User:PEA-2292/My sandbox

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Alexandra Bridge, before inauguration in 1876 was named the Chenab Bridge, Allahabad

The ‘Alexandra Bridge’ constructed near the town of Wazirabad carried the Punjab Northern State Railway(PNSR) over the River Chenab. The bridge was 9,300 feet(2830mtr) long and 100 feet (30mtr) deep. The first brick was laid on the 1st of November 1871; and the structure was formally opened by his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales on 27 Jan 1876, and the first section, viz., from Lahore to Jhelum, 103 miles(165km), was opened for traffic [1].

The Punjab Northern State Railway(PNSR) , together with the associated 3 bridges, was the first attempt of railway construction under the newly formed Public Works Department - Railway Branch.
The bridges were :-

Spelling Note
Earlier town names are used in some records and shown it italics :-

Also mentioned is:-

  • River Chenab (ancient Ascesines)

The ‘Alexandra Bridge’ was designed to the metre gauge(MG) and the first train metre gauge train passed over the bridge on the 23 Dec 1875 and ran to Gujrat(Goojrat) on the new line just constructed [2]

Gauge Question

In January 1871 the orders of the Government of India were issued to adopt the metre or 3 feet 3⅜ inches gauge (MG) on all new railway constructions.
The background to this decision, and the decision in 1877-78 to revert to the 5 feet 6 inches broad gauge(BG) is fully detailed in a separate page ‘The Gauge Question’.

Preliminary Works on the PNSR

The following is from IOR/V/24/3590 "Punjab Northern State Railway - 1878-79 Administration Report on the Construction " [3] with Para. Nos. given from this Report

  • 1864-69: Route proposals and surveys for the route of the Punjab Northern State Railway(PNSR) ; project approved in Oct 1869 [4]
  • 1869-70: The question of gauge was left open, and only a partial design could be made. During the six months that remained of the year, considerable progress was, however, made in the works [5]
  • 1870 the surveys and river training works of the large rivers Ravvee, Chenab and Jhelum were also well advanced[6]
  • 1871 January orders given to adopt MG and immediate effect was given to these orders[7]
  • 1871-72 The designs for the three bridges were settled . The Ravee, 33 spans of 90 feet clear giving 97½ feet between centres of piers with girders and lattice, carrying the rails above; the Jhelum, of similar design of 50 spans; the Chenab, of 64 spans of 142 feet between centres of piers, warren girders carrying the rails below. The foundations of the Chenab and Ravee were to be of three similar wells 12'6." diameter, whilst at the Jhelum the up and down stream wells were to be 10' diameter. During this year more than 100 wells were put in hand, and a quantity of materials were prepared for the bridges [8]

Construction of the Alexandra Bridge

The following is based on the “Minutes of Proceedings of Institution of Civil Engineers, 1878 - The Alexandra Bridge, Punjab Northern State Railway" by Henry Lambert and reproduced by kind permission of the Institution of Civil Engineers, London."Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers"; Volume 54 Issue 1878. The first page of this article is available from the ICE website

Location and Practical Considerations: “The Chenab rises in the Himalayas and reaches Wuzerabad after a course of about 700 miles (1100km), its course for the greater part is through a plain, composed mainly of silt carried down from the high lands of fine sand, and the banks are mostly undefined. During the winter the river is contained in a main channel about 500 yards wide and 10 to 15 feet deep., By the middle of April, floods from the melting of the snow on the Himalayas set in, and increase in volume up to the middle of June, when the monsoon commences and lasts until the middle of September. Vast floods during this time pour down into the plains, sweeping away the river banks, destroying villages, and scouring out the shifting sand of the bed of the river to a great depth. In floods, the Chenab rises 11 feet above low-water mark, and its width at Wuzerabad is 3½ miles. The mass of the water does not flow rapidly, but the main stream, corresponding to the fluctuating deep channel, rushes through with great velocity, in a serpentine direction. This is often nearly at right angles to the general course of the river when obstacles occur. Under these circumstances the bed is driven before it, and the depth of the main current of water is more than 50 feet, moving at a rate exceeding 10 miles an hour. The ground for about half the space of miles between the banks is composed of river deposit there being a depth of 2 feet of light soil over fine sand.” [9]:-
The above is an extract from the Lambert’s Report which gives great detail about the adverse conditions requiring special civil engineering techniques.
Lambert’s Report also gives specific construction systems utilised as follows with Page No.given for details as follows

River Training Bunds: Details see Lambert’ Report pages 73-77 [10]

  • 1872-73: The river training works at the Chenab had been completed [11]

Wells and Well-sinking: Details see Lambert’ Report pages 82-87[12]

  • 1872-73: Chenab, 138 out of 195 wells in the foundations of piers and abutments had been put in hand completed [13]
  • 1873-74: Chenab, 195 wells, forming 65 pier foundations, were completed, as well as the north and south abutments; and the superstructure of all but 15 piers was built. The girders were being delivered at site. [14]

Pier Construction: Details see Lambert’ Report pages 87-88 [15]

Girders: Details see Lambert’ Report pages 87-88[16]

Railway:

Roadway: Details see Lambert’ Report pages 79[17]

Personnel

The following are recorded as being responsible during the construction <ref>ibid

Later Change of Gauge

The decision in 1877-78 to revert to the 5 feet 6 inches broad gauge(BG) is fully detailed in a separate page [Rail gauge#Gauge Question ‘The Gauge Question’]].

The Lahore to Jhelum, 103 miles(165km), section was converted to broad gauge and re-opened on 6 Oct 1878 <ref>1918 page 106 pdf 115


Further Information

See Punjab Northern State Railway up to 1886
and North Western Railway from 1886

References

  1. ↑ "Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers"; Volume 54 Issue 1878, 1878, pp. 71 ; Retrieved on 8 May 2018
  2. ↑ "Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers"; Volume 54 Issue 1878, 1878, pp. 91; Retrieved on 8 May 2018
  3. ↑ IOR/V/24/3590 ; 'Public Works Department: Railways, 1876-79' - "Punjab Northern State Railway - 1878-79 Administration Report on the Construction of the PNSR from its Commencement to the 31 March 1879"
  4. ↑ IOR/V/24/3590 Paras 1-3
  5. ↑ IOR/V/24/3590 Para 4
  6. ↑ IOR/V/24/3590 Para 6
  7. ↑ IOR/V/24/3590 Para 7
  8. ↑ IOR/V/24/3590 Para 8
  9. ↑ Lambert "The Alexandra Bridge, Punjab Northern State Railway" by Henry Lambert, I.C.E. 1878; pages 71-72
  10. ↑ Lambert pages 73-77
  11. ↑ IOR/V/24/3590 Para 9
  12. ↑ Lambert pages 82-87
  13. ↑ IOR/V/24/3590 Para 9
  14. ↑ IOR/V/24/3590 Para 13
  15. ↑ Lambert pages 87-88
  16. ↑ Lambert pages 87-88
  17. ↑ Lambert pages 79
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