The Israeli Model Railroad Club

A short history of railways in Israel and surrounding countries (photo's below)

The first railway to be built in what was then the southern part of the Ottoman Empire was the line from Jaffa to Jerusalem, opened in 1892. It was the initiative of a Jewish Jerusalem businessman, Joseph Navon. It had a profound influence on the development of the city and of pilgrimages to the Holy Land. The winding route along a narrow valley without any tunnels and the narrow gauge (1 meter) were chosen to keep down costs. ( The legacy of which is still suffered from today.)

The next line, also a narrow gauge (1.05 meter), joined the port of Haifa to the hinterland of what is now Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia. It was to be a branch of the Hedjaz Railway from Damascus to Medina. The "Jezreel Valley Railway" was completed in 1905 and ran through the Jezreel valley and past the southern tip of Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee) before climbing up the valley of the Yarmuk river to a junction at Deraa in Syria with the main Hedjaz line.

The Turks started a plan to branch off this line (at Afuleh) to continue through Jenin to Jerusalem, but the line was never completed. When WW I broke out, the Turks began building lines (1.05 meter gauge) from this branch to Beer Sheba (eventually reaching Kusseima in Sinai) and to Gaza to further their military activities.

Later (starting in 1916) the British built a standard gauge line from Egypt across the Sinai peninsula towards Gaza which enabled them to bring troops and supplies to the front and eventually to defeat the Turks. After the war, during the British mandate, this line was incorporated in the Palestine Railways network, from Kantara in Egypt to Haifa and Nahariya and further into today's Lebanon, together with the Jaffa-Jerusalem line which was converted to standard gauge and the Yezreel valley line which remained narrow gauge.

When the British mandate terminated in 1948 with the creation of the State of Israel, Israel Railways was formed. The connections to Lebanon and Egypt were disrupted. The Yezreel valley line was closed, but trains from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem and Haifa continued to operate. Lines were later built to Beer Sheba and Dimona and a freight line to Har Tzin in the Negev, but investment was limited and the trains infrequent.

In the 1990’s this changed and serious development of the lines, building new stations and acquiring modern rolling stock has resulted in a 10 fold increase in the number of passengers. Today well over 200 trains run every day, carrying some 30 million passengers a year.

The old line to Jerusalem was “upgraded” but because of the many curves, the speed is limited and the journey time long. A high speed line on a different route was started, but budgetary and other delays have put the completion date off by several years. It is now scheduled for completion in 2018.

The last steam engine (LMS type 8F, No. 70414) was scrapped in 1958. when IR switched over to diesels. A loco of this type, originally in Turkey, was acquired by Beer Sheba municipality and installed in the old Turkish raiway station there. It was renumbered 70414 to commemerate this loco. One small steam loco is still preserved in the Railway Museum in Haifa

Light railways are adding to the public transport system. In 2011, the first line of the Jerusalem Light Railway system began operating, and several other lines to complete the network are now under construction. It was not until August 2023 that the first line of the Tel-Aviv network began operating, running from Petach Tikvah through Tel-Aviv (partly in a tunnel) to Bat Yam. More lines are planned. The Ultra-religious members of the government coalition have prevented the line from running on Saturday, which is sad as many people don't have cars. A light rail line is also planned from Haifa to Nazereth.

Below are some pictures, old and new, showing this history:

	The Jerusalem station in 1892 תחנת הרכבת בירושלים ב-1892
	"The Achziv Train Station: The management of the Cairo-Jaffa-Beirut line apologizes to passengers: the clock is broken, the rails worn, the loco is tired, the weeds are high, fuel is expensive, the driver dozed off, the Rosh Hanikra tunnel is blocked, and one more detail - the peace has not come. But don't despair' the train is coming, a matter of a few moments." (near the Lebanon border)
	The Haifa station of the "Yezreel Valley railway" (1990) תחנת רכבת העמק בחיפה 1990
	Jaffa to Jerusalem המסלול הישן, יפו - ירושלים
	The opening ceremony of the Jerusalem station הפתיחה החגיגית של תחנה בירושלים
	The first loc to service in the Holy Land, was a Baldwin 2-6-0. (sorry that we have not found photo's from the original) (Thanks to Wikipedia) הקטר הראשון בארץ ישראל היה מדגם זה, חבל שלא מתמונה של הקטר האורגינל
	Israel's railway network today רשת קווי רכבת ישראל היום
	Lod Station (from the air), central service station תחנת השירות בלוד מהשמיים
	Snow in Jerusalem 2002 שלג בירושלים 2002
	Logo of "Yezreel Valley Railway" הלוגו של רכבת העמק
	The bridge over the Jordan at Gesher (Majame), 260 meters below sea level, on the Haifa- Deraa line רכבת על הגשר החוצה את נהר הירדן בקו חיפה-דראה
	The Tel Aviv - Haifa run תל אביב חיפה
	Jerusalem station - street view 1985 תחנת ירושלים מבט מהרחוב 1985
	IC3 in the Judean Hills on route to Jerusalem בהרי ירושלים IC3
	Kiriat Motskin (Haifa) rebuilt קרית מוצקין משוחזר
	This type of Loco is used for cargo transportation קטר להובלת מטענים
	The 8F loco now located at Beer Sheba old Turkish station הקטר 70414 בתחנת הרכבת הטורקי הישן בבארשבע
	One of the new Siemens coaches being tested in Germany, 2008 אחד הרכבות החדשות נבדק בגרמניה
	Double-Deck in Haifa רכבת דו-קומתית בחיפה
	One of the old Turkish (Lydda-Beer Sheba) railway stations - Nahal Sorek תחנת נחל סורק מתקופת הטורקים
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