User:PEA-2292/My sandbox

Khewra Salt Mines

The existence of salt at Khewra, in the Jhelum District has been known about since the army of Alexander the Great crossed the Jhelum and Mianwali region during his Indian campaign in 326 BC and has been extracted here since at least the 13th Centuary AD. The British took control of the mines in 1849 and soon built a metalled road to the mines. In 1872 a Dr H Warth began the room and pillar method of extraction of the salt. By 1881 the mines, (also known as the 'Mayo Mines', in honour of Lord Mayo, who visited the mines as Viceroy of India), were operated by the 'Northern India Salt Revenue Department' .

Railways

Salt was first sent from the mine by mainline railway after the opening of the Punjab Northern State Railway(PNSR) metre gauge(MG) line in 1876. By 1881 a line from Chalisa Junction was under construction to the Warthganj depot at the mouth of the gorge, where it had to cross the Jhelum River. This was not bridged permanently until 1886-87 although a temporary bridge wazs used until the snows melted each year when it had to be dismantled. When the bridge was not in place, the salt was ferried across the river in boats.

In 1886 the PNSR was merged with other railways to form the North-Western State Railway, later becoming the North Western Railway(NWR).The line was converted to broad gauge(BG) in Aug 1887 to connect the 'Khewra Salt Mines' to Chalisa Junction on the North Western Railway(NWR) network, which by that time was a fully BG. The extension to Dandot from Khewra, 2.1 miles(3.4km), was converted to BG in Aug 1889 and extended to Dandot, a total of 8.5 miles(13.6km) - these lines became the NWR 'Dandot Branch'.