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Bible Encyclopedias
Hejaz Railway
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
or "HEJAZ RAILWAY ( see 13.218). - The system comprises the Damascus-Medina line (1,320 km.) and a line from Der`a to the coast at Haifa (161 km.).
In 1900 Sultan `Abdul Hamid II., urged by his favourite 'Izzet Pasha, decided to build a railway from Damascus to Medina and Mecca. The ostensible reason was to provide a cheap and easy means for Moslems to perform the prescribed pilgrimage to the holy places of their Faith, but the Sultan also hoped that the line would strengthen his temporal authority. The military aspect of the enterprise was carefully ignored when, in May 1900, the Sultan, as Khalif, invited the Faithful to contribute towards the expenses of building the " Pilgrim Railway," and subscribed £50,000. An irade was issued (May 1900) granting io °/o of one month's pay of all officials and soldiers of the Ottoman Empire to the Fund, imposing special stamp duties, and appropriating the proceeds of the sale of the skins of animals sacrificed at Moslem ceremonies for the same purpose. In all, about £1,000,000 was raised in cash or kind by voluntary subscriptions throughout the Moslem world, the levies on officials and soldiers produced some £250,000 and, up to Sept. r 1907, £2,250,000 had been spent. After that date, the construction of the railway was entirely in Turkish hands.
A High Commission under Marshal Kiazim Pasha was appointed to superintend construction; Hajji Mukhtar Bey began the survey, and, after Jan. 1901, the German engineer-in-chief, Meissner Pasha, took active control of the work. At first Austrian and Italian contractors were employed, but Ottoman railway troops were also used, and for the later stages of the line from El `Ala to Medina only Moslems were allowed to work. In all, some 7,000 soldiers were employed, besides Italian, Montenegrin and Greek labourers, and Syrian-Christian muleteers and followers. The cost per mile of construction worked out at about £3,000. Meissner Pasha began to work from Der`a near Mezeirib, the terminus of a French railway from Damascus, for which an offer of £280,000 was refused by its proprietors. A British company which built a few km. of track inland from Haifa was bought out for £46,250.
Running almost due S. from Damascus, the main line enters the Yarmuk basin and skirts the western edge of the Hauran. South of Der`a it takes much the same course as the old Hajj road along the desert plateau about 65 km. E. of the Jordan, ascending gradually to Ma'an, where it turns S.S.E. About 40 km. farther it reaches its highest point (1,180 metres) and begins to descend the steep escarpment of Batn el Ghul and follows the long N.S. depression between the main Arabian watershed and the `Aweiridh range. After ascending a saddle the line descends into Wadi Hamdh basin, within which it continues to Medina. The Haifa sector runs roughly W. from Der`a down the Yarmuk valley, crosses the Jordan at Jisr el Mujami`, turns S. to Beisan, and then N.W. across the plain of Esdraelon.
| Height in metres (approx.) | Km. from Damascus (approx.) | Section opened Sept. I | (I) Main Line | Damascus.. . | 696 | `Ezra. .. . | 589 | 91 | 1903 | Der`a. .. . | 529 | 123) | Zerqa. .. . | 618 | 203 | 1902 | `Amman . | 738 | 222 | Qatrane. . | 783 | 326 | ?9°3 | Qal 'at `Anaze. . Ma'an.. . | 1,051 1,074 | 423 459 | 1904 | Mudawara Dhat el Hajj. . | 732 691 | 572 610 | 1906 | Jebuk. . | 775 | 692 | Mu'adhdham Medain Salih | 1,005 820 | 830 958 | 1907 | El 'Ala. .. . | 676 | 993 | Hadiya Medina | 400 700 | 1,144} 1,320 J | 1908 | (2) Der`a-Haifa sector | Mezeirib . | 462 | 135 | 1901 | Semakh Jisr el Mujami` . | 189 246 | 197 208 | 1905 | (Jordan Bridge) | Beisan . | 121 | 2251 | 'Afule . | 62 | 248 | 1904 | Haifa . | 1 | - 284 | The chief stations are: - The line is laid in most part on steel sleepers with ballast of broken lava and basalt. Curves being sharp in places - often not more than 125 metres radius - derailments are frequent. Speed nowhere exceeds 25 km. per hr., and, in the southern sector, the maximum obtainable with safety is 141 km. The fuel used in normal times was a mixture of Turkish Eregli and Cardiff coal imported at Haifa, but during the World War this was replaced by wood from the palm groves of Damascus and Medina and the oak forests of El Hishe to which latter the Turks built a short branch line from Qal'at `Anaze. The water supply at main stations is from elevated tanks fed by steam - or windmill - pumps, and, at certain places, is so highly mineralized as seriously to affect the tubing of locomotives. The main repairing shops are at Qadim station, Damascus, with smaller shops at Der`a, Ma'an and Tebuk. Before the World War three through trains left Damascus weekly, with numerous specials during the pilgrim season, and the journey took 52 days. In 1911, receipts were £T. 214,000 and, in 1912, 48,000 pilgrims were carried. After the outbreak of the revolt (1916) the railway was repeatedly damaged by organized parties of Arab forces, the most serious attack being that in the spring of 1918 when a long sector S. of Ma`an was so completely destroyed as to be beyond repair during the war. Even in peace times the line was constantly subject to raids by Bedouin, who broke telegraph lines, displaced rails and did much damage to stations; as late as March 1921 organized attacks continued and bridges in the northern sector were destroyed. Control of the Hejaz railway enabled the Turks to hold Medina until Jan. 1919. The prolongation of the line to Mecca was prevented by the opposition of the Harb tribes, which were inspired by the Grand Sherif of Mecca and by the cessation of subscriptions. See Auler Pasha, Die Hedschasbahn, 1906; Angus Hamilton, The Hejaz Railway in Problems of the Near East, 1909. (H. P. G.) Copyright Statement These files are public domain. Bibliography Information
Chisholm, Hugh, General Editor. Entry for 'Hejaz Railway'. 1911 Encyclopedia Britanica. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/bri/h/hejaz-railway.html. 1910.  Ads FreeProfile |