Sind-Sagar Railway
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History
The Sind-Sagar Railway was originally constructed by the Punjab Northern State Railway(PNSR) as a metre gauge(MG) State Railway from Lala Musa to Malakwal in 1880, a distance of 37 miles(59km) [1]. This line formed a branch to the PNSR line from Lahore via Lala Musa to Jhelum which had opened in 1873 as a MG line and converted to broad gauge(BG) in 1878 [2].
In some early records the line was called the ‘Sind-Sagar (Salt Branch) Railway’. Salman Rashid writes “Nearing the end of the 19th century, the salt mines at Khewra were fully functional on modern lines and delivering up large quantities of fine rock salt every month. The earlier camel trains to the marts east of the Jhelum River or the river journey upstream and down were slow and cumbersome. A rail connection to Khewra was the answer” [3]. The salt mines were connected to the PNSR at Malakwal by the ‘’ Khewra Salt Mines Tramway’ - see separate page.
In 1886 the Sind-Sagar Railway was amalgamated with other railways to form the North-Western State Railway(NWR) and railway line from Lala Musa to Malukwal was converted to broad gauge(BG) [1].
The Chak-Nizam Bridge, also known as the Victoria Bridge was completed in early 1887 over the river Jhelum in the Shahpur district about 100 miles north-west of Lahore and connected Jhelum to Lahore.
Following amalgamation the railway became known as the ‘NWR Frontier Section (Military) Sind-Sagar Mainline’. The completion of the Chenab Bridge in 1890 connecting to Shershar [1].
After 1947, the line became the Shorkot-Lalamusa Branch Line which begins from Shorkot Cantonment Junction station and ends at Lalamusa Junction station. The total length of this railway line is 314 kilometers (195 mi). There are 42 railway stations from Shorkot Junction to Lalamusa Junction [4].
Personnel in chronological order
No Staff Records are available at the British Library India Office Records
The following personnel have been identified from various sources as being posted to this railway:-
- James Ramsay, Executive Engineer from the Public Works Department(PWD) was Engineer-in-Chief of the Sind-Sagar Railwayin early 1880's [5]. He was also Engineer-in-Chief of the Chak-Nizam Bridge that was completed in 1887 [6].
- Frederick Robert Upcott, was Engineer-in-Charge of the Chak-Nizam Bridge as part of the Sind-Sagar Railway that was completed in 1887 [6]. Tthe account also adds Mr Boydell, Executive Engineer and Mr J Spence, Sub-Engineer
- Francis Langford O'Callaghan, 1884-85, posted from State Railways as Chief Engineer, Survey of the Sind-Sagar Railway [7].
- Trevredyn Rashleigh Wynne, c.1884, Executive Engineer posted from PWD for 'short stint' to Sind-Sagar Railway [8].
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 " Administration Report on the Railways in India – corrected up to 31st March 1918"; Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta; page 107, pdf page 116; Retrieved 18 Dec 2017
- ↑ " Administration Report on the Railways in India – corrected up to 31st March 1918"; Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta; page 106, pdf page 115; Retrieved 18 Dec 2017
- ↑ Worth its salt: The Sind Sagar Railway by Salman Rashid, 2013; Retrieved 10 Dec 2017
- ↑ Wikiwand “Shorkot-Lalamusa Branch Line” ; Retrieved 18 Dec 2017
- ↑ Google Books " India List and India Office List, 1905" page 595 (pdf page 558) Retrieved on 15 Jul 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Google Books "Kipling’s India: Uncollected Sketches 1884–88" by Rudyard Kipling, pages 215-218; Retrieved on 15 Jul 2016
- ↑ Institution of Civil Engineers "Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland - O'Callaghan, Francis Langford "; Retrieved on 14 Jul 2016
- ↑ Grace's Guide "Trevredyn Rashleigh Wynne"; Retrieved on 14 Jul 2016