McLeod's Light Railways
| McLeod's Light Railways | ||
|---|---|---|
| [[Image:|150px| ]] | ||
| System timeline | ||
| 1915 | First line opened | |
| 1967 | Last line nationalised | |
| Constituent companies / lines | ||
| 1915 | Burdwan-Katwa Railway(BKR) | |
| 1916 | Bankura-Damoodar River Railway(BDRR) | |
| 1917 | Kalighat-Falta Railway(KFR) | |
| 1917 | Ahmadpur-Katwa Railway[AKR) | |
| Key locations | ||
| Headquarters | Calcutta | |
| Workshops | ||
| Major Stations | ||
| Successor system / organisation | ||
| Some lines taken over by Indian Railways | ||
| System mileage | ||
| 2' 6" NG | 150 miles (241km) | |
| 2’0” NG | 36 miles 1915-24 Jessore-Jhenidah Railway(JJR) | |
| Associated auxiliary force | ||
| How to interpret this infobox | ||
McLeod's Light Railways
McLeod & Company was the subsidiary of a London company of managing agents, McLeod Russell & Co. Ltd.
The Company was formed to build and operate four 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG)
narrow gauge railways in and around Calcutta. Each railway was created as a separate Company.
All these railways had a 3½% return guaranteed by the Government [1]
The lines continued to operate independently after the Independence in 1947, the last being transferred to Indian Railways in 1967.
They also managed the ‘Jessore-Jhenidah Railway’ from 1915-24
Lines operated and worked by McLeod's Light Railways
- Burdwan-Katwa Railway(BKR), 2’ 6” NG, 33 miles(54km), constructed by ‘Burdwan-Katwa Railway Company’, opened 1915[2]. The line ran from Burdwan, on the EIR Mainline to Katwa, where it linked to the AKR - see below and where there was an interchange with the East Indian Railway EIR Loopline.
Marked 1 on Map. See separate BKR page.
- Bankura-Damoodar River Railway(BDRR), 2’ 6” NG, 60 miles(96km), constructed by ‘Bankura-Damoodar River Railway Company’, opened 1916-17[3]. The line ran eastward from Bankura on the Bengal-Nagpur Railway to Raynagar (near to the Damoodar River).
Marked 2 on Map. See separate BDRR page.
- Kalighat-Falta Railway(KFR), 2’ 63 NG, 25 miles(40km), constructed by ‘Kalighat-Falta Railway Company’, opened 1917[4]. The line, to the south of Calcutta, from Kalighat , in the southern suburbs of Calcutta, to Falta on the bank of the Hooghly River.
Marked 3 on Map. See separate KFR page.
- Ahmadpur-Katwa Railway(AKR), 2’ 6” NG, 32 miles(51km), constructed by ‘Ahmadpur-Katwa Railway Company’, opened 1917[5]. The line ran from Ahmadpur on the EIR First Chord to Katwa, where in linked to the BKR - see above and where there was an interchange with the EIR Loopline.
Marked 4 on Map. See separate AKR page for further details.
Other Railways taken over by McLeod's Light Railways
- Jessore-Jhenidah Railway(JJR) 2’ 0” NG, 36 miles(57km), opened 1913-14. Owned and worked by Private Co., together with Kotchandpur Branch Railway [6]. The management taken over by 'McLeod and Company', August 1915 through to 1924. The railway connected Jessore, a station of the Eastern Bengal Railway-‘EBR Central Section’, to Jhenidah on the Nabaganga River.
Marked 5 on Map. ‘Jessore-Jhenidah Railway’ See separate JJR page.
Marked 6 on Map. ‘Kotchandpur Branch Railway’ See separate JJR page.
References
- ↑ “Indian Locomotives Part 3 – Narrow Gauge 1863-1940” by Hugh Hughes No. 28 McLeods Light Railways - page 56-59
- ↑ "Administration Report on the Railways in India – corrected up to 31st March 1918"; Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta; pages 211-212 (pdf229-230); Retrieved 24 Nov 2016
- ↑ "Administration Report on the Railways in India – corrected up to 31st March 1918"; Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta; page 211 (pdf219); Retrieved 24 Nov 2016
- ↑ "Administration Report on the Railways in India – corrected up to 31st March 1918"; Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta; page 232 (pdf240); Retrieved 24 Nov 2016
- ↑ "Administration Report on the Railways in India – corrected up to 31st March 1918"; Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta; page 205 (pdf213); Retrieved 24 Nov 2016
- ↑ "Administration Report on the Railways in India – corrected up to 31st March 1918"; Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta; page 230); Retrieved 24 Nov 2016