North Western Railway
| North Western Railway | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Line of route | ||
| Karachi to Quetta Karachi to Lahore Lahore to Delhi Lahore to Peshawar | ||
| Gauge / mileage | ||
| Broad gauge | 3186 miles (1905) 6861 miles (1947) | |
| Timeline | ||
| 1886 | Formed by merger of several railways, viz: Sind, Punjab and Delhi Railway Indus Valley State Railway Punjab Northern State Railway | |
| 1930 | Southern Punjab Railway merged into NWR | |
| Key locations | ||
| Presidency | Bengal | |
| Stations | ||
| System agency | ||
| 1886 | State agency | |
| How to interpret this infobox | ||
| North Western Railway | ||
|---|---|---|
 North Western Railway device | ||
| System timeline | ||
| 1886 | State owned and State worked | |
| Constituent companies / lines | ||
| 1886 | North Western Railway | |
| Dandot Light Railway | ||
| Jammu and Kashmir Railway | ||
| Khushalgarh-Kohat-Thal Railway | ||
| Ludhiana-Dhuri-Jakhal Railway | ||
| Nowshera-Durgai Railway | ||
| Rajpura-Bhatinda Railway | ||
| Southern Punjab Railway | ||
| Kalka-Simla Railway | ||
| Key locations | ||
| Headquarters | Lahore | |
| Workshops | Moghalpura | |
| Major Stations | Amritsar, Ferozepore, Hyderabad, Meerut, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Saharanpur, Sibi | |
| Successor system / organisation | ||
| 1947 | [West] Pakistan Railways | |
| 1947 | Eastern Punjab Railway (Indian Railways) | |
| 1952 | Northern Railway (IR zone) | |
| System mileage | ||
| Broad gauge | 3890 miles (1905) | |
| Narrow (2' 6") gauge | 132 miles (1905) | |
| Narrow (2' 0") gauge | 6 miles (1905) | |
| Associated auxiliary force | ||
| North-Western Railway Battalion | ||
| How to interpret this infobox | ||
The North-Western State Railway (NWR) was formed in January 1886 from the merger of the Sind, Punjab and Delhi Railway, the Indus Valley State Railway, the Punjab Northern State Railway, the eastern section of the Sind-Sagar Railway and the southern section of the Sind-Pishin State Railway.
History
Later renamed the North Western Railway, by 1905 it was the longest railway under one administration and the strategic railway of the north-west frontier. In 1947, one part became the nucleus of Pakistan's railways, with 4976 of the old system's 6861 miles lying within the new state; the part lying in India was reorganised and renamed as Eastern Punjab Railway.
NWR Lines, Branches and Extensions
In addition to the main line sections the following are significant :-
- Khanai-Hindubagh Railway, opened 1921. Part of the NWR Northern Frontier narrow gauge, Zhob Valley Railway network; construction commenced 1916.
- Khushalgarh-Kohat-Thal Railway. Opened 1903 as a military railway; part of NWR Northern Frontier narrow gauge network, extended 1908.
- Lahore & Peshawar Railway, opened c.1882. Main-line section constructed and worked by NWR.
- Mari-Attock Railway, opened 1891. Opened as part of NWR Northern Frontier narrow gauge network.
- Mari-Indus Railway. Constructed in 1920's as part of NWR Northern Frontier narrow gauge network.
- Mashkaf-Bolan Railway. Under construction 1894, in service with NWR 1898; alternative to the Sind-Pishin State Railway route
- Patti-Kasur Railway. In operation 1909-10; extension of NWR's Amritsar-Patti Railway.
- Sirhind-Rupar Railway. Constructed by NWR and in operation before 1927
- Zhob Valley Railway, opened 1921. Part of NWR Northern Frontier narrow gauge network; finally extended from Boston to Zhob , 1929
Railways absorbed into NWR
Lines worked by NWR at some time
Railways surveyed by NWR
FIBIS resources
- FIBIS Gallery Album Railways/NWR/H V O WATERS Collection He served as a travelling Inspector of Coaching and Goods Accounts, NWR 1907-1917. Includes a
- map of the railway network. To enlarge, click on the icon at the top left hand corner of the map.
Records
- There are no staff agreements held at the British Library in the India Office Records.
- There are at least two records at the National Archives
- RAIL 1156/20/36 Victor Hope Boalth: Chief Commercial Manager, North Western Railway of India. Birth: 12 September 1872, Sumbolpore, India. Railway service: 1895-1927.
- RAIL 1156/26/40 Frank Montagu George Wheeler: Deputy Chief Mechanical Engineer, North Western Railway, India. Birth: 22 July 1907, London. Railway service: 1931-1949
Also see
- North-Western Railway Battalion. Includes mention of armoured trains
Institutions
- North Western Railway School, Fairlawn, Mussoorie.
- Picture of the teachers and students of St. Andrew School, Pakistan Railways (then NWR) at Lahore, set up in the late 19th century panoramio.com
Recommended reading
- Berridge, Percy Stuart Attwood. Couplings to the Khyber: the story of the North Western Railway. Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1969.
Good coverage of the largest Indian railway system, especially from a civil engineering perspective. Lacks a bibliography and poorly annotated. [Slides of the photographs used form a collection deposited at the Cambridge South Asian Archive together with copies of the North Western Railway Magazine, the monthly staff magazine edited by the author.]
- North Western Railway Magazine.
Monthly staff magazine. Some editorial content published in Urdu . No BL holdings. 2 copies (November 1942, December 1945) are held in the Berridge Papers, Cambridge South Asian Archive.
External Links
- Terry Case, North Western Railway. Includes a section about Hal Waters (refer photograph album above)
- "History of Northern Railway", Northern Railway.
- Quetta to Lahore by Rail 1925 All Things Pakistan, now an archived website
- Images of British Steam Locomotives used by North Western Railways Ghilzai:panoramio.com (part of this collection)
- An old photograph of a Railway Inspection trolley with removeable sailboard used on NWR Hyderabad-Kotri, Sindh, Pakistan. Ghilzai:panoramio.com (part of this collection)
- Photograph of Troops travelling by train taken by Private J W Linley of the 2nd Battalion, The Northamptonshire Regiment compiled whilst serving in India 1923-1938. flickr.com/photos/northampton_museum
Historical books online
- Some railway personnel in 1898. Page 179 Quarterly Civil List for the Punjab: Corrected up to 1st October 1898 Archive.org