Railways of Iraq

I’ve been sent a plug for a forthcoming book On Chariots with Horses of Fire and Iron. The Excursionists and the Narrow Gauge Railroad from Jaffa to Jerusalem.

I’ve not yet seen a copy myself, but it has to be in the running for “book title of the year”!

On Chariots with Horses of Fire and Iron
The Excursionists and the Narrow Gauge Railroad from Jaffa to Jerusalem

by Anthony S Travis

This book deals with the arrival of modernity in the Holy Land in the form of the 86 km Jaffa-Jerusalem Railway. Befitting the completion of such a substantial undertaking, the inauguration, in September 1892, was a grand affair, attended by representatives of the Ottoman Empire, consuls, religious leaders, and foreign delegations. The tracks approached Jerusalem from the southwest through the Judean Mountains, taking advantage of the deep, winding river bed of the Soreq Valley. This afforded the least steep route, though even then the grades were a challenge for the locomotives. Since the tracks were of narrow meter-gauge they could easily follow the natural contours of the land on the ascent to Jerusalem, the highest point, at about 700 meters above sea level.

The railroad was the largest civil engineering project ever undertaken in the modern Holy Land. It was built to exploit the tremendous growth of pilgrim traffic and tourism during the second half of the nineteenth century. Though several proposals had been put forward since the 1850s, it was only in the 1880s that two young Jewish entrepreneurs, Joseph Navon of Jerusalem and Joseph Amzalak of Jaffa, backed by the Protestant banker Johannes Frutiger, were enabled to take the first steps leading to the acquisition of a license from the Ottoman government for laying down the iron rails. Unable to raise sufficient capital in Europe, Navon sold the license to a group of Catholic businessmen in Paris, who established the Société du Chemin de Fer Ottoman de Jaffa à Jérusalem et Prolongements. When the first locomotive was tested on a short length of track at Jaffa half the population turned up to witness the event, such was the novelty of the sight and sounds of the horse of fire and iron. Despite difficulties due to the low cost of construction and poor traffic during the early years, the railroad opened up Jerusalem to modern tourism, brought greater numbers of pilgrims, and contributed to the growth of the city. It also delivered fresh water in times of drought.

This is the most thoroughly researched publication ever to appear on the first railroad in the Holy Land. Moreover, it relies extensively on the one resource that best captures the spirit of the Jaffa-Jerusalem Railway: magnificent photographs, mainly taken between 1891 and 1914. These early photographs, gathered from archives in Israel, the United States, England and Germany, are supplemented with those taken by British forces from December 1917 on, from Israel, Australia and England, and a number of color images dating from the mid-1980s.

Details of locomotives and rolling stock, maps, tables of statistics, track plans, extensive notes, a bibliography, and index are included. The intended audiences, apart from general readers and railway enthusiasts, are historical geographers, historians of the Holy Land in modern times, and transport and tourism historians.

Source: Magnes Press

The US military has handed over control of the railway station in Reyad to the local authorities, after using it as Patrol Base Howell.

The map shows the approximate location of Reyad, on the line from Haqlaniyah via Biji to Kirkuk. A groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the line was held in Baiji on 8 February 1983, and a ceremonial inauguration in the presence of the then Minister of Communication Mohammed Hamza Al Zubaidi was held on November 7 1987

U.S. Forces Transfer Riyadh Train Station Back to Iraqis

By Spc. Karla P. Elliott
11th Public Affairs Detachment

FORWARD OPERATING BASE WARRIOR, KIRKUK, Iraq – As part of the new security agreement and due to improved security in the city of Riyadh, coalition forces and local Iraqi government officials held a ceremony to transfer the Riyadh Train Station, formerly known by coalition forces as Patrol Base Howell, back to the Kirkuk Department of Transportation Jan. 3.

“The train station transfer went smoothly and the sounds of trains will signal a return to normalcy,” said Shakir Mahmood, director of transportation for Kirkuk province.

The transfer is a major step toward restoring the rail service in Kirkuk province. The remaining task is to complete the final span of the Bayji Railroad Bridge that links the Kirkuk rail line with the Samarra to Bayji line.

“Once the train station is functioning, it will help energize the economy as well as decrease the number of commercial vehicles travelling on the roads,” said Mohamad Ahmad Hussein, the mayor of Riyadh.

Coalition forces also noted the significance of the event.

“I’m honored to be here this morning among you to mark the transfer of the Riyadh Train Station from coalition forces to the people of Iraq,” said Lt. Col. Kenneth R. Casey, commander of 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, attached to the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. “Today represents one of the many transitions happening across Iraq, with the improved security situation provided by the Iraqi police, Iraqi army, Sons of Iraq and U.S. forces.”

The transfer played an important part in CF efforts to start giving their areas of responsibility back to the Iraqis.

“Patrol Base Howell is a great example of what U.S. forces are trying to do, which is to give the infrastructure back to the Iraqis to use for their intended purposes,” Casey said.

PB Howell has sheltered coalition forces for more than a year, and many Soldiers have called this place a home.

“It’s hard for us to leave because this has been our home for a while,” said Capt. Thomas Strum, commander of D Co., 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regt. “It’s been great to live so close to the people that we serve here in the town of Riyadh, but it’s an important step forward.”

“We’ll move on and continue to do what we do,” said 1st Sgt. Michael Oliver, 1st Sgt., Co. D, 1-67th Armor Regt. “Although we’re not here, we’re still going to help them build a better country.”

“The movement of American forces within Iraq shows the people that there is validity to the security agreement,” said Sturm. “This is definitely a symbol of Iraqi sovereignty,” he concluded.

Source: DVIDS press release 2009-01-06

In the 29 December 2008 story In Baghdad, a Trip to Nowhere Washington Post Staff Photographer Andrea Bruce takes a ride on the Baghdad commuter train.

At 5:30 a.m., everything is dark at the Baghdad Central Station. There are no passengers about, and most of the gates are still locked. The morning train, the only working train, leaves the station with a deep, heavy rhythm that vibrates through the six passenger cars. Only the engine has electricity. There are no lights.

A Baghdad commute is a collection of some quite artistic photos Bruce took of the trip - it’s not everywhere people skin sheep alongside comuuter lines.

… and photography is illegal. At least that is what I was told by staff on the platform on 10 January, in my first taste of the anti-photography paranoia Britain is getting a reputation for. This was all quite bizarre, and led to a member of staff threatening to make malicious accusations against a passenger.

The DLR extension to Woolwich Arsenal opened on 10 January. I wasn’t keen enough to do the first train at an unearthly hour, so wandered along in the evening. As one would expect there were a number of passengers just along for the ride, and on arrival some of us took photographs of the train (above). The staff from the train seemed perfectly happy with this.

I then went to get a picture from the other end of the train, but was accosted by a member of the station staff demanding know what I was doing. Erm, taking a picture of the new railway. He told me that was illegal(!), demanded ID, and called over a posse of staff – maybe about half a dozen or so.

I was puzzled by this. In general it is not illegal to take pictures in Britain, there were no signs saying it is banned in this specific case, other railways don’t ban it, and I’ve never had trouble in the past (even abroad in places like Republika Srpska or the Turkish border). So was it really illegal? They threatened to call the police, and I said I had no objection to this.

One member of staff who gave the impression of being more senior admitted that no, I wasn’t actually doing anything wrong by taking pictures (as usual, there is no law against taking pictures, but no right to do so).

Not open?

That should have been the end of a pointless episode. However the conversation took a bizarre turn. One member of staff started getting angry. She claimed that I should not be on the station because it was “not open” yet.

This was flying in the face of rather overwhelming evidence: the start of services had been announced, and the trains were clearly carrying passengers – including me when I arrived!

Worrying

Now things turned from strange to actually rather worrying. She said would have me “done for verbal”, and would make a claim of assault against me. Jabbing a finger towards my nose, she threatened to accuse me of assaulting her. This seemed suspiciously like some kind of ’script’ intended to wind me up, presumably to try to provoke a real inappropriate response. However I’m not that sort of person, and refused to rise to the bait.

I politely pointed out that presumably we were on CCTV, so any claim could be checked. She thought for a moment, then decided that perhaps she wasn’t going to make false accusations after all!

The British Transport Police had arrived. They were a lot more professional, shuffled the staff off, agreed that there was no ban on photography, that people with valid tickets were perfectly able to use the railway, and I wasn’t committing any offence.

All very odd.

Unacceptable

While the DLR is of course free to prohibit photography (though it would be sensible if this were to be advertised, as no such prohibition exists on the Underground or National Rail networks), the aggressively confrontational attitude shown by staff was rather worrying. It is completely unacceptable to threaten the public with malicious and utterly fictitious reports of assault, which can only devalue genuine concerns for staff and passenger safety.

Anti-photography paranoia is reported to be a growing annoyance in Britain (if you have a camera which isn’t part of a mobile phone, you must be either a terrorist or a paedophile, and possibly both), but the idea that a member of staff feels able to threaten passengers with completely false claims of assault is very worrying.

Yes, I’ve made a written complaint to the DLR, and I’m looking forward to reading their response.

Trainspotting may be an activity of limited and indeed questionable appeal, but it is not a criminal offence and it is not a terrorist threat.
Norman Baker MP

Normal service will now be resumed, with photos of trains in war zones. DLR contractor Serco also operates and maintains the ballistic missile early warning system at RAF Fylingdales on the North York Moors, a modern successor to the sound mirrors.

Warrug.com has a selection of war rugs - traditional Persian or Oriental rugs featuring martial images, such as helicopters, tanks, guns, etc. They come from, primarily, Afghanistan and were first woven around 1980.

One rug shows a map of Iraq, which has been dated to between 1929 and 1940 by using the railways which are shown.