ABSTRACT
A much more serious objection to a desert railway, would be the impossibility of making practical use of it, except in the temperate months. I cannot think that many passengers would choose a railway journey of a thousand miles under such a sun as the Hamdd boasts, between May and October. The average maximum daily temperature in the coolest house in Bagdad during June and July is 107°, while the thermometer there sometimes* goes up to 120°, and even 122°. The heat of the desert would be far greater; and, unless stations of refuge were established, in which to pass the heat of the day, summer travelling would be impossible for Europeans. These and the road would have to be well guarded, as it is unlikely the Anazeh would respect them.
