The crossing of the Columbia River was another heavy undertaking, exceeding in character the bridge across the Missouri. At this point the river is wide, with the navigable channel in the centre, but there is a heavy rise and fall of the water according to the season, the feet of the mountains on either side being lapped when the river is in flood. The peculiar conditions necessitated a high structure, with massive stone piers supporting the steel-work. Sixteen wide spans were required. The task was carried out by the railway companies’ own bridge-engineering staff, in which class of work they are specialists and peculiarly fitted to such huge enterprises. Such is the story of the Railway Rush across the United States to the Pacific. Yet the public clamours for further lines. The facilities extended already to travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific seaboards in less than four days have served only to cause the public to emulate “Oliver Twist” and to ask for more. INDEX ABT system of grading, 255, 307 Abu Hamed, 154 Aconcagua Peak, 128, 274 ---- River, 277 Acre, Bay of, 122 Adelaide, 184, 190 Adelsköld, Mme. Gustafva, 260 --- Major C., 260–62 Adhesion traction, 217 Africa, railways of, 79, 139–61 ---- Cape to Cairo railway, 139–61 ---- Central, railways of, 281–8 ---- French West, 145 ---- German East, 150 ---- ---- South-West, 79 ---- Portuguese East, 281, 282 ----- South, the war, 155 ---- ---- gold-fields, 301 Air-brakes, 313 Airolo, 33, 35, 41, 42, 44 Akasha, 153 Alaska, 162 ---- reclamation of, 102–16 Albany, 187 Albert Nyanza, Lake, 151, 161 Alexandria, 154, 158, 159 Allahabad, 252 ---- -Fyzerbad railway, 252 Allan, Sir Hugh, 225 Alps, the, 162–3, 170 ---- the Southern, 194 Amarillo Gorge, 274 Amazon River, 129, 270 America, South-- First trans-continental railway, 270 _Laissez-faire_ attitude, 14 Survey work, 9–11 World’s highest line, 128–38 American Civil War, the, 309 American railway interests, 155, 183, 293, 300 Amur railway, the, 201, 211, 212 ---- Valley, 209 Andermatt, village of, 42 Anderson, Messrs. J. & A., 195 Andes, the, 9, 128–9, 134, 135, 137, 177, 270, 271, 272, 274, 277, 278 ---- Trans-andine railway, 270, 274 Animas Canyon, 170 Antofagasta railway, 136, 279 Arab raiders, 119, 126–7 Arabia, deserts of, 117 Argentina-Chile peace, 275 Arica, 279 Arkansas River, 164 Arlberg Tunnel, the, 88–9, 94, 95 Armstrong, Sir W. G., 200, 206 Arnold, Bion, 56 Asia Minor, 122 Assling, 97 Assuan, 158 Atbara, 154, 159 ---- Bridge, 154, 156, 157 ---- River, 154 Atlin, 111 Auckland, 194 Auspoint, 94 Australasia, railways of, 175–97 Australia, South-- Railways, 184–5 Survey work, 191–3