outbreak of war in Iraq. In 2012, the State Railways renewed service between Eskişehir and Adana and will once again service Istanbul when track work in the city
is complete. There is a chance that the train may continue to its former terminus in Baghdad in the future, but the possibility remains low for the time being.
History
The Taurus Express ran for the first time on 15 February 1930. However, at that time, passengers had to transfer to a motor coach provided by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits for the stage of the journey between Nusaybin and Kirkuk. From Kirkuk, the journey was continued on the meter-gauge railway to Baghdad. In 1939, this service was running three times a week from Istanbul to Baghdad, with connections to Teheran and to Cairo.[1]
The Taurus Express originally ran on tracks owned by the
Iraqi State Railways. The Turkish State Railways acquired the Southern Railways in 1948 and the Syrian Railways
acquired the Northern Syria & Cilician Railways in 1965. The train ran twice weekly but after 1972 it ran weekly.
Consist
The consist of the first Taurus Express was this:
TCDD Steam Loco 3688
TCDD Baggage Car
CIWL Sleeping Car
CIWL Sleeping Car
TCDD Coach
TCDD Coach
TCDD Baggage Car
After 1972 the
diesel locomotives
were the main power and the consists from 1972 to 2003 were like this:
IRR DEM 2000 Locomotive (Baghdad-Karkamış)
TCDD DE 24000 Locomotive (Karkamış-Istanbul)
TCDD Postage Car
TCDD Sleeping Car
TCDD Couchette Car
TCDD Coach
TCDD Baggage Car
In popular culture
The Taurus Express is featured in Agatha Christie's crime novel Murder on the Orient Express (1934). While the main body of the story takes place on another of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits trains, the Simplon-Orient Express, the opening chapter of the book takes place on the Taurus Express.
References
Cook's Continental Timetable
, August 1939.
External links
Winchester, Clarence, ed. (1936), "The Taurus Express", Railway Wonders of the World, pp. 1521–1528 illustrated description of the route and a journey from Haydarpasa station to Basra