Northern Bengal State Railway
| Northern Bengal State Railway | ||
|---|---|---|
| [[Image:|150px| ]] | ||
| Line of route | ||
| Sara Ghat to Siliguri Parbatipur to Dinagepore, Parbatipur to Kaunia | ||
| Gauge / mileage | ||
| Metre gauge | 156 miles (1879) | |
| Timeline | ||
| 1874-1879 | Initial construction | |
| 1887 | Merged into Eastern Bengal State Railway | |
| Key locations | ||
| Presidency | Bengal | |
| Stations | Santahar, Chilahati, Jalpaiguri, Rungpore | |
| System agency | ||
| State agency | ||
| How to interpret this infobox | ||
The Northern Bengal State Railway (NBSR) was one of the first metre gauge(MG) lines to be constructed opening in 1874 from Sara Ghat, on the left bank of the Padma River. Initially built only as far as Chilahati but later extended to Siliguri , the NBSR branched west at Parbatipur to Dinagepore and east to Kaunia.
History
At the same time, a broad gauge(BG) extension of the Eastern Bengal Railway(EBR) from Poradaho to Damukdia on the right bank of Padma, opposite Sara Ghat branched off and extended eastward. Passengers crossed the river Padma by railway operated steamer ferry using the Sara Train Ferry [1]
With the later extension of the NBSR in 1879 to Siliguri the journey from Calcutta to Shiliguri became possible without a break. At Siliguri , in the foothills of the Himilayas, there was a connection with the Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway (which opened 1879-81) [1]
In 1887, to ensure better management, the NBSR along with Dacca State Railway(DSR) and the narrow gauge(NG) Kaunia-Dharlia State Tram/Railway were amalgamated to form the Eastern Bengal Railway(EBR).
Associated auxiliary force
Personnel
Unfortunately, there are no BNSR staff records held in the India Office Records at the British Library.
The following records have been located from various sources:-
- Thomas Ellis Owen,1875-86, deployed from the Railway Branch of the Public Works Department to the Northern Bengal State Railway, as Superintendent of Works in various divisions [2].
- Capt. W.A.J Wallace, 1880, Engr-in-Chief and Manager "Bengal State Railways" (thought to be NBSR) as delegate for ‘Railway Conference’, Calcutta, 6-13 Jan 1880 [3].
- Alan Wood Rendell, 1880, Locomotive Superintendent for "Bengal State Railways" (thought to be NBSR) as delegate for ‘Railway Conference’, Calcutta, 6-13 Jan 1880 [4].
- Richard Arthur Sargeaunt, 1882-3, NBSR Manager [5].
Further Information
Historical photographs online
- Hawkes collection of Indian Railway Photographs (Y3022S) Royal Commonwealth Society Library/ University of Cambridge Digital Library. The description states "An album containing albumen prints of various sizes by R. Phillips of Darjeeling, Samuel Bourne and others. The name of F.A. Hawkes, who was an engineer on the North Bengal State Railways from 1871-1879, appears frequently in it. The photographs include the construction of the North Bengal State Railway".
- Once inside the digital file, click on Contents for image titles. includes photograph of named engineers at Darjeeling 1872, 1876, 1877.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh – Railways” ; Retrieved 10 Feb 2016
- ↑ “Grace’s Guide”; Retrieved on 19 Aug 2016
- ↑ “Railways in India for the year 1880-81” by Juland Danvers , Government Director of the Indian Railways’- presented to both Houses of Parliament’ by HM Command. Extract from Annual Report 1880-81; Appendix D, page xxxiv, pdf 318
- ↑ “Railways in India for the year 1880-81” by Juland Danvers , Government Director of the Indian Railways’- presented to both Houses of Parliament’ by HM Command. Extract from Annual Report 1880-81; Appendix D, page xxxiv, pdf 318
- ↑ Google Books "India List and India Office List -1905" page 607; Retrieved on 19 Aug 2016