The rigours of the climate were felt severely. The summer is short and hot, while the winter is long and intensely cold, the temperature ranging between -5 and -13 degrees, while at times the mercury was found to descend to -40 degrees. Moreover, the steppe is swept by terrific winds, and the conditions told heavily upon the labourers working in such an exposed situation. In summer, after making allowances for wet and fête days, only about 120 days were left for operations, and consequently it was essential to continue work during the winter as far as practicable. The sparsely-populated character of the country militated against the engineers, and the labour for the most part had to be brought from Europe, for the peasants were unaccustomed to navvy work. The scarcity of water was another adverse factor, that found in the more sterile reaches being brackish and unfit for consumption. To meet this contingency water had to be brought over long distances for the workmen, while in places artesian wells were sunk which relieved the situation slightly. Under these conditions the completion of the 885 miles of line comprised in this section within four years was an excellent piece of work. The Central Siberian railway, as it ran through two diametrically different stretches of country--plain and mountainous respectively--was subdivided into two divisions. The first section, stretching from the banks of the Obi, where it connected with the Western Siberian railway, was taken in hand in May 1893, and the work was pushed forward so vigorously that it was completed in advance of the scheduled time. Trains from St. Petersburg could not run over this section, however, until two years later, as the struggles of the engineers upon the mountains, in the second moiety, demanded the utilisation of the first section for the handling of their supplies and material. The broken country proved to be exceedingly troublesome. Moreover, a large number of wide waterways had to be crossed, such as the Yenisei, where a magnificent bridge 2,856 feet in length had to be erected. It is a massive structure, and at present constitutes the largest and heaviest work of its description in Siberia. The traveller as he rolls over the iron road cannot resist contrasting the solidity and permanent appearance of these noble bridges with the temporary character of the line in other places. The difference is so great as to be incongruous. Yet it was in accordance with the original plans. The earthworks and permanent way can be replaced at leisure, but the bridges, and the reputation of the rivers they span, led the authorities to decide that in these instances first cost should be last cost. When the whole railway is brought up to the standard of the bridge-work, it will be comparable in solidity and travelling comfort with the leading lines of other countries.