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Thomas Kautzor writes of an often forgotten railway system, yet another
victim of political instability in the region.
Together with Torsten Schneider, in May 2016 I visited Lebanon to look at what remains of the railway network. In 1961, the four lines in the country, were reorganized into the ‘Chemins de fer de l’Etat Libanais’ (CEL). For more details, see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Lebanon.
There are over 100 pictures so the report has been
subdivided as follows:
The following tables list CEL’s standard gauge motive power and their present status:
|
Class/ No. CEL
|
Type
|
Builder
|
Constr. No.
|
Year
|
Notes / Origin
|
|
H 1
|
0-6-0
|
Wiener Neustadt
|
4437
|
1902
|
|
|
H 2
|
0-6-0
|
Wiener Neustadt
|
4438
|
1902
|
|
|
H 3
|
0-6-0
|
Wiener Neustadt
|
4439
|
1902
|
|
|
H 5
|
0-6-0
|
Wiener Neustadt
|
4441
|
1902
|
|
|
H 6
|
0-6-0
|
Wiener Neustadt
|
4442
|
1902
|
|
|
G 21
|
0-8-0
|
Cail
|
2735
|
1906
|
Tripoli yard 5/16
|
|
G 22
|
0-8-0
|
Cail
|
2736
|
1906
|
|
|
G 23
|
0-8-0
|
Cail
|
2737
|
1906
|
|
|
G 24
|
0-8-0
|
Cail
|
2738
|
1906
|
|
|
G 25
|
0-8-0
|
Cail
|
2739
|
1906
|
|
|
G 26
|
0-8-0
|
Cail
|
2740
|
1906
|
|
|
G 27
|
0-8-0
|
Cail
|
2741
|
1906
|
Rayak behind shed 5/16
|
|
G 28
|
0-8-0
|
Cail
|
2742
|
1906
|
|
|
G 29
|
0-8-0
|
Cail
|
2743
|
1906
|
|
|
G 30
|
0-8-0
|
Cail
|
2744
|
1906
|
|
|
G 31
|
0-8-0
|
Cail
|
2745
|
1906
|
Tripoli yard 5/16
|
|
G 32
|
0-8-0
|
Cail
|
2746
|
1906
|
|
|
G 33
|
0-8-0
|
Cail
|
2747
|
1906
|
|
|
G 34
|
0-8-0
|
Cail
|
2748
|
1906
|
Rayak next to works 5/16
|
|
G 35
|
0-8-0
|
Cail
|
2749
|
1906
|
|
|
101
|
0-8-0
|
Vulcan
|
2548
|
1909
|
ex DHP 803, 1939 ex Est 4810, ex KPEV G8 'Stettin 4812'
|
*
|
|
102
|
0-8-0
|
Henschel
|
11449
|
1912
|
ex DHP 827, 1939 ex Nord 4583, ex KPEV G8 'Mainz 4818'
|
Tripoli shed 5/16
|
|
103
|
0-8-0
|
Vulcan
|
2522
|
1909
|
ex DHP 823, 1939 ex Nord 4596, ex KPEV G8 'Münster 4937'
|
*
|
|
104
|
0-8-0
|
Henschel
|
11233
|
1912
|
ex DHP 830, 1939 ex Nord 4581, ex KPEV G8 'Halle 4834'
|
Rayak works 5/16
|
|
105
|
0-8-0
|
Vulcan
|
2182
|
1906
|
ex DHP 838, 1939 ex Nord 4591, ex KPEV G8 'Cassel 4811' or 'Cassel
2310'
|
Rayak shed 5/16
|
|
106
|
0-8-0
|
Vulcan
|
2469
|
1909
|
ex DHP 814, 1939 ex Nord 4595, ex KPEV G8 'Elberfeld 4890'
|
Rayak next to works 5/16
|
|
107
|
0-8-0
|
Vulcan
|
2626
|
1910
|
ex DHP 845, 1939 ex Est 4814, ex KPEV G8 'Stettin 4814'
|
Tripoli shed 5/16
|
|
108
|
0-8-0
|
Schichau
|
1555
|
1907
|
ex DHP 840, 1939 ex Nord 4587, ex KPEV G8 'Breslau 4810'
|
Tripoli shed 5/16
|
|
109
|
0-8-0
|
Schichau
|
1524
|
1907
|
ex DHP 818, 1939 ex Nord 4586, ex KPEV G8 'Münster 4848'
|
Rayak shed 5/16
|
|
110
|
0-8-0
|
Henschel
|
10924
|
1912
|
ex DHP 819, 1939 ex Nord 4580, ex KPEV G8 'Halle 4826'
|
Tripoli yard 5/16
(tender 104)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* 1 loco Rayak yard 5/16
|
In 1939 the French decided to send 48 Prussian G 8 class locos they had obtained as part of war reparations from Germany after World War I to the DHP. Ten of these went to CEL in 1961, 25 to Syria (CFS 040.451-475) and the rest to Turkey. Nine of those survive in Lebanon, while two of the CFS locos (040.452 and 460) survived in Halab Syria prior to the Syrian War and another three in Turkey (TCDD 44059 in Cankiri, 44062 in Izmir-Alsancak and 44071 in Usak). Out of a total of 1,054 G 8 built between 1902 and 1913, only eleven more survive worldwide (one in Bulgaria, two in Italy, one in Poland, one in Germany and six more in Turkey, having been obtained directly from Germany by CFOA after World War I). Of those, only KPEV ‘Mainz 4981’ (Hanomag 6721/1913, 1987 TCDD 44079, 1916 ex KPEV ‘Münster 4981’) at the
Darmstadt-Kranichstein railway museum in Germany has ever been active in preservation.
| 102 |
104 |
105 |
106 |
107 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 108 |
109 |
110 |
10X |
10X |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Other classes of standard gauge DHP steam locos had operated into Lebanon prior to 1961, as had British War Department locos on the HBT between 1942 and 1946, but all of these were allocated to CFS in 1961. These would have included DHP 2-8-0 K 51-53
(Maffei 1910) and K 54-55 (Krauss-Maffei 1938), DHP 0-6-0 58-59 (Esslingen 1890/91, ex
CFOA), DHP 2-6-0 618-620 (Borsig 1912, ex CFOA), two 0-10-0 G 10 (later CFS 050.501-502, Borsig 1913, ex
CFOA) and WD 2-10-0 73685-63688 (NBL 1944, later CFS 150.685-688).
Lebanon received its first four main line diesels in 1960:
|
Class/ No. CEL
|
Type
|
Builder
|
Constr. No.
|
Year
|
Weight (t)
|
Power (hp)
|
Notes / Origin
|
Situation
|
|
202
|
4wDE
|
Moyse
|
|
1934
|
|
|
ex 1050mm
|
Beyrouth NBT shed 2/02 scrapped c.2005/06
|
|
203
|
4wDE
|
Moyse
|
|
1934
|
|
|
ex 1050mm
|
Beyrouth NBT shed 2/02 scrapped c.2005/06
|
|
209
|
shunter
|
GMC Dodge
|
|
|
|
|
converted from jeep
|
Rayak works derelict 5/16
|
|
?
|
shunter
|
GMC Dodge
|
|
|
|
|
converted from jeep
|
Beyrouth NBT shed 5/16
|
|
?
|
shunter
|
GMC Dodge
|
|
|
|
|
converted from jeep
|
Beyrouth NBT yard derelict 5/16
|
|
601
|
0-6-0DE
|
GM-EMD
|
25462
|
4/1960
|
|
600
|
GM6
|
|
|
602
|
0-6-0DE
|
GM-EMD
|
25463
|
4/1960
|
|
600
|
GM6, in use 1983
|
Beyrouth NBT shed 5/16
|
|
603
|
0-6-0DE
|
GM-EMD
|
25464
|
4/1960
|
|
600
|
GM6
|
|
|
604
|
0-6-0DE
|
GM-EMD
|
25465
|
4/1960
|
|
600
|
GM6, in use 1983
|
Beyrouth NBT outside derelict 5/16
|
Obtained as part of a U.S. aid package to Lebanon.
| 602 |
604 |
 |
 |
|
DC-1201
|
Co-Co DE
|
Cegielski
|
|
1977
|
96.0
|
1660
|
oper. 1989
|
Beyrouth NBT shed 5/16 |
|
DC-1202
|
Co-Co DE
|
Cegielski
|
|
1977
|
96.0
|
1660
|
oper. 1989
|
Beyrouth NBT shed 5/16 |
|
DC-1203
|
Co-Co DE
|
Cegielski
|
|
1977
|
96.0
|
1660
|
oper. 1989
|
Beyrouth NBT shed 5/16 |
SU45-type diesels ordered in Poland after the outbreak of the Civil War. They were the most modern and the last locos to operate in Lebanon, after which they
were put in store in Beirut NBT in March 1995. Up until at least 2002 their engines were run once a month.
|
ZZACDty 1
|
railcar
|
De Dietrich
|
|
1934
|
26.3
|
210
|
|
|
|
ZZACDty 2
|
railcar
|
De Dietrich
|
|
1934
|
26.3
|
210
|
|
|
|
ZZACDty 3
|
railcar
|
De Dietrich
|
|
1935
|
27.0
|
210
|
|
|
|
ZZACDty 4
|
railcar
|
De Dietrich
|
|
1935
|
27.0
|
210
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A-10450
|
diesel railcar
|
Uerdingen
|
66565
|
1959
|
|
|
1984 ex DB 798 672-2, ex VT98 9672
|
Beyrouth NBT shed 2/02
scrapped c.2005/06 |
|
A-10451
|
diesel railcar
|
MAN
|
146571
|
1961
|
|
|
1984 ex DB 798 789-4, ex VT98 9789
|
Beyrouth NBT shed 2/02
scrapped c.2005/06 |
|
A-10452
|
diesel railcar
|
Uerdingen
|
66601
|
1960
|
|
|
1984 ex DB 798 707-6, ex VT98 9707
|
|
|
A-10453
|
diesel railcar
|
Uerdingen
|
66595
|
1960
|
|
|
1984 ex DB 798 708-4, ex VT98 9708
|
Beyrouth NBT shed 2/02
scrapped c.2005/06 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
B-10450
|
driving trailer
|
Orion
|
98 143
|
1955
|
|
-
|
1983 ex DB 998 143-2, ex VB98 143
|
|
|
B-10451
|
driving trailer
|
Uerdingen
|
-
|
1956
|
|
-
|
1983 ex DB 998 032-7, ex VB98 032
|
* |
|
B-10452
|
driving trailer
|
Uerdingen
|
-
|
1956
|
|
-
|
1983 ex DB 998 010-3, ex VB98 010
|
* |
|
B-10453
|
driving trailer
|
Orion
|
98 153
|
1956
|
|
-
|
1983 ex DB 998 153-1, ex VB98 153
|
* |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* one destroyed in Summer 1984 attack
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
C-10450
|
interm. trailer
|
MAN
|
145091
|
1960
|
|
|
1983 ex DB 998 771-0, ex VS98 171
|
|
|
C-10451
|
interm. trailer
|
WMD
|
1408
|
1959
|
|
|
1983 ex DB 998 876-7, ex VS98 276
|
Jounieh Gare 04/00,
scrapped |
|
C-10452
|
interm. trailer
|
Uerdingen
|
66514
|
1959
|
|
|
1983 ex DB 998 672-0, ex VS98 072
|
|
|
C-10453
|
interm. trailer
|
WMD
|
1394
|
1959
|
|
|
1983 ex DB 998 862-7, ex VS98 262
|
Beyrouth NBT shed,
scrapped c.2005/06 |
In 1983, CEL bought four second-hand Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) three-car diesel railcar
train sets from Germany via Schenker. They were refurbished, fitted with air conditioners and repainted in yellow at Kassel Works. From Kassel they were dispatched by rail to Piraeus port in Greece, from where they were shipped to Beirut. After their arrival an upsurge in fighting meant that one driving trailer had to be written off before it could enter service after it was shelled at Beirut port. Soon after all of the other units were sent to Jounieh station for storage until things cooled down. From 1985, passenger service was reinstated for a short time between Dora and
Jbail, with the railcars first running under their own power and later as loco-hauled stock as part of the mixed train to
Chekka. A passenger service is reported to have operated for the last time between 1991/92 and 1992/93 between Dora and Jounieh (10 km). After that the railcars all went into storage at Jounieh (1 unit) and Beirut
NBT, but were all scrapped around 2005/06.
Diema delivered two motor trolleys to Lebanon in 1974, of which at least one survives:
|
- |
motor trolley |
Diema |
3513 |
1974 |
|
|
DD 6/3, via Ferrostaal AG, Essen(8 hp, 800 kg) |
Beyrouth St. Michel yard 5/16 |
|
? |
motor trolley |
Diema |
3544 |
1974 |
|
|
DD 6/3, via Ferrostaal AG, Essen |
Tripoli 8/98 10/99 |
At Beirut St. Michel there are also two hand-pump trolleys: one has been restored and is on display, while only the frame of the second remains.
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