Description:In 1878 the Duke of Sutherland acted as President of a Committee at Stafford House which was called ‘An association for promoting the construction of a Railway from the Persian Gulf to Constantinople and the Mediterranean, affording alternative routes to British India and for developing the resources of Asia Minor’. Incidentally, the association had a shortened title ‘for convenience in correspondence’ which was ‘the Constantinople, Bagdad and Mediterranean Junction Railway’.
What can the Sutherland Papers tell us about the scheme?
The Sutherland Papers collection includes a vast range of documents relating to this scheme, including the Committee’s Minute Book, bundles of correspondence, copies of letters sent by the Committee and prospectuses relating to the type of railway equipment which would be used.
These documents provide an insight into the practical arrangements made by the Committee to promote and undertake the scheme, the Minute Book and Out-letters including information about the scheme’s administration and the motives behind its establishment.
To learn more about Stafford House Committee's Railway Schemes, click on the images on the left.