European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 26, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A modern die Al engine lows the 80-year-old wooden passenger cars along the Hejat railway near ruse Ifa  to the past in the Mideast a bedouin rests on the narrow Iron tracks that stretch through the desert. By John Rice associated press railway carriages that escaped i Awrence of Arabia s desert raids in world War i Are again clattering along the old Hejaz railway built by the ottomans last Caliph to carry pilgrims to Mecca. The peeling Wood and rattling windows of the 80-year-old carriages testify to the history of the line and to the regional turmoil that has kept modernization at Bay. Jordan and Syria resumed a weekly service on the 1 18-mile stretch Between Amman and Damascus last october after an eight year interruption. The engines Are modern diesels. But the belgian  and most of the track Date to the turn of the Century when the line was built. In tact they Are among the oldest still in use for a regular passenger service rather than As a tourist attraction. Quot there s no other one like it Quot says i ried Nch i ii her a widely travelled austrian Railroad consultant who made the eight hour Amman Damascus trip just to ride the train. Quot when you travel on this Railroad it s like people Felt in the �?T20s.&Quot. I he fare it an also prompt nostalgia about $ t.50 Tor first class and $2.10 for second class. The turkish Sultan Abdel Hamid conceived the line to ferry moslem pilgrims on the annual pilgrimage to Mecca Birthplace of the Prophet Mohammed As Well As to Cement his Rule Over the ottoman Empire s Ahvay restive Arab provinces. Construction on the Hoo mile German engineered line started in Alfh in Damascus. It ended in Medina in what is now saudi Arabia in 1908. The turks mate Heel a unique 105-centimeter narrow gauge that was used accidentally on an earlier i Renc h line from Beirut to Damascus. Quot it should have been 1,065 Millimetres but someone Cut the track supports to the wrong Width and for reasons of saving Money it was decided to build the line to fit them instead of sending for new ones Quot says Geoffrey Freeman Allen the editor of  s world ka/7cv�ivs in i Endon. I turmoil in Turkey and the outbreak of world War i ended plans to extend the line to Mecca. Marauding Arab rebels accompanied by the British offic or . I a rence the legendary i Lawrenc e of Arabia repeatedly rank d the line during the War to interrupt the flow of turkish supplies. British a. Sir i Lahert Young who a Compani Eil Wrein e. Later wrote Quot nothing seemed to give him greater pleasure than to squat Down less than 200 Yard from the railway line. And Wak h with it Complete unc one Ern the slow a Proa h of a Tram full of turkish soldiers. As soon As the engine was Over the und covered mine he would am Down the  of the exploder retire to he waiting i Amel and ride away Holly pursued by the fire of any Soldier v. To might have escaped from the rear i  damaged Bridges and wrecked trains derailed by i Wrenie remarkably preserved in the dry desert air i an still lie found along the old line mainly in Southern Jordan and saudi Arabia where passenger Ere  on the i Hejaz stopped years ago. I he track that once carried pious pilgrims now terries phosphate on rebuilt lines through Southern Jordan to the port of Aqaba. I he original track North of Amman forces engineers to hold their Speed to 11 Tuph on straight Stretc Hes and 21.5 Mph on curves As the train traces the Edge of the vast arabian desert. It rattles through empty vistas of arid land past encampments of Goat hair bedouin tents fragrant with Brushwood smoke from tires Tor brewing Tea past the ruins of ottoman watering stations that were built of Stone. In towns the rare passage of a train briefly halts Normal Ine. Men and women wave from Hale onies. Soi i or players interrupt their games. Mobs of shrieking i la Lilbren dance and race the Horn blaring Tram and sometimes even throw stones a it. I he trip is still a Novelty As Well to the unusually Friendly customs and immigration officials. At the syrian entry station of Derma no Bankers awaited foreigners for the mandatory Exchange of c Surrenc y. So cheerful police packed the Only two westerners into the Back of a jeep and raced them to. Miles to an Exchange Post. The officers had to push Starl their vehicle on the return leg. The future of the eccentric service1 is in doubt however i history is at War with economics. Railroad officials say it would be too expensive to renovate the weather beaten wooden cars whose squeaking Wall panels sometimes wiggle independently of their neighbors. The Odd Small size of the track also makes it impossible to carry much freight or to use newer cars from Standard gauge railroads. 22 stripes Magazine it