Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway

Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway
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Line of route
Wadi to Bezwada Hyderabad to Manmad
Gauge / mileage
Broad gauge	330 miles (1905)
Timeline
1870	Private railway worked by company
1879	(Indian) state railway worked by company
1930	(Indian) state railway worked by (Indian) state
Key locations
Presidency	Madras
Stations	Bezwada, Manmad, Warangal
System agency
	Worked by Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway
How to interpret this infobox

Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway
[[Image:|150px| ]]
System timeline
1883	Management company formed to work system
1930	Working taken on by state
Constituent companies / lines
1874	Wadi-Secunderbad Railway BG
1889	Bezwada Extension Railway BG
1900	Hyderabad-Godavari Valley Railway MG
Key locations
Headquarters	Secunderabad
Workshops	Lallaguda (Lalaguda), suburb of Secunderabad
Major Stations	Aurangabad, Chanda, Hyderabad, Medak, Nander, Nizamabad, Parbhani, Secunderabad, Wadi
Successor system / organisation
1950	Nationalisation
1951	Central Railway (IR)
System mileage
Broad Gauge(BG)	351 miles (1905) 688 miles (1943)
Metre Gauge(MG)	391 miles (1905) 672 miles (1943)
Associated auxiliary force
n/a
How to interpret this infobox

Nizam's Guaranteed Railway Map 1909

The full style of the system was His Exalted Highness, The Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway (NGSR) which had its beginnings in a line built privately by the NIzam, to the dismay of the British authorities.

History

The earliest sections, operating as Nizam's Railway, were commenced during the 1870s, variously financed, constructed and operated.

Up to end of 1878 the line was worked by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway(GIPR) Company with its own rolling stock. From January 1879 to 31st December 1884 it was worked by the State Railway agency and from January 1885 by NGSR

In 1883, a management company, Nizam's Guaranteed Railway, was formed to gradually take over these lines, under the provision of a guarantee from the Government of HEH the Nizam of the Princely Hyderabad State.

The State of Hyderabad assumed operational control of the system in 1930, renaming the railway Nizam's State Railway.

In 1950, the NGSR was nationalised and in 1951 became part of Central Railway, a zone of Indian Railways.

'Nizam’s Railway' Lines (up to 1883)

• Wadi-Secunderbad Railway broad gauge(BG) line, from Wadi Junction to Secunderabad, opened 1874, 115 miles(185km). Financed by Nizam of Hyderabad, first operated as Nizam's Railway which in 1883 formed Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway. The 6 mile section Hyderabad to Secunderabad was in 1901 converted to mixed gauge (BG and metre gaugeMG) to enable the MG Hyderabad-Godavari Valley Railway MG line to reach Hyderabad

'Nizam’s Guaranteed State Railway' Lines (1883-1930)

Broad Gauge (BG) Lines

• Hyderabad Main Line . The BG Wadi-Secunderbad Railway was extended to Warangal, 1886; Dornakal Junction, 1888; Bona Kalu, 1888 to the Hyderabad/British Frontier, 1889. Giving a total of 310 miles(499km) . The line joined to the Bezwada Extension Railway.
• Bezwada Extension Railway, BG, opened 1889 as south east extension to the Hyderabad Main Line from the Hyderabad/British Frontier to Bezwada Station (where there was a interchange to the Southern Mahratta Railway MG line ). Line length 22 miles(35km). .
  • ‘Hyderabad Branch’ BG, opened 1874 from Hyderabad to Hussain Sagar, 3.6 miles(5km) in northern suburbs.
  • ’Mineral Branch’ BG, also known as Singareni Coal Fields Railway, opened 1888 from Dornakal Junction to Singareni Coalfields, 16 miles(26km) )
• Kazipet-Balharshah Railway BG, opened in stages 1924-27, from Kazipet via Pedipalli, Ramsgundah, Asifahbad Road to Balharshah. Section of NGSR Guaranteed Railway linking Chennai directly with Delhi. Total line length 145 miles (232km) . The completion of this line created the
• Balharshah-Warangal Railway, BG, was created on the completion in 1927 of the Kazipet-Balharshah Railway' above.
• Karepalli-Kothagudem Railway, BG, opened 1926 as part of NGSR from Karepalli to Kothagudem (Bhadrachalam Road), 24½ miles(39km)
• Vicrabad-Bidar Railway, BG, opened 1930 and extended 1932 from Vikarabad via Mohamadabad Bidar and Udgir to Parli Vaijnath

Metre Gauge (MG) Lines

• Hyderabad-Godavari Valley Railway, MG, opened 1899-1900, as part of NGSR from Hyderabad to Manmad via Jalna, Sailu, Parbhani, Purna Junction, Nander, Sivungaon, Secunderabad. Total 391 miles(629km) including the 6 mile mixed gauge (MG and BG) section of Mainline into Hyderabad
  • 'Hingoli Branch Railway', MG, opened 1912, as part of NGSR from Hingoli to Purna Junction on the Hyderabad-Godaveri Valley Railway, 50 miles(80km) ]]
• Secunderabad-Gadwal Railway, MG, also known as Secunderabad-Dronachellam Railway , opened in stages from 1916, as part of NGSR from Secunderabad south west to Gadwal via Timmapur, Chatanpali, Balanager, Gullapalli, Jadcharla, Mashbubnager, Kurumurti, Wanaparti Road, reached in 1917, 108 miles(173km) The final 13 miles(21km) section to Gadwal was opened in 1922. The line was subsequently extended via Allumpur Road, a further 28 miles(45km),1925; and to the Hyderabad/British Frontier, a further 7 miles(11km) in 1928 .
• Parbhani-Purli Railway, MG, opened 1929 as part of NGSR from Parhhani Junction to Purli Vaijnath via Gangakher, 39 miles (62km) .

'Nizam’s State Railway' Lines (1930-1950)

Nizam's Railway System 1937 Map

The 1936-37 Report gives only the summaries:-

• Nizam’s State Railway, BG, Class I railway, 667 miles(1073km).
• Bezwada Extension, BG, Class I railway, 22 miles(35km). State Railway worked by Nizam’s State Railway
• Nizam’s State Railway, MG, Class I railway, 623 miles(1002km) .
• Dronachellam(Dhone)-Kurnool-British Frontier, MG, Class I railway, 36 miles(58km). State railway, worked by by Nizam’s State Railway
• Jankampet-Budaon Railway, MG, construction commenced 1936, 12 miles(19km) length. Primarily as a siding to serve a sugar factory at Budaon and to assist in the transport of machinery etc to the factory also for passenger traffic . Line opened 1938

Later Development

Indian Railways (IR), Central Railway Zone (CR) was formed on 5 November 1951 by grouping several government-owned railways, including the ‘Nizam's State Railway’

Records

An on-line search of the India Office Records (IOR) records held at the British Library relating to this railway gives several entries, the most relevant as follows: -

• L/F/5/128; “Nizam's Guaranteed Railway Co” with Contents “Copies of agreements with the Secretary of State, Company Memoranda and Articles of Association, and share prospectuses”; 1897-1919
• Mss Eur F222/19; “Miscellaneous material on the Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway, Hyderabad”; 1921-1927
• L/F/7/2193; “Collection 370/37: Railways: Miscellaneous: Nizam's Guaranteed State RailwayCompany. Purchase by the Government of the Nizam of Hyderabad”; 1929-1930

Personnel

Staff lists for Nizam's Guaranteed Railway have not been found.

Miscellaneous Records

• William Coupar Rennie, 1869, posted from PWD to Nizam's Railwayon survey and construction
• Henry Dangerfield, 1872 June, posted from PWD to Nizam's Railway, the construction of which was just commencing. He remained on that line for upwards of five years and a half; first for a short time as Assistant Engineer, and subsequently as Executive Engineer in charge of an important division, the construction of which he carried to completion. At the opening of that line in 1876 July, he was appointed to take charge as Manager and Engineer-in-Chief .
• Robert Edwin Wright, 1872-1877, Assistant Engineer, first grade, promoted to Executive Engineer 4th grade in 1875 .
• Willoughby Charles Furnivall was 'on loan' from Railway Branch - PWD during the period 1874-90 in charge of a number of locally administered State railways, which included the Nizams State Railway (NSR) .

1905 Civil List

• George Pringle Rose, Executive Engineer from the Public Works Department - State Railways, 'lent to Nizam's government, April 1895 and to Nizam's State Railway Company, July 1807 to Oct 1900 .

Reference list

• Stone, Edward Herbert, The Nizam’s State Railway. Illustrated by Photographs (London: 1876). [Copy held on open shelves, Asian and African Studies Reading Room, British Library.]

Sources

• "Chronological History of Railways in India" (The IRFCA Server : accessed 01 December 2008).
• "Hyderabad - Imperial Gazetteer of India" References extracted from the Imperial Gazetteer (1909) by R Sivaramakrishnan, posted 18 August 2008 (The IRFCA Server : accessed 01 December 2008).