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Cherra-Companyganj Railway: Difference between revisions
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The ambitious railway project was conceptualised by a British engineer in India, [[H. Kench]], after need arose to connect [[Shillong]], the then capital of the British India Province, to [[Calcutta]] by rail since carts had difficulty in negotiating mule tracks and roads on the steep slope of the Khasi Hills. | The ambitious railway project was conceptualised by a British engineer in India, [[H. Kench]], after need arose to connect [[Shillong]], the then capital of the British India Province, to [[Calcutta]] by rail since carts had difficulty in negotiating mule tracks and roads on the steep slope of the Khasi Hills. | ||
Starting at Companyganj on the Pivan river, a navigable tributary of the River Surmah, the first section ran northwards for miles to Therria Ghat. There was then a mountain section of 4 miles(6.5km) made up of seven rope-worked inclines giving a rise of 3616 feet.1100mtr). Finally came a 3½ mile(6km) locomotive line to the terminus at Cherrapunji, noted for its coal and limestone and for having the highest average annual rainfall in the world (426 inches/10.8 mtr)<ref name=Hughes>“Indian Narrow Gauge Locomotives 1863-1940” by Hugh Hughes, published by ‘The Continental Railway Circle’ Paragraph 11 Page 32 </ref> | |||
Unfortunately the inclines never worked satisfactorily and so this section and the continuation to the terminus were never opened to traffic, being dismantled from 1891 onwards. | |||
The Railway continued to run between [[Tharia]] and [[Companyganj]] till the Assam earthquake of 1897 in which the tracks were completely destroyed. The tracks were not repaired after that and the railway finally closed in 1900/1 | |||
==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||