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File 4648/1912 'Railway projects in South Persia; surveys of Gulf ports' [‎102r] (208/258)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (129 folios). It was created in 1912-1916. 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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T r
dividing Bushire from the mainland; it is liable to inundation from tK„ „ , •
generally boggy m parts, though always passable by pack •miiink Ti* -f®’ n^- 1 ?
fnd very salt. A G-feet embankment would be necesLrv r 801 18 ? ,luvlal
r^faced with pitched stone at the foot, obtainable from Bushire. 'S MaSSeHs left
near Gurak, and from this point onwards the line runs over flat alluvi' l nl • j
would be little more than a surface line, with occasional brick culverts or smalTbrick
bridges across water courses. 1 sma11 brick
. d/etaHibrg.—Limestone available from boulders at Darwishi and from Kuh
Bairami, neai Khuimuj. Bushire stone and local sandstone are too friable for the
purpose.
Labour. —Plentiful all the year round.
Water. —-Anywhere from wells. The Mund River is brackish.
This section may be classed as follows:—
Surface line
Easy valley line (Mashileh)
Total
£
70 miles, at 3,000
5 . „ „ 4,000
75 ,. ..
£
210,000
20,000
230,000
Section 2. Shanbeli (000 feet) to Pas Hudak (850 feet), distance along alignment
50 miles.
4. This is the first of the three hilly sections of the route. For the first 6 miles till
due north of Darwishi, the line runs at the foot of the hills to the north of the plain.
It then enters confused low hills of gypsum and sandstone, which run parallel to the
strike of the hills, i.e., east-south-east or east by south. The best alignment would, I
should say, keep to the foot of the sandstone outliers of the Kuh-i-Kartang, just where
the gypsum underlying them crops out. Heavy cutting and embanking would be
necessary in many places, but the gradient would be very easy. This continues to
14 miles, where the Ab-i-Nilu has to be crossed ; it runs in a ravine 50 feet deep and
200 yards broad ; the ground now gets a good deal worse; the usual track keeps to the
north of a prominent hill a mile north of Ab-i-Nilu, and crosses a succession of difficult
ravines, finally rising to a height of 1,200 feet at 24 miles, after which it drops sharply
by 350 feet to the Ab-i-Bunbid, a fresh-water stream, in a ravine 30 feet deep and
150 yards wide, reached at 32 miles. An alignment along this track would be
difficult and expensive, and 1 should say that a much easier alignment could be obtained
2 miles to the south, crossing the Ab-i-Bunbid at almost the same place, where the ridge
which separates the two alternative alignments ends.
The Mund River takes an irregular course amongst steep and precipitous hills, and
cannot conveniently be followed. The ground now improves considerably; the
alignment which I suggest follows the usual track to Guli Darwaseh (34 miles), the
only breach for several miles, in a long precipitous ridge running parallel to the river
and to Kuh-i-Kartang ; through the breach in a bed 50 feet deep and 100 yards
broad runs a stream, dry in summer, which must be bridged. At 36 miles the
Mund River is struck, flowing in a bed 100 feet deep and 400 yards wide, and
winding from one side of the valley to the other. It is unnecessary to cross it,
however.
An alignment can now be secured right up the Pas Rudak Plain, crossing the
Shurab River at 40 miles. This stream, which is brackish, is fordable only for six
months or so in the year ; in flood it fills its bed completely to a depth of some 30 feet,
with a breadth of 200 yards. The plain is some 15 miles long and 6 miles broad, and
consists of flat river terraces, well cultivated in places, irrigated from the i un i\ei,
Which is fresh above its junction with the Shurab. It is little cultivated at present
hot, if developed, could become a very valuable property. It is the iu ( e /.°
Soulet-ed-Dowleh. It continues beyond Pas Rudak past Bairusti and Gabn to a point
some miles beyond Imamz, Shah Sowar In the East India Company army and later Indian Army, an ordinary native cavalryman or mounted cavalryman. (or Sowar In the East India Company army and later Indian Army, an ordinary native cavalryman or mounted cavalryman. -i-Ghaib), where the Mund Xivei
issues from the hills.
[2619 i—l]

About this item

Content

The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, notes, and maps relating to the development of railways projects in South Persia and the associated marine surveys of Gulf ports, notably Bandar Abbas and Bushire.

The volume includes the report of Lieutenant Arnold Talbot Wilson on the technical issues concerning development of railway lines between Bushire and Shiraz, and Bandar Abbas and Shiraz. Also included is a report on the commercial possibilities of these two developments, compiled by Commercial Adviser, H G Chick. These reports (folios 101-124) are preceded by an accompanying summary and analysis by the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Percy Zachariah Cox.

Also discussed in the correspondence is the question of concessions for railways in the neutral zone and the relative advantages (climate, water supply) of Bushire and Bandar Abbas as railway termini in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . The correspondence also features discussion of a rumoured German scheme for a Bushire-Shiraz railway.

Further discussion surrounds the arrangements for marine survey work in the region of Henjam and Bandar Abbas to be undertaken by the RIMS Palinurus. A report by the Captain of the Palinurus, Captain B W Mainprise is included along with three marine survey maps (folios 48-50).

The principal correspondents in the volume include: the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and Consul General for Fars (Lieutenant Colonel Percy Zachariah Cox); (Lieutenant Colonel Stuart George Knox); First Assistant to the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Captain L Birdwood; Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department; Under Secretary of State, 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. ; Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Edward Grey); Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Louis Mallet); Director, Royal Indian Marine, Walter Lumsden; Officer Comanding, RIMS Palinurus ( Captain B W Mainprise); Secretary to the Government of India, Marine Department.

The volume includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, year the subject file was opened, subject heading, and list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (129 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume. The subject 4648 (Railway projects in South Persia; surveys of Gulf ports) consists of 1 volume, IOR/L/PS/10/316. The explanation of the cover sheet/divider at the front of each volume (regarding the correspondence series numbers which have been put together to form the volumes) will be given in the Scope and Content.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 127; 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
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File 4648/1912 'Railway projects in South Persia; surveys of Gulf ports' [‎102r] (208/258), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/316, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100045943905.0x000009> [accessed 19 March 2024]

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