowingtheirspeed
to about io milesper hour.
The lengthsof the largestbridgesare:
TheHor.............................
Amur(at Khabarovsk).................
Zeya (at Svobodnyi).
Bureya(at Bureya).
Selenga(near Ulan Ude) ...............
Oka (near Zima) ......................
Uda (near Nizhne-Udinsk).
Yenisei(near Krasnoyarsk)
.............
Choolym(near Achinsk).
Tom (nearTaiga) .....................
Ob (near Novosibirsk).................
Irtysh(near Omsk)....................
Ishym(near Petropavlovsk).
Tobol (near Kurgan)...................
I,400
ft.
6-7,000
I,379
I,540
2,940
i,68o
^52, o
2>,I00
I,400
The northernline (Omsk-Sverdlovsk)has large bridgesacross
the Ishymand Tobol.
butreThe number
usedtobe I,400-1,500 perkilometer,
ofsleepers
to i,600-i,840. Methods
railways
it wasraisedon theSiberian
cently
of preventingrottingof sleepershave only recentlyfound their
way into railwaypracticein Siberia. At the time of construction
the weightof rails used on the Trans-SiberianRailway was 54 lb.
a yard; later it was increasedto 72 lb. Now the weight of rails
on the main line is 76 lb. per yard (IIa) and 87 lb. per yard (Ia,
43 kg. per meter). But even this should be consideredinsufficient.
traffic
perkilometer
In theUnitedStates,wherethe densityoffreight
is only a fractionof thatin Siberia,the weightof rails used is up
rail connections
to I30 lb. per yard.This as well as unsatisfactory
and defectivesleepersare causes of relativelynumerousrailway
accidents.
Mention should be made of the automaticblock system.This
system was introducedon Sverdlovsk-Omskand Chelyabinsksections
in I933-I937, and afterI937 it was introduced
Novosibirsk
Railway.This sysalso on theeasternsectionsof theTrans-Siberian
use of the route.
tempermitsmuch moreeffective
During the Second Five-Year Plan there were built in Russia
2I6 new car repairshops,64 new car depots,I7 wheel repairshops,
<< 4II
>>
Pacific Afairs
ordinaryhumps,and 33 mechanizedhumps fittedwith automatic retarders.Many more new applianceswere built fromI938
to I94I. These figuresare for the whole Union, but at least 20%
in Siberia.
were constructed
The Third Five-Year Plan called also for the installationof a
centralizedswitchsystemon all large stations.In I932, i8% of all
loadingand unloadingworkson Russianrailwayswas mechanized.
By I937 thispercentagewas to increaseto 57%. The plan forI938-42
foresawa furtherincreasein the mechanizationof such works.
In thisconnectionit maybe usefulto notethattheThird Five-Year
Plan foresawcompletemechanizationof loading (and re-loading)
in the portof Vladivostok.
A few words should be said about the stationsthemselves.The
stationsgenerallyhave low broad platforms.As a rule they are
some littledistancefromtown or village,and consequentlynear
the stationsspecialsettlements
springup whichin some cases overshadow the originalones. Near the stationsthereare wide open
spaces verysuitablefor the deploymentof troops,thoughthe stations of Irkutskand Baikal are less spacious because the line is
squeezed betweenthe river(or the lake, in the case of Baikal and
other stationsaround Lake Baikal) and the mountains.Most of
on a
the stationshave good buildings,many of stone,constructed
for
generousscale,thelargerstationshavinglivingaccommodations
staff.
the traffic
The problemof wateringdoes not presentspecial difficulties
between Chelyabinskand Irkutskand Vladivostokand Khabarovsk,
is a familiarsight along the Trans-Siberian
and the water-tower
in theTrans-Baikalregionand
route.However thereare difficulties
in the Amur region because "the ground there is permanently
frozenand waterpipes cannotbe buriedbelow frostlevel in order
to preventthemfromfreezing."On the Molotov (formerly
TransBaikal) Railway "the suctionand deliverypipes were placed in
gallerieswarmedby steamor hot wateror hot air. Steam is only
used forwarmingshortlengthsof suctionpipe. The deliverypipes
fora distanceup to 8oo feetare warmedby warm waterin circulating pipes; for lengthsof more than 8oo feet air calorifersare
used, about 8oo feetapart,with ventilatingpipes speciallyheated,
22
<<4I2
>>
The Trans-SiberianRailway and the Problem of Soviet Supply
to cause the air to circulate.These galleriesare usuallybuilt below
groundlevel, or if built above ground,are banked in. In winter
the rivers,exceptthe Selenga,Uda, Chita, Argum and Onon, are
frozensolid. Across the Khilok River a dam has been built and
thusa large pond of solid ice is formed;the ice is then cut away
in blocks and thawed by steam in a tank. In this way water is
obtainedfromDecemberto the middle of March."The same conditionsexist along the whole lengthof the Amur Railway. It is
clear thatunder such conditionsthe problemof watersupplypresentstremendousdifficulties
in wintertime,and thatis why conso
densatorlocomotivesare welcomeeast of Lake Baikal sincethey
effectively
solve thisproblem."4
I936, therewere i,755,369 employeesof the Rus'J sian railways,of whichIII,58i wereengineersand technicians,
i86,4I3 clerks,I,360,356
workers,27,0oo apprentices,
and 70,0i9 attendants.Since that time the numberof railway employeeshas
remainedalmost stationarybecause of rationalization,thoughthe
percentageof engineers,techniciansand skilledworkershas greatly
increased.
The numberof the employeeson the Siberianrailwayswas as
follows:
N JANUARY I,
Omsk
.
Tomsk...............
East Siberia...........
Molotov..............
Ussuri................
Total Siberianrailways.
Total, Russia..........
aspercentage
of
Siberian
total. ..............
Engineers,
Technicians Clerks
....
..907
. ...o. '
3,955
Z,490
,667
3,5i8
I5,537
I1I,58i
I4
4,389
6,978
3,828
3,65I
4,2-2I
z3,o67
i86,413
II
Attendants
and
Workers Apprentices Total
40,66i
z,598
50,555
53,808
3,990
68,73I
47,i69
37,979
35,530
36,558
204,536
I,360,356
I5
2,872
3,257
3,334
i6,05I
97,019
I7
45,I05
47,63I
259,I9I
I,755,369
I5
Thus the personnelof the Siberianrailwaysmade up about I5%
of the totalon Januaryi, I936. As has been pointedout,since that
timethe work of the Siberianrailwayshas increasedmore rapidly
14How watersupplycan becomea railway"bottleneck"
one maysee fromthe
factthatin i905 thewatersupplyon theTrans-Baikal
Railwaywas sufficient
only
werepossible.
i2 trains
for7 trainseitherway,thoughtheoretically
<<43 >>
Pacific Affairs
than the work of otherrailways,and now the personnelshould
be at least300,000. The growthof productivity
of railwayworkers
as expressedin i,ooo ton-kilometers
per workeron all Russian railways was I32.9 in I9I3; 249.3 in I933, and 366.9 in 1938. Technical
innovationsand largeinvestments
of capitalin the railwaysaccount
for this improvement.
Investmentsin Russian railwaysin billion
rublesaggregate:
92-4-.8.'.
I.9
6.4
I92-9-32L.
I933-37
I938-42.
..............
(plan) ....
I7.
15
37- 3
Defects in the operationof Soviet railroadshave been pointed
out by Sovietexpertsthemselves.
Railway accidentsin Siberiahave
been attributedto weaknessin organizationand to under-investment in roadbed (light rails, weak ballast, too few sleepersper
kilometer).Delays in the work of freightcars are quite substantial.
In i935, forexample,theaveragetimeof thefreightcar was divided
in thefollowingway:
On intermediary
stations. .............
In motion.................
In loadingand unloading...............i.
On technicalstations.
4%..4%
2..9%
I%
44.7%
Thus, loading and unloadingtook as much timeas motion,and
stayson technicalstationsoccupied almosthalf the time.This example shows clearlyhow many improvements
are possible.These
improvements,
undoubtedly,have been taking place. In I933, for
example,the commercialspeed of the freighttrain was I3.8 kiloin i938 it was i9.i; in I933 it took 9.57 days for a
meter-hours,
car
freight to return,in i938, 7.52 days, and so on. Yet the daily
distancerunby a freightcar in I939 was I40 km. on Sovietrailways
and more than 200 km. in the United States.At the same time,
speed,frequencyand totalweightof trainsas well as otherpositive
factorsmay all be increased.Indeed, under the stressof war, it is
certainthattheywill.
15
At thattime the Amur Railwaywas dividedbetweenthe Trans-Baikal(Molotov) Railway and the Ussuri Railway.
<< V41>
The Trans-SiberianRailway and the Problem of Soviet Supply
IHEpicture
hererelates
to theyearsi935-9.
presented
The present
war may change it. In the event of orderlyretreateastwards
fromEuropean Russia to Siberia,the Siberianrailwaysmay get
an additionaland vastsupplyof rollingstockand skilledpersonnel.
War withJapanwould cause disruptionof servicein the Far East,
of rollingstock,etc. But in eithercase, the greatartery
destruction
of the Trans-SiberianRailway will continueto play a centralrole
in the militarysupplysystemof the U.S.S.R.
New York,September
I94I
<<45
>>