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Letters and Papers Concerning the Trans-Persian Railway and Other Railways in Persia [110r] (219/442)
The record is made up of 1 file (221 folios). It was created in Nov 1911-Mar 1917. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
t ol
As the Koh—I-Kalik Siah—Keeha—Se-indek-Ar^alaf ran^e will be
found to play a prorainent part in any soberne, that rnay be considered,
of Railway construction to the Soistan Border, it is of considerable
importance that the position of this ran^e and its characteristics be
thoroughly understood. This range tabes off from Koh-I-LIalik Siah at
an angle of 75° and is an isolated ridge which projects into
the Baluchistan desert a distance of from 70-80 miles. It is
wedge shaped and from its base the ground slopes, in a sharp
downward gradient, to the Afghan frontier which lies at a distance
varying from 5-6 miles to double that distance away. * T here the
hill base and this slope meet, the ground is corrugated and
undulating and is much cut up by drainage from the hills for each
drainage channel splays out into innumerable small nullahs, as scon
as it starts descending this slope. In one place, where the Trade
route passes, there are as many as fifty of these nullahs to the
mile, their depth being from a few feet to eight or ten.
3. With the data now before us, vc will experience no difficulty
in arriving at definite conclusions cn the four main standpoints
v.i.z. "the Political”, "the Military", 'the Commercial", and
"the alignment as it will be ’ influenced by engineering or other
special local considerations'’, -with which this Memorandum deals.
(ft.) Political .
The key to India is Afghanistan. This point history has
made quite clear - and the key to Southern and kestern Afghanistan
is Seistan. Protected as Seistan is on the
Bast
(Per.) A Persian custom allowing an individual to seek asylum at a designated location.
and North by the
Helmand river, on the West by its Hamun inundated area, and on
the South West by the "Great Kirman Lut", its nodal point is, in
turn, to be found in the small mountain region somewhere in the
neighbourhood of Koh-I-Malik Siah. If this were to be held
effectively, not only could no approach from the Kirman and Persr.an
Gulf sides, be possible but the
projection
Any method by which the earth’s curved surface may be transposed (or projected) on to a flat surface.
of any influence,
propaganda, or other, from either of these quarters^ hostile to the
About this item
- Content
The file contains correspondence, memoranda, and other papers relating to railway projects in Persia [Iran] and the surrounding region. The papers deal with the proposals for, planning, and progress of, several railway lines, including one from the Mediterranean to India, the Trans-Persian Railway, the Baghdad Railway, and the Nushki and Dalbandin extension from Quetta. The documents discuss the merits and flaws of the proposals, technical issues such as gauge sizes, and the impact of such projects on Britain's relations with Russia, Germany, France, and Turkey.
At the back of the file are a number of official reports on Parliamentary debates within the House of Commons, dating from 10 July 1912 to 25 May 1914, all of which feature railways (folios 128-218). Also at the rear of the file are three maps:
- General Map of Asia with proposed British, German, and Russian rail lines added by hand
- War Office map of the Middle East, showing railways and railway projects
- As above with further rail lines added and details of gauges given.
Correspondents include: Arthur Campbell Yate, army Officer; Henry McNiel; Francis Richard Maunsell, army officer; George Lloyd, politician; Lieutenant-Colonel Charles à Court Repington, army officer and war correspondent; Lord Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, Leader of the House of Lords; Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice (Lord Lansdowne), statesman; Lucien Wolf, journalist and historian; Charles Staniforth, businessman and railway investor; Charles Prestwich Scott, Editor of the Manchester Guardian; Hugh Shakespear Barnes, Director, Imperial Bank of Persia; and Colonel Frank Cooke Webb Ware, former Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Chagai.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (221 folios)
- Arrangement
The file is arranged in chronological order from the front to the rear.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 221; 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 View the complete information for this record
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Letters and Papers Concerning the Trans-Persian Railway and Other Railways in Persia [110r] (219/442), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F112/252, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100075113116.0x000014> [accessed 9 July 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F112/252
- Title
- Letters and Papers Concerning the Trans-Persian Railway and Other Railways in Persia
- Pages
- 87r:90v, 95r:221v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence