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Letters and Papers Concerning the Trans-Persian Railway and Other Railways in Persia [115r] (229/442)
The record is made up of 1 file (221 folios). It was created in Nov 1911-Mar 1917. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
21.
that suah a line will, eventually, be built, should Persia
be allowed tc pass under the control of ftaseia, seem fairly
well assured. At present, the very existence of both the British
and Russian Inspires render their mutual interests one, but
it aeens too much to hope, although such a happy oonsunuatier*
is ardently to be desired, that this state of affairs will
always continue. It is unfortunate that our interests conflict
with Russian, as indicated by the passage of events, during the
past thirty five years, end although we trust that these,
modified by the changes the war is likely to bring about, may
not prove irreconcilible, yet their adjustment vill need a
delicacy in handlix^^ and a mutual confidence which it is by
no means certain vill be forthoomjUig^ However, the aspect of the
matter v/ith which we are, more directly, concerned is the effects
which we may reasonably anticipate will follow, on cur land
frontiers, should the establishment of such a base connected
with Europe by Railway take place. Should this base bo hold
by a power antagonistic to ourselves, aiid it is fairly certain
that the economic interests which vd.ll ai’ise thereafter will
clash with ours and advance beyond the stage of friendly rivalry,
the institution of a propa^^anda of a Military nature, inimical
to our Frontier, Afghan, and Indian interests, with all that will
follow in its train, will ensue, fo short circuit anj' such a
move, we must have control of the narrow pipe through which this
stream will be directed. This can only be done by effectively
holding the northern sector of the narrow rock wall which
separates the ”Great Kinnen desert" from the Baluchistan desert
area.
The Northern borders of Afghanistan and Russia are conjoint.
To passively permit Russia to obtain the ascendency on the
Perso—Afghan frontier would result in her obtaining a definite
military advantage, prejudicial to the security of Afghanistan and
India. The Afghans could never resist an attack, made on Western
About this item
- Content
The file contains correspondence, memoranda, and other papers relating to railway projects in Persia [Iran] and the surrounding region. The papers deal with the proposals for, planning, and progress of, several railway lines, including one from the Mediterranean to India, the Trans-Persian Railway, the Baghdad Railway, and the Nushki and Dalbandin extension from Quetta. The documents discuss the merits and flaws of the proposals, technical issues such as gauge sizes, and the impact of such projects on Britain's relations with Russia, Germany, France, and Turkey.
At the back of the file are a number of official reports on Parliamentary debates within the House of Commons, dating from 10 July 1912 to 25 May 1914, all of which feature railways (folios 128-218). Also at the rear of the file are three maps:
- General Map of Asia with proposed British, German, and Russian rail lines added by hand
- War Office map of the Middle East, showing railways and railway projects
- As above with further rail lines added and details of gauges given.
Correspondents include: Arthur Campbell Yate, army Officer; Henry McNiel; Francis Richard Maunsell, army officer; George Lloyd, politician; Lieutenant-Colonel Charles à Court Repington, army officer and war correspondent; Lord Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, Leader of the House of Lords; Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice (Lord Lansdowne), statesman; Lucien Wolf, journalist and historian; Charles Staniforth, businessman and railway investor; Charles Prestwich Scott, Editor of the Manchester Guardian; Hugh Shakespear Barnes, Director, Imperial Bank of Persia; and Colonel Frank Cooke Webb Ware, former Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Chagai.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (221 folios)
- Arrangement
The file is arranged in chronological order from the front to the rear.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 221; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Letters and Papers Concerning the Trans-Persian Railway and Other Railways in Persia [115r] (229/442), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F112/252, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100075113116.0x00001e> [accessed 20 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F112/252
- Title
- Letters and Papers Concerning the Trans-Persian Railway and Other Railways in Persia
- Pages
- 87r:90v, 95r:221v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence