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In 1845 Captain A Cotton in his second report commented, “There is a hill of coarse strong sandstone close to the spot. For the carriage of materials, I propose to use rails “I find that round timber, straight, hard, and durable, and perfectly suited for rails without sawing can be obtained in great quantities at a most trifling cost. Such timber from 6 to 7 inches diameter and 20 feet long.” The top of the timber is smoothed, and flat 2-inch iron screwed down to make a temporary railroad. The initial lines were known as the permanent line as they were financed by a separate estimate. Operations started in 1847 to prepare the site for the start of construction The quarry was opened and the double railway laid to different points on the river bank. A number of boats were built, and railway wagons completed. The workforce was 10,200 labourers and 500 carpenters and a small number of smiths.
Major A Cotton requested a number of Engineers for the construction 3 officers plus one each at the Quarry, workshop and in charge of the lime kilns and forests. He requested that Lieutenant Rawlings of the Sappers should be one and Lieutenant Rawlings another. He also requested an Engine Maker.
By August 1847 2 Double lines of Railway had been laid from the Quarry entrance to the river but still had to be extended into the quarry due to a delay in the delivery of iron. In all 6½ miles of track had been laid. Work would continue during the time the river was in spate. During this period the railway was extended into the quarry and 16 wagons were in use to move stone to the river bank. The wagons ran by gravity about 400 tons a day was moved the returned by people power. The railway 2 miles in length was opened from the limestone quarry. Captain Orr’s knowledge of the railways in England was most useful.
By March 1848 there were 28 waggons in use wheels had arrived from Port Novo for more. 32 Boats were ferrying stone out into the river carrying nearly 1000 tons a trip. At the end of the construction season in June the report stated that “Engines and Boilers, ordered from Calcutta have not reached us, owing to their not being finished on time.” These were originally for steam locomotives, “so that we have had to work the railroads with horses by day and coolies at night because it was found too dangerous to use horses except in daylight”. It was found that steam locomotives would be too heavy to pull wagons on to the top of the 4 mile long annicut as originally intended. The engines were then put into boats to make steam tug boats.
On the 14th June 1848 the river rose early and breached the railway embankment and washed part of it away and lost.
A second railway was built from the quarry to a point further up the river, the railway has a double line and is in a fair working state. An incline railway with some manual assistance carries the wagons down to the boats and ponies pull the empties up. The lime quarry railway is 2 miles long from the kilns to the riverbank. .
By 1849 the permanent railway had been taken up and re-laid in other directions to supply material where it was needed and opening a third line to a channel which was intended to be dredged but this channel kept silting up. A temporary line on the bed of the Dowlaiswaram branch was laid to get the lime down from the lime quarry at Cautaroo. A party of labourers were fully employed on relaying extending and maintain the railways.
By 1851 the new railway line was a quarter of a mile from the nearest end of the quarry which was 1¼ miles less than the year before and a new inclined plane built this was to supply the works further downstream. The entrance to the quarry was now a mile and half further away than when they started.