Railway Lines in Ukraine - Grand Crimean Central Railway, Galician Transversal Railway, Southwestern Railways (Paperback)

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Grand Crimean Central Railway, Galician Transversal Railway, Southwestern Railways, Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis, Lviv Railways, Vistula River Railroad, Southern Railways. Excerpt: The Grand Crimean Central Railway was built in 1855 during the Crimean War. Its purpose was to supply ammunition and provisions to Allied soldiers engaged in the siege of Sevastopol who were stationed on a plateau between Balaclava and Sevastopol. It also carried the world's first hospital train. The railway was built at cost and without any contract by a partnership of English railway contractors led by Samuel Morton Peto. Within three weeks of the arrival of the fleet carrying materials and men the railway had started to run and in seven weeks 7 miles (11 km) of track had been completed. The railway was a major factor leading to the success of the siege. After the end of the war the track was sold and removed. Shown as "Chemin de Fer Anglais" on a contemporary French army mapBritain and France declared war on Russia on 28 March 1854 in support of the Ottoman Empire. By the late summer of 1854 the British, led by Lord Raglan, with their French and Turkish allies decided that a siege of the Black Sea port of Sevastopol, held by the Russians, would be the best method of forcing an end to the war. After landing their forces to the north of Sevastopol, the British set up a base in the narrow harbour of Balaclava, about 8 miles (13 km) south of Sevastopol, in September 1854. Most of the land between Balaclava and Sevastopol was a plateau about 600 feet (183 m) above sea level. The towns were connected by a road which was little more than a track. This travelled northwards, rising slightly to the village of Kadikoi about 1 mile (2 km) from Balaclava. It ... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=9540144