Work was commenced on the various sections as soon as it was possible to gather the requisite material and men on the spot. Owing to the extreme difficulty attending access to the middle parts of the country, these sections were not taken in hand until some two or three years after the earth and rock had commenced to fly at the extreme ends. As already mentioned, construction actually commenced first at Vladivostok, but some months later, on July 7, 1892, the engineers commenced to drive the steel highway eastwards from the European terminus at Tcheliabinsk, to which point the line had been carried forward from Zlatoost. The country entered after the Urals were left behind was the fringe of a vast steppe covered with tall bush, which continues until the Obi is gained. Then the character of the country changes with startling suddenness, desert giving way to dense forests, where heavy clearing was necessary to secure the right-of-way. The timber, however, was of slight use for building purposes, and this deficiency, together with that of stone, proved a serious drawback. Timber had to be hauled from long distances and pressed into service for spanning the smaller waterways, creeks and streams, there being over 260 temporary structures of this type upon this division. Difficulty was also experienced in securing material for ballasting the line, and in some instances it was necessary to haul the material for this purpose 20 miles across country. Four large steel bridges had to be erected in order to carry the railway across the Tobol, Ichime, Irtych and Obi rivers, all of which are navigable. The last two waterways demanded the heaviest pieces of work of this character, the Irtych bridge being about 2,130 feet in length, divided into six spans, each of about 354½ feet. That over the Obi measures some 2,650 feet from end to end, built up of seven spans, three of which are of 594½ feet, and four of 291½ feet respectively.