User:PEA-2292/My sandbox
Barsi Light Railway
The Barsi Light Railway Company owned and worked the 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG) railway that initially connected Barsi to the main Bombay-Madras trunk line of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR) at Barsi Road, a distance of 22 miles(35km). [1]
Conceived by the ex-GIPR engineer, Everard Richard Calthrop, the Barsi Light Railway revolutionised the approach to narrow gauge feeder lines in India, and was immensely successful. By 1927, the line had been extended significantly over 202 route miles(323km).
The line remained in private ownership until 1954 when it was purchased by Indian Railways.
Background - the Barsee Tramway
The Barsee Tramway was a project, proposed in 1862, to construct bullock driven Tramway 'to connect Barsee with the Barsee railway station’. In the event the Tramway was not installed but 'The Road' was constructed with earth works, cuttings and bridges and was completed in 1870 [2].
By the 1870’s Barsi had become the spelling of the town and Barsi Town was connected to Barsi Road Station , on the GIPR, a distance of 22 miles (35km), with a roadway of 24 foot width (7.3 metres) with 'hard shoulders' [3] and designed to be built with sufficient strength to carry locomotives and the gradients which did not exceed 1 in 100 [2]. The Seena (Sina) River bridge was a ten arch masonry constructed bridge.
See Barsee Tramway for further information.
History -The Barsi Light Railway
Everard Richard Calthrop had, in 1887, registered in London the Indian Railways Feeder Lines Company to promote the construction of narrow gauge (NG) lines in India. He resigned from GIPR in 1889.
Calthrope, in 1887, commenced negotiations with the Government of Bombay for a concession to build a Light Railway on the bed of the 'Road'. Negotiations were concluded and in 1895 the 'Barsi Light Railway Company' (BLR) was formed and incorporated in London on 11 July 1895 [4] utilising engineering solutions based on many innovative designs.
A request for tender was put out and on the 1st August 1895 an agreement was signed to build a 2ft 6inch(NG) light railway between the Barsi Road Station on the GIPR Station (now Kurduvadi) and the Barsi (now Barshi) Town utilising the ‘The Road' as the trackbed. The line, of 21.59 miles (34.75km) opened to traffic on 1 March 1897 [5]becoming the first section of the BLR.
The line followed what is now designated Route 77 and crossed the Seena River on the bridge of 10 masonry arches, into the Nizams territory and then passing out again into Government Territory and terminating in Barsi [6] The road rails were to be grooved or double rails and be maintained flush with the metalled road where it either crossed or ran along it. Only one set of rails were to be allowed on the metalled surface. [7] The Locomotives were to be oil/petrol fired steam engines. [8]
On 20 August 1895 a variation was signed by the Principality of Pandaharpur stated they were building a bridge over the Bhima river to take the railway into the town the route to follow route 161 a distance 34 miles (52.5) [9] On the 31st of March 1910 the extension of the railway was signed into being to Tadwalla and Latur. 62 miles (100Km) [10] In August 1916 brought an extension to Lonard and Miraj from Pandaharpur a distance of 79 ½ miles (Km 126 ). Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag
The Barsi Light Railway is regarded as having revolutionised the narrow-gauge railway system of Indian subcontinent. The engineer appointed to build I was Everard R Calthrop, he had applied a systematic and logical approach to narrow gauge design with an insistence on a rigidly imposed axle weight limit of five tons allowing lightweight construction of track work and engineering features while simultaneously building the rolling stock to the largest possible size to ensure maximum capacity. The introduction of rail inclination (now universal but then a new idea on railways of any gauge) which reduces wear on wheels and rails by tilting the rail a few degrees to make its surface more nearly parallel with that of the tyre. [11]. Five 0-8-4T locomotives were constructed to Calthrop's specification by Kitson and Company. The goods rolling stock was constructed on common 25ft by 7 ft. (7.62 by 2.13 m) pressed-steel underframes, maximising wagon loads. [12] The specification had 2 ft, 6 inches overhang on each side of the track making a total width of 7 feet 6 inches. [13]
It continued to operate as a narrow-gauge railway until conversion to broad gauge(BG)1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) began in the late 1990s but this was also on a different alignment as now the railway now runs around Barsi to the East and south of the old line. This is narrow gauge is now closed but the remnants are visible all along the route. The new line was completed on 19 October 2008. [14]
External Links
References
- ↑ " Administration Report on the Railways in India – corrected up to 31st March 1918"; Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta; page 214; Retrieved 11 Jan 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 “Barsi Light Rail - E.R.Calthrope & the Newly Exhibition” from ‘Engineering’ 20 Jan 1897, page 183. Reproduced by ‘Narrow Gauge and Industrial Railway Modeling Review’ No 69 Vol 9 January 2007, editor Roy C Link. ISSN 0958-0808
- ↑ British Library IOR/V/23/232, No 71; "Papers relating to the project of connecting Barsee with the Barsee railway station by tramways.” Bombay: Education Society's Press, 1863" File held on Microfiche, page 25
- ↑ Document 1, page 1
- ↑ “Administration Report on Railways 1918” page 214 (pdf222); Retrieved 11 Jan 2017
- ↑ IOR/L/F/5/117. Document 1, page 1
- ↑ IOR/L/F/5/117. Document 1, page 2
- ↑ IOR/L/F/5/117. Document 1, page 5
- ↑ IOR/L/F/5/117. Document 2
- ↑ IOR/L/F/5/117. Document 3
- ↑ 18
- ↑ 19
- ↑ 20
- ↑ 21