Hejaz Railway
The Hejaz Railway was built in the early 1900s between Damascus and Medina in the then Ottoman Empire. In modern times, only small portions of the railway survive. Many locomotives are derelict. In 2003, a team of retired Indian Railway staff from SBC (Bangalore) and UBL (Hubli) went to Medina in Saudi Arabia and worked on restoring one of the locomotives, using parts from the others. These pictures were sent by Mr A Abdul Wajeed, retired locomotive driver of SBC. Pictures were forwarded to IRFCA by Kunal Doddanavar of Bangalore, in Dec. 2008.
More on the Hejaz Railway is available here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hejaz_railway
A standard Gauge steam loco in ruins at Medina. (Kunal Doddanavar)
85 years of neglect and here is the result. (Kunal Doddanavar)
Another condemned steam loco rusting away at Medina. (Kunal Doddanavar)
Water tank of the steam loco. (Kunal Doddanavar)
Cross-section of the boiler of the steam loco that is in the process of restoration by the ex-Indian Railways staff. (Kunal Doddanavar)
Another cross-sectional view of the boiler. (Kunal Doddanavar)
The fully restored and operational steam loco now preserved at Medina railway station. (Kunal Doddanavar)
Mr. A. Abdul Wajeed – retired loco pilot of Bangalore, who was the loco pilot for the trial run of this steam beauty. (Kunal Doddanavar)