![File 357/1919 Pt 2 ‘RAILWAYS IN PERSIA’ [‎38r] (80/1150)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000419.0x0002b0/IOR_L_PS_10_794_0080.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "File 357/1919 Pt 2 ‘RAILWAYS IN PERSIA’ [‎38r] (80/1150)")
File 357/1919 Pt 2 ‘RAILWAYS IN PERSIA’ [38r] (80/1150)
The record is made up of 1 volume (573 folios). It was created in 5 Dec 1921-28 Jan 1931. 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.
TH1$ DOCUMENT ig THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S C^>¥E^NMEMT
PERSIA.
May 28, lUSfi.
CONFIDENTIAL.
Section 2.
[E 1113/786/34] No. 1.
Sir R. Clive to Mr. A. Henderson.—(Received May 28.)
(No. 216. Confidential.)
g* r Tehran, May 18, 1930.
WITH reference to my telegram No. 124 of the 14th May, 1 have the honour to
enclose herewith a copy of the letter received by the railway syndicate from the
Minister of Communications on the evening of the 13th May. Mr. Shepperd, the
president of the Elen Company, called on me the following day and communicated
this document. I asked him what he proposed to do about it. He said the position
was still uncertain but that his own belief was that certain members of the
German group, especially Mr. Thomas Brown and Mavrogordato, the chief engineer,
had instigated the Persian Government to rescind the syndicate’s contract, and that
they hoped once this had been done to negotiate a new contract on behalf of the
German group. . n ,
2 The position is certainly extremely involved, and it is very climcult to
ascertain the real facts of the case. I met Count Schulenburg the same evening: he
told me that he had heard that Mr. Shepperd was saying that the German group had
not behaved fairly. He stated emphatically that this was not true, and went over the
position as it was three years ago when the Shah first decided to have the railway.
He said the Persian Government had then offered the whole coustruction to the
Germans and that it was due to the Germans that the American group had been
called in and the syndicate formed. The Germans had never wished to construct the
part in the south and they did not wish to do so to-day. _ It was with the greatest
difficulty that Teymourtache had then been induced to admit American paiticipation ,
he had not recovered from the Millspaugh mission against which he had an unreason
able prejudice ; he could not believe any good of the Americans, and now since the
unfortunate incidents of last January when the Shah visited the southern^ section of the
railwav at a moment of quite exceptional rains, both His Majesty and I eymourtache'
believed that the American group had deliberately done their work badly and
consequently wished to have nothing more to do with them. . #
3. Admittedly the position of the two groups of the syndicate is very different.
The German group are owed the sum of about a million
tomans
10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
for work done and not
paid for. The American group could leave to-morrow with a fair profit. According
to Mr. Shepperd, the work done by the German group in the north will work out at
something like 05,000
tomans
10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
a kilometre ; in the south the cost will be about halt that.
It is true that the Germans have built steel or concrete bridges while the bridges m the
south are made of wood, but this, Mr. Shepperd tells me, is perfectly good engineering ;
the wooden bridges are expected to have a life of ten to twelve years and can gradually, as
funds are available, be replaced by steel or concrete. The Persians do not understand
this and have formed the impression which, as I have said, was intensified by the
misfortunes of last January, that the American work is shoddy and cannot beai
comparison with the German work in the north. . .
4. On the evening of the 15th I met the Minister of Court at a charity entertain
ment on behalf of a children s hospital in Tehran. I had not seen his Highness for
some time and had been told that some days before his doctors had seriously warned
him against the danger of overwork and had insisted on his giving up all parties in
the evening. I found him looking tired and ill. In the course of a short conversation
I had with him, I referred to the railway question and said that I had seen the letter
which had been addressed to the syndicate repudiating the contract.
5. His Highness at once began to inveigh against the syndicate, or. rather the
American half of it, and complained that Mr. Hart, the United States Minister, a
requested an audience of the Shah. “ The syndicate affairs are no concern of the
American Government,” he said, adding : “ Some people appear to imagine that l am a
‘ c hef de section ’ and His Majesty a ‘ chef de departement.’ ’ His Highness spoke like a
petulant child, and it was clear that he was far from well. I asked him what it was
intended to do about the railway. He said : “ In the south we shall continue to work
with our own engineers.” I enquired if this would not be a very extravagant way of
|_120 ee—2]
About this item
- Content
This volume contains papers relating to the construction of the Trans-Persian Railway. It contains material relating to:
- The Persian Railway Syndicate’s attempt to enlist the aid of Rabbi Joseph Saul Kornfeld, the United States Envoy to Persia [Iran], and the British Foreign Office’s subsequent unfavourable attitude towards the Syndicate
- The Persian Railway Syndicate’s proposal to invite American companies for the construction of railways in Persia
- The concessions for the Mohammerah [Khorramshahr]-Khanakin [Khanaqin] and Khanakin-Tehran railways
- The proposed railway from Khanakin to Tehran and the estimated cost for the three principal divisions of the railway
- The restrictions of the British Government on the Persian Railway Syndicate’s grant of a loan to the Persian Government
- The possibility of a ‘fusion of interests’ between the Persian Railway Syndicate and the Stronach Dutton System of Road Rails Limited
- The possible extension of the American Chester Group’s railway concession from Turkey into Persia
- The plans of the Prime Minister of Persia [Rezā Khān Sardār Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. Sepah] for a railway line extending from Ahwaz [Ahvaz] to Khorramabad, Dizful [Dezful], and Sultanabad [Arak] to Tehran
- The endeavour of an American group to obtain a concession for a line from Mohammerah to Khorramabad and Tehran
- The expenditures of the Persian Railway Syndicate for the Khanakin-Tehran and the Mohamerah-Khoramabad surveys
- The possibility of forming a Railway Syndicate with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and Standard Oil Company
- The Persian Government’s decision to carry out a survey of the Mohammerah-Tehran-Bandar-i Gez [Bandar-i Gaz] railway line with the assistance of a German engineer
- The Consortium industriel pour l’Orient’s proposal to build a railway connecting Meshed [Mashhad] to the Tripoli-Homs Line
- The preference of the British Army Council and the Air Council for an East-West rather than a North-South railway in Persia for strategic reasons
- The exploitation of coal and iron deposits in Mazanderan [Mazandaran] for the construction of railways in Persia, and the concerns of Russia about a Trans-Persian Railway connecting the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. to the Caspian Sea
- The Act of the Persian Majlis [Parliament] for the construction of the Persian Trunk Railway
- The Persian Majlis’s Passage of the Bill for Railway Survey and Construction
- The Persian Majlis’s passage of the Railway Construction Bill, from Mohammerah and Bandar-i Gez to Tehran
- The Persian Majlis’s passage of a law for constructing a railway between Khor Musa-Mohammerah-Bandar-i Gez;
- The Persian Majlis’s authorisation of the Minister of Public Work to employ foreign experts for the construction of the Railway;
- The inauguration of the Bandar-i Gaz-Tehran-Ahwaz Railway in the presence of the Shah of Persia [Rezā Shāh Pahlavi]
- The British concerns and preference for a British rather than an American firm to build the Southern Section of the Railway
- The passage of the Railway Survey Law by the Persian Majlis and the contract between the Persian Government and the American company Ulen, and two German companies, Philipp Holzmann and Julius Berger-Siemens Union [sic., Siemens Bauunion] to carry out a complete survey of the Railway
- The contract between the Persian Government, represented by Minister of Public Works [General Ḥabib Allāh Khān Shaybānī], and the Persian Railway Syndicate, represented by MD Carrel and MNS Mavrogordato
- The contracts between the Persian Government and the Persian Railway Syndicate for the constructions of ports at Bandar-i Qays and Khor Musa (Bandar-i Shahpur) and a dam over the Karun River at Ahwaz
- The plans for building the line from Bandar Shapur north of Ahwaz, and revival of the line from Hamadan to Tehran
- The construction of the railway lines from Bandar Shah and Khor Musa, the diversion of German resources to the construction of electrical and cement works, and the postponement of building a port at Khor Musa
- The reservations of the British Minister in Persia [Robert Henry Clive] about the construction of the Railway as opposed to motor roads in Persia, and the subsidisation of the enterprise through the tea and sugar monopolies
- The increase in the cost of the Southern Section of the Railway and predicted opposition of the Persian Government
- The visit by the Shah of Persia to the Southern Section of the Railway, his unfavourable impression of the state of the railway, and the American Minister in Persia’s advice to Ulen and Company to stop working on the railway in case of difficulties with the Persian Government
- The cancellation of the contract between the Persian Government and the Persian Railway Syndicate over delayed payments, and the agreement between the German and Ulen groups within the Syndicate to work on the Northern and Southern sections of the Trans-Persian Railway respectively
- The Anglo-Persian Oil Company’s concerns about the Railway providing greater access and mobility to the Russians
- The dispute between the Persian Government and the German-American syndicate for the construction of the Railway
- The negotiations between the Persian Government and the German companies Julius Berger Konsortium, Philipp Holzmann, and Siemens Bauunion for the construction of the Northern Section of the Trans-Persian Railway
- The possible takeover by the Batignolles Construction Company of the building of the Southern Section of the Trans-Persian Railway from the American and British companies Ulen and Company and Stewart and McDonnell
- The Persian Government’s appointment of Suzuki Hajime from the Japanese Railway Department’s Engineering Bureau
- The breakdown of negotiations between the Batignolles Construction Company and the Government of Persia, and the latter’s decision to proceed with the construction of the remaining sections of the railway
- The proposals of the Batignolles Construction Company to the Government of Persia in the absence of a contract
- The extension of the Southern Section of the Railway from Khor Musa to Dizful, Hamadan and Kazvin [Qazvin], and the Northern Section from Tehran to Sari and the southern coast of the Caspian Sea.
The volume also includes the following sketch maps:
- A sketch map of the Trans-Persian Railway, from Khor Musa to Sari and the coast of the Caspian Sea, showing the ‘Line Completed’, ‘Line Surveyed’, and ‘Division between the Northern and Southern Sections’ (f 14)
- A sketch map of the Northern Section of the Railway, showing the routes to Pahlavi, Semnan, and Balfurush [Barfurush], with a second map of the Southern Section, showing alternative routes and termini, running either from Mohammerah or Khor Musa to Dizful and Hamadan (f 156)
- A sketch map showing the existing and projected railways in Persia (f 204).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (573 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
The subject 357 (Persia: Railways) consists of two volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/793-794. The volumes are divided into two parts, with each part comprising one volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 573; 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
Use and share this item
- Share this item
File 357/1919 Pt 2 ‘RAILWAYS IN PERSIA’ [38r] (80/1150), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/794, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100110106179.0x000051> [accessed 11 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100110106179.0x000051
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100110106179.0x000051">File 357/1919 Pt 2 ‘RAILWAYS IN PERSIA’ [‎38r] (80/1150)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100110106179.0x000051"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000419.0x0002b0/IOR_L_PS_10_794_0080.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000419.0x0002b0/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/794
- Title
- File 357/1919 Pt 2 ‘RAILWAYS IN PERSIA’
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:13v, 15r:18v, 19v:23v, 24v:31v, 35v:38v, 39v:42v, 45v:48v, 56v:57v, 58v:62v, 64r:98v, 99v:106v, 110r:117v, 118v:122v, 123v, 125r:126v, 128r:148v, 150v:155v, 157r:163v, 165r:169v, 171r:173v, 175r:181v, 182v:188v, 190r:203v, 205r:206v, 208r:226r, 227v:266v, 268r:489v, 490v, 494v, 498v, 502v, 507v:523v, 524v:526v, 534v:544v, 545v:546v, 547v, 548v:552v, 553v:555v, 557v:572v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence