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'Handbook of Arabia. Vol II. 1917' [41] (45/542)
The record is made up of 1 volume (271 folios). It was created in 1917. It was written in English and Arabic. 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.
WESTERN ROUTES (Nos. 17-39)
(2?
41
can.
Contents.
Over-all
Length.
Age,
years.
Maker or type.
m.
m.
10x2-36x0-4
10-98
12
Baume et Marpent.
lOx 2-36x 0-4
10-98
10
Haine St. Pierre.
lOx 2-36x 0-39
10-98
10
Roeulx.
10 x 2-42 x 0-4:
11-0
8
Gotha.
lOx 2-36X 0-4
10-98
12
Haine St. Pierre.
lOx 2-36X 0-4
10-98
10
Haine St. Pierre.
lOx 2-36x 0-4
10-98
11
Haine St. Pierre.
10X 2-36 X 0-39
10-98
10
Roeulx.
It was customary to change engines, and leave an intermediate
at each of these points. A relay of drivers was carried. There
fore, on the peace system, to maintain a daily service of one train
each way would need about 15 locomotives. However good the
present management, it will be found hard to economize on the
old figure, since, apart from the unreliability of the machines, there
will be interruptions by Arab raids, which may even make running
by night inadvisable.
The gauge being 1-05 m., the carrying capacity of the railway
was never great. It is now working on wood-fuel, which has to be
carried down from Damascus. A single train, during the 2,610 km.
of the round trip, will burn nearly 50 tons of wood, which is a serious
item in the gross load of the line. The average length of train was
13 trucks : the sidings are capable of 20, but even under present
exigencies this limit is not likely to be reached, as the experience
of the Syrian railways on wood-fuel seems to have compelled the
management to run light trains. It has been customary sometimes
in summer to take four tank-wagons on the train, for the machines
and passengers, and to supply the waterless guard-posts and
stations along the line. If the threat of Arab raids necessitates
increasing these local garrisons and patrols, the net delivery of the
line at Medina will be still further reduced.
Supplies. Water is obtainable at the stations, but at most it only
suffices for the requirements of the railway ; it is fairly abundant
at Ma'an, Dhat el-Hajj, Tebuk, Qal'at el-Akhdhar, and El-'Ala. The
most suitable places for rest camps would be Ma'an, Tebuk, and
El-'Ala; but supplies in any quantity are not available en route.
Route No. 18, from Akaba to Jauf via Ma'an, is a portion of
a supposed ancient trade route between Egypt and the Persian
About this item
- Content
This volume is A Handbook of Arabia, Volume II, Routes (Admiralty War Staff, Intelligence Department: May, 1917) and contains details on routes in the Arabian Peninsula, as well as information on transport and lines of communication arranged on a geographical basis. Chapters concerning meteorological information, hygiene and disease, and vocabularies have also been incorporated. The volume was prepared on behalf of the Admiralty and the War Office. The sources from which the routes have been compiled, together with notes on directions and distance, appear at the head of each chapter, while some sections have been compiled on the basis of native information. Authorities cited include: George August Wallin, William Gifford Palgrave, Carlo Claudio Camillo Guarmani, Lady Anne Blunt, Charles Huber, Julius Euting, Gerard Leachman, Gertrude Bell, Anders Christian Barclay Raunkiær, William Henry Irvine Shakespear, and John Gordon Lorimer.
The volume includes a note on confidentiality, title page, and a 'Note' on the compilation of the volume. There is a page of 'Contents' that includes the following sections:
- Chapter 1: Methods of Transport;
- Chapter 2: Communications, A. Northern Routes, B. Eastern Routes, C. Central Routes, D. Western Routes, E. South-Western Routes, F. Southern Routes, G. Souther-Eastern Routes;
- Chapter 3: Routes, A. Northern Routes, B. Eastern Routes, C. Central Routes, D. Western Routes, E. South-Western Routes, F. Southern Routes, G. Souther-Eastern Routes;
- Chapter 4: Meteorological Observations;
- Chapter 5: Hygiene and Disease;
- Chapter 6: Vocabularies;
- Appendix: Note on the System of Transliteration and Glossary of Topographical and Common Terms;
- Index;
- Plates.
There is also a 'List of Maps' and a 'Note on the Spelling of Proper Terms'.
There is one map contained in this volume: 'Map 5. Key Map of Routes'. In addition, there are nine plates by Douglas Carruthers, Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear, Captain Gerard Leachman, and Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Barrett Miles.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (271 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged in chapters. There is a contents page, list of maps, alphabetical index, and list of plates.
- 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 front cover, on number 1, and ends on the map which is inserted at the back of the volume, on number 271.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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'Handbook of Arabia. Vol II. 1917' [41] (45/542), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/E84/2, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023896534.0x00002f> [accessed 4 April 2025]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/E84/2
- Title
- 'Handbook of Arabia. Vol II. 1917'
- Pages
- front, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:534, ii-r:ii-v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence