Kistna Viaduct, Raichur(GIPR)
Kistna Viaduct, Raichur(GIPR)
Note – to avoid confusion Fibis have adopted the following titles:-
- ‘Kistna Viaduct', Raichur(GIPR) the subject of this page. Also known as the ‘Kristna Bridge, GIPR’
- 'Kistna Bridge', Bezwada(ECR)
The Kistna Viaduct crossing the Kistna River near Raichur was constructed by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR) and opened in May 1871 to complete the 'GIPR South-East Mainline' to Raichur.
Raichur, in the state of Hyderabad, was the junction of the GIPR with the Madras Railway, 351 miles (351km) from Madras via Kalyan.
The 'GIPR South-East Mainline' from Kalyan to Raichur had extended to Krishna on the northern bank of the Kistna River in 1870. Until the bridge work was completed the traffic was conveyed by a temporary tramway over the bed of the river in the dry season, and by means of a steamer and boats during the monsoon [1].
Viaduct Construction
The viaduct was 3854 feet in length (443 m.) and comprised 36 equal girders of 107 ft., with a weight of 2500 tons, supplied by Skere Ironworks, Darlington, Britain and Woodside Works, Dudley supplied 1200 tons of cast iron piers [2].
George Berkley was the GIPR Consulting Engineer on the project who first visited India in 1867 [3][4].
Later Reconstruction
The 1934-35 ‘Annual Report for Railways’ [5] described this as the ‘Krishna Bridge GIPR’ and states “to allow for the intensive use of heavy locomotives on the Sholapur Division, Great Indian Peninsula Railway’, it was found necessary to regirder the Krishna bridge consisting of 36 x 103 foot spans. The girders of this bridge were of wrought iron and nearly 66 years old and necessitated a restriction both in the weight and speed of trains. It was decided to regirder them at a cost of about Rs.9½ lakhs using converted girders released from other bridges”
The 1936-37 ‘Annual Report for Railways’ [6] gives a photograph with the caption “Great Indian Peninsula Railway – General View of the new Krisishna Bridge”
References
- ↑ British Library India Office Records IOR/L/PARL/2/ 100 ‘Parliamentry Papers’- “Annual Report on Railways in India, 1871-72”
- ↑ Google Books - “The Making of India: The Untold Story of British Enterprise” by Kartar Lalvani; page 239; Retrieved on 2 May 2016
- ↑ Grace's Guide "George Berkley; Retrieved on 2 May 2016
- ↑ Archive.org “Girder Making and the Practice of Bridge Building in Wrought Iron”by George Hutchinson MBMB, Inst.Mech.Eng, 1879; Page 75; Retrieved on 2 May 2016
- ↑ “Report by the Railway Board on Indian Railways for 1934-35. Vol. I; Railway Department, Government of India” page 33 para 41 (ii) pdf 51; Retrieved 5 Nov 2020
- ↑ “Report by the Railway Board on Indian Railways for 1936-37. Vol. I; Railway Department, Government of India” page31 pdf 43; Retrieved 5 Nov 2020