Morvi Railway
| Morvi Railway | ||
|---|---|---|
| [[Image:|150px| ]] | ||
| Line of route | ||
| Rajkot to Wadhwan Wankaner to Morvi | ||
| Gauge / mileage | ||
| 2' 6" NG | 94¼ miles (1887) 15¾ miles (1905) 0 miles (1942) | |
| Metre gauge | 79 miles (1905) 132 miles (1942) | |
| Timeline | ||
| 1886-87 | Opened to traffic as NG | |
| 1905 | Rajkot to Wadhwan converted to MG | |
| 1924 | Morvi section converted to MG | |
| Key locations | ||
| Presidency | Bombay | |
| Stations | Morvi, Rajkot, Wankaner, Wadhwan | |
| System agency | ||
| Morvi Railway | ||
| How to interpret this infobox | ||
| Morvi Railway | ||
|---|---|---|
| [[Image:|150px| ]] | ||
| System timeline | ||
| 1948 | Merged to form Saurashtra Railway | |
| Constituent companies / lines | ||
| 1890 | ‘Morvi Tramway’ | |
| 1905 | ‘Morvi Railway’ | |
| Key locations | ||
| Headquarters | Morvi | |
| Workshops | ||
| Major Stations | Rajkot, Wankaner, Wadhwan | |
| Successor system / organisation | ||
| 1948 | Saurashtra Railway | |
| 1951 | Western Railway (IR zone) | |
| System mileage | ||
| 2' 6" NG | 17 miles (1905) 0 miles (1942) | |
| Metre gauge | 73 miles (1905) 230 miles (1942) | |
| Associated auxiliary force | ||
| n/a | ||
| How to interpret this infobox | ||
The Morvi Tramway and Railway was owned and managed by the Princely Morvi State.
The development commenced as the narrow gauge(NG) Morvi Tramway
Progressively the lines were converted to the metre gauge(MG) Morvi Railway
Morvi Tramway
These Tramway Lines are shown in ‘Light Green’ in both the ’Pre 1905 Tramway Map’ and ‘Schematic Map’
The original section from Wadhwan via Wankaner to Rajkot was built as a 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG) Tramway . Construction started in 1884, the line was 79 miles(127km) and opened to traffic in 1886
[1] forming the ‘Wadhwan-Rajkot Section’.
* The original terminus at Wadhwan was on the south side of the Bhogava River. The Agreement stated the Tramway would not link to the ‘Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway ’(BB&CIR) [2] and also not link to the ‘Bhavnagar State Railway’ or the ‘Dhrangadhra Railway’.
*The Tramway passed via Dolia and Sayla through various small States, none of which received any compensation from the Morvi Durbar to which they were legally entitled. The Wadhwan Durbar refused the Tramway entry into Wadhwan without an acceptance that Wadhwan owned the rights of passage over the Bhogava River Bridge, and that such duties as required would be paid[2].
1887. The NG Tramway from Wankaner continued northwards to Morvi, a distance of 15¾ miles(25km), opened in March 1887 [3] thus connecting Morvi to Wadhwan
Some early records refer to the complete line as the Wadhwan-Morvi State Railway.
1891. The NG Tramway was extended to the port of Navlakhi to become the ‘Morvi-Navlakhi Section’, 30 miles(48km)[3] and a spur to Wawainia Port laid by the road side, which the Morvi Durbar said was for the convenience of the people and for transportation of salt and cloth[4].
1891. The NG Tramway was extended using the Bhogava River Bridge and reached the station of the BB&CIR at Wadhwan. This was against all the previous agreements which led to legal notices being given to the Managers of BB&CIR and Morvi Tramway, terms were finally agreed in 1897. [5]
1893 and 1897. 'The “Morvi Tramway’ interchanged at Rajkot with the metre gauge(MG) ‘Jetalsar-Rajkot Railway’ southward when it opened in 1893 and later in 1897 north-westward with the opening of the ‘Navanagar State Railway’.
1905. The Morvi Durbar converted their ‘Wankaner-Rajkot Section’ narrow gauge (NG) Tramway, 79 miles(127km) into their metre gauge(MG) ) Railway[3]. See Morvi Railway below
1905. Morvi continued with the extension of the NG Tramways and by 1905 a 3¼ Mile (5Km) Tramway had been opened to its Quarries [6].
1910. Further NG Tramways were also built from Morvi via Jetpur and on to Malia, and another southeast from Morvi towards Tankara, both in operation by 1910 [7]. The Tramway that had at one time reached Malia had been removed at Malia’s expense back as far as the State line, and finished at Khakhrechi Road [8]
1923. The ‘Rajkot-Betti Tramway’ NG opened from Rajkot to Betti , 14 miles(23km) to the east of Rajkot . The NG locomotives were ordered by the Thakor of Morvi so it can be assumed they were operated as part of the ‘Morvi Tramway’ system -see separate page Shown in ‘Red’ in the ’Schematic Map’
1926. The ‘Morvi Tramway’ added the NG ‘Sanala –Khanpur Branch’ 14.3 miles (23km) opened and the next year the line to Khanpur was extended to the State boundary and also 6 miles northward from Khakhrechi Road [9].
Notably neither the 1931 ‘Gazetteer of India’ Map [10] and the 1937 ‘History of Indian Railways, constructed and in progress’[3] show any evidence of any remaining NG Tramways . So consequently it is assumed that these minor branches had been discontinued by 1931
Morvi Railway
These Railway Lines are shown in ‘Grey’ in the schematic map
Sections of the 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG) Tramway was converted over time to Metre Gauge(MG) to match the other lines in Gujerat and Kathiawar [11]
1905. The Morvi Durbar opened their ‘Wadhwan-Rajkot Section’ , 74 mile(119km) , as a metre gauge(MG) Railway. By part converting the NG Tramway and part on a new alignment:-
*‘Wadhwan-Than Section’, 31 miles(50km), was constructed on a new alignment [3] as its was not safe to do on the existing road . The railway was built on a slightly different alignment and diverted to the north 4 miles (6.4Km. This meant closing some stations like those in Dolia and Sayla. The railway was now north of the Bhogava River and was able to directly connect to the MG railways at Wadhwan [9].The new alignment had reduced the line length by 5 miles(8km).
*‘Than-Wankaner-Rajkot Junction Section’, 43 miles(69km), was converted to MG on the original NG 1886 alignment with a few unimportant diversions[3].
This enabled direct MG connections to existing railways:-
*Wadhwan Junction, to the ‘BB&CIR’, the ‘Dhrangadra Railway’ and the ‘Bhavnagar State Railway’
*Rajkot Junction to the ‘Jetalsar-Rajkot Railway’ running south and the Navanagar State Railway running west .Both marked ‘Blue’ in the schematic map
1924. The ‘Morvi-Navlakhi Branch’, 30 miles(48km), was converted to MG, previously a NG Tramway which had opened in 1891 [3].
1926. The ‘Than Junction to Chotila Branch’, 12½ miles(20km) opened as a MG Branch Line
1948. The ‘Morvi Railway’ was merged to form the ‘Saurashtra Railway’
Personnel
No personnel records have been located:-
The following found from various sources:-
- Richard Gardiner in 1887 was Manager-in-charge [12] *Willoughby Verner Constable was the Officiating Manager[13].
Further Information
Kathiawar Peninsula Railway and Tramway Systems gives a map, timeline and relates this railway to others in the Kathiawar Peninsula.
References
- ↑ “Administration Report on Railways 1918” page 194 (pdf202); Retrieved 21 May 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 British Library IOR L/PS/13/1694 No 33 File 30 (part 1) 30 ‘Memorial of the Thakor of Sayla against the decision for Morvi to claim compensation’ page 2
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 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 246 pdf289 ; Retrieved 21 May 2020
- ↑ Wikipedia ‘Maliya Miyana–Wankaner section’; Retrieved 21 May 2020
- ↑ British Library IOR/R/2/735/217 No R/C/217 Morvi Railway Conversion, Page 3
- ↑ British Library IOR/V/10/1610 1909-10 TO 1927-28 ‘Morvi State Administration Report, Railways 1926-27’
- ↑ The British Internal Combustion Locomotive 1894-1940 Brian Webb 1973 David Charles Newton Abbott ISBN 0715361155 Page 20
- ↑ British Library IOR/V/10/1610 1909-10 TO 1927-28 Report for 1909-10
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 British Library IOR L/PS/13/1694 No 33 File 30 30 Memorial of the Thakor of Sayla against the decision for Morvi to claim compensation (part 1) page 3 Paragraph 9
- ↑ ‘Imperial Gazetteer of India,’ v. 26, Atlas 1931 edition, Railways & Inland Navigation, p. 24. ; Retrieved 18 May 2020
- ↑ Wikipedia "Western Railway (India)"; Retrieved 21 May 2020
- ↑ Google Books " India List and India Office List, 1905" page 499 (pdf page 462 ) Retrieved on 24 May 2016
- ↑ Google Books " India List and India Office List, 1905" page 466 (pdf page 429) Retrieved on 14 May 2016