Bhore Ghat Railway Construction
Bhore Ghat Railway Construction
The Bhore Ghat Railway incline, constructed 1856-63 carried the south-eastern line of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR) through the Western Ghats.
The incline was sixteen miles (19km) long, rising over 1,800 vertical feet (550 Metres) in that distance. The gradient was 1 in 40, with 2 miles of 1 in 37. No fewer than ten and a half miles were curved, and there were twenty-five tunnels, with a total length of two and a half miles, also eight lofty viaducts varying in height up to 160 ft. [1]
Except for a realignment to eliminate the reversing station, which somewhat lengthened the route, this incline remains to-day very much as it was then constructed. [2]
Construction Personnel
- Civil Engineers:
- Robert Stephenson [3], Consulting Engineer GIPR, based in England, 1849- until his death 1859 [4]
- Arthur Anderson West, Consultant Engineer 1847 - 1867, (surveyor of the Bhore Gate Incline) [5]
- James John Berkeley, GIPR Chief Engineer, 1849 - 1862 (surveyor and route designer)
- Charles Buchanan Ker, GIPR 2nd Engineer 1850 -
- Robert W Graham, GIPR 3rd Engineer 1850 -
- Robert Maitland Brereton, Assistant Engineer
- GIPR Engineers: Messrs Adamson and Clowser, replaced by Messrs West and Tate in November 1859; and [[Robert Edwin Wright°°, Assistant Engineer in 1862.
- Construction Contractors
- 1855, The contract was awarded to William Frederick Faviell and work begun at Bhore Ghat on 24 January 1856 [6].
- In March 1859, Faviell gave up his contract; for a short time, two GIPR engineers, Swainson Adamson and George Louis Clowser, carried on the work [6].
- The GIPR construction contract was relet in November 1859 to Solomon Tredwell who died within fifteen days of landing in India. His wife, Alice Tredwell, assumed the contract and appointed Messrs Adamson and Clowser to manage the contract for her in her absence, as Mrs Tredwell returned to England. This arrangement was to last seven years [6].
- Adamson and Clowser "carried on the work with the greatest zeal and ability. "Labour management could limit construction progress, but “by their good and liberal management (Adamson and Clowser) collected and kept on the work a force of 25,000 men during two seasons, and in 1861 of more than 42,000 men” [6].
External Links
- "Bhor Ghat" Wikipedia
- Two photographs, "View of the Bhore Ghats near Khandalla", c 1910-1915 View 1, View 2. University of Minnesota Libraries, Ames Library of South Asia.
Historical books online
- Paper on the Bhore Ghaut Incline of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. Read at the Bombay Mechanics' Institution in the Town Hall, Bombay, on Monday, December 21, 1857. With an appendix by A.A. West. by James J. Berkley (James John), published 1863. British Library ItemVIEWER. May be slow to load.
Further Information
References
- ↑ ‘The Building of the Bhore Ghat Railway Incline in Western India in the mid 19th Century’ by Ian Kerr, U.Manitoba, Canada"; Retrieved 4 Jul 2016
- ↑ "Hill Lines of India - Construction and Operation of Some Steeply Graded Routes"; Retrieved 4 Jul 2016
- ↑ Grace's Guide "Robert Stephenson (1803-1859)"; Retrieved on 4 Jul 2016
- ↑ Google Books "The Making of India: The Untold Story of British Enterprise by Kartar Lalvani, page 162; Retrieved on 4 Jul 2016
- ↑ Institution of Civil Engineers Obituary "Arthur Anderson West 1827-1913"; Retrieved on 4 Jul 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 The Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency "Thana District" page 329., 'page 329. Retrieved on 4 Jul 2016