Mobile friendly

I have changed this website’s WordPress theme, so hopefully it should now be more mobile device friendly. Let me know if anything doesn’t work.

Meanwhile, I would recommend following “Historical Railway Images” on Flickr for lots of great photos of railways in the Middle East, such as this view of Krupp 2-8-0 steam locomotive No 1446 in Iraq. Click for more.

Iraq Railways - Krupp 2-8-0 steam locomotive Nr. 1446 (built 1956)

Railfanning in Iraq photos on Trainboard

The October 20 2008 thread “Railfanning in Iraq” on Trainboard has some photos taken by ConrailDan in Al Diwaniyah, about sixty miles south of Baghdad, in 2003.

The photos (you might need to register to see them) include a DES3100 loco. These were built in Czechoslovakia by CKD Praha as a tropicalised variant of their T669.

There are also pictures of yellow machines, and a T-55 tank on a flat wagon.

From what I remember the Iraqis had pretty good track with concrete ties. I even got to see one train travel over the rails. It was one engine and about twenty covered hoppers
Source: Railfanning in Iraq on Trainboard

Maqil light railway pictures

Maqil light railway

Rainer Fuchs, who has a comprehensive website on Iraqi railway stamps, has found some wonderful vintage stereoscopic photographs of the Magil – Basra railway and the Magil light railway.

They are labelled with the name of Sunbeam Tours, who appear to have been at 37 Bedford Street, Strand, London WC2.

Maqil/Magil is near Basra, and seems to have a had a complicated mix of 2′, 2’6″ and metre gauge railways from World War I onwards.

Maqil - Basra railway

Maqil - Basra railway