Great Indian Peninsula Railway
British India | |
Dates of operation | 1 August 1849–5 November 1951 |
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Technical | |
Track gauge | 5'6" or 1676 mm |
Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company Act 1849 | |
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Long title | An Act to incorporate the Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company, and for purposes connected therewith. |
Citation | 12 & 13 Vict. c. 83 |
Territorial extent | British Raj |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 1 August 1849 |
Status: Unknown | |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
The Great Indian Peninsula Railway (
Incorporation in London
Incorporated as a company in 1849, with its head office in London, the Great Indian Peninsula Railway line was initially proposed for a length of 1,300 mi (2,100 km), to connect Bombay with the interior of the Indian peninsula and to the major port of Madras (
The management committee consisted of 25 British men, including officials of the
Beginnings in Bombay
An year after the passing of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway Company Act in 1849, the first sod was turned ('Bhoomipujan' was done) of the first rail line at Sion on 30 October 1850, by the Chief secretary of Bombay Government, John P. Willoughby. The line was meant to be an "experimental line" between Bombay and Thana, whose gauge was set at 5' 6'' (1676 mm) by Governor General Lord Dalhousie in January 1851. The contract for this segment was handed to the contractors Faviell and Fowler, while the next segment from Tannah to Callian (today's Kalyan) to contractors George Wythes and William Jackson along with Jamsetjee Dorabjee Naegamwalla. [8]
Work began, but was soon slowed down by heavy showers in October 1851. This was the same year the first locomotives for this line (Locomotives GIP-1 to 8) were built at the Vulcan Foundry in England. Several problems were encountered, for instance, the laying of the line among the swamp at Sion, worker strikes, among others. Then there was a question of whether the experimental line be a single line, or a double line. The contract opted for the latter option, but there were other ideas. Doing this would have saved money. In the end, the Government of Bombay asked to retain the 'double line' option, owing to complications in contracts and finances.
First locomotive
The following year, in 1852, Bombay received its first locomotive. Built by E. B. Wilson, the same firm that built Roorkee's locomotive Thomason, it was brought by sea to Bombay. The Bombay Telegraph of 17 February states that "She had been landed six days ..." suggesting that the locomotive landed in Bombay on 11 or 12 February 1852. On its arrival, it was pulled down a public road by 200 coolies, before it was put on the rails. This Locomotive was named "Lord Falkland" after the then Governor of Bombay, Lucius Bentinck Cary, who reportedly left the city on the eve of the occasion.
It was stationed on a land in Byculla, previously used for planting toddy. This plot of land, belonging to William Phipps, among others, was bought by the GIPR at a cost of Rupees 4000. This locomotive was a tank engine, meaning that it had all its fuel, water and boiler on the same frame, not having an external tender wagon. Four wheels were attached to the cranked driving shaft, and placed in the center. The Telegraph further stated that efforts were made to prepare the loco for work by 'the end of the week'.
The Locomotive had its first run on 18 February 1852 from its stationing at Byculla, to Parel. Thousands crowded around the place, watching the loco at the entrance of its shed. The excitement was immense, with the natives amazed when the loco commenced its maiden journey. The engine started at a walking speed, later travelling at 15 miles an hour (about 24 km/h). A crowd ran after the moving contraption, hardly leaving the tracks clear. The locomotive traveled the 2 miles (3.2 km) between Byculla and Parel, waiting at its destination for some time. The second trip was completed, notably with a lady being among the passengers. On both trips the loco was stopped briefly, to correct some small matters; however, the engine was found to be in proper order.[9]
Around this time there arose debates on what vocabulary be introduced for the railways in native languages. The natives had already started referring to railways, in their language, some calling it "Aag Boat"' (the term for steam boats). Without proper words to describe the railway systems, even the 1854 translation of the Lardner's Rail Economy (translated by Krishnashastri Bhatwadekar in Marathi) referred to rail roads as "Lokhandi Rustey" the term for Iron Roads, hence even the name of the book was Lokhandi Rustyanche Sunshipt Vurnan (translated as "A Short Account of Iron Roads"). Some translations were soon suggested.
The Locomotive in its shed at Byculla drew crowds of thousands from over the city. When it began its operations, sometimes carrying twelve wagons of Ballast up the steep slopes, the natives standing in the way in astonishment. For the natives, it was a mesmerizing experience, for they had never seen such an immensity traveling on rails. Not satisfied by watching from sides, the crowds would come extremely close to the operating locomotive, only paving way when the loco came a few meters away. Police was ordered around the line for the safety of the observers. Finally twelve men with sticks were employed for this duty. Some people sought an opportunity, setting up stalls of Toddy and cakes, to sell to the visitors.
The same year, three Locomotives and the rail carriages arrived on the ship, Charles along with six European locomotive drivers in September 1852.[9]
The First Trial run
The first trial run was conducted between Bombay and Thane on 18 November 1852, at noon. The locomotives and the carriages were still not yet in order (having arrived only 2 months ago). Hence the same Lord Falkland was employed as the locomotive, with trucks, temporarily fitted to be used as carriages. The Journey was to be commenced at noon, reaching the destination of Parsick (Parsik) point at about 1 p.m. They were to have their tiffin in the tunnel built there, to later return back at sunset, as reported by the Allen's Indian Mail of 1852. The passengers were the engineers, directors and their friends. The Journey started soon after twelve p.m., later halting at near the beginning of the Salsette island for refilling water. The entire journey was extensively described by the newspaper The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce (now known as The Times of India). The journey was reported completed in 45 mins, the highest speed being 50 mph (about 80 km/h), with the average being 30 mph (about 48 km/h). This Journey soon paved way for the official run next year (1853) on 16th April, that formally began the era of the Indian Railways.
Railways around Bombay
On 16 April 1853 at 3:35 pm, the first passenger train of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway left
The portion of the line from Tanna to
On 12 May 1856 the line was extended to
The
Bombay to Madras
Beyond
Bombay to Calcutta
Beyond Callian, the north-east main line proceeded over the Thull ghat to
The
Rolling stock
By the end of 1874 the company owned 345 steam locomotives, 1309 coaches and 7924 goods wagons.[15] In 1906 a steam railcar from Kerr, Stuart and Company was purchased.[16] By 1936, the rolling stock had increased to 835 locomotives, 1285 coaches and more than 20.000 freight wagons.[17]
Classification
It was labeled as a Class I railway according to
See also
Notes
- ^ Rao, M.A. (1988). Indian Railways, New Delhi: National Book Trust, p. 15.
- ^ Appletons' annual cyclopaedia and register of important events of the year: 1862. New York: D. Appleton & Company. 1863. p. 690.
- ^ a b Khan, Shaheed (18 April 2002). "The great Indian Railway bazaar". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 16 July 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "About Indian Railways-Evolution". Ministry of Railways website. Archived from the original on 8 February 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
- ^ Company registration − 1845. London: Grace's Guide. 1846. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
- ISBN 978-1909150287.
- ^ "Incorporation of Great Indian peninsula Railway". The Evening Standard. 19 November 1845.
- ISBN 978-81-291-3497-4.
- ^ a b "The first running of a railway locomotive in India" (PDF). swr.indianrailways.gov.in. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
- ^ Costa, Roana Maria (17 April 2010). "A sepia ride, from Boree Bunder to Tannah". The Times of India. Mumbai. p. 6.
- ^ a b Rao, M.A. (1988). Indian Railways, New Delhi: National Book Trust, p. 17
- ^ "Extracts from the Railway Times". Railway Times. 1854. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ^ Rao, M.A. (1988). Indian Railways, New Delhi: National Book Trust, pp. 17–18
- ^ Mihill Slaughter (1861). Railway Intelligence. Vol. 11. The Railway Department, Stock Exchange, London. p. 202. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ "Central Railway History". Archived from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
- ^ New Locomotives for the Great Indian Peninsula Ry., The Locomotive Magazine, Vol. XII, No. 125 (Jul. 14, 1906); pages 114. Includes photo.
- ^ World Survey of Foreign Railways. Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C. 1936. p. 215. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- ^ "Indian Railway Classification". Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ World Survey of Foreign Railways. Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C. 1936. pp. 210–219.