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File 2764/1904 Pt 2 'Baghdad Railway: General negotiations 1908-10.' [‎388r] (790/799)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (391 folios). It was created in 1908-1910. 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. .

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2
Bagdad Railway Convention,* or possibly in the Anatolian Railway Convention, that
additional payments must be made by the Turkish Government to the Bagdad Railwav
Company when express services are inaugurated. I was told that the rails are 60 lbs.
between Haidar Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. and Konia, and from Konia to Eregli 80 lbs. On the
Anatolian system I understand the Prussian railway methods of construction haie
been employed. Throughout the sleepers are hollow, curved, and flat, made of sheet
iron or steel, and give the impression of not possessing anything like the hold of the
ballast that a wooden sleeper affords. The locking to the sleepers is by fish-plates
and bolts, and it is noticeable that on the Bagdad Railway section the bolting is
increased, doubtless in view of the greater speed which is expected when this line is
established.
Throughout the line, except in that part particularized, when the line leaves
the littoral and ascends to the plateau of Asia Minor, there seems no liability to
washouts or other visitations of nature. Where the heavy ascent occurs there seems
sufficient provision against floods, culverts being constructed wherever necessary. I
saw nothing to suggest that the railway had ever been damaged by water. I imagine
that the rainfall is never of the torrential character which is so prejudicial to Himalayan
railways.
Rolling stock is Prussian in pattern. The trucks vary in weight and I noticed
them marked 7,790, 8,820, 9,070, 9,180 kilom. tare, but all were 15,000 kilom. charge,
?.<?., tn carry 15 tons, both closed and open. Each was marked to carry forty men,
with surface 18 3 metres and volume 37 3 metres—that is the closed trucks. Engines
are big and powerful, and some are Erench in make. Others I am told were made in
America, England, Germany, &c. My train consisted of 1 engine, 8 wagons (4 metres
between axles), 1 guard s van (6 metres between axles), 4 small passenger coaches, and
1 double bogie, with total length of nearly 200 yards. It was noticeable that the
sidings were often too short to accommodate so long a train. This defect is rectified
in the Bagdad section when sidings are always about 400 yards long. Our engine
seemed quite equal to its work even on heavy gradients. The trucks, however, were
all empty so far as I could tell.
Except at three points it would appear to be almost impossible seriously to
damage the railway, as the bridges are few and small and close to the water. At the
three points referred to there are high bridges (described in notes on Guebzeh, Biledjik,'
and Yaila), any one of which being broken would throw the line out of work for
months. Trans-Shipment over a breakage, however, could be easily effected at these
points. In considering contingencies in this respect in time of w T ar it must not be
overlooked that junction with the Smyrna-Cassaba Railway at Afion-Kara-Hissar is at
any moment possible.
The elevations shown in the time-table attached show the transit from the low
country to the plateau of Asia Minor. Once this is attained the railway is practically
dead-level, and without curves that would prevent high speed. The line runs alone
f n ^terminable plain from Tche Kurler to Eregli, at a height varying little from
3,200 feet above sea-level. The surrounding country is cultivated in a minor decree
wheat being grown in large quantity. That the output might be multiplied many
times is obvious, for only patches are cultivated in large stretches of land of exactly
the same character. Frequently land that has been ploughed within a few years is seen to
be allowed to he fallow. Since the opening of the railway there has been a very
large increase in the wheat production, as there now exists a market and a means of
transport that formerly was absent. Only a beginning has been made, however, and
the future should see a remarkable development. The obstacles to immediate
expansion are three. Misgovernment has prevented the peasant cultivating more
mn enough to furnish fool for his family, as any surplus was squeezed from him by
o cials. Ibis, on the line of railway, is now T seldom possible owing to closer super
vision on the part of the Government, and because the increase in tithes which
increased cultivation brings causes the Government to co-operate with the railway in
the endeavour to promote development. An obstacle that remains, and which will
a e ime to surmount is the indolence of the peasant, who has no ambition beyond
t e mmediate needs of his belly. To work hard to-day that he may have money for
o-morrow is unnecessary on the part of an individual who believes that his future lies
entirely in the hands of God. The grand difficulty, however, is the fact that the
of 700,€00 fr for" the Anatohin 01 ^' 1 ?^ 011 P ro T^ es ^ or a ca pbal expenditure of 8,000,000 fr., and an annuity
exact terms. ’ Anatolia Peninsula that forms most of modern-day Turkey. n Ra-lway, to improve the line to bear express traffic. See Convention for

About this item

Content

The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, newspaper cuttings, maps and notes, relating to negotiations over the proposed Berlin to Baghdad Railway in the period 1903-1907.

The discussion in the volume relates to the economic, commercial, political and military considerations impinging on British strategy for the international negotiations over the development of a railway to Baghdad in particular.

Further discussion surrounds the motivations and strategies of British competitors in the area; included in the volume are four maps.

The principal correspondents in the volume include the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Lord Lansdowne, Sir Edward Grey), His Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople (Sir Nicholas O'Connor), the Under Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Charles Hardinge, Sir Thomas Henry Sanderson), and for India (Earl Percy, Sir Arthur Godley), the Viceroy of India (Lord Curzon of Keddleston), the Secretary to the Political and Secret Department of the 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. (Sir Richmond Richie) and the London Manager of the Imperial Bank of Persia (George Newell).

Extent and format
1 volume (391 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

The subject 2764 (Bagdad Railway) consists of five volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/56-60. The volumes are divided into five parts with each part comprising one volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 392; 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. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 329-358; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out. The foliation sequence does not include the front cover.

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English in Latin script
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File 2764/1904 Pt 2 'Baghdad Railway: General negotiations 1908-10.' [‎388r] (790/799), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/57, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100026492734.0x0000bf> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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