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East Indian Railways - Locomotive Workshops

Background

"The East Indian Railway(EIR) 'experimental line' from Howrah to Ranigani was authorised in 1849, and construction and started in 1851. The opening of the first section from Howrah to Hooghly in August 1854 was delayed due to unexpected impediments - one these was the locomotive shipped from England got misdirected to Australia, and could only be brought back (to Calcutta) in 1854 aboad 'Kedgeree'. Also 'HMS Goodwin' carrying the coaches (from Britain) sank at the Sandheads near Diamond Harbour (in the Hoogly River estuary near Calcutta). John Hodgson, the Locomotive Engineer of EIR, got the carriages locally built with the help of two Calcutta coach building firms - Steward & Co and Seton & Co." .

Locomotive Workshops - Howrah

The first workshops to repair Locomotives and build Carriages and Wagons were established in Howrah and operational in the mid 1850’s.

• 1852 Nov, John Hodgson was appointed East Indian Railway Superintendent of Locomotive Department based in Calcutta .
• 1853, the Locomotive Workshop at this time was at Howrah.
• 1856, a Locomotive Workshops were also operational atAllahabad under P D Nicholl Locomotive Superintendent, Upper Provinces,
• 1857, Charles Lingard Stokes was appointed Locomotive Superintendent on the death of John Hodgson on breakout of the Indian Mutiny and when the Mutiny at Allahabad forced a state of siege to be declared
• By the late 1850's it was apparant that the 'head-quarters of the Locomotive Department were at Howrah, but ... was too confined to admit extensions... there was ... no room in Howrah for the workshops of the Locomotive Department, as well as for the Company's Carriage and Wagon Building works, and after long and mature consideration it was decided to remove the former to Jamalpur" .
• In 1862, the EIR Locomotive Workshops at Jamalpur were completed leaving the EIR Carriage and Wagon Workshop at Howrah.

Locomotive Workshops - Jamalpur

Jamalpur was only an engine changing station and light repairs were carried out in the running shed there. It was on the original EIR mainline but with then opening of the EIR First Chord Line(1871) and the EIR Grand Chord Line (1906), it the became on the Sahibganj Loop.

The various reasons for selecting Jamalpur as the location of the new locomotive workshops are well described in 'The History of the East Indian Railway' pages 240-251

1862; William St John Galwey, Resident Engineer in charge of the works of the EIR Jamalpur locomotive works. 1863; Appointed to take charge of a portion of the survey of the proposed EIR Chord line, which was to shorten the distance between Calcutta and the North West Provinces by about 70 miles.

• 1863, David Wilkinson Campbell became Locomotive Superintendent , Jamalpur following the retirement of Charles Lingard Stokes

• 1887, John Strachan became Locomotive Superintendent on promotion of

David Wilkinson Campbell to EIR Agent

• 1890, Alan Wood Rendell became Locomotive Superintendent when John Strachan retired

• 1901, Tomyns Reginald Browne became Locomotive Superintendent, he had previously been Carriage and Wagon Superintendent at Howrah then Lillooah

• On 15 January 1934, the Jamalpur Locomotive Workshops, along with the entire railway colony, were destroyed by an earthquake. It took 3 years to rebuild the facility.