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From: Bryn Dolan bdolan@anzacs.org
Date: 7/17/2001
Time: 9:49:43 AM
Remote Name: 210.141.67.160
Hi Ken,
The 'tramway' referred to was exactly that. It was originally proposed to run a light railway linking the Anzac and Suvla sectors, but this would have meant building a two-span bridge across the creekbed of the Sazli Beit Dere, north of Anzac Cove, and as this would have been very vulnerable to Turkish shelling the idea was scrapped. Two trucks were landed in order to transport artillery supplies and were successful, though one eventually broke down through sand working into its gears. It was decided to provide communication with each flank of the Anzac position by extending a short tramway which connected Anzac Cove with the depot at North Beach. A special tramway corps was formed, but information on this group is pretty difficult to come by. I assume they would have been engineers.
All this happened of course after the August offensives. Prior to that there was no chance of running a tramway north of Anzac Cove, and no depot there to run it to.
See Bean Vol. 2 pp 834-835.
B Dolan
Website: Leaders of Anzacs: Anzac officers died at Gallipoli www.anzacs.org