Assam Railways and Trading Company

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Assam Railways and Trading Company
[[Image:|150px| ]]
System timeline
1881 Company formed
1945 Railway undertakings nationalised
Constituent companies / lines
1882 Dibru-Sadiya Railway
Ledo and Tikak Margherita Colliery Railway
Key locations
Headquarters Dibrugarh
Workshops Dibrugarh , Margherita
Major Stations Dibrugarh, Ledo, Talap, Tinsukia
Successor system / organisation
1945 Bengal and Assam Railway
System mileage
Metre gauge 86 miles (1905)
105 miles (1921)
112 miles (1943)
2' 0" NG 25 miles, colliery lines (1921)
Associated auxiliary force
n/a
How to interpret this infobox

The Assam Railways and Trading Company Ltd (AR&TC) was formed in 1881 to exploit the rich natural resources of the extreme north east corner of Upper Assam.

The Company was incorporated in 1881, and originated from an Agreement between the Secretary of State for India and ‘Shaw, Finlayson and Company’ to build a railway line between Dibrugarh) and Sadiya in north-eastern Assam. In the event, it constructed a main line from Debrugarh to the River Dehring, and a branch line from Makum Junction to Talap. The company also owned other valuable businesses, including colliery workings [1] and developed and owned the Digboi Oil Refinery until 1899 when AR&TC promoted a new company ‘Assam Oil Company’, which was sold to Burmah Oil Company in 1921[2].

The rail-based assets of the company were acquired by the government in 1945. The company no longer has rail operating interests in the Indian subcontinent, although it still exists as a non-trading company, owned by the Assam Company Limited (part of the Duncan Macneill Group). [3]

Assam Railways and Trading Company Railway Map 1909

Railways owned by AR&TC

For full details Dibru-Sadiya Railway see ‘Dibru-Sadiya Railway’ separate page

Records

Refer to FIBIS Fact File #4: “Research sources for Indian Railways, 1845-1947” - available from the Fibis shop. This Fact File contains invaluable advice on 'Researching ancestors in the UK records of Indian Railways' with particular reference to the India Office Records (IOR) held at the British Library

An on-line search of the IOR records relating to this railway [4] gives 10 references. The most important being:-

  • L/AG/46/2 “Records of the Assam Railways and Trading Company; 1881”

Further Information

For a complete and detailed history of the 'Assam Railways and Trading Company' there are the following sources:-

References

  1. Great Britain. Law Commission, Stationery Office H.M. Government “Statute Law Repeals: Nineteenth Report : Draft Statute Law (Repeals) Bill; April 2012"; page 117, paragraph 3.8 Retrieved on 31 December 2015.
  2. “Industrial Railways and Locomotives of India and South Asia” compliled by Simon Darvill. Published by ‘The Industrial Railway Society’ 2013. ISBN 978 1 901556 82-7. Available at http://irsshop.co.uk/India. Reference: Entry AS90 pages 103-104
  3. Great Britain. Law Commission, Stationery Office H.M. Government “Statute Law Repeals: Nineteenth Report : Draft Statute Law (Repeals) Bill; April 2012"; page 117, paragraph 3.13 Retrieved on 31 December 2015.
  4. British Library "Indian Office Records Search"; Retrieved 20 Jan 2016
  5. “The Story of the Assam Railways and Trading Company” 1881-1951 by Charles Folliott Birney, ; Retrieved 29 May 2020