The Hejaz Railway by James Nicholson
Growing up in the age of diesel locomotives, I have always been fascinated by steam. Partly I have my father to blame for this. He’s an engineer and welder and would often take us kids to museums that featured various engineering marvels. One of my favourites remains the York Railway Museum. I also grew up living opposite an old GWR station and goods shed in Sennybridge, Wales; the station closed in October 1962 with the Neath and Brecon Railway line closing completely in November 1969. I often wondered what it used to be like to have steam trains running past the house!
Anyhow, this fascination has resulted in my wife and I regularly visiting various steam railways when on holiday. We recently visited the tiny Helston Railway while in Cornwall. Unfortunately, the railway was running little diesel shunters on the day we visited – but it was still a pleasant trundle along the mile or two of the line that is currently open.
Here in Tintern, Monmouthshire, we’re well placed to access a number of heritage railways. The closest is the Dean Forest Railway – a 4-mile line that runs from Lydney to Parkend. Further north, it’s not far to the Severn Valley Railway which runs from Bridgenorth, Shropshire to Kidderminster, Worcestershire. My wife and I have spent many happy days out on this line; my favourite stop being the engine shed at Highley.
So, I thought for this month’s featured book I’d choose something from our extensive railways section here at the bookshop. Something about a local branch line maybe? No – I’ve gone for something a little way from green and rainy Wales: Saudi Arabia! More specifically, a book on the Hejaz Railway written by James Nicholson.
I have to confess I’d never heard of the railway. Built at the orders of the Ottoman sultan in 1900, the narrow-gauge line runs 810 miles from Damascus (in modern-day Syria) to the Medina (in Saudi-Arabia). The line takes its name from the Hejaz mountains through which it runs. The railway winds its way through some of the most dramatic desert mountain scenery in the world, following the centuries-old pilgrimage road into the heart of Arabia. The railway had both military and religious importance.
The railway was to become well-known due to the exploits of one man – T.E. Lawrence – ‘Lawrence of Arabia’. The author notes that without the Hejaz railway, there may never have been a ‘Lawrence of Arabia’!
The book covers the entire history of the railway, from the order being given for its construction through to its current state.
The construction was faced with multiple obstacles including the extreme location, access to resources, availability of labour as well as funding. The book catalogues the way these challenges were overcome and includes numerous photos of the route, stations and the line – both period and recent.
The book also contains extensive details about the initial running of the railway. However, the largest section of the book deals with the role of the railway in the First World War. During the war, the railway was used for various military purposes and became the target of attack, not least by Lawrence.
Of all the images in book, the ones that fascinate me most are those of the rolling stock and locomotives. There are numerous photos of the original locomotives produced by Hartmann, Jung, Krauss, Hohenzollern, Tubize and Nippon.
Today, two connected sections of the railway still exist. At the time of writing this, visiting the area this stunning railway ran though is probably not the wisest move. But this amazing book is a testimony to an incredible feat of human ingenuity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hejaz_railway
https://www.thehejazrailway.com/
Contributed by Steve
(Published on 15th Oct 2024)
