{"id":358,"date":"2008-08-24T19:00:40","date_gmt":"2008-08-24T18:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=358"},"modified":"2016-11-29T22:14:41","modified_gmt":"2016-11-29T22:14:41","slug":"baghdad-central-station-refurbishment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrantham.co.uk\/iraq\/baghdad-central-station-refurbishment\/","title":{"rendered":"Baghdad Central station refurbishment"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s now a couple of years old, but I’ve just come across this article about modernisation work at Baghdad Central railway station.
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nThe caption says This 1914 engine, capable of traveling 25 miles per hour, is the oldest Iraqi railway steam locomotive. It was retired in 1951 and is on display at the Baghdad Central Station.<\/i><\/q><\/p>\n

Assuming this is the same plinthed loco as the one shown in the book Middle East Railways<\/cite> by Hugh Hughes, it is Baghdad Railway<\/a> no.405, built by Borsig<\/a> of Berlin as works no.8480 of 1912. It was originally an 0-6-0T, no.5.<\/p>\n

\n

Baghdad train station revitalized<\/a> <\/h3>\n

Friday, 04 August 2006
\nStory and photos by Norris Jones
\nU.S. Army Corps of Engineers<\/p>\n

BAGHDAD \u2014 Karem recalled using Iraqi trains when he was a youngster.<\/p>\n

Back then, the Baghdad Central Train Station was notorious for nonfunctioning restrooms and the foul odor of sewerage emanating from the basement. \u201cBut the trains themselves were always clean, comfortable and a great bargain,\u201d the 33-year-old deputy resident engineer said.<\/p>\n

Now Karem is overseeing a project that will not only re-introduce train travel to Baghdad, but will make the train station far better than he remembered as a child.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf the 19 projects I oversee, this is my favorite. I see the huge potential here,\u201d he said. \u201cBaghdad Central Train Station has the potential to generate many jobs \u2013 not only jobs directly connected with railroad operations, but also \u2026 taxi and bus drivers who would pick up passengers using the train station.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, more passengers coming through the train stations could generate more jobs at nearby hotels, shops and businesses, he said.<\/p>\n

The $5.9 million project includes an all-new power plant and air conditioning system. \u201cWe have replaced all the electrical, water, and sewer lines. The roof and the plaster walls were replaced and the restaurant was rehabilitated,\u201d Karem said.<\/p>\n

The windows were replaced, all of the clocks were replaced and connected to one central system, and the broken mosaic floor tiles were replaced.<\/p>\n

A new entrance was constructed. Two new seven-passenger elevators, new bathrooms and a hotel with 13 rooms were added along with a new fire alarm and sprinkler system. The train station was originally built by the British in 1954 and was considered the \u201cJewel of Baghdad\u201d for travelers of the day. It offered telegraph services, a bank, a post office, shopping areas, a saloon and restaurant, and even had an office with printing presses which are still printing the train tickets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe overall structure was in great shape and we tried not to alter its historical look, despite the many improvements. If something needed to be added, we tried to match the same architectural style,\u201d Karem said.<\/p>\n

The project is nearing completion and Karem says a proposed $8 million maintenance facility for the locomotives and freight\/passenger cars is now being considered.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The railroad is) the gateway to the world,\u201d Karem said. \u201cIt\u2019s a symbol of our freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Major Robert Nash, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officer who worked with Karem on the project, said he\u2019s proud of Karem and the other 35 Iraqis who work on the station.<\/p>\n

\u201cKarem came here as a quality assurance representative, was promoted to project engineer, and is now one of our two Iraqi resident engineers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked together and helped put a plan in motion to increase the potential of what the Baghdad Central Train Station can become. It was just one of Sadaam\u2019s toys and sat in a state of disrepair for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the number of trains being operated is limited, Nash is confident will regain the prominence it once had.<\/p>\n

He looks forward to the day when he can fly into Baghdad International Airport, take a cab to the train station, and travel to any point in Iraq safely, securely and comfortably.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Iraqi engineers are \u2026 building relationships that will last long after the last American has departed.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dan in the Desert<\/a> has some 2006 photos of the station<\/a>, including one showing the steam engine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s now a couple of years old, but I’ve just come across this article about modernisation work at Baghdad Central railway station. The caption says This 1914 engine, capable of traveling 25 miles per hour, is the oldest Iraqi railway steam locomotive. It was retired in 1951 and is on display at the Baghdad Central […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[16,38,109],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrantham.co.uk\/iraq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrantham.co.uk\/iraq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrantham.co.uk\/iraq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrantham.co.uk\/iraq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrantham.co.uk\/iraq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=358"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrantham.co.uk\/iraq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2779,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrantham.co.uk\/iraq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358\/revisions\/2779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrantham.co.uk\/iraq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrantham.co.uk\/iraq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewgrantham.co.uk\/iraq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}