'''Scinde Railway''' – this was the first railway of the railways of the [[Scinde Railway Company|'''Scinde Railway Company''' - ''see separate page for further information on the formation and development of the Company'']]
'''Scinde Railway''' also known as the '''Karachi-Kotri (Indus River) Railway'''
<br>– this was the first railway of the railways of the [[Scinde Railway Company|'''Scinde Railway Company''' - ''see separate page for further information on the formation and development of the Company'']]
''Note''
''Note''
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[[File:Scinde Railway Company - Lines.png|thumb|File:Scinde Railway Company - Lines]]
[[File:Scinde Railway Company - Lines.png|thumb|File:Scinde Railway Company - Lines]]
The 'Scinde Railway' was one part of a communication link developed by the '[[Scinde Railway Company]]' constructed primarily to reduce the journey time on the final stage of long haul from Britain to [[Delhi]] and [[Calcutta]].
The 'Scinde Railway' was one part of a communication link developed by the '[[Scinde Railway Company]]' constructed primarily to reduce the journey time on the final stage of long haul from Britain to [[Delhi]] and [[Calcutta]]. The line from [[Karachi]] to [[Kotri]] could move cargo and passengers to [[Kotri]] instead of [[Karachi]], saving approx 250km of circuitous journey through Indus River delta. At [[Kotri]] the line linked to the [[Indus Flotilla|’Indus Flotilla’]] Company steamers, also owned by the [[Scinde Railway Company]] which operated upstream to [[Multan]]
<ref name=Mughal>[http://pakistaniat.com/2009/09/17/karachi-to-kotri-the-story-of-first-railways-in-pakistan/ All Things Pakistan “Karachi to Kotri - The first railways in Pakistan” by Owais Mughal, Posted on September 17, 2009]; Retrieved on 23 Feb 2018</ref>.
Once the
From [[Multan]] the ‘[[Punjaub Railway ]]’ ran to [[Amritsar]] where it became the ‘[[Delhi Railway]]’, both owned by the [[Scinde Railway Company]], connected to the [[East Indian Railway]] at [[Ghaziabad]](just east of [[Delhi]]), thus providing a connection between [[Karachi]] and [[Delhi]] and onward to [[Calcutta]].
‘Karachi-Kotri Railway’ was completed the [[Indus Flotilla|’Indus Flotilla’]] Company steamers, also owned by the [[Scinde Railway Company]] could take cargo from [[Kotri]] instead of [[Karachi]] upstream to [[Multan]] saving approx 250km of circuitous journey through Indus River delta.
<ref> [http://pakistaniat.com/2009/09/17/karachi-to-kotri-the-story-of-first-railways-in-pakistan/ All Things Pakistan “Karachi to Kotri - The first railways in Pakistan” by Owais Mughal, Posted on September 17, 2009]; Retrieved on 8 Apr 2016</ref>. From [[Multan]] the ‘[[Punjaub Railway ]]’ ran to [[Amritsar]] where it became the ‘[[Delhi Railway]]’, both owned by the [[Scinde Railway Company]], connected to the [[East Indian Railway]] at [[Ghaziabad]](just east of [[Delhi]] ) thus providing a connection between [[Karachi]] and [[Delhi]] and onward to [[Calcutta]].
==Construction==
==Construction==
The work commenced in April 1858 to construct the broad gauge([[Rail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|BG]]) single track railway <ref name=Gaz344> Sind Gazette British Library Compiled by E H Atkin Bombay Salt Department. Printed for government at the Steam Press Karachi 1907 Page 344</ref> and on 13 May 1861 succeeded in connecting the port town of [[Karachi]] to [[Kotri)) on the Indus River, the first railway line for public traffic between these towns.
The work commenced in April 1858 to construct the broad gauge([[Rail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|BG]]) single track railway <ref name=Gaz344> Sind Gazette British Library Compiled by E H Atkin Bombay Salt Department. Printed for government at the Steam Press Karachi 1907 Page 344</ref> and on 13 May 1861 succeeded in connecting the port town of [[Karachi]] to [[Kotri]] on the Indus River, the first railway line for public traffic between these towns
<ref> [http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Scinde_Railway Grace’s Guide “Scinde Railway”] Retrieved on 2 January 2016</ref>.
<ref> [http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Scinde_Railway Grace’s Guide “Scinde Railway”] Retrieved on 2 January 2016</ref>.
The challenges faced during the construction were considerable as described in the article “Karachi to Kotri - The first railways in Pakistan” by Owais Mughal <ref name=Mughal/]], which shows maps and describes many of the problems encountered by the Chief Engineer [[John Brunton]].
‘Bahrun River Railway Viaduct’ The route involved construction a large stone viaduct, the heaviest piece of masonry upon the line with a length of 1,728 feet(527 metres), work commenced 1859 and completed in Jan 1861. In addition there were 19 bridges of 48 arches each of 20ft spans; 1 bridge of 3 arches each of 30ft spans; 2 bridges of 10 arches of 40ft spans and 2 bridges of 4 arches of 45ft spans.
‘Bahrun River Railway Viaduct’ The route involved construction a large stone viaduct, the heaviest piece of masonry upon the line with a length of 1,728 feet(527 metres), work commenced 1859 and completed in Jan 1861. In addition there were 19 bridges of 48 arches each of 20ft spans; 1 bridge of 3 arches each of 30ft spans; 2 bridges of 10 arches of 40ft spans and 2 bridges of 4 arches of 45ft spans.
‘Mulleer Railway Viaduct’ this was the longest of 6 viaducts using 80 feet clear span Iron Girders – this longest the being 21 spans <ref name=Bruntonp23>[https://books.google.fr/books?id=1WsEAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false Google Books ‘The Line and Works of the Scinde Railway’ by [[John Brunton]], Institution of Civil Engineers, 1862-63 Page 23 ]; Retrieved 19 Feb 2018</ref>
‘Mulleer Railway Viaduct’ this was the longest of 6 viaducts using 80 feet clear span Iron Girders – this longest the being 21 spans <ref>[https://books.google.fr/books?id=1WsEAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false Google Books ‘The Line and Works of the Scinde Railway’ by [[John Brunton]], Institution of Civil Engineers, 1862-63 Page 23 ]; Retrieved 19 Feb 2018</ref>
==Records==
==Records==
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==Personnel==
==Personnel==
*[[John Brunton]]; 1857, Appointed Chief Resident Engineer of Scinde Railway (Sind Railway) <ref name=Hughes>[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=C-pzUWrCU5sC&pg=PA126&lpg=PA126&dq=description+of+the+line+and+works+of+the+Scinde+Railway&source=bl&ots=DTW2uSH2hD&sig=_JCaeiJ6FfK1irALjNQRIr_RF-8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiypcPWoKfNAhUFIMAKHbSaBOYQ6AEIJDAC#v=onepage&q=description%20of%20the%20line%20and%20works%20of%20the%20Scinde%20Railway&f=false Google Books "The Archaeology of an Early Railway System: The Brecon Forest Tramroads" by Stephen Hughes, page 126]; Retrieved 14 Jun 2016</ref>; 1858-62, 'Supervised the construction of the 108 miles(174km) of the Scinde Railway between [[Karachi]] and [[Kotri]] until its completion in 1862. His detailed "Description of the line and works of the Scinde Railway" <ref>[http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/imotp.1863.23344?src=recsys Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Volume 22, January 1863, pages 451-"Description of the line and works of the Scinde Railway" by John Brunton]; Retrieved 14 Jun 2016</ref> itemise the problems of building in the tropics.'
*[[John Brunton]]; 1857, Appointed Chief Resident Engineer of Scinde Railway (Sind Railway) <ref name=Hughes>[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=C-pzUWrCU5sC&pg=PA126&lpg=PA126&dq=description+of+the+line+and+works+of+the+Scinde+Railway&source=bl&ots=DTW2uSH2hD&sig=_JCaeiJ6FfK1irALjNQRIr_RF-8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiypcPWoKfNAhUFIMAKHbSaBOYQ6AEIJDAC#v=onepage&q=description%20of%20the%20line%20and%20works%20of%20the%20Scinde%20Railway&f=false Google Books "The Archaeology of an Early Railway System: The Brecon Forest Tramroads" by Stephen Hughes, page 126]; Retrieved 14 Jun 2016</ref>; 1858-62, 'Supervised the construction of the 108 miles(174km) of the Scinde Railway between [[Karachi]] and [[Kotri]] until its completion in 1862. His detailed "Description of the line and works of the Scinde Railway" <ref>[http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/imotp.1863.23344?src=recsys Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Volume 22, January 1863, pages 451-"Description of the line and works of the Scinde Railway" by John Brunton]; Retrieved 14 Jun 2016</ref> itemise the problems of building in the tropics.'
*[[William Arthur Brunton]], the son of the above; 1857 at age 17, Assistant Engineer; then Area Surveyor on the Scinde Railway; 1859-1961, responsible for the erection of the thirty-two 45 foot (13.7M) spans of the 'Bahrun Valley Viaduct' <ref name=Hughes/>. This is the longest bridge on the [[Karachi]]-[[Kotri]] section and is a viaduct across the Bahrun River. Construction on this bridge was started on 5 March 1859 and completed on 26 January 1861 <ref name=Muhal>[http://pakistaniat.com/2009/09/17/karachi-to-kotri-the-story-of-first-railways-in-pakistan/ "Karachi to Kotri: The First Railways in Pakistan" by Owais Mughal, 2009]; Retrieved 22 Feb2018</ref>.
*[[William Arthur Brunton]], the son of the above; 1857 at age 17, Assistant Engineer; then Area Surveyor on the Scinde Railway; 1859-1961, responsible for the erection of the thirty-two 45 foot (13.7M) spans of the 'Bahrun Valley Viaduct' <ref name=Hughes/>. This is the longest bridge on the [[Karachi]]-[[Kotri]] section and is a viaduct across the Bahrun River. Construction on this bridge was started on 5 March 1859 and completed on 26 January 1861 <ref name=Mughal/>
*[[Willoughby Charles Furnivall]] District Engineer in charge of construction under [[John Brunton]] c.1860-7 <ref name=biog>[http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/bdoceigbai.58347.222 Institution of Civil Engineers "Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland - Furnivall, Willoughby Charles"]; Retrieved on 21 Jul 2016</ref>.
*[[Willoughby Charles Furnivall]] District Engineer in charge of construction under [[John Brunton]] c.1860-7 <ref name=biog>[http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/bdoceigbai.58347.222 Institution of Civil Engineers "Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland - Furnivall, Willoughby Charles"]; Retrieved on 21 Jul 2016</ref>.
Other staff of the Scinde Railway involved during the construction are acknowledged:-
Other staff of the Scinde Railway involved during the construction are acknowledged:-
*[[J E Hartley]]; c.1859-c.1861, ‘Scinde Railway’ Resident Engineer supervising the 'Mulleer Railway Viaduct' construction <ref name=Bruntonp23/>
*J E Hartley; c.1859-c.1861, ‘Scinde Railway’ Resident Engineer supervising the 'Mulleer Railway Viaduct' construction <ref>[https://books.google.fr/books?id=1WsEAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false Google Books ‘The Line and Works of the Scinde Railway’ by [[John Brunton]], Institution of Civil Engineers, 1862-63 Page 23 ]; Retrieved 19 Feb 2018</ref>
*W T Warren <ref name=Bruntonp25>[https://books.google.fr/books?id=1WsEAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false Google Books ‘The Line and Works of the Scinde Railway’ by [[John Brunton]], Institution of Civil Engineers, 1862-63 Page 25-26 ]; Retrieved 19 Feb 2018</ref>
*W T Warren <ref name=Bruntonp25>[https://books.google.fr/books?id=1WsEAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false Google Books ‘The Line and Works of the Scinde Railway’ by [[John Brunton]], Institution of Civil Engineers, 1862-63 Page 25 ]; Retrieved 19 Feb 2018</ref>
*Henry Stone <ref name=Bruntonp25/>
*Mr Thomas Warren <ref name=Bruntonp25/>
*Mr Thomas Warren <ref name=Bruntonp25/>
*Mr J Pinder <ref name=Bruntonp25/>
*Mr J Pinder <ref name=Bruntonp25/>
==Historical books online==
==Historical books online==
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*[http://books.google.com/books?id=ASFcAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover "Report of proceedings of an extraordinary general meeting of the Scinde Railway Company, held on Friday the 24th July, 1857"] Google Books
*[http://books.google.com/books?id=ASFcAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover "Report of proceedings of an extraordinary general meeting of the Scinde Railway Company, held on Friday the 24th July, 1857"] Google Books
*Brunton, John, "Description of the Line and Works of the Scinde Railway". 1863. Available in [http://books.google.com/books?id=1WsEAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1 Full View Google Books] or [http://www.panhwar.com/rarebooks/Description%20of%20the%20Line%20and%20%20Works%20of%20the%20Scinde%20Railway.pdf pdf] from Panhwar.com
*Brunton, John, "Description of the Line and Works of the Scinde Railway". 1863. Available in [http://books.google.com/books?id=1WsEAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1 Full View Google Books] or [http://www.panhwar.com/rarebooks/Description%20of%20the%20Line%20and%20%20Works%20of%20the%20Scinde%20Railway.pdf pdf] from Panhwar.com
*[http://pakistaniat.com/2009/09/17/karachi-to-kotri-the-story-of-first-railways-in-pakistan/ "Karachi to Kotri: The First Railways in Pakistan" by Owais Mughal, 2009]
== Further Information ==
== Further Information ==
See '''[[Scinde Railway Company]]'''
See '''[[Scinde Railway Company]]''', '''[[Indus Flotilla]]''', '''[[Punjaub Railway ]]''' and '''[[Delhi Railway]]'''
and '''[[Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi Railway]]''' following amalgamation in 1870 until 1886
and '''[[Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi Railway]]''' following amalgamation in 1870 until 1886
The Scinde Railway Company was first established by deed of settlement in March 1855 and incorporated by the ‘Scinde Railway Act’ of Parliament in July 1855 after which a contract was entered with the East India Company in December 1855.
The Company had been invited to tender in 1855 by the Government of India to build a railway from Kararchee(Karachi) to Hyderabad, to be called the Scinde Railway[1], this being a distance of about 120 miles(192km). The company contracted with the Government of India (GoI) to construct the initial section from Karachi to Kotri. The company was granted a 5% return on investment up to a maximum of £1 million in order to build the ‘120 mile’ line [2].
The work commenced in April 1858 to construct the broad gauge(BG) single track railway [4] and on 13 May 1861 succeeded in connecting the port town of Karachi to Kotri on the Indus River, the first railway line for public traffic between these towns
[5].
The challenges faced during the construction were considerable as described in the article “Karachi to Kotri - The first railways in Pakistan” by Owais Mughal Cite error: Invalid parameter in <ref> tag
John Brunton; 1857, Appointed Chief Resident Engineer of Scinde Railway (Sind Railway) [7]; 1858-62, 'Supervised the construction of the 108 miles(174km) of the Scinde Railway between Karachi and Kotri until its completion in 1862. His detailed "Description of the line and works of the Scinde Railway" [8] itemise the problems of building in the tropics.'
William Arthur Brunton, the son of the above; 1857 at age 17, Assistant Engineer; then Area Surveyor on the Scinde Railway; 1859-1961, responsible for the erection of the thirty-two 45 foot (13.7M) spans of the 'Bahrun Valley Viaduct' [7]. This is the longest bridge on the Karachi-Kotri section and is a viaduct across the Bahrun River. Construction on this bridge was started on 5 March 1859 and completed on 26 January 1861 [3]
