Once upon a time, not so long ago, there were mammoth-like creatures in the Middle East, spreading steam and thirsting for water. It may sound surprising, but in the 1940s, Iraqi railways were at the forefront of design. Don't believe me? Look then.
In 1940, the Iraqi state railway company completed the construction of a railway line between Baghdad and Tel Kochek on the border with Syria. The new railway line allowed the introduction of express trains running between Baghdad and Istanbul. A number of locomotives were ordered from Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns Ltd (RSH) to run these trains. These were locomotives of the Pacific class "PC", moreover, modified and improved.
While the LMS and LNER classes had 2032 mm or 2057 mm drive wheels, the PC class had 1753 mm drive wheels: this size is akin to that used in mixed traffic locomotives in the UK. This was an oversimplification. But they were particularly noteworthy due to the excellent tenders on two-seater carts with cabins: an improvement that was lacking in the LMS and LNER tenders.
Streamliner Loco - Twentieth Century Limited, 1939, USA.
And the fairings, which gave these locomotives a completely "steampunk" look - such were not met, perhaps, anywhere else in the world at all! (This steam locomotive was originally designed by Henry Dreyfuss in 1939 for the Twentieth Century Limited express passenger train: it looked pretty good even then). In total, four locomotives with numbers 501-504 were purchased: "Baghdad", "Mosul", "El-Basra" and "Kirkut". All locomotives were painted spring green with white accents.
No. 501 "Baghdad" on the Shalchiyah tracks.
No. 502 Mosul, was delivered to Iraq in March 1941, but after the Iraqi government entered into an alliance with Nazi Germany, the delivery of the rest was delayed. And it continued only after the entry of British troops into Iraq in May 1941. No. 501 Baghdad was delivered in October 1941, and No. 503 El Basra in December 1941. But the last number was unlucky: No. 504 Kirkuk was sunk with a ship off the coast of Great Britain and never reached Iraq. …
Promotional video:
No. 502 “Mosul on the tracks in Shalchiyah.
Diesel locomotives have been introduced in Iraq on railways since 1961, and steam locomotives, including the "PC" class, have been taken out of service. In March 1967, locomotives 501, 502 and 503 were taken out of service and stored at the railway factories in Shalchiyah pending disposal. 501 Baghdad and 502 Mosul remained intact, and 503 El Basra was partially dismantled.