Japanese gov't, firms to promote railway technology in Middle East

[gmat]

From Japan Today:

 

http://www.japantoday.com/category/technology/view/japanese-govt-firms-to-promote-railway-technology-in-middle-east

 

Grant

[miyakoji]

I always have the impression that many of those countries have more oil dollars than they know what to do with.  Japanese business/gov is just trying to help them, take some of that extra cash off their hands. 

[Nick_Burman]

In the 1950's Jordan got help from USAID, one of the areas where money was injected was into the railway system (the former Hedjaz Railway). The Jordanians wanted more motive power and to the dismay of the Americans, they wanted steam locos! By then all US builders had pulled out of the steam market, and USAID had to send the order to Nippon Sharyo, who duly furnished a batch of rather nice Pacifics...

 

 

Cheers NB

[bikkuri bahn]

Pics of said pacific:

 

http://tsuzuki.photoland-aris.com/jordan/82/

 

http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~k-ikeda/83209228/MiddleEast/HijazRailway.html

 

(Scroll down to bottom to see pictures):

http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?railroad=Hedjaz%20Railway%20Jordan/Syria

 

Also a Nippon Sharyo steam locomotive is displayed in front of the building of the faculty of Engineering and Technology at the Univ.of Jordan.

[miyakoji]

Unlike Japanese-built locos that wound up in other parts of Asia, those don't seem to have the typical features that make them easy to identify.  Except for some small pieces of hardware, I wouldn't have been able to see much to pick it out as Japanese.

[bikkuri bahn]

There have been talks/speculation apparently of re-opening the Hejaz Railway from Damascus to Medina.  It would be nice if Japanese firms could have a hand in this, should plans be really serious.  Would be a very good route for pilgrims in the Levant to get to Mecca.

[bikkuri bahn]

Unlike Japanese-built locos that wound up in other parts of Asia, those don't seem to have the typical features that make them easy to identify.  Except for some small pieces of hardware, I wouldn't have been able to see much to pick it out as Japanese.

 

In the case of eastern/se Asia, perhaps the similarity in designs arises from the fact that said countries were colonies of (Taiwan) or on friendly terms with (Thailand) Japan in the pre-war/war years.  Other export types seem to have the more generic look of the Jordanian types, such as the South American models (see the last three entries on the webpage, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina):

http://www15.ocn.ne.jp/~salocomo/

[westfalen]

The cab, smokebox door and cylinders are pure JNR.

[miyakoji]

The cab, smokebox door and cylinders are pure JNR.

Yeah, right after I posted, I noticed the hardware on the smokebox door and the cylinders.  The cab seems a bit nondescript to me, I'm still looking for a Japanese look-a-like.

[westfalen]

The cab, smokebox door and cylinders are pure JNR.

Yeah, right after I posted, I noticed the hardware on the smokebox door and the cylinders.  The cab seems a bit nondescript to me, I'm still looking for a Japanese look-a-like.

I was looking a one of the photos that shows a closeup of a crew in the cab and thought it looked like a D51 or similar and the visors over the front windows are a giveaway.