[Oman-l] Masirah, another book

[alyahyai@squ.edu.om]

Dear members,
I would like to add this book to the Masirah discussion. It might be of interest to some who worked in Masirah. Regards, Rashid. 

RAF MASIRAH RAILWAY, THE 
1st Edition - 1994 
by W J L Corser 
http://www.transportdiversions.com/publications/trra2038.html

A NARROW GAUGE RAILWAY ON A DESERT ISLAND... The island of Masirah lies off the Indian Ocean coast of Oman, part of the long stretch of coast which runs southwest from the Gulf of Oman to the Red Sea. Formerly quite populous, by the early years of this century Masirah supported a small indigenous population, who existed mainly by fishing. The island is some 10 miles wide by 44 miles long, with low gravel hills in the south, rocky hills up to 900 feet high in the centre, and a flat gravel plain at the northern tip. By the end of 1942 the danger to allied shipping in the region posed by Japanese submarines led to the RAF and USAAF setting up a permanent airbase on that gravel plain. In order to handle the large quantities of supplies landed by ship a narrow gauge railway was built, serving dispersed fuel dumps and supply compounds. The railway continued in this role until the mid-1960s, then fell into disuse. Resurrected by the British servicemen as a spare time activity in 1969, trains continued to run until

Contents: 

Preface 
List of Figures 
Abbreviations & Acronyms 
1. Intoduction to Masirah 
2. 1943-1945 
3. 1945-1963 
4. 1964-1970 
5. 1971-1972 
6. 1973 
7. 1974-1977 
8. 1977-1989 
9. Trackwork 
10. Rolling Stock 
11. The Plymouth Locomotives 
12. The Ruston & Hornsby Locomotives 
13. Liveries 
14. Running the MSR 
Bibliography 
Acknowledgements