Locomotives and rolling stock in Iraq

Diesel locos
Steam locos
Couplings
Rolling stock
Cranes

A guide to reading Arabic numbers can be handy.

If you can help to fill in the gaps in these listings, please get in touch with me. Someone must have a photo of one of the DEM2100 Alcos!

Please note I don't sell spare parts for trains(!) or tender to supply them. If you do sell spares for Iraqi trains, let me know I'll give you a link

Diesel locos

Photo	Loco numbers	Number built	Supplier	Details	Date supplied
	DHS100	3	DHS 101-103 Nippon Sharyo 2559-2561 of 1968 (Model DHL40TBB) DHS 111-113 Nippon Sharyo 3095-3097 of 1974 (Model DHL50TBB) DHS 121-127 Nippon Sharyo ?-? of 1982	40 tonne flame-proof diesel-hydraulic B-B, GM 608PS engine	1968-1982
Photo: Rick Degman, World Diesel Loco	DHS 131 - 144	14	Tülomsas, Turkey	Type DH10000, 1050 hp diesel-hydraulic Bo-Bo	6 in 2002, 2 in 2003 (before the war) 6 held in Eskisehir until after the war and delivered in late 2003/January 2004. One written off in accident; locos in Iraq during war were damaged by looters: one of the first locomotives to be delivered was stripped of all the smaller items. Sand then got into the engine, transmission, cooling system and hydrostatic system. I think it was towed back to Turkey to be completely overhauled.
Photo: Mark W Hemphill	DHL 151-162	12	Tülomsas, Turkey	Type DH12000, 1200 bhp diesel-hydraulic Bo-Bo. Common profile with DH10000 (DHS131)	December 2004 - March 2005
Photo: Railway Gazette International Colour picture in Czech factory. Photo: Vladislav Borek	501 - 502	2	CKD type BN 150, nos.5398-9	0-4-0 Output 150 HP, top speed 40 km/h Similar to Czech T211.0. Also exported to China, Bulgaria, Germany, USSR, Poland, Romania, Egypt, Albania and India.	1961
Photo: Railway Gazette International	DEM 2001 - 2020	20	DEM2001-2010 CKD 5657-5666 of 1963 DEM2011-2020 CKD 5802-5811 of 1964	Co-Co. 2016-2020 120km/h, others 100km/h. Similar to Czech T678.0 freight and T679.0 passenger locos.	1963. OOU by before 1991 Gulf War. Last reported in service in 1975.
Photo:Basil Roberts, 1967-03-13, Restoration & Archiving Trust	DEM 2101 - 2105	5	Alco 3416-01 to 05 of 1965	Co-Co DL500D	1965
	DEM 2201 - 2220	5	Brissonneau et Lotz and MTE DEM2201-2213 15/69-01 to 13 of 1970 DEM 2214-2220 BetL 15/69-14 to 20 of 1971	B-B, BB67000 type	1971
Photo:ALCOworld	DEM 2301 - 2361	61	MLW	Co-Co MXS620	1975-77. Now out of service.
Photo: Rick Degman, World Diesel Loco	DEM 2401 - 2454	54	Macosa	J26CW/AC EMD 16-645E engine 2200hp diesel-electric	1981. Only work on western lines, owing to weight. All are out of service (Feb 2004).
Photo: Railway Gazette International More photos: GM Export pages	DEM 2501 - 2582	82	Thyssen - Henschel / EMD	JT22CW 12-645E3B engine 2250 hp. Passenger locos, 120km/h. 2559-2561 were formerly dedicated to Saddam Hussein's private train	1983-84
?	26xx	?	?	There seems to be a gap in the number series here - did this class exist?	?
Photo:Mike Jackson	DEM 2701 - 2750	50	Dalian Locomotive works, China	Co-Co DF10FI. 1840kW, 140km/h.	2002
Photo:Rick Degman	DEM 2801 - 2830	30, ordered under the UN Oil For Food Program	Lugansk Locomotive Works, Ukraine, (with Russian made power plant)	Co-Co. 2630hp, 24-26GD-T2 diesel generator, V12 four stroke engine. Max speed 140km/h. UIC 505-3 loading gauge. Manufacturer's description. the body of a TE109, the front ends of a M62 and the roof fixtures of a 2TE121 according to a 2004-01-02 posting on www.drehscheibe-online.de Auslandsforum, quoting Russian magazine Lokotrans. News report about commissioning. Photos of DEM2815	February 2004
Photo: Vladislav Borek	DES 3001 - 3036	36	DES 3006-3008 CKD 5734-5736 of 1963 DES 3009-3022 CKD 7723-7736 of 1969 DES 3023-3034 CKD 8469-8480 of 1973 DES 3035-3036 CKD 8801-8802 of 1973	Bo-Bo Similar Czech locos Similar Czech locos	First eight 1961-62, 464 kW, similar to CSD T435.0 (class 720) and USSR ChME2001/002. 750 HP diesel electric Bo-Bo Others 1970-73, similar to CSD T458.1 (class 721) and remainder of ChME2
Photo: Rick Degman, World Diesel Loco	DES 3101 - 3200	100	CKD. More details of these locos, a tropicalised variant of the T669.0	Co-Co	1979-82
Rick Degman/On Track On Line	DES 3301-06	6	Bryansk Locomotive Works, Russia	TEM18	Delivery 2003/2004
Photo: Railway Gazette International Locopage.net has photos and details of testing. More photos	DEM 4001 - 4011 DEM 4101 - 4161	72	Francorail.	Alco 16 cylinder 251F 3600hp Co-Co CSE 26-21. 61 for freight (110 km/h), 11 for passenger (150 km/h). Article and drawing Railway Gazette International May 1982 p366	36.3m dinar order May 1980. Delivery from June 1982
?	Used by the Grain Board	At least 7	Unilok	Shunters	2 ordered in 1982, when 5 were already in use
Photo:MOD	?	At least 2	Jenbacher	DH200B26, 4-wheel shunter	?
Photo: Railway Gazette International	Exported to Al-Quaim Cement in Iraq	3	Faur?	LDH125. Similar to a Romanian class 69	1982-1983

Railfan Europe loco lists and photos.

Other Faur (U23Aug) locomotives exported to Iraq:
40 in 1975 of model group L25H, LDH25, DH30M, LDH30 (see note*)
2 in 1975 of Model L45H, exported to Samawah Cement in Iraq

*40 small shunting tractors seems rather many to me, but that is what Faur reference list from 1985 says. The models given above are grouped together, but I do not know whether one or more models were included in exports to Iraq. Eljas Pölhö

Thanks to Nick Lawford for information on eastern European diesels, and Jean-Patrick Charrey at Trains of Turkey for the DHS131.

Gordon Mott reports in December 2003: "The Chinese-built 2700's are the current mainstay of the mainline fleet, though they are not particularly well-liked by their crews. The popular favorites are the EMD/Henschel 2500's, including 2559 which was one of three (2559-2561) which were exclusively dedicated to Saddam Hussein's private train -- thus they are VERY low-mileage! The 2343 is one of very few (only three that I know of, all in Mosul) MLW units still operational. There may be the odd EMD/Macosa unit operational somewhere, possibly Samawah, and a small number of heavy-haul Francorails are, or soon will be, operational to haul phosphate to the fertilizer plant at Al Qaim when it reopens.

Mark W. Hemphill, Deputy Senior Consultant for Railways writes (June 2005) On the locomotive side, the 2800s (Chinese) are the backbone of the fleet. A few Henschels are running, too, and perhaps a few Macosas and MLWs. All of the Francorails are out of service and I doubt they will ever come back. None of the new Russian locomotives are running.

In 1956 the decision was taken to adopt diesel-electric traction for future requirements. (Middle East Railways, Hughes)
Of the 382 locos mentioned in Railway Directory, only around 20 were working, Railway Gazette International reported in February 2000.
DES3100 class diesel locos of 810kW were supplied to Iraq by Russia [? they were built in Czechoslovakia] in 1979-82.(Railway Gazette December 2000, reporting that Czech company CKD Dopravni was supplying spare electrical parts worth US$675 000 to Energomachexport of Russia for the locos).
Dalian Locomotive Plant in China has supplied 50 DF10FI diesel locos to Iraqi Republic Railways; rated at 1840kW, the locos can run at up to 140km/h. (Railway Gazette May 2002)

This locomotive is being aligned on its tracks in Umm Qasr, which is the end of the rail line in the southeast, and it's just one of the ways we'll move supplies north toward An Nasiriyah and beyond. The coalition plan for combat operations deliberately avoided infrastructure like the rail system to ensure that they would be ready for use as quickly as possible after we were able to make assessments of their condition. Brigadier General Vincent Brooks CENTCOM Operation Iraqi Freedom Briefing 2003-04-12.

Overview of The Basra to Umm Qasr Railway Network (34KB Word document) by the Royal Logistic Corps, dated 2003-04-23: Two German shunting engines have been located and after some minor repair have been restored to working order. [Presumably these are the Jenbacher (actually Austrian) locos.] A Garret (Canadian) main line engine was found near the UMM QASR train station but was not in working order. [What is this?] In BASRA station, nine mainline engines were found. Three engines are of Chinese manufacture, are only 18 months old and are in an excellent state of repair. The other six engines are of mixed origin (German, Canadian, Japanese and Czech) but the local workers have stated that five of them are either in working order or could be working with minimal repair.

A report by Robert Fisk in The Independent of 2003-12-13 has two photographs showing at least six DEM2700 locos at Baghdad, and what might be a DHS100. It refers to "a trashyard of older, smashed Canadian and German diesels and dirty French and Polish carriages of the Saddam era."

Steam locomotives

The diesel coverage above is fairly comprehensive, but the historic steam locomotives below are just a random selection which I have found photos of. The book Middle East Railways by Hugh Hughes has detailed listings of steam engines (though I can't see any Sentinels). And no, there aren't any steam locos still in use in Iraq!

There is a selection of interesting photos showing lots of standard gauge and metre-gauge steam locos (and some diesels) on the Iraq section of the Restoration & Archiving Trust website.

8F

An 8F, similar to those used in the UK and around the world, has survived in Baghdad. It is being protected pending a decision on what will be done with it. The December 2003 issue of Steam Railway magazine mentions this 8F in a compound near Baghdad. Preserved Locomotives of British Railways (Fox & Hall, eighth edition 1993) suggests former War Department 8F no.547, built by North British Locomtive Co in 1941 (works no 24740) might have survived in Baghdad as IRR no.1429.

Sentinel

A plinthed Sentinel shunter survives at a railway workshop (Photo: G Mott, 2003).

Tables of "standard" steam loco types in Iraq:

Some steam locos are still displayed on plinths around the country. This loco at Baghdad Central station is presumably the one shown in a simlar photo in the book Middle East Railways and described as One of the early Baghdad Railway locomotives, 0-6-0 405 (Bors 1912; built as 0-6-0T) (Photo: G Mott, 2003).

There might have been a 3-foot gauge amusement park railway, with a Crown Metal Products steam engine, possibly one "acquired" from Kuwait following the invasion.

The Restoration & Archiving Trust has some photos of a 2-8-0 at Baghdad Zoo in March 1967.

[Steam loco]
Photo: Railway Gazette International
In 1951 Mosul to Baghdad standard gauge air-conditioned sleeping car train approaching Baghdad West hauled by a streamlined 4-6-2 built by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorne. The Restoration & Archiving Trust has some colour photos of these magnificent locos

[Steam loco]
Photo: Railway Gazette International
Baghdad - Basra metre-gauge mail train leaving Baghdad West hauled by 2-8-2 American-built Mcarthur loco. The last vehicle is the through coach to Nairiyah.

Photo: Railway Gazette International
Krupp TE-class 2-8-0 on a Baghdad - Mosul train.

[Steam loco]
Photo: Railway Gazette International
Metre-gauge 2-8-2 Z-class oil fired loco, one of 20 supplied by Ferrostaal AG of Essen.

47 Baldwin 3ft 6in gauge Malletts were built in 1917-18 for Russia's Archangel Railway, but owing to the Russian Revolution these were diverted to British War Department, and most were used in Iraq.

Couplings

Niklas Bygdestam writes: looking at the pictures of the locomotives you have in your website ... Russian SA3 couplings on the locomotives, the standard model in Russia.
According to Lugansk, the DEM2800 has automatic central buffer coupling of the type LAF 1758-1 "U" ... The coupler is compatible with the UIC and SA-3 couplers.

Rolling stock

Railroad Passenger Coaches. A call for tenders to supply some sleeper, restaurant and couchette cars, dated August 22 2004. It gives some details of the sort of rolling stock required by IRR. TOTAL LENGTH OVER BUFFERS: 26400 mm plus/minus CENTER PIN DISTANCE: 19000 mm plus/minus CARBODY WIDTH: 2825 mm plus/minus BODY HEIGHT FROM TOP OF RAIL: 4050 mm plus/minus FLOOR HEIGHT FROM TOP OF RAIL: 1250 mm plus/minus FOLDING STEP HEIGHT: 565 mm plus/minus AXLE LOADING (max) 16.5 metric tons ... HEIGHT OF COUPLER less or equal to 060mm ATR UIC 505-1 LOADING GAUGE, IRR LOADING GAUGE # Z 7056 MAXIMUM OPERATING SPEED: 160 kph COUPLERS UIC SA-3
Heavy transport company Team Lift Denmark has some photographs depicting the delivery of 2 000 assorted wagons from the builder in Poland to Iraqi Railways. The carrigaes were loaded as deck cargo aboard ships at Gydnia, Poland; by sea to Aquaba, Jordan, thence overland by heavy-haul flatbed highway trucks to Iraqi rail at Akashat, Iraq. (The photos are undated, but possibly when the port at Umm Quasr and rail links via Syria or Turkey were closed?)
2003-08-07. There was a derailment in the port at Umm Qasr. Here are some US Army photos from a correspondent, showing a bogie flat wagon and a container which fell off. The train derailed at 17:00, but was fixed in time for the 00:15 departure.
2003-04-22 Saddam's phantom train is now a sorry sight Saddam Hussein's private train, which he never bothered to use, now sits vandalised and looted in a dark railyard in Baghdad's deserted central station... "Saddam preferred to travel by plane for security reasons"...Three engines allocated for presidential use and another unit purely to supply electricity, glistening with new green paint, were built in 1984 by the German company Thyssen, as attested by a plaque fixed to their sides...The living quarters - five French-made carriages - comprised a lounge, a dining room, sleeping quarters and a seating area... Is it the white train in the bottom left of this aerial photo?
The Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable for July - August 2002 includes this about Iraq Republic Railways: Three classes of accomodation are provided, first, second and tourist ... 1 and 2 class seats convert into berths for overnight travel; sleeping and refreshment cars operate on some trains, and all services are air-conditioned.
Timetables are goven for Baghdad - Ar Ramadi East (on the line towards the Syrian border at Abu Kamal), Baghdad - Basra and Baghdad - Al Mawsil (for links to Syria and Turkey) services.
The condition of rolling stock is deplorable, with windows in passenger coaches a rarity ... All signalling on the Baghdad - Basra main line is reported to be defunct, with trains being run on telephone orders. Speed restrictions abound, so that the 541km trip now takes anything up to 16h. Train crew are not paid regular wages, just for each trip completed said Railway Gazette International February 2000
ANF Industries was to supply 236 air-conditioned coaches said Railway Gazette International in January 1982 (p18). In 1981 IRR had ordered 78 coaches and vans from Invest-Import of Jugoslavia for delivery by December 1982.
Slide showing an artist's impression of a railroad car outfitted for biological weapon production. Released by the US Department of State, 2003-02-05. Please note - I offer no comment as the existence or otherwise of these!
Various track maintenance yellow machines which Eastern Company USA was involved in the supply of (I'm not sure what the Korea TGV is doing there!).

Cranes

Chris Capewell has kindly provided details of rail-mounted cranes supplied to Iraq.

© Andrew Grantham. Last update 2005-06-19. These pages are mostly compiled from secondary sources, so I can't offer any guarantees about accuracy! Do please let me know if you can add more information.