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|timeline5details= Merged to form [[South Indian Railway]]and later(1875) converted to metre gauge

The '''Great Southern of India Railway''' (GSIR) was formed in 1858 for "the construction and working of a railway from [[Negapatam ]] to [[Trichinopoly]], with branches to [[Salem]] and [[Tuticorin ]] - total, about 300 miles. Capital 500,000''l''. (for the works at present authorized to be proceeded with, - viz., the line from Negapatam to Trichinopoly). Rate of Interest Guaranteed - 5 per cent." (1)<ref>"Money Market and City Intelligence", ''The Times'', Wednesday, 15 June 1859, #23333, 7a.</ref>

The construction of the line from [[Negapatam]] via [[Tiruvallur]] to [[Tanjore]] (48 miles/77km) started in April 1859 to broad gauge([[Rail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|BG]]) standards and the was opened to traffic by December 1861 . The headquarters were at [[Negapatam]] with the Agent, Chief Engineer, Locomotive Superintendent and Traffic Superintendent and Workshops . The line reached [[Trichinopoly]] in 1862 <ref name== History ==MotSIR/> #p.2,3,6,7. In 1865 new 'beautiful and unique' offices were constructed at [[Trichinopoly]] and the Chief Engineer, Chief Traffic Superintendent, Chief Accounts Officer, Audit Officer etc moved over, thus leaving at [[Negapatam]] the Agent's office and the Locomotive Workshops. #p.8,9.

The In 1868, the GSIR line from reached [[NegapatamErode]] , connecting to the [[TrichinopolyMadras Railway]] and [[David Logan]] was completed by March 1862 to broad reappointed as Chief Engineer. "The GSIR was at that time a 5-foot 6-inch gauge standards and opened line, extending from Negapatam to trafficErode. Its subsequent development into the system now known as the [[South Indian Railway]], about 1,100 miles in length, was carried out under Mr. Logan's direction."<ref name=Logan>[http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/David_Logan Grace’s Guide "David Logan"]; Retrieved on 19 Jun 2016</ref>.

In 1864 November The [[Frederick Lewis Dibblee1870-71_Report_on_Railways#Progress_on_State_lines._Paragraphs_5-10.3B_Pages_3-4| “1870-71 Annual Report for Indian Railways for the Great Southern of India Railway “]], on his arrival in gives:- [[MadrasRail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|‘Broad Gauge (BG)]]Line sanctioned 378 miles(608km), was engaged as Engineer with total Line length 168 miles(270km) and 210 miles(338km) to be finished’. The Report also details the [[1870-in71_Report_on_Railways#Great_Southern_of_India_Railway._Paragraphs_73-Charge on 75.3B_Page_36|‘progress of the GISR, then District Engineer and later Chief Engineer, a position he continued to hold until August 1868, when he retired railway and transferred to the [[Carnatic Railwaycommercial summery’]]- ''see separate pages for Report details.''

In 1868, On 1st July 1874 the Great Southern of India Railway Company and the GSIR line reached [[ErodeCarnatic Railway]], connecting to were amalgamated under the title of the '''[[Madras South Indian Railway]]''' (SIR). In 1872, the GSIR merged with with the <br>These broad gauge([[Carnatic RailwayRail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|BG]], built ) lines were later(1875) converted to metre gauge, ([[Rail_gauge_#Metre_Gauge|MG]]) to form become part of the [[South Indian RailwayMadras-Tuticorin Mainline|'''SIR Madras-Tuticorin Mainline''' MG network - ''see separate page'']].

<ref>[http://searcharchives.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?vid=IAMS_VU2 British Library “British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue” - Search]; Retrieved 22 Jan 18 Jun 2016</ref> gives 46 references. The most important being:-

The only GSIR personnel that have been identified so far are as follows:-'*[[George Barclay Bruce]] was the Consulting Engineer, from 1856, based in London, first to GSIR and then to the sucessor [[South Indian Railway]] for a period of 50 years <ref>[http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/George_Barclay_Bruce Grace's Guide "George Barclay Bruce"]; Retrieved 18 June 2016</ref>.*[[William Smith Betts]] was the first Agent of the Great Southern of India Railway <ref name== Notes ==MotSIR/> #p.210,214. * [[Mark William Carr]] Chief Engineer, appointed in 1858 <ref>[http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Mark_William_Carr Grace's Guide "Mark William Carr"]; Retrieved 18 June 2016</ref>.(1) *[[David Logan]] was Resident Engineer on the construction from 1858 until 1863, when he succeeded [[Mark William Carr]] as Chief Engineer, a position he held until resigning in 1866 to superintend the reclamation work at Back Bay, Bombay <ref>[http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/imotp.1896.19540 Institute of Civil Engineers "Obituary David Logan"]; Retrieved 17 June 2016</ref>. He was re-appointed in 1868 as Chief Engineer 1868 <ref name=Logan/>.*[[Charles Edwin Crighton]] , Resident Engineer and Locomotive Superintendent <ref>[http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Charles_Edwin_Crighton Grace's Guide "Money Market and City IntelligenceCharles Edwin Crighton"]; Retrieved 23 Jul 2016</ref> , ''The Times''he continued in this post with [[South Indian Railway]] (SIR) after amalgamated in 1874.* [[Frederick Lewis Dibblee]], 1864-68, WednesdayDistrict Engineer, 15 June 1859GSIR for a year and a half, #23333then became Chief Engineer, 7aa position he continued to hold until August 1868 <ref>https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Frederick_Lewis_Dibblee Grace’s Guide ‘Frederick Lewis Dibblee’]; Retrieved 22 Apr 2020</ref>. == External link ==

==Further Information== See '''[http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/genealogy/dibblee/index.htm Frederick Dibblee, MICE[South Indian Railway], District (later Chief) Engineer, GSIR (1864]'''<br>and '''[[Madras-1868).Tuticorin Mainline]]'''