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'Arabia. Handbooks prepared under the direction of the Historical Section of the Foreign Office - no 90' [52] (67/148)
The record is made up of 1 volume (69 folios). It was created in 1919. 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
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52
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ifo. 90
(c) Railways
The only railway in Arabia is the southern section
of the Hejaz Railway, from Ma'an to Medina, 526
miles in length. It is a single line (gauge 105 metre),
with insufficient sidings. It was constructed very
rapidly, with the result that the lines were not well
laid and the embankments are not very secure, while
the bends are often sharp and the gradients steep.
Between Tebuk and Kalat el-Muadham some curves
have a radius of only 125 metres, and some gradients
are as much as 1'8 per cent. In the south steel
sleepers are used instead of wood, and, ballast being
inadequate, the trains are liable to derailment. A few
miles north of Medain Sali shifting sand sometimes
oauses the same trouble. For the northern part
of tihe railway German and French experts were
employed; but these were not allowed further south
than El-Ala. Beyond El-Ala, therefore, the defects
in construction are exaggerated, and in 1914 the
average speed of a train in the El-Ala—Medina
section did not exceed 9-2 miles an hour. If, as
is probable, the rolling-stock has now been pooled with
that of the narrow-gauge line of the Chemin de Fer de
Damas-Hama et Prolongements, the approximate total
Ftock would be 30 to 50 locomotives, 180 passenger
coaches, 40 brake wagons, 700 box wagons, 600 trucks,
and 40 tank wagons. Among the large engines were
8 Krauss and 4 Henschel engines, which consumed
large quantities of fuel and water. Engine tubes were
liable to be damaged by the large percentage of mineral
matter contained in the water. Before the war it was
customary to change engines at Damascus, Deraa,
Ma'an, Tebuk, Medain Sali, and Medina. The general
carrying capacity of the railway is now diminished by
the necessity of taking with each train large supplies
of wood and water; nearly 50 tons of wood and, in
summer, 4 tanks of water are required for each tram.
Originally, coal was consumed, and was imported at
Haifa for the purpose. The chief stations after Ma'an
are Tebuk, Kalat el-Muadham (the highest point on
About this item
- Content
This volume contains information on the geography, political history and economic conditions of Arabia and was published by the Historical Section of the Foreign Office in April 1919.
It is divided into four sections: 'Geography Physical and Political'; 'Political History'; 'Political Conditions' and 'Economic Conditions'. There is an Appendix, containing tables regarding trade in Aden, Muscat and Bahrein, 1909-1917.
There is a map 'Sketch Map of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and Arabia', compiled by the War Office on June 1914.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (69 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. It begins on the first folio with text, on number 1, and ends on the map on a sleeve on the inside back cover, on number 70.
Pagination: There is also an original pagination, iv-vi, 2-127.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'Arabia. Handbooks prepared under the direction of the Historical Section of the Foreign Office - no 90' [52] (67/148), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/E85, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023512781.0x000044> [accessed 25 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/E85
- Title
- 'Arabia. Handbooks prepared under the direction of the Historical Section of the Foreign Office - no 90'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:6, 1:130, ii-r:ii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence