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Tramroads, Riverbed Crossings
During the dry season the beds of many rivers had soft sandy soils. Trying to cross these with heavy carts, either pulled by hand or by animal, was arduous. Applications were made for funding to lay Tramroads across these riverbeds to enable carts to easily make the crossing during the dry season. Proposals were for tracks to be constructed from wood, stone or a combination of those materials.
The tracks would either be lifted before the onset of the monsoons or allowed to be washed away. During the monsoon season the carriage of goods would be continued by boats.
Captain Arthur Thomas Cotton of the Madras Engineers in 1836 suggested that one way of laying tram roads was ‘that viaducts are not carried over the great rivers, but that temporary rails are laid across them during the 10 months in which there are no water in them, and that ferry boats are used in the monsoon’ [1].
Furruckabad (Farrukhabad) Tramway. Approval was given by the Indian Goverment in 1854-55 ‘to lay down a tramway on the river sands’ [2] on the banks of the Ganges at Furruckabad. This clearly would have been a dry season temporary track but whether it was repeated in subsequent years, or how successful it proved to be, his not known - no further information has been found.
Gomti River Tramway. Authorisation was given by the Indian Goverment in 1857 ‘to lay down a wooden tramway on the portion of the Ghazeepore Road which lies in the bed of the River Grountee’ [3]. This refers to the road between Benares (now called Varanashi) and Ghazipur( Ghazeepore) ,this road required the crossing of the River Gomti ((Grountee) River at Rajwari near the confluence with the River Ganges . This would be a temporary wooden track used in the dry season.
Madras Tramway Proposals. Proposals were put forward by the Madras Government in 1857 for ‘experiments for using tramways instead of common roads were being carried out in the Madras Territories and may be used in the Punjab’ [4]. It would appear that Madras were experiencing similar problems in crossing unstable ground and were developing solutions using temporary tracks.
References
- ↑ British Library IOR/F/4/1867/79385, Page 57. 1836; “Report to the General of Civil Estimates, 1836”
- ↑ British Library IOR/E/4/829, Page 1479. 1854-55; “SN 94 Farm to Messrs. Greenway of Cawnpore of the ferry and bridge at Furruckabad for 6 years at Rs 6,200 per annum They are engaging to lay down a tramway on the river sands”
- ↑ British Library IOR/E/4/846, Page 641. 1857; “India Public Works department 19 Aug 1857" 'Side Note (393) Expenditure of Rs3000.0.0 sanctioned from the ferry fund (Benares) for laying down a wooden tramway on the portion of the Ghazeepore Road which lies in the bed of the River Grountee’
- ↑ British Library IOR/E/4/843 p1238 “Roads, Madras, tramways suggested as substitutes for common roads”