Tansa Lake Construction Railways

Tansa Lake Construction
Due to the growth of Bombay in the middle of the 19th centuary, it had outgrown its water supply and a new source was required. In 1872 the Tansa valley, 55 miles(88km) north of Bombay, was chosen but work did not commence until 1886. A 1½ mile(2.4km) long, 118 feet(36 metre) high dam was built to form Tansa Lake.

1886-1891 Dam Construction
‘Glover & Co’ were the contractors and work commenced in 1886 and finished in 1891. The ‘Indian Engineering’ 7 Feb 1891 edition advertised for sale 4½ miles(7.2km) of 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG) line and wagons . .

1886-1892 Aqueduct/Pipeline Construction
To transport water to Bombay, a distance of a 55 mile(88km), required 22 miles of aqueucts and 33 miles of pipeline. The contractor was ‘Walsh, Lovatt & Company’ of Calcutta with the work starting in 1886 and completed 1892. The records indicate that two 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG) locomotives were used on this work .

1915 Second Pipeline
The supply capacity of Tansa Lake as built was 30,000,000 gallons(135,000cu metres) a day. In 1912 Bombay Municipality estimated that the requirement had risen to 51,000,000 gallons(230,000cu metres) a day. In order to meet this demand it was decided to lay a second 33 mile(53km) water main next to the original. Also the height of Tamsa Lake Dam was increased to provide additional storage. The contract for the pipeline was in two parts :-

• The northern 19 miles(30km), 50 inch(127cm) diameter steel pipeline supplied by ‘Mephan Ferguson & Son’, Melbourne, Australia and laid by ‘Karaka & Pollonji’, commencing 1914 and completed May 1915.
• The southern 14 mile (23km), 48 inch(122cm) diameter cast iron pipeline supplied by ‘Turner, Hoare & Co.’, Bombay and laid by Bombay Presidency Public Works Department wiçth work completed by May 1915.

The records show that both companies were using 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG) locomotives on this work .

1923 Pipeline Rehabilititation By the 1920’s the requirement for water from Tansa Lake had grown again. ‘Braithwaite & Co’ were awarded the contract and involved laying of pipes between 57 inches(145cm) and 72inches(183cm) diameter and from 43 feet(6.9 metres) to 60 feet(18.3 metres) in length. They were transported using the 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG) railway laid alongside the pipeline. The records show details of the locomotives and wagons used on the project. On completion the track was left in place for use by the Waterworks department for maintenance of the pipeline .