Bengal Dooars Railway
| Bengal Dooars Railway | ||
|---|---|---|
| [[Image:|150px| ]] | ||
| Line of route | ||
| Lalmanir Hat towards Bhutan | ||
| Gauge / mileage | ||
| Metre gauge | 153 miles (1905) 158 miles (1922) | |
| Timeline | ||
| 1891 | Company formed | |
| 1941 | Merged into Eastern Bengal Railway | |
| Key locations | ||
| Presidency | Bengal | |
| Stations | Lalmanir Hat | |
| System agency | ||
| Company owned and worked | ||
| How to interpret this infobox | ||
The Bengal Dooars Railway (BDR) was a company owned and operated collection of small metre gauge(MG) lines that ran from its junction with the Eastern Bengal Railway north west towards the Bhutan border [1]
The lines were constructed for the opening of the Western Dooars and for the development of the tea industry [2].
Confusingly, the later lines are listed separately as the Bengal Dooars Extensions Railway in railway statistics, although they form an integral part of its system; these being State funded extensions and passed to BDR on completion [3].
History
The Company was formed in the UK in 1891 and the main contract signed in the same year. The longest line ran from Lalmanir Hat in Rangpur District north west through Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri Districts to the Western Dooars on the borders of Bhutan. The line's headquarters were at Domohani.
The undertaking was amalgamated with the Eastern Bengal State Railway in January 1941.
Bengal Doors Railway Lines
The following mainly based on the 1937 ‘Report on Railways’[2] and 1918 ‘Administrration Report’ [4]:-
- ‘Main Line’ total line length in 1893 31.0 miles(50km); after 1931 28.4 miles(46km)
- ‘East Bank of the Teesta (Barnes Ghat) to Domohani Section’, about 4.3 miles(7km), opened 1893, abandoned 1931
- ‘Domohani to Dam Dim Section’, 26.7 miles(43km), opened 1893
- ‘Mile 66 to Domohani Section’, 2.7 miles(4km), opened 1931
- ‘Branch Lines’ total line length 1893 5.6 miles(9km), after 1933 11.1 miles(18km)
- ‘Lataguri Junction to Ramshai Section’, 5.6 miles(9km), opened 1893. First described as the ‘Ramsai Branch Railway’ serving the remote tea garden at Ramsai
- ‘Domohani to Barnes Ghat Section’, 5.5 miles(9km), opened 1933
Bengal Doors Extensions Railway Lines
The following mainly based on the 1937 ‘Report on Railways’[2] and 1918 ‘Administrration Report’ [4]
- ‘Eastern Extension’ total line length 48.8 miles(78km)
- ‘Mal Junction to Chalsa Junction Section’, 5.1 miles(8km), opened 1901
- ‘Chalsa Junction to Madarihat Section’ via Chengmari and Dalgaon, 38.5 miles(62km), opened 1903 . First described as the ‘ Madari Hat Branch Railway’
- ‘Chalsa Junction to Metelli Section’, 5.2 miles(8km), opened 1918. First described as the ‘Metelli Branch Railway’
- ‘Southern Extension’ total line length in 1900 65.8 miles(105km) ; 66.1 miles(106km)
- ‘Barnes Junction to Mile 61½ Section’, about 4.2 miles(6km), opened 1900, abandoned 1931
- ‘Mile 06 to Mile 61½ Section’, 4.5 miles(7km), opened 1931
- ‘Mile 61½ to Lalmanirhat Section’ via Baura and Bhotemari, 61.2 miles(98km) , opened 1900
- ‘Western Section’ total line length 5.7 miles(10km). First described as the ‘Dam Dim-Bagrakote Extension Railway’
- ‘Dam Dim to Oodlabari Section’, 2.8 miles(4km), opened 1901
- ‘Oodlabari to Bagrakote Section’, 3.9 miles(6km), opened 1902
The ‘Statistics of Working’ show the year-by-year financial results
For ‘Bengal Dooars Railway’ from 1893 through to 1936-37 with the route mileage rising from 36½ miles(km) to 39½ miles(km) by 1933 [2]
For ‘Bengal Dooars Extension’ from 1900 through to 1936-37 with the route mileage rising from 121 miles(km) to 121 miles(km) by 1918-19 [2]
Classification
Indian Railway Classification of 1926 - Class II railway system.
Connecting and Associated Lines
- ‘Kurigram Branch Railway’ (Narrow gauge: 15 miles); Tista Junction to Kurigram - opened 6 February 1882. This line is a remnant of the ‘Kaunia Dharlia Railway’, the most part of which was converted to metre gauge and incorporated in the main Assam line.
- ‘Kaunia-Dharlia State Tram/Railway’, constructed c.1885 by East Bengal Railway(EBR) as Narrow Gauge Tram. Converted to Medium Gauge, 1901 with part to EBR's ‘Gauhati Branch Railway’; part to ‘Kurigram Branch Railway’ mentioned above.
- ‘Lalmonirhat-Gitaldaha(Geetaldaha) Railway’, a link between BDR and ‘Cooch Behar Railway’, opened c.1900
Records
Refer to FIBIS Fact File #4: “Research sources for Indian Railways, 1845-1947” - available from the Fibis shop. This Fact File contains invaluable advice on 'Researching ancestors in the UK records of Indian Railways' with particular reference to the India Office Records (IOR) held at the British Library
An on-line search of the IOR records relating to this railway [5] gives 18 references. The most important being:-
- L/AG/46/25 “Records of the India Office relating to the Bengal Dooars Railway Company; 1895-1927”
- L/F/7/285-289 “Collection 29: Bengal Dooars Railway; 1926-1945”
Personnel
Staff records have not been found.
The 1905 Civil List gives one record
- John Monthermer Montague, Executive Engineer from the Public Works Department was 'from 1899 on loan to the Bengal Dooars Railway Company' [6].
References
- ↑ " Administration Report on the Railways in India – corrected up to 31st March 1918"; Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta; page 165; Retrieved 18 Aug 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 US Archive .org pdf download of ‘History Of Indian Railways, constructed and in progress’, 31 March 1937 by ‘The Government of India - Railway Department’ page 219-221, pdf 260-262 ; Retrieved 18 Aug 2020
- ↑ " Administration Report on the Railways in India – corrected up to 31st March 1918"; Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta; page 167; Retrieved 18 Aug 2020
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 “Administration Report on Railways 1918” page 165 (pdf 174); Retrieved 17 Aug 2020
- ↑ “British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue” - Search"; Retrieved 20 Jan 2016
- ↑ Google Books " India List and India Office List, 1905" page 569 (pdf page 532) Retrieved on 27 May 2016