Arrah-Sasaram Light Railway
| Arrah-Sasaram Light Railway | ||
|---|---|---|
| [[Image:|150px| ]] | ||
| Line of route | ||
| Arrah to Sasaram | ||
| Gauge / mileage | ||
| 2' 6" NG | 65 miles (1943) | |
| Timeline | ||
| 1911 | Line opened to traffic | |
| 1978 | Closed | |
| Key locations | ||
| Presidency | Bengal | |
| Stations | Arrah, Sasaram | |
| System agency | ||
| Worked by Martin's Light Railways | ||
| How to interpret this infobox | ||
The Arrah-Sasaram Light Railway (MLR-ASLR) was a 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG) "chord" line which ran south-west from Arrah, on the Patna-Moghal section of the East Indian Railway(EIR), to Sasaram Station on the Gaya-Moghal section of the EIR. The 60½ mile(967m) line opened in 1911 and was extended a further 4.6 miles(7.5km) in 1914 for goods traffic only to Tarachandi Hill [1].
The line was constructed alongside the District Board Road and guaranteed by the District Board of Shahabad. Two large bridges from the Howrah Ironworks, with sufficient headroom for boats, were constructed over two main canals, involving considerable earthwork in each approach. In 1912 the number of passengers carried was 290,000 and estimated goods conveyed 18,000 tons. The line carried much grain as the country through which it passed was well cultivated and irrigated by canals. Four trains ran daily at its peak in 1913 with 7,300 miles(117,500km) logged that year[2].
The Arrah-Sasaram Light Railway Company was one of several small narrow gauge concerns owned and worked by Martin's Light Railways(MLR), a management company based in Calcutta - see separate page.
The ‘Statistics of Working’ show the year-by-year financial results from 1913-14 through to 1936-37 [3].
The railway had remained as a private railway until closed in 1978. [4]
Classification
Indian Railway Classification of 1926 - Class III railway system
Locomotives and Rolling Stock
Lalvani recorded that there were 5 Locomotives locos in service, 23 coaches and 51 goods wagons[2], date not specified.
The 2ft 6in/762mm NG) Locomotives are listed by Hughes with five named as ‘Arrah’, ‘Sasaram’, ‘Commissioner’, ‘Collector’ (renamed ‘Lalbetor’) and ‘Lieut-Governor’ dated 1910[5]
External Links
- "Martin's Light Railways" Wikipedia
References
- ↑ " Administration Report on the Railways in India – corrected up to 31st March 1918"; Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta; page 208; Retrieved 10 Jun 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Google Books “The Making of India: The Untold Story of British Enterprise” page 216 by Kartar Lalvani; Retrieved 18 Jun 2020
- ↑ US Archive .org pdf download of ‘History Of Indian Railways, constructed and in progress’, 31 March 1937 by ‘The Government of India - Railway Department’ page 260 pdf 303; Retrieved 26 Jul 2020
- ↑ Wikipedia "Martin Light Railways # Arrah-Sasaram line; Retrieved 18 Jun 2020
- ↑ “Indian Narrow Gauge Locomotives 1863-1940” by Hugh Hughes, published by ‘The Continental Railway Circle’ Section 26 Martin’s Light Railways, (C) Arrah-Sasaram Light Railway, page 50