File 3142/1903 'Hedjaz Railway' [‎76r] (158/488)

the carriages which were made in the marine arsenal. Rails and sleepers have been
supplied by German, Belgian, and American firms,.rolling-stock by German and Belgian
firms only.
On account of the transport, the cost of material is, of course, much augmented,
hut this disadvantage is partially rectified by the fact that, with the exception of hmer
and cement, the material required for the construction of stone bridges and bedding
are to be found of good quality on the spot, and may be taken from the quarries free of
cost.
The real work of the Hedjaz Railway began with the laying of the railway
telegraph some years after the laying of a Government telegraph line from Damascus,
via Es Salt and Ma’an to Medina. Shortly afterwards the construction of the Hedjaz
Railway itself was commenced, on the section Muserib-Der’a, as the negotiations
with respect to the line Damascus-Muserib had not yet been definitely concluded. The
work progressed but slowly, so a provisional contract of three years was made with
Chief Engineer Meissner in January 1901.
Meissner Pasha’s first step was to find suitable assistants and to get the necessary
tools, especially measuring instruments. He then began with the military and civil
personnel at his disposal, the construction of the line between Muserib Der’a and
Damascus Der’a, as in the meantime the negotiations between the General Commission
and the French Company had come to naught, and the former had decided to build a
line Damascus-Der’a, parallel to the French line Damascus-Muserib. When later on
these negotiations were again resumed, unfortunately without result, the work between
Damascus Der’a was again interrupted for a whole year, so that this part of the line
could only be opened to traffic in September 1903.
However, the work on the line Muserib-Der’a was continued without interruption,
so that the following sections could be opened :—
Muserib-Der’a (12-8 kilom.) on the 1st September, 1901.
Der’a Serka (79-75 kilom.) on the 1st September, 1902.
Serka Katrame (123*45 kilom.) on the 1st September, 1903.
Katrme Ma’an (L32*60 kilom.) on the 1st September, 1904.
On this day, the anniversary of the Sultan’s accession, took place, the solemn
inauguration of the whole line Damascus-Ma’an, by a special Imperial Mission under
leadership of the Minister Tarkhan Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. . ,
In connection with the year’s pilgrimage to Mecca, the opening of the section
Ma’an Mudewwere (113*2 kilom.) has been planned.
(Note. In the course of this summer, 1906, the section Mudewwere Sat-ul-Hadj
has been completed, and it may be expected that at the end of this year the lines will be
laid at the station Tebak.)
It is easy to understand that the Hedjaz Railway wished to get an outlet to the
sea as soon as possible, as the transport of the immense quantities of building material
over the French line, Damascus-Beyrout, proved very expensive. Therefore the construe
tion of the branch line Haifa Der’a was commenced from Haifa immediately on
conclusion of the aforementioned negotiations with the English Company. The original
English project by which the line was intended to run from Haifa straight through
the valley of the Jordan to Damascus, was changed, so that the railway crossed the
Jordan of the town of Beisan, then touching the Sea of Gennegaret near Lamach,
took its way through the deep romantic valley of the Jaimuk on to Muserib. Already
on the 1st September, 1904, the section Haifa Jordan was opened to traffic. On the
1st September, 1905, the section Jordan Muserib was inaugurated and thereby
was created for the first time a Turkish railway communication with the Mediter
ranean.
Through its natural position Haifa possesses all the conditions for a good harbour.
But in consequence of the strong currents from the west, the sand is banked up and
ships are forced to anchor outside the harbour. A jetty 350 metres long, has not yet
improved matters. In order to make a usable harbour it would be necessary to build a
breakwater 500 metres long, and a quay of about 600 metres.