Indus Valley State Railway: Difference between revisions

From FIBIwiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
← Older editNewer edit →
PEA-2292 (talk | contribs)
9,628 edits
m text changes to aid clarity
PEA-2292 (talk | contribs)
9,628 edits
Major Revision with Link to new page 'Indus Valley State Railway - Survey and Construction' following Steve Moore's BL Research
Line 1: Line 1:
The '''Indus Valley State Railway'''(IVSR) was formed between 1870 and 1871 to replace the [[Indus Flotilla]] by providing a rail link between [[Kotri]] and [[Multan]].
[[File: Indus Valley State Railway.png|thumb| Indus Valley State Railway]]
<ref>[http://odysseuslahori.blogspot.com/2013/03/alas-sindh-is-now-lost-indus-valley.html "Alas, Sindh is now Lost: Indus Valley State Railway" by Salman Rashid March 29, 2013]; Retrieved 11 Dec 2015</ref>
The '''Indus Valley State Railway'''(IVSR) was to provide a rail link between [[Kotri]] and [[Mooltan|Mooltan((Multan)]]. This was to complete a rail connection from the port of [[Karachi]] to [[Lahore]] by linking two lines:-
<ref>[http://www.panhwar.com/Adobe/Administration%20report%20on%20the%20construction%20of%20the%20railway.pdf Administration report on the construction of the (Indus State) Railway, pdf format]; Retrieved 11 Dec 2015</ref>.
*The broad gauge([[Rail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|BG]]) line from the coast at [[Karachi]] to [[Kotri ]] had been built by the [[Scinde Railway|’ Scinde Railway Company’]] and opened in 1861 <ref name=Admin106>[https://archive.org/stream/BombayBarodaAndCentralIndiaRailwaySystem/Bombay_Baroda_And_Central_India_Railway_System#page/n115/mode/1up “Administration Report on Railways 1918” page 106 (pdf115) ]; Retrieved 1 Jan 2018</ref>.
*The broad gauge([[Rail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|BG]])  line from [[Lahore]] to [[Mooltan|Mooltan((Multan)]]  built by the [[Punjaub Railway|’Punjaub Railway Company’]], opened in  1865 <ref name=Admin106/>.


The survey of the line in 1869-70 was undertaken by [[John Brunton]], the Chief Resident Engineer of [[Scinde Railway]], assisted by his son [[William Arthur Brunton]].  
The survey of the route of the line commenced in 1870 and construction commenced in 1871 based on the metre gauge([[Rail_gauge_#Metre_Gauge|MG]]) standard. This was changed in 1874 to  broad gauge([[Rail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|BG]]) requiring the sections under construction to be converted <ref>British Library  IOR/V/24/3590 “Administration Report on the construction of the Indus Valley Railway” Various pages as listed in separate page [[Indus Valley State Railway - Survey and Construction]]</ref>.


The  [[Empress Bridge]],  opened in 1878, carried the IVSR over the Sutlej river between [[Ferozepur]] (Firozpur) (south of [[Lahore]]) and [[Kazur]].


The IVSR had reached [[Sukkur]] in 1879 and the steam ferry that transported eight wagons at a time across the Indus between [[Rohri]] and [[Sukkur]] was found to be cumbersome and time-consuming.  The opening of the [[Lansdowne Bridge]] in 1889 solved this bottleneck and thus port of [[Karachi]] was connected to the railway network.


With others, the Indus Valley State Railway was merged with the [[Sind, Punjab and Delhi Railway]] in 1886 to form the ''North-Western State Railway'' (later the [[North Western Railway]]).
See  [[Indus Valley State Railway - Survey and Construction|separate page '''Indus Valley State Railway - Survey and Construction''']] for full details of the survey and construction.  


== Records ==
Refer to FIBIS Fact File  #4: “Research sources for Indian Railways, 1845-1947” -  available from the [http://www.fibis.org/store/fibis-books-and-publications/bff-0004-research-sources-for-indian-railways-1845-1947/ Fibis shop]. This Fact File contains invaluable advice on 'Researching ancestors in the UK records of Indian Railways' with particular reference to the [[India Office Records]] (IOR) held at the [[British Library]]


An on-line search of the IOR records relating to this railway
The route involved the crossing of two great Rivers:-
<ref>[http://searcharchives.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?vid=IAMS_VU2  “British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue” - Search];  Retrieved  23 Jan 2016</ref>> gives 10 references. The most important being:-
*The River Sutlej between [[Adamwahan]] and [[Bahawalpur]] - the [[Sutlej Bridge]] ''(which became the [[Empress Bridge]] when opened in 1878)''
*V/24/3590; "Public Works Department: Railways" which contains " Administration report on the construction of the Indus Valley State Railway, 1878/79"
*The River Indus between [[Sukkur]] and [[Rohri]] – the [[Sukkur Bridge]] ''(which became the [[Lansdowne Bridge]] when opened in 1889)''
*L/AG/46/34; “Records of the India Office relating to the North Western State Railway". The following appears on this IOR record:- 'The North Western State Railway was created in 1886 by the amalgamation of the Scinde-Punjab-Delhi Railway, the Indus Valley State Railway and the Punjab Northern State Railway’
 
 
The [[Sutlej Bridge|‘Sutlej Bridge’]] was completed in March 1878 and inaugurated on 7th June 1878 to be renamed the [[Empress Bridge|’Empress Bridge’ - ''see separate page '']].
 
On the 1st July 1878 the IVSR line was officially opened for traffic from [[Mooltan]] down to [[Kotri]] and in full operation on the 27th October 1878, except for the River Indus crossing linking [[Sukkur]] to [[Rohri]] where the a ferry was used whilst the engineering challenge of the [[Sukkur Bridge|‘Sukkur Bridge’]] was under construction.
 
A Conference was held at [[Lahore]] in November 1878 and  a proposal was made by the Honourable Member of Council for Public Works to the Officers of the [[Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi Railway|Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi Railway Company]] (SP&DR), that they should take over the working of the traffic of the Indus Valley State Railway to which the Directors of the Indus Valley State Railway agreed <ref> British Library  IOR/V/24/3590 “Administration Report on the construction of the Indus Valley Railway” pages  5-8,15,21 37</ref>.
 
In 1886 the [[North Western Railway]](NWR) was formed by the merger of the IVSR with the SP&DR and other railways. The [[Sukkur Bridge|‘Sukkur Bridge’]]  was under construction  and on inauguration in March 1889 was renamed the [[Lansdowne Bridge|‘Lansdown Bridge’ - ''see separate page '']] thus providing an unbroken BG route from [[Lahore]] to the port of [[Karachi]].


==Personnel Records in chronological order==
==Personnel Records in chronological order==
Unfortunately, there are no Indus Valley State Railway (IVSR) Staff agreements held at the [[British Library]] in the [[India Office Records]](IOR).  
Unfortunately, there are no Indus Valley State Railway (IVSR) Staff agreements held at the [[British Library]] in the [[India Office Records]](IOR).  
Some of these staff were mentioned at the inauguration of the [[Empress Bridge|‘Sukkur Bridge’ when it was named in 1878 the 'Empress Bridge]]. See [[Empress Bridge#Inaugeration]] for details.


However the following have been identified from other sources:-
However the following have been identified from other sources:-
Line 52: Line 59:


== Further Information==
== Further Information==
See '''[[North Western Railway]]''' from 1886 onwars.
*See '''[[Indus Valley State Railway - Survey and Construction]]'''
*and '''[[North Western Railway]]''' from 1886 onwards.
 
==External  Links==
*[http://odysseuslahori.blogspot.com/2013/03/alas-sindh-is-now-lost-indus-valley.html "Alas, Sindh is now Lost: Indus Valley State Railway" by Salman Rashid March 29, 2013];
*[http://www.panhwar.com/Adobe/Administration%20report%20on%20the%20construction%20of%20the%20railway.pdf "Administration report on the construction of the (Indus State) Railway" 1878-79. pdf format]


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 16:16, 21 January 2018

Indus Valley State Railway

The Indus Valley State Railway(IVSR) was to provide a rail link between Kotri and Mooltan((Multan). This was to complete a rail connection from the port of Karachi to Lahore by linking two lines:-

The survey of the route of the line commenced in 1870 and construction commenced in 1871 based on the metre gauge(MG) standard. This was changed in 1874 to broad gauge(BG) requiring the sections under construction to be converted [2].


See separate page Indus Valley State Railway - Survey and Construction for full details of the survey and construction.


The route involved the crossing of two great Rivers:-


The ‘Sutlej Bridge’ was completed in March 1878 and inaugurated on 7th June 1878 to be renamed the ’Empress Bridge’ - see separate page .

On the 1st July 1878 the IVSR line was officially opened for traffic from Mooltan down to Kotri and in full operation on the 27th October 1878, except for the River Indus crossing linking Sukkur to Rohri where the a ferry was used whilst the engineering challenge of the ‘Sukkur Bridge’ was under construction.

A Conference was held at Lahore in November 1878 and a proposal was made by the Honourable Member of Council for Public Works to the Officers of the Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi Railway Company (SP&DR), that they should take over the working of the traffic of the Indus Valley State Railway to which the Directors of the Indus Valley State Railway agreed [3].

In 1886 the North Western Railway(NWR) was formed by the merger of the IVSR with the SP&DR and other railways. The ‘Sukkur Bridge’ was under construction and on inauguration in March 1889 was renamed the ‘Lansdown Bridge’ - see separate page thus providing an unbroken BG route from Lahore to the port of Karachi.

Personnel Records in chronological order

Unfortunately, there are no Indus Valley State Railway (IVSR) Staff agreements held at the British Library in the India Office Records(IOR).

Some of these staff were mentioned at the inauguration of the ‘Sukkur Bridge’ when it was named in 1878 the 'Empress Bridge. See Empress Bridge#Inaugeration for details.

However the following have been identified from other sources:-

  • Frederick Ewart Robertson, 1869-70, deployed fromPublic Works Department State Railways Department; 1869-89. 1869, employed on the IVSR survey; 1870, Engineer-in-Charge of the construction division in Upper Sind until the IVSR was opened for traffic in 1877; 1879, In-charge of a sub-division of the IVSR. He established the railway ferry over the Indus at Sukkur. The ferry was successfully worked until it was replaced by the Lansdowne Bridge; 1887, Lansdowne Bridge, of the cantilever type, with a 820 feet(248M) span, involved his design of novel and suitable plant for its erection. The whole of the work was successfully carried out by him, and the bridge was opened in 1889; 1889, appointed Engineer-in-Chief of the IVSR, which included the Khojak Junction under construction; 1889, resigned and became Chief Engineer East Indian Railway [4].
  • Hugh Lewin Monk, 1869-79. 1869 as an Assistant Engineer. Then 1874-79 as Executive Engineer assisting in the construction of the Empress Bridge [5]
  • Joseph Bonus, 1870-77, Executive Engineer, Engineer-in-Chief and then Superintending Engineer IVSR [6].
  • James Arthur Anderson, c.1871-c.1890 dates unspecified. Executive Engineer deployed from PWD to IVSR [7]
  • William St. John Galwey , c.1872-78, Engineer-in-Chief for the construction of the Empress Bridge, opened in 1878, deployed from the Public Works Department(PWD) Railway Branch.
  • C. Campbell , 1872, Engineer-in-Chief, Multan Division [8].
  • J. Collet , 1872, Superintending Engineer, Multan Division [8].
  • R. Heenan, 1872, Executive Engineer, Multan Division [8].
  • W. Scott, 1872, Executive Engineer, Multan Division (Soojabad) [8].
  • F. M. Avern, 1872, Executive Engineer, Multan Division (Satlaj Bridge) [8].
  • H. C. Graham , 1872, Executive Engineer, Multan Division (Bhawalpur) [8].
  • W. Nethersole, 1872, Superintending Engineer, Rohree (Sakkhar) Division [8].
  • T. T. Ryan, 1872, Executive Engineer (Khanpur), Rohree (Sakkhar) Division [8].
  • C. E. Pridden Lieut., 1872, Executive Engineer, Rohree (Sakkhar) Division (Upper Scind) [8].
  • Archibald Cuthbert Bigg-Wither 1872-96?, deployed from Railway Branch to IVSR, dates unspecified ‘Served chiefly on the Indus Valley State Railway' [9].
  • William St. John Galwey, 1873 Engineer-in-charge of the Empress Bridge construction over the River Sutlej.
  • Frederick Lewis Dibblee, 1874-78 Superintending Engineer [10][11].
  • Frederick Nicholas Gutersloh, 1874-78, deployed from PWD - Railway Branch as Assistant Engineer [12].
  • George Winmill, 1875-88 deployed from Public Works Department(PWD) on joining as 2nd sub-Engineer [13].
  • Middleton Rayne, 1876-79, Engineer-in-chief. See British Library India Office Records IOR Mss Eur D904; "Middleton Rayne papers" with the catalogue contents 'Papers of Middleton Rayne (1830-82), Public Works Dept, Government of India 1868-79, Engineer in Chief, Indus Valley State Railway 1876-79, comprising diaries, sketchbooks, letters and photographs; also two diaries, dated 1871 and 1883, of his wife Annie.
  • James Condor, 1878-81, Traffic Superintenent IVSR [14].
  • Henry Thomas Geoghegan, 1877-79, Superintending Engineer IVSR [15].
  • Henry Francis Storey, 1879-86. 1879 as Engineer, 1881 as Engineer-in-Chief and promoted to Superintendent of Way and Works until transferred in 1886 [16]
  • Robert Trefusis Mallet, 1879-80, Engineer-in-Chief IVSR; and 1885-86 Engineer-in-Chief of IVSR Empress Bridge, 1885-86 [17].
  • William Michell, 1883-87, Executive Engineer IVSR where he held charge from time to time of the Jacobabad, Kandahar and Northern divisions [18].
  • James Ramsay, 1880-? Engineer-in-Chief IVSR [19].

Further Information

External Links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “Administration Report on Railways 1918” page 106 (pdf115) ; Retrieved 1 Jan 2018
  2. ↑ British Library IOR/V/24/3590 “Administration Report on the construction of the Indus Valley Railway” Various pages as listed in separate page Indus Valley State Railway - Survey and Construction
  3. ↑ British Library IOR/V/24/3590 “Administration Report on the construction of the Indus Valley Railway” pages 5-8,15,21 37
  4. ↑ Grace's Guide "Frederick Ewart Robertson"; Retrieved 8 Jun 2016
  5. ↑ Google Books "India List and India Office List, 1905" page 569 (pdf page 532) Retrieved on 19 Aug 2016
  6. ↑ Google Books "India List and India Office List -1905" page 444; Retrieved on 19 Aug 2016
  7. ↑ Google Books "India List and India Office List, 1905" page 427 (pdf page 390 ) Retrieved on 19 Aug 2016
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 "1872 Thacker's Indus Valley Railway Personnel" Retrieved on 19 Aug 2016
  9. ↑ Google Books "India List and India Office List -1905" page 440; Retrieved on195 Aug 2016
  10. ↑ "Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers"; vol 97 page 398-399 year 1889 "Obituary of Frederick Lewis Dibblee"; Retrieved on 17 Apr 2016
  11. ↑ "Obituaries of Frederick Lewis Dibblee"; Retrieved on 19 Aug 2016
  12. ↑ Google Books "India List and India Office List -1905" page 510; Retrieved on 19 Aug 2016
  13. ↑ Google Books "India List and India Office List -1905" page 649; Retrieved on 8 Aug 2016
  14. ↑ Google Books " India List and India Office List, 1905" page 465 (pdf page 428) Retrieved on 19 Aug 2016
  15. ↑ Google Books " India List and India Office List, 1905" page 501 (pdf page 464) Retrieved on 19 Aug 2016
  16. ↑ "Grace's Guide - Henry Francis Storey”; Retrieved on 19 Aug 2016
  17. ↑ Google Books " India List and India Office List, 1905" page 560 (pdf page 523 Retrieved on 19 Aug 2016
  18. ↑ "Grace's Guide - William Michell”; Retrieved on 19 Aug 2016
  19. ↑ Google Books " India List and India Office List, 1905" page 595 (pdf page 558) Retrieved on 19 Aug 2016
Retrieved from "https://wiki.fibis.org/index.php?title=Indus_Valley_State_Railway&oldid=75155"