Mysore State Railway

Mysore State Railway
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Line of route
Mysore to Bangalore Bangalore to Harihar
Gauge / mileage
Metre gauge	296 miles (1905)
Timeline
1887	Leased to Southern Mahratta Railway
1919	Mysore-Bangalore section reverted to State
1938	Bangalore-Harihar section reverted to State
Key locations
Presidency	Madras
Stations	Bangalore, Birur, Harihar, Kadur, Maddur, Mysore, Seringapatam, Tumkur
System agency
1882	Worked by Southern Mahratta Railway
1938	Reverted to Mysore State Railway control
How to interpret this infobox

Mysore State Railway
[[Image:|150px| ]]
System timeline
1887	Original Mysore State Lines leased to Southern Mahratta Railway
1912	System re-formed by State of Mysore
1919	Reversion of some lines
1938	Lease terminated and lines reverted to full State of Mysore control
Constituent companies / lines
1919 & 1938	Mysore State Railway
1938	Anandapuram-Sagara Railway
1919	Birur-Shimoga Railway
1916	Bowringpet-Chikballapur Railway
1921	Chickjajur-Chitaldrug Railway
1918	Chikballapur-Bangalore City Railway
1918	Mysore-Arsikere Railway
1919	Mysore-Nanjangud Railway
1926	Nanjangud-Chamrajnagar Railway
1934	Shimoga-Anandapuram Railway
1921	Tadasa-Hebbe Tramway
1917	Tarikere-Narasimharajapura Tramway
Key locations
Headquarters	Mysore
Workshops	Bangalore
Major Stations	Arsikere, Birur, Bowringpet, Chamrajnagar, Chikballapur, Chitaldrug, Harihar, Hassan, Hindupur, Kadur, Maddur, Nanjangud, Seringapatam, Shimoga, Tumkur
Successor system / organisation
1950	Nationalised
1951	Southern Railway (IR zone)
System mileage
Metre gauge	600 miles (1940)
2' 6" NG	102 miles (1940)
2' 0"	36 miles (1940)
Associated auxiliary force
n/a
How to interpret this infobox

  The name, Mysore State Railway (MSR), originally referred to the metre gauge(MG) line which connected the State capital, Mysore, to Bangalore and named the Mysore-Bangalore Railway. The MSR also developed a number of other railways which from 1887 were initially leased to the Southern Mahratta Railway (SMR).

Later, the MSR, or Mysore Railway as it was sometimes known in this context, was the name applied to a network of disjointed metre gauge(MG) branch lines owned by the Princely Mysore State Durbar.

Original Mysore State Railway History

Mysore State Railway - Original Lines

• 1872-73: Proposals to develop railways in Mysore State were turned down in favour of irrigation projects “for the improvement and re-establishment of the ancient system of irrigation, before any outlay is applied to the construction of a railway”
• 1876-77: following the disastrous famine the original sections of the MSR were planned and built by the State of Mysore,
• 1881-82 opening to traffic.
• 1887: in order to eradicate its "famine debt", the State of Mysore leased the MSR to the Southern Mahratta Railway (SMR) for a period of 45 years..
• 1893: it was determined that the Mysore State Railway (MSR) would cede ownership and jurisdiction of “the mainline from Harihar to Bangalore and to Hindupur which will be taken over by the British Government” ...”The section from Bangalore to Mysore and Nanjangode is an isolated local line, jurisdiction over which should be retained by the Mysore State”
• 1907: the SMR transformed itself into the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway (M&SMR), with the lease following. At this time, the Railway Department of the State of Mysore was defunct.

Original Mysore State Railway Lines

See separate pages for further information.

• ‘Mysore-Bangalore Railway’, 86 miles(138km) MG from Mysore to Bangalore via Chanapatna, constructed by Mysore State, opened 1881-82 . Worked by Mysore State until 1887, then by SMR. In 1893 ownership transferred to the Government of India and worked by SMR until 1907, then M&SMR as part of the M&MSR ‘Mysore Section’ until 1919, when it reverted to MSR.
• ‘Bangalore Harihar Railway’, 210 miles(336km) MG from Bangalore to Harihar via Yesvantpur Junction, constructed by Mysore State, opened in stages from 1884-89 , with 33 stations . Worked by Mysore State until 1887, SMR 1887-1907. In , then M&SMR as part of the M&MSR ‘Mysore Section’ until 1938 when it reverted to MSR.
• ‘Bangalore Hindupur Railway’, 51 miles(82km) MG from Yesvantpur to the Mysore Frontier at Hindupur constructed by Mysore State. On opening in 1893 ownership transferred to the Government of India and worked by SMR until 1907, then M&SMR as part of the M&MSR ‘Mysore Section’ until 1938 when reverted to MSR.
• ‘Mysore-Nanjangud Railway’, 16 miles(26km) MG from Mysore to Nanjangud, a branch line, constructed by Mysore State , opened 1891 . Worked by SMR until 1907; then M&SMR until 1919; then reverted to MSR.
• ‘Yesvantpur-Hindupur Railway, total 58½ miles(94km) MG. ‘Yesvantpur Junction to Mysore Frontier Section’, 51¼ miles opened 1893-94 ; ‘Mysore Frontier to Hindupur Section’, 7¼ miles opened 1893 />. Worked by SMR until 1907; then M&SMR until 1919; then reverted to MSR.
• ‘Birur-Shimoga Railway’, 38 miles(61km) MG from Birur to Shimoga, a branch line, constructed by Mysore State, opened 1899 . Worked by SMR until 1907; then M&SMR until 1919; then reverted to MSR.

Second Mysore State Railway

Mysore State Railway 1931

This development is clearly seen on the 1931 Map.

• 1912: the State of Mysore again became actively involved in the promotion and construction of railway lines within its boundaries and, between 1916 and 1918, opened 232 miles of railway to traffic.
• 1919, the Mysore State successfully sought the reversion from the M&SMR of the ‘Mysore -Bangalore Section’ and two branch lines, the ‘Birur-Shimoga Railway’ and the ‘Mysore-Nanjangud Railway’ became another part of the the MSR
• Further construction, chiefly between 1921 and 1934, added 105 miles of new track.
• 1938. From 1 January 1938, the lines leased to M&SMR reverted to the control of the State of Mysore, creating a homogenous railway of just under 740 miles.
• 1950, MSR was nationalised and in 1951 became part of Southern Railway, one of the then newly formed zones of Indian Railways.

Lines constructed/worked by the Second MSR

See separate pages for further information. Listed here in chronological order

• ‘Yelahaka-Bangarpet Railway’, 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG) line owned by Kolar and Mysore District Board, opened 1913, worked by MSR and extended 1918
• ‘Tarikere-Narasimharajapura Tramway’, 2ft (610km) NG Tramway, opened 1915. Worked by MSR
• ‘Bowringpet-Chikballapur Railway’, 2ft 6in/762mm NG railway, owned by Kolar and Mysore District Board, opened 1916. Worked by MSR.
• ‘Chikballapur-Bangalore City Railway’, 2ft 6in/762mm NG railway, opened 1918. Worked by MSR.
• ‘Mysore-Arsikere Railway’, MG railway, opened 1918. Worked by MSR..
• ‘Chickjajur-Chitaldrug Railway’, MG branch line, opened 1921. Worked by MSR.
• ‘Tadasa-Hebbe Tramway’, 2ft (610km) NG Tramway, opened 1921. Worked by MSR
• ‘Najangud-Chamrajnagar Railway’, MG extension of Mysore-Nanjangud Railway opened 1926. Worked by MSR
• ‘Anandapuram-Sagara Railway’, MG further extension of Birur-Shimoga Railway opened 1938. Worked by MSR.
• ‘Sagara-Talaguppe Railway’, MG further extension of Birur-Shimoga Railway, opened 1940. Worked by MSR.
• ‘Shimoga-Anandapuram Railway’, MG further extension of Birur-Shimoga Railway, opened 1934. Worked by MSR)

Records

An on-line search of the IOR records relating to this railway gives the following: -

• IOR/R/2/Box4/34; “Files 479A 1-3 1888 Cession to the British Govt. of jurisdiction over the Mysore State Railways”; 1886-93
• IOR/L/F/8/13/939; “Southern Mahratta Railway Company Limited, Contract for an extension of the Mysore State Railway and maintenance and working and extension as separate undertaking Secretary of State”; 31 Aug 1887
• IOR/L/F/8/20/1704; “Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway Company Limited, Contract as to transfer of Mysore-Nanjangud, Birur-Shimoga and Mysore-Bangalore sections of the Mysore Railway to the Mysore Durbar Secretary" 24 Oct 1924

Personnel

Unfortunately, there are no MSR Staff agreements held at the British Library in the India Office Records.
The following have been found from other sources:-

• Augustus Le Messurier Col. R.E. Bombay Engineers, was appointed Engineer-in-Chief of Mysore State Railway in 1879 and became Manager in 1880 .
• Henry Wilkins Clift, Executive Engineer from State Railways was posted to the Mysore State Railway from c.1879

Further Information

See separate pages as detailed above for further information

• See also Southern Mahratta Railway for period 1887-1907.
• See also Madras and_Southern Mahratta Railway for period 1907-1912
• See also Tramways in Mysore State for details and map for railway and tramways in the north of Mysore State