North Western Railway

North Western Railway
Line of route
Karachi to Quetta Karachi to Lahore Lahore to Delhi Lahore to Peshawar
Gauge / mileage
Broad gauge	3186 miles (1905) 6861 miles (1947)
Timeline
1886	Formed by merger of several railways, viz: Sind, Punjab and Delhi Railway Indus Valley State Railway Punjab Northern State Railway
1930	Southern Punjab Railway merged into NWR
Key locations
Presidency	Bengal
Stations
System agency
1886	State agency
How to interpret this infobox

North Western Railway
North Western Railway device
System timeline
1886	State owned and State worked
Constituent companies / lines
1886	North Western Railway
	Dandot Light Railway
	Jammu and Kashmir Railway
	Khushalgarh-Kohat-Thal Railway
	Ludhiana-Dhuri-Jakhal Railway
	Nowshera-Durgai Railway
	Rajpura-Bhatinda Railway
	Southern Punjab Railway
	Kalka-Simla Railway
Key locations
Headquarters	Lahore
Workshops	Moghalpura
Major Stations	Amritsar, Ferozepore, Hyderabad, Meerut, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Saharanpur, Sibi
Successor system / organisation
1947	[West] Pakistan Railways
1947	Eastern Punjab Railway (Indian Railways)
1952	Northern Railway (IR zone)
System mileage
Broad gauge	3890 miles (1905)
Narrow (2' 6") gauge	132 miles (1905)
Narrow (2' 0") gauge	6 miles (1905)
Associated auxiliary force
North-Western Railway Battalion
How to interpret this infobox

The North-Western State Railway (NWR) was formed in January 1886 from the merger of the Sind, Punjab and Delhi Railway, the Indus Valley State Railway, the Punjab Northern State Railway, the eastern section of the Sind-Sagar Railway and the southern section of the Sind-Pishin State Railway.

History

Later renamed the North Western Railway, by 1905 it was the longest railway under one administration and the strategic railway of the north-west frontier. In 1947, one part became the nucleus of Pakistan's railways, with 4976 of the old system's 6861 miles lying within the new state; the part lying in India was reorganised and renamed as Eastern Punjab Railway.

NWR Lines, Branches and Extensions

In addition to the main line sections the following are significant :-

• Khanai-Hindubagh Railway, opened 1921. Part of the NWR Northern Frontier narrow gauge, Zhob Valley Railway network; construction commenced 1916.
• Khushalgarh-Kohat-Thal Railway. Opened 1903 as a military railway; part of NWR Northern Frontier narrow gauge network, extended 1908.
• Lahore & Peshawar Railway, opened c.1882. Main-line section constructed and worked by NWR.
• Mari-Attock Railway, opened 1891. Opened as part of NWR Northern Frontier narrow gauge network.
• Mari Indus Railway. Constructed in 1920's as part of NWR Northern Frontier narrow gauge network.
• Mushkaf-Bolan Railway. Under construction 1894, in service with NWR 1898; alternative to the Sind-Pishin State Railway route
• Patti-Kasur Railway. In operation 1909-10; extension of NWR's Amritsar-Patti Railway.
• Sirhind-Rupar Railway. Constructed by NWR and in operation before 1927
• Zhob Valley Railway, opened 1921. Part of NWR Northern Frontier narrow gauge network; finally extended from Boston to Zhob , 1929

Railways absorbed into NWR

• Amritsar-Pathankot Railway, opened 1883-84. Merged into NWR c.1892
• Hoshiarpur Doab Railway(HDR), opened 1915. Private Co; first section opened 1915; network of lines all worked and apparantly finally absorbed by NWR
  • Jullundur-Doab Railway, opened 1912.
  • Jullundur-Mukerian Railway, opened 1914-15.
  • Jullundur-Nakodar Chord Railway, opened before 1914.
  • Jaijon Extension Railway, opened before 1920.
  • Phagwara-Rahon Railway, opened 1915-16.
• Jammu and Kashmir Railway, opened 1897. Part of NWR from 1891; 16 mile section opened 1897
• Jammu-Sialkot Railway, opened 1897 as part of NWR network
• Kandahar State Railway, opened c.1881, ran only to Rindli never to Kandhar, merged into NWR, 1886
• Quetta Link Railway. A strategic line constructed by Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi Railway(SP&DR) from 1880 and opened 1887 when merged with NWR.
• Shahdara-Narowal Railway, opened 1926. Opened as part of NWR network
• Shorekot Road-Chichoki Railway. Survey & Construction 1906-10; opened as part of NWR
• Sialkot-Narowal Railway, opened in 1915 as part of NWR network
• Southern Punjab Railway, opened 1897. Worked by NWR; line aquired by State and merged into NWR, 1930
• Suchetgarh-Jammu Railway. Opened 1890 as a Kashir Darbar line, worked by NWR and incorporated into Jammu-Sialkot Railway
• Sutlej Valley Railway, opened 1910. Merged into SPR, 1917-18; aquired by State and merged into NWR, 1930
• Trans Indus (Kalabagh-Bannu) Railway. Opened 1913; extended 1916-22; worked and finally merged into NWR
• Trans-Baluchistan Railway, opened 1905. Strategic Military line between India and Persia (now Iran); worked by NWR
  • Nushki Extension Railway. Extension of Trans-Baluchistan Railway; construction commenced 1916; ; worked by NWR

Lines worked by NWR at some time

• Aden Railway, opened 1915-16. Constructed as a military railway, worked by NWR under designated 'Engineer-in-charge'. Closed 1929
• Amritsar-Patti Railway, opened 1906. Private Co formed 1905; Worked by NWR
• Bahawalnagar-Fort Abbas Railway, opened 1928. A Darbar line financed by princely state of Bahawalpur; worked by NWR
• Dandot Light Railway, opened 1905. Short Narrow Gauge(NG) colliary Branch, worked by NWR
• Jacobabad-Kashmore Railway, opened 1911; worked by NWR; purchased by GoI,1945
• Jind-Panipat Railway, Indian State Section, opened 1916-17. Originally worked by EIR; later by North Western Railway
• Kalka-Simla Railway, opened 1902. Narrow Gauge(NG) railway built and worked by private company; taken over by Government of India(GoI), 1906 and worked by NWR
• Kangra Valley Railway, opened 1929. Narrow Gauge(NG) mountain railway; worked by NWR; one section closed in 1942 (reopened 1954).
• Khanpur-Chachran Railway, opened 1911. Owned by Bahawalpur Darbar; worked by NWR; also with Bahawalnagar-Fort Abbas Railway
• Khyber Railway, opened 1925. A strategic line from India to Afganistan via Khyber Pass; worked by NWR
• Larkana-Jacobabad (Sind) Light Railway, opened 1921, worked by NWR
• Ludhiana-Dhuri-Jakhal Railway, opened 1901; owned by Jind & Kotia Darbar; constructed and worked by NWR
• Mandra Bhaun Railway, opened in 1915 and worked by NWR
• Nowshera-Durgai Railway, opened 1901, worked by NWR
• Rajpura-Bhatinda Railway, opened 1884. Owned by Patalia Darbar; worked by NWR; formerly Rajpura-Pattiala Railway

Railways surveyed by NWR

• Bannu Railway Survey. Under Survey in 1909 (ref 1909 India List) by NWR on behalf of Government of India(GoI), but no evidence that it was constructed

FIBIS resources

• FIBIS Gallery Album Railways/NWR/H V O WATERS Collection He served as a travelling Inspector of Coaching and Goods Accounts, NWR 1907-1917. Includes a
  • map of the railway network. To enlarge, click on the icon at the top left hand corner of the map.

Records

• There are no staff agreements held at the British Library in the India Office Records.

• There are at least two records at the National Archives
  • RAIL 1156/20/36 Victor Hope Boalth: Chief Commercial Manager, North Western Railway of India. Birth: 12 September 1872, Sumbolpore, India. Railway service: 1895-1927.
  • RAIL 1156/26/40 Frank Montagu George Wheeler: Deputy Chief Mechanical Engineer, North Western Railway, India. Birth: 22 July 1907, London. Railway service: 1931-1949

Also see

• North-Western Railway Battalion‎. Includes mention of armoured trains

Institutions

• North Western Railway School, Fairlawn, Mussoorie.
• Picture of the teachers and students of St. Andrew School, Pakistan Railways (then NWR) at Lahore, set up in the late 19th century panoramio.com

Recommended reading

• Berridge, Percy Stuart Attwood. Couplings to the Khyber: the story of the North Western Railway. Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1969.

Good coverage of the largest Indian railway system, especially from a civil engineering perspective. Lacks a bibliography and poorly annotated. [Slides of the photographs used form a collection deposited at the Cambridge South Asian Archive together with copies of the North Western Railway Magazine, the monthly staff magazine edited by the author.]

• North Western Railway Magazine.

Monthly staff magazine. Some editorial content published in Urdu . No BL holdings. 2 copies (November 1942, December 1945) are held in the Berridge Papers, Cambridge South Asian Archive.

External Links

• Terry Case, North Western Railway. Includes a section about Hal Waters (refer photograph album above)

• "History of Northern Railway", Northern Railway.

• Quetta to Lahore by Rail 1925 All Things Pakistan, now an archived website
• "Breakup of the North Western Railway and the Anglo-Indian community" by Kenneth Hugh Staynor. indiaofthepast.org
• Images of British Steam Locomotives used by North Western Railways Ghilzai:panoramio.com (part of this collection)
• An old photograph of a Railway Inspection trolley with removeable sailboard used on NWR Hyderabad-Kotri, Sindh, Pakistan. Ghilzai:panoramio.com (part of this collection)
• Photograph of Troops travelling by train taken by Private J W Linley of the 2nd Battalion, The Northamptonshire Regiment compiled whilst serving in India 1923-1938. flickr.com/photos/northampton_museum

Historical books online

• Some railway personnel in 1898. Page 179 Quarterly Civil List for the Punjab: Corrected up to 1st October 1898 Archive.org