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ROLLING STOCK.

All rolling stock is along the lines of British practice, and practically all of it is of British manufacture. Since physical connections have been made with the Shanghai-Hangchow-Ningpo Railway, interchange of rolling stock now prevails between these two railways, which are under joint management. A considerable portion of the rolling stock on the latter line is of American design and manufacture. The table on page 76 shows the amount of rolling stock on these two lines, which is proving inadequate to handle the growing

business.

WORKSHOPS.

The general workshops are located at Woosung, about 10 miles from Shanghai. These are reasonably well equipped and are arranged for the making of repairs to all classes of rolling stock for both the Shanghai-Nanking and the Shanghai-Hangchow-Ningpo Railways. Capacity is also provided for the erection of a small number of freight and passenger cars.

ORGANIZATION.

The organization of this line conforms, in a general way, to the arrangement called for by the orders of the Ministry of Communications (see p. 63), but the British engineer-in-chief, according to the terms of the agreement, has very extensive executive authority in connection with this line. The general staff of this line also has charge of the Shanghai-Hangchow-Ningpo line, as explained later.

PURCHASE OF STORES.

Purchases for this line and also for the Shanghai-HangchowNingpo are made through the chief storekeeper of the stores department, whose headquarters are at Shanghai. According to the loan agreement, preference is to be given to supplies from Chinese sources, but without doubt preference is next given to articles of British manufacture. Considerable amounts of materials are bought from concerns in Shanghai, and some of these come from American sources. It is not the general practice for this line to advertise for tenders as extensively as certain other lines.

SHANGHAI-HANGCHOW-NINGPO (HU-HANG-YUNG) RAILWAY.

LOCATION AND EXTENT.

This line starts in Shanghai, now using the same passenger station. as the Shanghai-Nanking line, and runs 116 miles in a southwesterly direction through the Provinces of Kiangsu and Chekiang to the important city of Hangchow, at the head of the Bay of Hangchow. At Shanghai there is a 4-mile line to the first terminal built in Shanghai, but this is now used as a branch station and connections are made with the through trains, which are all run from the ShanghaiNanking station. Near Hangchow there is a 34-mile branch.

This project contemplates a car ferry across the river at Hangchow on the completion of the line to Ningpo, a total distance of about 110 miles, of which 48 miles are now completed and in service from Ningpo to the Tsao Ngo River. About 60 miles are still to be con

structed, and this work is now in progress but proceeding very slowly. Ningpo is a little south of east of Hangchow and is one of the important trade centers of this densely populated part of China.

EXTENSIONS SUGGESTED.

It seems probable that in the course of time this line will be extended southwestward from Hangchow through the Provinces of Chekiang and Kiangsi, connecting with the Kiangsi (Nan-Shan) Railway near Nanchang, thus making rail connections from Shanghai to the Yangtze River port of Kiukiang and running through a country that would probably furnish a profitable local traffic, particularly in carrying agricultural and mineral products to the ports of Shanghai, Hangchow, and Kiukiang.

A line has also been projected between Hangchow and Wuhu, an important port on the Yangtze River between Nanking and Kiukiang, and some work was done on the Wuhu end of this line, but there is little probability of this line being completed in the immediate future.

There has also been a suggestion (which seems entirely practical) to extend this line farther from Nanchang to Shiuchow in the Province of Kwangtung, where connections would be made with the Canton-Hankow line when the latter is completed, thus making an interior rail line from all the above-mentioned ports to the ports of Canton and Hankow and the densely populated district in southern China. This would tend to stabilize conditions in this part of China. While these lines, if built, might in some ways be considered as competing with water transportation, the result, in all probability, would be a supplementing of both the water and rail transportation, particularly in the carrying of agricultural products and minerals to these ports. In no instance would these additional lines parallel present water-transportation routes, as did the Shanghai-Nanking Railway between Shanghai and Chinkiang and Nanking and the Shanghai-Hangchow-Ningpo Railway between Shanghai and Hangchow.

HISTORICAL SURVEY.

The preliminary agreement for this line, under the title of the Soochow, Hangchow & Ningpo Railway, was made in 1898 and, as already mentioned, was one of the features of the "Battle for Concessions," in which the British & Chinese Corporation secured this concession and the concessions for the Shanghai-Nanking and CantonKowloon lines, which have since been built, and for the PukowSinyang line, which is now under agreement, though little is being done at present on its construction.

The British & Chinese Corporation, after securing these concessions, devoted all its attention and available funds to the completion of the Shanghai-Nanking and the Canton-Kowloon lines and did nothing with this concession. Mr. Sheng, already mentioned several times as then director general of the Chinese Imperial Government Railway Administration, notified the corporation in 1903 of the cancellation of this concession, and on September 23, 1905, an imperial edict was issued confirming this cancellation and transferring the right of construction and operation to a Provincial Railway Bureau, the road to be built with Chinese capital only. With this authority

two companies, the Kiangsi Railway Co. and the Chekiang Railway Co., were organized the first with $3,000,000 and the second with $5,000,000, all subscribed and paid up by Chinese subscribers. After the Chinese had made this progress and had the work under way, the British & Chinese Corporation took the matter up energetically and would not accept the cancellation of the concession, but after much negotiation a compromise was effected and an agreement signed for a loan of £1,500,000, at 5 per cent. However, the funds from this were never actually used in the construction of the railway, although the Chinese Government carried the loan for some five years and paid the interest on it, this condition prevailing until the road was nationalized in 1913 as a part of the present Chinese Government Railways under the direction of the Ministry of Communications.

PRESENT CONTROL AND ORGANIZATION.

At present there is a managing director in charge of both the Shanghai-Nanking and this line, with headquarters at Shanghai; and the British staff in charge of the Shanghai-Nanking is in charge of the technical administration on this line but does not have such executive authority as is exercised on the Shanghai-Nanking line, on which the loan agreement is still in full force. It might possibly be correct to say that the duties of the British staff on the ShanghaiHangchow-Ningpo line are chiefly technical and advisory, though they are administrative as well to a very considerable extent. The staff of both lines is partly British and partly Chinese, the most important positions being filled by the British.

CLASS OF TRAFFIC-OUTLOOK FOR FUTURE.

The political troubles in the Province of Chekiang for more than two months in the first half of 1916 affected adversely the earnings for that year. In 1915 the passenger earnings were two and onehalf times the freight earnings, and in 1916 the passenger earnings were about three times the freight earnings. However, since this line passes through a rich agricultural district and considerable industrial development may be expected to take place, it is probable that the freight business will grow faster than the passenger business and that, in the course of time, the line will show a profit after paying all operating expenses and income charges.

ROADWAY AND TRACK MATERIALS.

The Chinese have pointed to this railway as an example of what should be the initial expense incurred in building Chinese railways of this class. The construction cost per mile, as shown by Mr. Kyle's study, is a little less than $45,000 per mile, against $188,000 for the Canton-Kowloon and $150,000 for the Shanghai-Nanking, British engineers in China, on the other hand, state that this line is of very inferior construction and that poor, cheap materials were used.

Preference was given to roadway and track materials from Chinese sources. The rails and fastenings came from the Han-Yeh-Ping works and are mostly the 85-pound standard Chinese section. All purchases were made in competition, and a good deal of the roadway and track material was purchased from American sources.

ROLLING STOCK.

This line has a decided variety of rolling stock, all of which was purchased under competition and furnished from American, British, German, and Chinese sources. Of the 36 locomotives, 11 are American, 12 British, and 13 German. Many of the passenger cars are of American manufacture; some of them have been criticized on account of makeshift changes to meet the specifications, but these faults seem to have had their origin in the specifications rather than in the workmanship of the equipment. This situation, however, affords a very good example of the desirability (in fact, the necessity) of the Chinese Government Railways being permitted, without regard to the restrictions of the existing loan agreements, to lay out standard designs and formulate definite specifications for all their requirements.

WORKSHOPS.

In addition to the Woosung shops of the Shanghai-Nanking Railway, already mentioned, there are workshops at Hangchow, where some repairs to the rolling stock are taken care of and where some of the assembling of the original equipment was handled.

PURCHASE OF STORES.

Substantially the same remarks apply to the purchases for this line as to those for the Shanghai-Nanking, the same chief storekeeper being in charge of stores and purchases for both lines.

CANTON-HANKOW (YUEH-HAN) RAILWAY SYSTEM.

This system consists of the line from Wuchang to Chuchow, the Chuchow-Pinghsiang Railway, the Canton-Samshui (Kwang-Sam) Railway, and the Kwangtung Yueh-Han Railway Co. (Ltd.).

LOCATION AND EXTENT.

The trunk line of this system is to connect Canton and its densely settled hinterland by a line running north through the Provinces of Kwangtung, Hunan, and Hupeh, with Wuchang, on the south bank of the Yangtze River opposite Hankow, and, through this gateway, with North China by way of the Peking-Hankow Railway and with the Yangtze River ports by the present river lines. Changsha is a very important city on this line, about 200 miles south of Hankow; connection is made there with water transportation lines. This railway, without question, is the most important line now being constructed or contemplated in any part of China, and its completion would doubtless do more to stabilize China as a whole than the completion of any other one line, except possibly a line to Chengtu in Szechwan.

This system is to be constituted by the main trunk line from Canton to Wuchang, together with the present branches from Canton to Samshui and from Chuchow to Pinghsiang, both of which have been completed and in service for several years. The latter line is the one that, for several years, has transported the coal from the Pinghsiang collieries to Chuchow, whence this supply of fuel has been taken to Hankow for the Han-Yeh-Ping Iron and Steel Works.

Both these branches at present come under the direction of the Ministry of Communications. The first is known as the CantonSamshui (Kwang-Sam) line of the Chinese Government Railways. While this will ultimately become a part of the Canton-Hankow system, it will continue to be operated for some years as a separate line-probably until the main trunk line is completed. The line from Changsha to Pinghsiang known as the Chuchow-Pinghsiang line of the Chinese Government Railways, has also been operated as a separate line, but since the practical completion of the new line from Wuchang to Changsha this entire stretch of 265 miles from Wuchang to Pinghsiang is now being operated as the Canton-Hankow Railway, with headquarters at Wuchang.

The line from Canton to Shiuchow, a distance of about 140 miles, is practically completed but is being operated by a private corporation known as the Kwangtung Yueh-Han Railway Co. (Ltd.). When the remainder of this trunk line is completed, however, this section will be taken over as a part of the Canton-Hankow main line, under the direction of the Ministry of Communications, to be operated as one of the Chinese Government Railways.

There is no physical connection between the south end of this line and the Canton-Samshui lines at Canton. The city of Canton lies on the northeast side of the Pearl River. On this side the Kwangtung Railway starts and runs in a northerly direction, while the Canton-Samshui starts on the southwest side of the river, opposite the main city of Canton, and runs in a southwesterly direction. There is also no physical connection between either of these lines and the Canton-Kowloon section of the Chinese Government Railways, which will be mentioned later. The part of the main trunk line that remains to be completed, from Chuchow to Shiuchow (a distance of less than 250 miles), is through a rough country where many tunnels and much bridging will be required. This condition, with the present high prices of materials, will probably make the total cost of this work, upon completion, about $25,000,000 (gold).

HISTORICAL SURVEY.

The history of this line is long and varied. The Canton-Hankow project at one time constituted what to-day may be considered the only actual railway concession ever held by American interests in China. The Hukuang Railway loans and the Siems-Carey projects. can hardly be regarded as concessions, but are rather loan and construction agreements for the building of railways for the Chinese Government.

The original agreement for this line was held by the AmericanChinese Development Co. and was signed in April, 1898. Mr. Sheng, already mentioned several times, was then the director-general of this project and also of the Peking-Hankow Railway. Senator Calvin S. Brice, backed by strong American interests, was the head of the American syndicate. The amount of the loan was $40,000,000 (gold), issued at 90 per cent, paying 5 per cent interest, running for 50 years, and to be secured on the property of the railway and guaranteed by the Chinese Imperial Government. In addition, the syndicate was to receive 5 per cent for services and supervision of the purchase of materials, as well as 20 per cent of the net earnings

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