Naphtha_Hill_Decauville_Railway

The Naphtha Hill Decauville Railway was a 32.5 km (20.2 mi) long horse-drawn railway with a gauge of 500 mm (19+3⁄4 in), which was supplied by the French company Decauville. It operated around 1885-1889 near Bala-Ischem, 12 km (7.5 mi) southeast of Balkanabat in Turkestan (historical name for a part of today's Turkmenistan and six other states). Its track and rolling stock were originally used during the construction of the Transcaspian Railway to transport the rails and sleepers to the construction site using two oil-fired Decauville steam locomotives with works numbers N° 9 and N° 10. It was built with portable track, i.e. 5 m long rail panels prefabricated in France with a track gauge of 500 mm (19+3⁄4 in).