Burma Railway
| Burma Railway | ||
|---|---|---|
| [[Image:|150px| ]] | ||
| System timeline | ||
| 1896 | Burma Railway Company formed to work existing state lines | |
| 1928 | Nationalisation | |
| 1937 | Separation of Burma from India | |
| 1948 | Union of Burma created | |
| Constituent companies / lines | ||
| 1896 | Irrawaddy Valley State Railway | |
| 1896 | Sittang Valley State Railway | |
| 1896 | Mu Valley State Railway | |
| 1923-1927 | Madaya Light Railway | |
| Key locations | ||
| Headquarters | Rangoon | |
| Workshops | Insein | |
| Major Stations | Mandalay, Pegu, Prome, Toungoo | |
| Successor system / organisation | ||
| 1928 | Burma Railways | |
| 1989 | Myanmar Railways | |
| System mileage | ||
| Metre gauge | 1340 miles (1905) 2049 miles (1943) | |
| Associated auxiliary force | ||
| n/a | ||
| How to interpret this infobox | ||
Formed as a private company, in 1896 Burma Railway (BR) took over the three metre gauge(MG) railways operating in Burma under a guarantee provided by the Government of India.
History
Following the merger of the Irrawaddy Valley State Railway, the Sittang Valley State Railway and the Mu Valley State Railway to form BR, construction continued on various projects until 1924 when the extent of line exceeded 1800 miles. From 1906, BR was managed by Walter Home who repeated his previous success at the helm of the Jodhpur-Bikaner Railway, another metre gauge line. (1) [1] [2]
In 1928, BR was dissolved and the railways in Burma were brought once again under direct government control, being renamed Burma Railways. In 1937, Burma was split from India and political control passed to the newly-formed Burma Office.
The infamous Thailand-Burma Railway, constructed between 1942-1943 by Allied POWs under the direction of their Japanese captors, is at present outside of the scope of this article.
Neighbouring countries Railway Link Proposals
- Assam-Burma Connection Railway Project. A series of proposals from 1892 onwards to link India and Burma by rail; eventually all were dropped.
- Burma-Yunnan Railway Project. A project to connect the Burma Railway network to the China’s south-western Yunnan province. Construction started in 1938 and was abandoned in the early 1940’s
Extensions to Burma Railway
- Alon-Saingbyin Railway. Section of BR network, opened before 1925
- Moulmein-Ye Railway. Section of BR network, opened sometime between 1919 and 1929.
- Pyinmana-Taungdwingyi Railway. Section of BR network, opened sometime between 1919 and 1929.
- Southern Shan States Railway. Branch of BR constructed shortly before 1914-18 war
- Tounghoo-Mandalay Railway. Opened 1890-91 as an extension of BR
Connection Line to Burma Railway
- Burma Mines Railway. Opened 1907, private NG railway to transport locally mined silver; connecting to Lashio branch of BR; independent until after 1947
Railways aquired by BR
Madaya Light Railway. Unassisted private company, 1912; Purchased by Government of India(GoI) 1923, passed to BR; closed 1927
Records
Refer to FIBIS Fact File #4: “Research sources for Indian Railways, 1845-1947” - available from the 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 [3] gives 163 references. The most important being:-
- L/AG/46/7 “Records of the Burma Railways Company, 1896-1921”
- L/AG/46/7/17-18 “... which includes lists of employees, 1898-1921”
- L/AG/46/28 “Records of the India Office relating to the Burma Railways Company 1897-1927”
- L/F/10/250 "Records of service: Officers employed by the Burma Railways Co Ltd. Half-yearly Staff lists 1922-1928"
This railway was a State Railways and the following IOR records relating to Staff employment are held :-
- L/F/8/1-20 "Appointments to State Railways made in the UK 1855-1946"
- Z/L/F/8/1-2 "Index to Appointments to State Railways made in the UK 1855-1946"
External links
- "History of Rail Transport in Burma" Wikipedia.
References
- ↑ " Administration Report on the Railways in India – corrected up to 31st March 1918"; Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta; page 171-4 Retrieved 17 Dec 2015
- ↑ "Eminent Railwaymen - Walter Home : Burma Railway" IRFCA Indian Railways Fan Club Retrieved 21 Jan 2016
- ↑ British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue; Retrieved 18 Jan 2016