Madras Railway
| Madras Railway | ||
|---|---|---|
 Madras Central Railway Station | ||
| Line of route | ||
| Madras to Bangalore Madras to Raichur Madras to Waltair (Vizagapatam) Jalarpet to Mangalore | ||
| Gauge / mileage | ||
| Broad gauge | 904 miles (1905) | |
| Broad gauge | 497 miles (1905) - North East line | |
| Timeline | ||
| 1845 | Company formed | |
| 1856 | First section of line open to traffic | |
| 1889 | Branch line Calicut-Azikhal Railway opened | |
| 1907 | Line acquired by State | |
| 1908 | Jalarpet to Mangalore transferred to South Indian Railway | |
| Key locations | ||
| Presidency | Madras | |
| Stations | Bezwada, Calicut, Coimbatore, Erode, Guntakal, Nellore, Rajahmundry, Renigunta | |
| System agency | ||
| Own agnecy | ||
| How to interpret this infobox | ||
| Madras Railway | ||
|---|---|---|
| [[Image:|150px| ]] | ||
| System timeline | ||
| 1907 | Merged with Southern Mahratta Railway to form Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway | |
| Constituent companies / lines | ||
| Madras Railway | ||
| Kolar Gold Fields Railway | ||
| 1903 | Nilgiri Mountain Railway | |
| Shoranur-Cochin Railway | ||
| Key locations | ||
| Headquarters | Madras | |
| Workshops | Perambore | |
| Major Stations | Bezwada, Bangalore, Calicut, Cochin, Coimbatore, Erode, Guntakal, Mangalore, Nellore, Ootacamund, Rajahmundry, Renigunta | |
| Successor system / organisation | ||
| 1951 | Southern Railway {IR zone) | |
| System mileage | ||
| Broad gauge | 1411 miles (1905) | |
| Metre gauge | 82 miles (1905) | |
| Associated auxiliary force | ||
| Madras Railway Volunteers | ||
| How to interpret this infobox | ||
The Madras Railway Company(MR) was formed provisionally in July 1852 to acquire lands in the “East Indies” and to construct and work a railway or railways in that territory. In December of that year the railway company contracted with the East India Company to construct and maintain an “experimental line of railway” from Madras to (or towards) the west coast of India. [1]
The Chief Engineer from 1853-6 was George Barclay Bruce. "He had then laid out and partly constructed about 500 miles of the Madras railway, he developed a system of carrying out works without contractors using direct labour. Also he developed the brick wells sunk by native divers system to construct the Poiney Viaduct, a major hurdle on the route [2]. .
The first section of line, from Madras to Arcot, was not opened to traffic until 1 July 1856.
In 1859, its object was given as "the construction and working of a railway from Madras to the western coast at Beypore, with branches to Bangalore and the Neilgherries; also of a line from Madras, via Bellary, to join the line from Bombay - total, about 820 miles." [3]
History
Headquartered in Madras, whence its lines radiated, the Madras Railway was built to Broad Gauge(BG).
In 1887, July-September, the engineer Charles Albert Bull is recorded as being deployed from the Railway Branch of the Public Works Department to undertake a survey, this would be to continue the expansion of the MR network.
In 1901 the southern part of East Coast State Railway(ECSR), renamed Madras (North-East) Railway was transferred to MR.
It was the last guaranteed railway to fall to Government of India (GoI) ownership (31 December 1907).
In 1908, the northern portion (ie the north east, north west and Bangalore branches) was merged with the Southern Mahratta Railway(SMR) to form the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway(M&SMR). The southern section of line (Jalarpet to Mangalore) became part of the South Indian Railway(SIR).
The GoI took over the management of the M&SMR on 1 April 1944.
On 14 April 1951, M&SMR together with SIR and MSR became Southern Railway, a zone of Indian Railways.
Railways absorbed into MR
- Calicut-Azikhal Railway opened 1888. Extension to MR which merged into M&SMR in 1907
- Kolar Gold Fields Railway opened 1894. Branch railway joining Kolar Gold Fields to Bowringpet-Chikballapur Railway, worked by MR 1908 becoming M&SMR
- Walajah Road-Ranipet Railway opened before 1899. MR branchline linking Ranipet to mainline; became M&SMR, 1908
- Azikhal-Mangalore Railway opened 1903. Extension to MR which merged into M&SMR in 1907
- Morappur-Dharmapuri-Hosur Railway opened 1906. MR famine protection line to Dharmapuri; extended to Hosur 1913 and renamed Morappur-Hosur Railway
Railways worked by MR at some time
- Tirupattur-Krishnagiri Railway opened 1905. MR famine protection line; worked by MR until 31 December 1907; the working passed to South Indian Railway(SIR)
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 [4] gives many references. The most important being:-
- L/AG/46/15 “Records of the Madras Railway Company; 1852-1937”
- L/AG/46/33 “Records of the India Office relating to the Madras and Southern MahrattaRailway Company; 1882-1930”
Personnel
Unfortunately there are no Staff agreements held at the British Library in the India Office Records.
- Henry Thomas Geoghegan, from the Public Works Department was in 1885 posted as Superintending Engineer for the Madras State Railway Survey [5].
- Henry James Oddie, from the PWD was in 1890 posted as Executive Engineer [6].
References
- ↑ H.M. Government “Statute Law Repeals: Nineteenth Report : Draft Statute Law (Repeals) Bill; April 2012"; pages 130-132, paragraphs 3.65-3.73 Retrieved on 2 January 2016
- ↑ Grace's Guide "George Barclay Bruce"; Retrieved on 24 Jun 2016
- ↑ "Money Market and City Intelligence", The Times, Wednesday, 15 June 1859, #23333, 7a.1
- ↑ “British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue” - Search; Retrieved 26 Jan 2016
- ↑ Google Books " India List and India Office List, 1905" page 501 (pdf page 464) Retrieved on 30 May 2016
- ↑ India Civil List 1890, page 41