Anamali Timber Tramway
Anamali Timber Tramway
The Tramway was operational on the lower slopes of the Anamali hills, Coimbatore District, under the control of the Madras Presidency Forest Department. The location was 42 miles (67km) from the Podanur railway station, the location of the South Indian Railway(SIR) main workshops.
The Timber Tramway was a 2ft/610mm narrow gauge(NG) system, opened in 1888-89 and ran from the forest uphill to the top of the ghat road. The timber was then carried down the ghat road by carts to the plains. Due to the conditions the extraction season was limited to six months. The light-weight track was laid on steel sleepers and bullocks provided the motive power with three pairs being used on a train. In 1889-90 elephants were tried and found to be able to haul as much as nine bullocks; however there were not enough animals available so haulage returned to bullocks [1].
By 1892 the line was 7 miles(11km) long and the record shows:- five crossings; turntable; 12 pairs of wagons ; 6 brake cars and cranes. The tramway was removed during 1925-26 [1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “Industrial Railways and Locomotives of India and South Asia” compiled by Simon Darvill. Published by ‘The Industrial Railway Society’ 2013. ISBN 978 1 901556 82-7. Available at http://irsshop.co.uk/India. Reference: Entry TN17 page ....