[641] The rails were steel, flat-footed, weighing 68 pounds to the yard, and cost £16 a ton. The sleepers came from the Baltic and Caucasus. The rolling stock consisted of 80 locomotives on the Siegl system, and 1400 cars and waggons. Everything was produced in Russian workshops. [642] They earned rather less than £2 per mensem. They were allowed to work in their own fashion, just as if they were repairing their _arīks_, or irrigation canals. It is said that in India, when the contractors insisted on the use of wheelbarrows, the native labourers carried the vehicles and their contents on their heads. [643] Ney, p. 321. [644] It cost 6½ d. per cubic yard. [645] The moral effect produced by the spanning of the Amū Daryā was immense and far reaching. General Annenkoff told the members of the St. Petersburg Technical Society that when the first locomotive, draped with the imperial flag, crossed the river, loud cheers echoed from the hosts that lined the banks (Ney, p. 304). [646] It is interesting to compare the cost of the Russian Asiatic railways with that of Indian lines constructed under similar conditions. It averaged £6144 per mile. The report of the Director of Indian Railways for 1872–1873 gives that of the earlier lines as £18,000 to £20,000. It is probable that the cost of the three railway battalions has not been taken into account. But, allowing for that item, we must admit that the Russian railways were far cheaper than our Indian trunk lines. [647] Ney, p. 305. [648] The following statistics for 1897 have been furnished by Colonel Brunelli, the much respected commandant of the railway battalion stationed at Merv:-- Revenue, gross £751,000 ” nett 615,000 Train mileage 2,402,625 _Exports._ Raw cotton 81,000 tons Wool 8,000 ” Dried fruit 5,000 ” Barley 2,000 ” Skins and hides 5,000 ” Salt 3,000 ” Miscellaneous 5,000 ” ------------ Grand total 109,000 tons ============ _Imports._ Manufactures 15,000 tons Sugar 12,000 ” Tea 6,192,000 lbs. Metals 5,000 tons Kerosene oil 5,000 ” Wool 8,000 ” Miscellaneous, including tan, naphtha, rice, spices, wine, brandy, beer, and thread 22,000 ” ----------- Grand total 70,000 tons =========== Intermediate traffic 70,000 tons Total movement of goods 249,000 ”