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
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

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, opened 1874. Financed by Nizam of Hyderabad later became part of Nizam's Guaranteed Railway

Nizam’s Guaranteed Railway Lines (1883-1930)

• Balharshah-Warangal Railway, opened in stages 1924-28
• Bezwada Extension Railway, opened 1889 as south west extension.
• Hingoli Branch Railway, opened 1920 as link line to Hyderabad-Godaveri Valley Railway
• Hyderabad-Godavari Valley Railway, opened 1900, as part of Nizam's Guaranteed Rly
• Karepalli-Kothagudem Railway, opened 1927 as part of Nizam's Guaranteed Railway
• Kazipet-Balharshah Railway, opened 1929. Section of Nizam's Guaranteed Railway linking Chennai directly with Delhi.
• Parbhani-Purli Railway, opened 1929 as part of Nizam's Guaranteed Railway
• Purna Junction-Hingoli Railway, opened 1929 as part of Nizam's Guaranteed Railway
• Secunderabad-Gadwal Railway, opened 1916 as part of Nizam's Guaranteed Railway
• Singareni Coal Fields Railway, opened c.1920 as part of Nizam's Guaranteed Railway

Nizam’s State Lines (after 1930)

• Jankampet-Bodhan Railway, opened 1939. Part of Nizam's State Railway
• Vikarabad-Bidar Railway, opened 1930 and extended 1932 as part of 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.

There is one record in the 1905 Civil List for 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).