'Military Lessons of the Arab Rebellion in Palestine 1936' [‎93r] (190/294)

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The remaining sections of the railway were as follows
(a)
Rafa to Lydda.
62 miles.
(*)
Lydda to Haifa.
70 miles.
(c)
Lydda to Jerusalem.
41 miles.
(a)
Lydda to Tel Aviv.
11 miles.
(e)
44- kilos of line
between Haifa and
Acre.
3 miles.
(f)
Haifa to Samakh.
55 miles.
Total
242 miles.
The main communication with
Egypt.
The only alternative to the
road through Nablus.
Required for the carriage of
vital supplies for Jerusalem
which could not easily be
transferred to road traffic.
Required for the carriage of
vital supplies for Tel Aviv.
Communications with railway
workshops.
The 105 cm. feeder line to the
Hedjaz Railway providing
communication to Damascus, the
maintenance of which was essen
tial to French interests.
Of these only the first two received military protection until after the
first reinforcements had come safely through from Egypt, when protection
was extended to the remaining sections. Fortunately most of the rail-
way followed the plains through mainly Jewish areas, which eased defence
and at the same time gave the Jews themselves a chance of participating
in it. The Rafa-Lydda-Haifa line entered Palestine in desert country,
changed North of Gaza to orange groves and cultivation, and kept to the
coastal plain the whole way. From Lydda to Jerusalem the railway
followed level ground as far as Artuf, where it started the steep climb
up into the hills winding its way through deep gorges flanked with rocky
hillsides. The line from Lydda to Tel Aviv was on level ground through
out. The narrow gauge line ran level as far as Beisan and then entered
the low hill system which forms the western border of the Jordan Valley.
The Railway Staff .
The Headquarters of the Palestine Railways was located in ^he Station
buildings at Haifa and the main workshops a few miles outside. ^ Lydda
was the most important junction and acted as headquarters tor the southern
district. All stations were linked by the railway technical control
telephone system which was not in connection with the ordinary civil
system. Organization was very centralized and all movements on the line
were controlled from Haifa. The effect of this organization upon the
military arrangements was to necessitate one central authority at Haifa
to control the operation of such tactical units as patrol trains, trolleys,
armoured trains etc. which used the line, since it was at Haifa alone
that traffic over the whole system could be viewed at one time. It was
however possible to decentralise below to two units or formations base
upon Haifa and Lydda and responsible respectively for the protection of
the lines to the North and South of Lydda.
Outside the Headquarters, railway employees could be dividud among
the Platelayers* Organization, the Repair and Maintenance Staffs at
Haifa and Lydda, the Station Staffs along the line, and the Train Crews
Of the platelayers, who were almost exclusively Arabs, more will be said
later. The repair and maintenance staff at Haifa was a mixture o