The Trans-Siberian was an economic stimulus in itself and brought urban progress to rural areas. To build it required construction materials, implements, labor, food and shelter for the workers, and a means of transporting all this to the work site. The metallurgical industry in the Donets Coal Basin is an example of how the railway boosted other industries in the Russian economy.
Coal was first discovered in the Donets Basin (Donbass) in 1721. But it was not utilized until the early 19th century and only became significant after the first railway reached the region in 1869. In 1872 an ironworks was established in Donetsk by the Welshman, [M 039 / John Hughes]. Unlike earlier failed attempts to create a metallurgical industry, Hughes' efforts were successful.
He began by producing iron rails for the burgeoning Russian rail network. Coking coal was used from the surrounding area which spurred on coal mining. Later steel rails were made and the steel industry developed rapidly from then on. During the 1880s, the Donbass became Russia's chief iron- and steel-producing district. Twenty years after Hughes had started, his enterprise had grown into the country's largest producer of railway track employing 6,000 men. By 1914, four metallurgical plants and 10 coalpits in Donetsk supported a population of 50,000.
