HEDIA STATION
GPS: 25.540961, 38.738575
25°32'27.47"N 38°44'18.90"E
Distance to next station south (Jeda'a): 22 km
Distance south to Wagga Outpost Fort: 11 km
Distance to next station north (Mudarraj): 17 km
Altitude: 384 m
The locally quarried red sandstone blocks stand out clearly in the late afternoon sunshine at Hedia Station
The remains of stone defensive positions guard the rear approaches to the main station building at Hedia
The second station building contained 4 rooms constructed around a central courtyard with a well
Two-storey black basalt stone station building, constructed around 6 rooms.
Second station building - one storey around 4 rooms.
Ruined barracks to the south of the station buildings.
Remains of 2 works vehicles from the 1960s restoration project.
Water tower with twin tanks.
Two water columns, one situated in front of the second station building, and the other between the station buildings and the line of wagons to the south.
A large number of Turkish graves to the east of the line.
Hedia Station was an important point of defence on the railway. During the war it had a garrison of over 800 men and was defended by numerous outposts in the surrounding hills.
A siding to the east of the station, with a complete train lying on its side, comprising a locomotive (a German-made Krauss 0-6-0T), two covered wagons (with most of the wood missing), a tender and four damaged wagons (one marked kf522).
A siding to the south of the station with the remains of seven wagons (wheels manufactured by Haine St Pierre & Cassell Steel and by Krupps).
The Hedia Bridge - A strategically important 27-arch bridge, located 1.1 kms north of the station (see details below). Pump house, birka and a small well.
Hedia Station from the south, with its two water columns by the side of the track and a short siding to the east. Mudarraj (Madahrij) Station is on the other side of the mountain to the north
Hedia Station with its ruined barracks block in the foreground and the remains of other defensive positions scattered over the site. Hedia was an important stop on the railway, with a garrison of 800 men
Krauss 0-6-0T - Siding to the east of the station
The German-built Krauss 0-6-0T locomotive, was the original workhorse of the Hejaz Railway. In the early years of the construction project, twelve Krauss 0-6-0Ts were acquired for use on the line. They were used for bringing workers, rails, sleepers, building material and general provisions to the teams at the railhead. They were also used to run slowly over newly laid stretches of line, to test the trackbed's stability and to help embed the rails and sleepers into the ballast.
The Krauss 0-6-0T on the siding to the east of Hedia Station was standing upright until the 1980s. As well as the locomotive, there are the remains of two covered wagons, a tender and the base frames of four further wagons.
Once the construction project had been completed and regular traffic was running on the main line between Damascus and Medina, the Central Commission in Istanbul acquired eight further Krauss locomotives (2-8-0s) from the company based in Munich.
German-built Krauss 0-6-0T at the front of a line of wagons and a tender at Hedia Station in Saudi Arabia
The Krauss 0-6-0T was the dependable workhorse of the Hejaz Railway during the early years of construction
Hilltop defensive positions overlooking Hedia Station. The siding to the east, with the scattered remains of a train pulled by a Krauss 0-6-0-T locomotive, bears silent witness to the importance of the station during the war years
The Krauss 0-6-0T locomotive at Hedia was still upright in the 1980s. The 27-arch Hedia Bridge can be seen just over a kilometre north of the station
The Krauss 0-6-0T on its side at Hedia. The Locomotivfabrik Krauss & Comp. was founded in 1866 and had factories in Munich, Germany and Linz, Austria
The base of the locomotive, abandoned when the southern section of the railway fell into disuse in 1925
View into the front section of the Krauss 0-6-0T looking through the smoke box to the heater tubes of the boiler
Train on the siding at Hedia Station - Manufacturers' Details
The wagons and tender of the train pulled by the Krauss 0-6-0T at Hedia contain a rich variety of rolling stock parts manufactured in Germany and Belgium.
The remains of a bogie from the base of the wagon just to the west of the locomotive has 'Clabecq' stamped on the wheel shaft. Clabecq Foundry was developed during the eighteenth century on the River Sennette, 20 kilometres south-west of Brussels in the Belgian region of Wallonia.
One of the wheels on the tender of the train is stamped with the manufacturer's name: 'Krupp 1910'. Krupp, well known for the production of armaments for Germany during the two World Wars, is based at Essen in the industrial region of the Ruhr Valley.
A bogie set, detached from the base of a wagon just east of the train's tender, has 'Guttsmann A.G. Breslau 1908' imprinted on the frame. In 1908, Breslau was in the eastern region of the German Empire, but the city became part of Poland by the Potsdam Agreement at the end of the Second World War and is now known as Wroclaw.
Another bogie from the remains of a wagon has the company name 'Ougrée 1910' stamped on the wheel shaft. The iron and steel works of the Sociéte Anonym Ougrée-Marihaye were based in Seraing, a city in the province of Liège, Belgium. In 1955, it merged with the nearby company of Cockerill, which had been a major producer of rails for the Hejaz Railway.
A further set of wheels on a wagon lying on its side next to the tender to the west has the imprint: 'GHH 1911'. Gute-Hoffnung-Hütte (or Gutehoffnungshütte) (G.H.H.) was a German iron works situated in the Ruhr Valley area. The company was established in 1782 in Sterkrade, a suburb of the city of Oberhausen. As well as providing wheels for locomotives, G.H.H. was an important supplier of rails for the Hejaz Railway.
Clabecq, Belgium
A wheelset on the remains of a wagon beside the Krauss 0-6-0T has the plant name Clabecq stamped on the shaft
Clabecq was a foundry on the River Sennette 20 km south-west of Brussels in the Belgian area of Wallonia
Les Forges de Clabecq were constructed in the late eighteenth century in the same area as Tubize, the manufacturer of eight 0-6-0Ts used on the Hejaz Railway
Krupp, Germany
A wheel on the tender of the Krauss 0-6-0T has the name of the steelworks 'Krupp' stamped on it
The date of 1910 shows that the wheel was manufactured 2 years after the railway reached Hedia
The German manufacturer Krupp was a major producer of armaments as well as railway material
The foundry of Krupp was part of a huge industrial complex based at Essen in the Ruhr Valley in Germany
Guttsmann A. G. Breslau, Germany
A bogie to the east of the tender is stamped with the manufacturer's name: 'Guttsmann A. G. Breslau 1908'
The imprint of Guttsmann A. G. Breslau can also be found on abandoned rolling stock at Medina Station
In 1908, the firm of Guttsmann A. G. Breslau was located in Germany. Since 1945 the city has been a part of Poland and is now called Wroclaw
Ougrée, Belgium
A wheel set of a bogie from a wagon has the company name 'Ougrée 1910' imprinted on the shaft
The steelworks of Ougrée were situated in Seraing, 9 kms to the south-west of the city of Liège in Belgium
In 1955, the steel works of Ougrée merged with the local Belgian firm of Cockerill, an important supplier of rails for the Hejaz Railway
G.H.H. (Gute-Hoffnung-Hütte),
Germany
A wheel set on the bogie of an overturned wagon has the imprint 'GHH 1911' stamped on the wheel
The iron works of G.H.H. were located in Sterkrade, a suburb of Oberhausen, near Duisburg in Germany
The foundries of G.H.H. (Gute-Hoffnung-Hütte) in 1901. The works were part of the German industrial powerhouse of the Ruhr Valley
As well as producing parts for rolling stock, Gute-Hoffnung-Hütte manufactured rails for the Hejaz Railway
G.H.H. rails were used as supports for buildings at AlUla Station after the railway fell into disuse in 1925