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O&RR Info added and minor re-edit
<big>'''East Indian Railways - Carriage and Wagon Workshops''' </big>
<blockquote>Part of the '''[[East Indian Railway]]''' main page</blockquote>
<blockquote>Also see '''[[EIR Locomotive Workshops|East Indian Railways - Locomotive Workshops]]'''
==Background==
"The [[East Indian Railway]](EIR) 'experimental line' from [[Howrah ]] to [[Ranigani ]] was authorised in 1849, and construction and started in 1851. The opening of the first section from [[Howrah]] to [[Hooghly]] in August 1854 was delayed due to unexpected impediments - one these was the ship 'HMS Goodwin' carrying the coaches ''(from Britain)'' sank at the Sandheads near Diamond Harbour ''(in the Hoogly River estuary near Calcutta)''. [[John Hodgson]], the Locomotive Engineer of EIR, got the carriages locally built with the help of two Calcutta coach building firms - Steward & Co and Seton & Co." <ref> “Symphony of Progress - The Saga of the Eastern Railway 1854-2003”; published by Eastern Railway, kolkata 2003; Extracted from pages 6 and 7</ref>.
From thereon the Carriages and Wagons were constructed in India, presumably initially by local Calcutta firms and very soon after by establishing the Carriage & Wagon Workshops at [[Howrah]].
[[Robert Webb Pearce]] was offered and accepted the post of Carriage and Wagon Superintendent of the East Indian Railway, and left England in December 1855; but finding his position not what he expected, he would have left the railway and started a wagon-building works in India. He was persuaded however to remain.....<ref name=IMechE>[http://www.steamindex.com/people/overseas.htm#pearce “Steam Index transcript of the “Proceedings Institution of Mechanical Engineers” for 1889]; Retrieved 10 Jun 2016</ref>.
==Carriage & Wagon Workshops - Howrah ==
The first workshops to repair Locomotives and build Carriages and Wagons were established in [[Howrah]] and operational in the mid 1850’s.
*In 1855 [[John Hodgson]] was appointed the first Locomotive Superintendent and [[Robert Webb Pearce]] the first Carriage and Wagon Superintendent <ref>[https://ia801404.us.archive.org/16/items/historyeastindi00huddgoog/historyeastindi00huddgoog.pdf Archive.org "History of the East Indian Railway ..." by George Huddlestone Appendix A, pages 278, pdf pages 333]; Retrieved 10 Jun 2016</ref>.
*By the late 1850's it was apparant that the '"head-quarters of the Locomotive Department were at Howrah, but ... was too confined to admit extensions... there was ... no room in Howrah for the workshops of the Locomotive Department, as well as for the Company's Carriage and Wagon Building works, and after long and mature consideration it w was decided to remove the former to Jamalpur" <ref>[https://ia801404.us.archive.org/16/items/historyeastindi00huddgoog/historyeastindi00huddgoog.pdf Archive.org "History of the East Indian Railway ..." by George Huddlestone, page 241, pdf page 296]; Retrieved 10 Jun 2016</ref>.
*In 1862, the [[EIR Locomotive Workshops]] at [[Jamalpur]] were completed leaving the '''EIR Carriage and Wagon Workshop''' at [[Howrah]].
*By 1864 "the traffic of the East Indian Railway had fast outgrown the facilities for dealing with it ; stock could not be constructed fast enough to carry the traffic but, as the Board explained, 'there was no blame for deficiency in rolling stock or other matters that could be laid to the Board. They had sent out a large quantity of material, including ironwork for carriages and wagons ; but the workshops and factories had been unable to supply the carriages fast enough'." <ref>[https://ia801404.us.archive.org/16/items/historyeastindi00huddgoog/historyeastindi00huddgoog.pdf Archive.org "History of the East Indian Railway ..." by George Huddlestone, page 37, pdf page 60]; Retrieved 10 Jun 2016</ref>.
*1888 [[Robert Webb Pearce]] was sent on furlough to England where he died; his deputy, and brother, [[Richard Pearce]] became Superintendent.
*Late 1890's. It was decided to move the workshops from Howrah owing to the great increase in rolling stock during the past few years, and the want of accomodation at Howrah for the extension of the shops. <ref name=IRGaz> "The Indian Railway Gazette" 1 Feb 1908, page 33 </ref>. [[Lillooah]], some 7km up the tracks was the site selected.
*1898 [[Richard Pearce]] was invalided home and died when on leave; [[Tomyns Reginald Browne]] became Superintedent Superintendent who planned and equipped the new Carriage and Wagon Works at [[Lillooah]], introducing electric drive.
*"In 1900 the work of removing the carriage and wagon building shops of the undertaking from Howrah to Lillooah was commenced. The move became necessary because of the cramped accommodation at Howrah, and because of the entry of the Bengal-Nagpur Railway into that terminus<ref name=Lillo>[https://ia801404.us.archive.org/16/items/historyeastindi00huddgoog/historyeastindi00huddgoog.pdf Archive.org "History of the East Indian Railway ..." by George Huddlestone, Extract and text changed page 262, pdf page 317]; Retrieved 10 Jun 2016</ref>.
*"In 1900 the work of removing the carriage and wagon building shops of the undertaking from Howrah to [[Lillooah]] was commenced. While the move was being effected the work of the Department naturally fell into arrears and when this happened it tooks time to make up for lost way"<ref name=Lillo/>.
*By 1908 Lillooah workshops covered an area of 95 acres(38Ha) of which 15 acres(6Ha) are roofed. Upwards of 5000 men are employed on the construction, mainenance and repair of rolling stock of the line, these men are supervised by European and Easqt Indian formen, assistants and mechanics <ref name=IRGaz/>.
The Indian Railways Fan Club IRFCA gives a good background to the history and development of the Liluah Workshop <ref>[https://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-shop.html#work IRFCA Liluah Workshop]; Retrieved 2 Mar 2020</ref>, (old name Lillooah Workshop)
==Charbagh and Alambagh Workshops==
With the absorbsion of the '[[Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway]]'(O&RR) by the EIR in 1925 both the Charbagh and the Alambagh Workshops became integrated into the EIR
<blockquote>See [[O%26RR_Railway_Workshops|O&RR Railway Workshops page]]</blockquote>
== References ==
<references />
[[Category:Railways]]
[[Category:Railway Wagon & Carriage Manufacturer]]
