The unknown story of truck-based buses for Nairn, the impossible desert route from 70-100 years ago

Once upon a time, when transport links between countries were still much more vague and hampered by unfriendly terrain and geography, two brothers from New Zealand managed to create the first regular car route, and then buses, through the deserts of the Middle East , between Damascus and Baghdad, without there having been paved roads. Even today such a mission would be difficult, but 100 years ago, it was considered a necessary but impossible route. The two brothers not only managed to make it possible, but they ensured first-class comfort for their passengers, galloping through the desert and even providing them with air conditioning on board, in those days!

The two Nairn brothers, named Norman and Gerald, were born in Blenheim, New Zealand, and as children, their father, a doctor by profession, was the first man in New Zealand to own his own car, a fact that made them inspired a love of motorized vehicles. Before the First World War, the two brothers already had their own business in their country, a motorcycle dealer, and they also imported Harley Davidson. But during the war, they had to join the army and fought for the British army in the Middle East. That's how the two got to know much better the specifics and problems of that region.

After the war, the two brothers tried to sell ex-military vehicles in New Zealand, but the business did not go well. So the two thought of returning to the Middle East and organizing transports there between Beirut (today's Lebanon) and Haffa (today's Israel), with the cars they could not sell. That route was serviced by small carters with their vehicles, and the two were met with hostility, so they turned to mail transportation in the same region.

In 1923, the British consul in Damascus, Syria, had contacted them and asked them to see if they could organize a regular car route between Damascus, Syria, and Baghdad, Iraq. Back then, after the World War I, today's Syria and Lebanon were administered by France, and Iraq by Great Britain, by mandate of the League of Nations. The route between Damascus and Baghdad was important since ancient times, but also considered extremely difficult, because it meant crossing the Syrian desert. The distance between the two cities is about 500-550 mile (800-880 km), depending on the chosen route, and slower travelers did it in several weeks. The mail arrived in 4 weeks, for example! In 1923, plans for the construction of a railway had been put on hold and faster transport was needed. So, the two brothers thought about how they could ensure a more viable connection.

Photo: A Cadillac Type 63 model, symbolic image

In April 1923, the two brothers made 6 test trips between Damascus and Baghdad, by car. The first trip took them 3 days, being made with a Buick, an Oldsmobile and a Lancia. Then they tried other brands, and were going to choose the cars that could withstand the harsh relief of the desert, which was covered with a stony crust, could be fast and could withstand the heat without overheating their engines. In the end they opted for Cadillac, the American cars proving to be the most durable at the time. Demonstrating the feasibility of that desert journey, the two brothers proposed to the British authorities to establish an initial postal link, and they were accepted. Their idea was also accepted by the French authorities in Damascus, and agreed to give them gold to pay the desert tribes, to ensure safe transit.

In October 1923 the Nairn Transport Company was formed and 6 Cadillac Type 63s were purchased. These were modified to have larger petrol tanks, drinking water tanks, room for provisions and even ice boxes, to possibly last a week in the desert. They also had spare parts with them. Thus began the securing of that impossible route, with those Cadillacs, which proved capable of traveling at 110 km/h through the desert, in areas where the crust was sufficiently hard. The service was so popular that it was appreciated by the authorities, businessmen, and the press, and in 1925, 11 cars were already operating on that route, and the travel time was reduced to 24 hours. Those Cadillacs had proven virtually indestructible, reaching 200.000 miles each, through the desert, and withstanding. Thanks to the large radiators, the engines were perfectly cooled, and the cars endured any conditions. The drivers became masters of driving, having a special tactic to spin the cars without overturning when they encountered slippery terrain. They drove in column, on clear routes, which avoided the dangers. But the demand was so great that by 1925 it had become clear that even bigger vehicles were needed.

Photo: Two Cadillacs in a poster dedicated to the route

The two Nairn brothers chose to order specially adapted buses for them from the American company Six-Wheel Company and ACF. These buses had double rear wheels, so 6 wheels in total, and were powered by 110 HP Continental engines, coupled to 8-speed gearboxes. Each weighed 7 tons, but could carry 14 passengers and 250 kg of luggage. The maximum speed was 88 km/h, and inside each passenger sat on a comfortable armchair.

In 1927, impressed by the comfort on board, King Faisal of Iraq gave them the official name Babylon. Meanwhile, route variations had appeared, including Beirut, and the entire route was up to 1,150 km.

9 years after ordering those buses, the Nairn brothers impressed the public again when they bought two new Marmon-Herrington buses. In fact, there were special buses, created on the basis of trucks, especially for this impossible route. The truck itself was a 6x6, with two rear axles, both with double wheels, but all 3 axles were powered.

The actual compartment of the bus was attached to the truck, coupled to a saddle similar to the ones used today on tractor-trailer trucks. The compartment of this 1934 truck, however, was a double-decker bus, and it was completely insulated from dust!

Inside there were 32 first-class seats for passengers, but also a buffet, a toilet and space for 1 ton of luggage! The truck was powered by a 200 HP diesel, which could move this mammoth bus over 20 meters long at a speed of up to 80 km/h through the desert!

The bus itself was an unprecedented work of engineering, of unprecedented endurance and at the same time of unprecedented comfort.

And finally, two more buses of a similar but evolved Pullman concept appeared on the desert route in 1937. They were custom-built, also with a similar but single-level trailer, on which truck chassis assembled by Edward G. Budd Company, but with much more local construction and adaptation work by Nairn mechanics. In the bus compartment, for the first time in the world, there was an air conditioning system, invented a little earlier, but never before put on such a type of vehicle. So, passengers could bask in the coolness, they were served drinks on board, and the seats were even more comfortable. There were 18 passengers on board, and the truck was powered by a 150 HP Cummins diesel engine. And the travel time was reduced from 24 hours to 18 hours.

These truck-based buses were regularly serviced by Nairn mechanics, who had a workshop in Damascus employing 85 people. Until 1958, as long as they ran, they each managed to cover about 2 million miles, that is about 3.2 million km! In 1958, the route was no longer possible due to political changes in the region, and the company was liquidated in 1959, the history of these fascinating buses, which once provided an impossible desert route, remain a symbol of their era, which today he knows less and less.