McLeod & Company was the subsidiary of a London company of managing agents, McLeod Russell & Co. Ltd, formed to build and operate four 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG)
narrow gauge railways McLeod's Light Railways in and around Calcutta. Each railway was created as a separate Company.
The lines continued to operate independently after the Independence in 1947, the last being transferred to Indian Railways in 1967.
McLeod’s Light Railways
Lines operated and worked by McLeod's Light Railways
Burdwan-Katwa Railway(BKR), 2’ 6” NG, 33 miles(54km), constructed by Burdwan-Katwa Railway Company, opened 1915 [1].
Bankura-Damoodar River Railway (BDRR), 2’ 6” NG, 60 miles(96km), constructed by Bankura-Damoodar River Railway Company, opened 1916-17 [2].
Ahmadpur-Katwa Railway(AKR), 2’ 6” NG, 32 miles(51km), constructed by Ahmadpur-Katwa Railway Company, opened 1917 [3].
Kalighat-Falta Railway(KFR), 2’ 63 NG, 25 miles(40km), constructed by Kalighat-Falta Railway Company, opened 1917 [4].
Other Railways taken over by McLeod's Light Railways
The Jessore-Jhenidah Railway, 2’ 0” NG, 36 miles(57km), opened 1913-14. Owned and worked by Private Co., together with Kotchandpur Branch Railway[5]; apparently taken over by McLeod and Company, 1913 [6]. This is pending independent verification.
