The Railways of Iran

[rogerfarnworth]

This is the first of what I hope will be a few articles about the Railways of Iran. It focusses on the first line built between Tehran and Rey and operating from 1888 to around 1960-61.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/03/23/ra ... o-rey-1888

I have been reading old copies of the Railway Magazine from the 1950s and 1960s. The old small format magazines somehow seem more attractive than the glossy larger format modern magazines, perhaps that is a sign of ageing!

In the January 1963 edition of the magazine there is a long article about the railways of Iran which is based on a visit in 1961 to Iran by M.H. Baker MA.

Until the 1930s, Iran was relatively isolated, but from around 1865 various European Countries had sought concessions to construct railways but the Imperial government continued to value isolation above integration.

[John Ashworth]

Thanks, Roger. Interesting piece.

[rogerfarnworth]

Iran's Railways again. ....

This is the next installment covering the Railways of Iran from 1910 to 1945. ......

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/03/24/ra ... 10-to-1945

"The Trans-Iranian Railway - When completed, was an immense achievement. It ran for 850 miles and linked the South and North of the country. For the first time the northern agricultural lands and the Caspian Sea ports would be linked to ports and oilfields in the south. It linked the capital Tehran with the Persian Gulf and Caspian Sea. The railway connected Bandar Shah (now: Bandar Torkaman) in the north and Bandar Shahpur (now: Bandar-e Emam Khomeyni) in the south via Ahvaz, Ghom and Tehran."

[John Ashworth]

I presume post-war will be covered in part 3. I have an original photograph of an Iranian State Railways 2-10-2 steam locomotive in ex-works condition in 1952. As far as I can remember I got it from my uncle who used to be a draughtsman in the Vulcan Works in the north west of England, and I presume this loco was built by Vulcan. In the late 1950s when we would visit my grandparents, my uncle would sometimes take me to the works after hours and let me climb on the locomotives under construction, although by that time I don't think they were building steam locos any more.

[rogerfarnworth]

Hi John, I am getting there. I am just about to post about 1945 to 1960 and will also hopefully cover motive power on a separate post.

[rogerfarnworth]

After the War, Iran's railways experienced a period of relative stagnation. Significant developments did not occur until the 1950s.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/03/28/ra ... -the-1960s

The Cambridge History of Iran - Volume 1, which was published in 1968 says that after shortages disappeared a pattern became established, and by 1968, railways provided the basic freight-transport service from the Persian Gulf ports to Tehran and the eastern Caspian Sea region. The authors said, "Branch lines have been extended to Tabriz and Mashhad (Meshed), mitigating to a high degree the relative decline of these cities since 1925. A 120 mile westward extension of the railway line from Tabriz, now being built under the sponsorship of the Central Treaty Organization, will connect the Iranian and Turkish railways. (It was completed between Tehran and Tabriz by 1960.) An eastward extension from Qum, south of Tehran, is now complete as far as Yazd (but not by 1961 when Baker visited) and will ultimately connect with the Pakistan railway system in Baluchistan. During World War I a line of this system (then part of India) was extended as far as Zahidin in Iran, a short distance from the border. Service to Zahidin is provided by Pakistan National Railways, but there is no regular schedule." The line when built was 5ft. 6in. gauge.

[John Ashworth]

The photo of a 2-10-2 which you post in this article appears to be the same photo which I have.

[rogerfarnworth]

I thought that might be the case.

[rogerfarnworth]

While undertaking the research for these articles on the railways in Iran. I was delighted to find some material in a number of European language posted on a thread about the Railways of Iran on the SJK Postvagen forum. This next post is numbered out of sequence as I have already begun work of the period from the 1980s onwards, but the material is really interesting (in my view). I have had to use Google Translate to get the first draft of the different papers referred to in the link article and then I have had to clarify or paraphrase a number of things to make the text work in English. ....

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/04/03/ra ... llection-a

[rogerfarnworth]

I seem to have quite a number of unfinished articles on the Railways of Iran. Some are taking longer than others to complete. This is Part 9!

I still have parts 5, 7 and 8 to complete and I hope that there will be at least 3 others to follow.

This post includes two articles from journals in other countries translated for an English audience.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/04/10/ra ... llection-c

[rogerfarnworth]

To finish the collection of translated articles from other sources, this post focuses on chapters from a book written in Danish in the 1930s about the filming of a documentary about the building of the Tran-Iranian Railway. ......

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/04/13/ra ... llection-b

[rogerfarnworth]

After the Revolution. ......

This next post brings the story of the Railways of Iran up to the Millenium. ....

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/04/13/ra ... 80-to-1999

[rogerfarnworth]

This next post gives some insight into the rail network in Iran at the moment. I must acknowledge that it is not a comprehensive report on Iran's Railways in the 21st Century, merely a snapshot of what has been happening.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/04/25/ra ... st-century

[rogerfarnworth]

One of the joys of doing research is discovering little gems in surprising places. This happened to me just recently as I was searching for information and particularly for images associated with the railways of Iran up to the end of the Second World War. The result is this next article which I have agreed with Lancaster City Museum and the King's Own Royal Regiment Museum. ......

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/04/13/ra ... -world-war

[John Ashworth]

Thanks, Roger. Fascinating photos.