Lahore & Peshawar Railway
The Lahore & Peshawar Railway in the Punjab was first surveyed in 1857-58 by deployment of a team of Engineers from the Sind Railway Company [1] [2]
There was no further progress until 1866 when the military logistics of the Punjab was being considered. A letter [3] from Cranbourne to Lawrence carries the following IOR Contents note:- “...proposes to suspend work on Peshawar barracks, pending construction of Lahore-Peshawar railway, and in view of unhealthiness of area, cost, and uncertainty regarding number of troops required to be stationed there; asks whether Peshawar valley could be held with native troops in ordinary times; Council divided whether railway should be built by Govt or Guaranteed Company;...”
Finally, following further exchanges, as can be seen from the IOR Records, in 1868 a team of Government of India(GoI) appointed Engineers (see ‘Personnel’) commenced construction.
Political and military debate continued even once construction had begun [4] as see in the IOR Contents note:- ‘Need for early decision on gauge of Indus Valley railway line since it impinges on question whether Lahore-Peshawar line should be standard or narrow gauge; outlines arguments for narrow gauge on both these lines including military implications; asks Argyll to see Col Strachey on subject’.
The line from Lahore to Peshawar was finally opened in 1876 and was named the Punjab Northern State Railway and was the first railway in India to have been taken under GOI control.
Records
An on-line search of the India Office Records (IOR) records held at the British Library relating to this railway [5] Gives a number of references, the most relevant being cited above:-
Personnel
Also 10 names of Engineers for year 1868 are found by ‘Search’ on IOR Records[5] for Lahore and Peshawar Railway. These engineers were deployed from the Public Works Department:-
- L/F/8/6/576; Glinn, George James Hervey Engineer
- L/F/8/7/632; Kelsey, Walter Engineer
- L/F/8/6/513; Bull, Charles Albert 4th Class Executive Engineer
- L/F/8/8/753; Storey, Henry Francis 3rd Class Executive Engineer
- L/F/8/7/637; Lambert, Henry 2nd Class Executive Engineer
- L/F/8/6/571; Gallott, Joseph Louis 2nd Class Executive Engineer
- L/F/8/8/752; Stokes, James Folliott 1st Class Executive Engineer
- L/F/8/7/613; Hogarth, David Francis 3rd Class Executive Engineer
- L/F/8/7/638; Digges-la-Touche, Henry Christopher 2nd Class Executive Engineer
References
- ↑ Z/E/4/31/R127; “Railways, Engineers, Sind Railway Company, Lately employed on surveys of Moultan and Amritzar to be employed to survey country between Lahore and Peshawar”; 1857-1858
- ↑ Z/E/4/31/S404; “Sind Railway Company, Recommended employment of certain engineers to survey country between Lahore and Peshawar”; 1857-1858
- ↑ Mss Eur F90/27, no.32; “Letter from Cranborne to Lawrence” ; 27 Aug 1866
- ↑ Mss Eur B380/4, f357; “Letter from Mayo to Argyll”; 17 May 1870
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 “British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue” - Search; Retrieved 28 May 2016
Further Information
See Punjab Northern State Railway for information from 1878.