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'Railways and L. of C. [Lines of Communication] Policy Mesopotamia, Vol IV' [119r] (237/270)
The record is made up of 1 file (132 folios). It was created in 4 Oct 1919-9 Dec 1920. 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.
- 4 -
VI)
terminal stations at iiasrah and iafirhdad have to be built.
Ihe oomnletion of all these will probably take £ to
3 yeare,
(?) Offices for the Hallway administration.
ihe present accommodation is temporary; cinder the
©3;iistIn.? organisation each separate ayetem is under the control
of an Assistant or deputy lireotor on the spot. ibis
organisation must cease when the 5 systems are linked up and
control must then centre in the head office. this means
l&rcrely increased accommodation in the head office, and it ie,
therefore, essential that new Offices should be built without
delay.
(6) Housing for the Railway Staffl
Practically nothing exists at present beyond the
mud brick and timber huts put up &t various places durinw the
»ar. rhis is a wor* of the utmost importance if we are to
secure staff at reasonable rates. Little oaa be done this
year beyond brick burning and the whole programme of housing
for some 15,000 Officers and men must take 5 or 4 years to
complete.
Terminal facilities at Makina, Basrah and Masril port.
Makina station wag originallylaid out with a view
to military need© and for a port very maoh smaller than that
now existing.
It will eventually have to be moved to a new site
in order to £ive a more convenient entrance to the new port,
and the lines srivinsr access to the wharves must be completely
changed. These changes have always been kept in view in the
layout of the port; plane for the new station and access to
the port are practically complete. This work involves no *
difficulty but it cannot be attempted at present.
At present ^nklna is the nearest station to Basrah and
.yhir ion the river) both some 3 miles away. An extension
into Atthar will be essential to meet civil and commercial
needs and it ie hoped if labour is available to ^et this
— -
About this item
- Content
The file, marked secret, contains correspondence, notes, and maps regarding rail transportation in Mesopotamia [Iraq] and the surrounding region after the First World War. The papers cover several matters, including:
- The construction, conversion, maintenance, and expansion of the railways in the region, including regular progress reports from the Director of Railways, Baghdad
- Planning, reconnaissance, and surveying for a proposed direct Baghdad-Haifa ('Trans-Arabian') line
- Costs and expenditure
- Transition from military to civil administration.
Correspondents include: the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Mesopotamia; the Director of Railways, Baghdad; the War Office; the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Egypt; and the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad.
The file contains two maps, both showing railway lines in the region (folios 132-133). The file also includes a newspaper cutting of an article on the Baghdad-Basra railway, from The Pioneer Mail , dated 5 December 1919 (folio 92).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (132 folios)
- Arrangement
The file is arranged in chronological order, from the rear to the front.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 134; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel; these numbers are written in coloured crayon.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'Railways and L. of C. [Lines of Communication] Policy Mesopotamia, Vol IV' [119r] (237/270), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/MIL/5/790, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100094403025.0x000026> [accessed 8 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/5/790
- Title
- 'Railways and L. of C. [Lines of Communication] Policy Mesopotamia, Vol IV'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:91v, 93r:131v, 134r, 135v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence