ABSTRACT
Mahmudabad was chosen as the starting point of the railway for two reasons. First, the nearest point on the Caspian to a narrow pass through the mountains of Damavand to Tehran, and the second, a small stream flowed into the sea from Mahmudabad that could be made into a harbor. On 11 Jamadi II 1306/12 February 1889, Amin al-Sultan wrote back, having obtained the shah's permission for the trip and wishing Amin al-Zarb success in acquiring the machinery necessary for the railway and the road. While Amin al-Zarb was in Europe, the British interest in the progress of the railway continued, and another report by the British consul for the provinces south of the Caspian Sea was sent to London in Zi Hajja 1306/August 1889. Amin al-Zarb became the master of the mint in 1296/1879, the mint having become centralized and having started striking new coins with the imported modern automated machinery.
