Palestine]
(ii) Particulars of Construction
Gauges. On the Baghdad Railway, the Tripoli— Aleppo section of the Chemin de fer Damas Hama, and on the British lines, the gauge is the normal one of 1.435 m., or 4 ft. 8 in. On all others it is the narrow gauge of 1.05 m., or 3 ft. 5.34 in. (the Jaffa line was 5 cm. narrower, but has been altered during the war).
The mode of traction on all lines is the usual adhesion system, except on the line of the Chemin de fer Damas—Hama from Beirut to Rayak, on which, between the stations of Hadeth and Jedita-Shtora, trains are run on a rack-rail (Swiss Abt) system for a distance of 31 km.
Bridges, gradients, &c.
1. Baghdad Railway.—The line from Islahie, which enters the Aleppo vilayet near Rajun, crosses several streams, the chief bridges being at 12-8 km. and 37 km.; there is also a 130 ft. bridge at Kurd Kulak. Beyond Aleppo the line crosses the Kuweik by a 60 ft. span girder bridge, the Sajur by a two-span girder and reinforced concrete bridge, each span of 30 ft., and leaves Syrian territory at Jerablus, where the bridge over the Euphrates is of 10 spans, with overhead lattice girder, and of a total length of 2,677 ft. Between Akbar and Katma the ruling gradient is 1 in 40, elsewhere it is 1 in 80.
2. (a) Chemin de fer Damas—Hama et prolongements.
(i) Beirut-Damascus Mzerib. Apart from one curve of 80 metres radius between Damascus and Mzerib, the sharpest curve on the adhesion section has a radius of 100 metres, and on the rack section a radius of 120 metres. On the rack section the steepest gradient is about 1 in 12, between Muderij and Deir el-Beidar. On the ordinary line are some gradients of 1 in 33–40. There are a number of bridges, the most
