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The These terms failed to attract capital, and only one line had been constructed, the [[ Nalhati-Azimganj Railway]], which opened in 1863. Therefore in 1867 a contract was entered into with the '''Indian Branch RailwayCompany''' (IBR) was formed in 1862 , which soon after changed its name to construct short branches the '''Awadh and feeder lines in northern IndiaRohilkhand Railway Company''', with a 20guaranteeing interest at 5 per cent per annum on conditions similar to those laid down for the period 1854-60 <ref>[https://books.google.fr/books?id=LxKUSZkEyoIC&pg=PA30&lpg=PA30&dq=Awadh-Rohilkhand+Railway&source=bl&ots=l2oJc_x4cs&sig=MDMBAbFDHQIOdhypeJ8llQZAzSo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiQ6fyOnr_SAhWqDMAKHViUCdQQ6AEIQDAI#v=onepage&q=Awadh-year subsidy from the Government of India but no guaranteeRohilkhand%20Railway&f=false Google Books "Readings in Indian Railway Finance" page 30 edited by K. B. Verma]; Retrieved 5 Mar 2017</ref>.
In 1863, the IBR built the 4' gauge Nalhati==Cawnpore-Azimganj line. In 1866, it began construction of a metre gauge line between Lucknow-Kanpur, completed the following year. Without a guaranteed return Fyzabad Railway==The line from the GoI, [[Cawnpore]] via [[Lucknow]] to [[Fyzabad]] was surveyed in 1862 by the IBR found it impossible to continue and in 1867, secured a new contract from an engineer examined the GoI on terms similar to those on offer in the 1850s iproposed route <ref name=Mukher>[https://books.egoogle. a guaranteed return on capital employedcom/books/about/The_Pictorial_Lucknow. html?id=7RCe2E5ch80C&redir_esc=y Google Books “The Pictorial Lucknow” by SubsequentlyP. C. Mukherji, pages 81-82. First published Lucknow 1883, reprinted by AES New Delhi 2003]; Retrieved 2 Sept 2016</ref>. Construction of the line progressed very slowly; and the IBR 42 miles (67km) long, was subsumed into opened on 23 Apr 1867. This became the ‘Cawnpore Branch’ of the [[Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway]](O&RR). The gauge of the original line is not known but was converted to Broad Gauge([[Rail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|BG]]) specification and became part of the O&RR network <ref name=Admin>[https://archive.org/stream/BombayBarodaAndCentralIndiaRailwaySystem/Bombay_Baroda_And_Central_India_Railway_System#page/n139/mode/1up “Administration Report on Railways 1918” page 132, pdf page 139]; Retrieved 2 Sept 2016</ref>.
→Personnel: Revised with added info
The '''Indian Branch Railway Company ''' (IBR) was formed in 1862 <ref>[https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Indian_Branch_Railway Grace’s Guide ‘Indian Branch Railway’ ]; Retrieved 23 Jun 2018</ref> to construct short branches and feeder lines in northern India, with a 20-year subsidy from the Government of India([[CategoryGovernment of India |GoI]]) but no guarantee <ref>[https:Railways]//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Branch_Railway_Company Wikipedia “Indian Branch Railway Company”]; Retrieved 5 Mar 2017</ref>.
Around 1872 the ‘Indian Branch Railway’/‘Awadh and Rohilkhand Railway’ was absorbed into the '''[[Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway]]'''(O&RR).
== Characteristics Nalhati-Azimganj Railway==The ‘[[Nalhati-Azimganj Railway]]’, opened in 1863 as a 4ft(1222mm) [[Rail_gauge_#4 foot Gauge|unique rail gauge]], constructed and worked by the ‘Indian Branch Railway Company’. The line was taken over by the Government in 1872, and by named as the [[Nalhati State Railway]]; converted to Broad Gauge([[Rail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|BG]]) in 1892 and becoming the ‘Azimganj Branch Line’ of the [[First Chord EIR Line]] ; 27 miles(43km) <ref>[https://archive.org/stream/BombayBarodaAndCentralIndiaRailwaySystem/Bombay_Baroda_And_Central_India_Railway_System#page/n61/mode/1up “Administration Report on Railways 1918” pages 53-56 (pdf 62-65]; Retrieved 5 Mar 2017</ref> - [[Nalhati State Railway|''See separate page for further information'']]
==Later History==
In 1866, without a guaranteed return from the Government of India([[Government of India |GoI]]), the IBR found it impossible to continue and in 1867, secured a new contract from the [[Government of India |GoI]] on terms similar to those on offer in the 1850s i.e. a guaranteed return on capital employed.
The contract between the Secretary of State and the ‘Indian Branch Railway Company’ in August 1867 specified ‘for the construction and working of a light system of 36lbs rails at slow speed - 15 miles per hour, in North West Provinces and Oudh. The original lines proposed were from Lucknow to Byramghat, via Dilserai, and from Dilserai via Shahgunj and Jounpore to Benares, with a branch from Shahgunj to Fyzabad’ <ref>British Library ‘India Office Records’ L/F/8/11/875 ‘Contract between India Branch Railway Company and Secretary of State, 1867’</ref> .
''The spelling of the place names in the above make interpretation of the proposed route difficult, many of the places cannot be identified but must be the following:-''
The Benares-Shahganj-Bilwal-Malipur-Akbarpur-Fyzabad-Bara Banki- Lucknow, a length of 199 miles(319km), was opened from 1872 and completed 1874 and became the ‘Benares-Lucknow Loop’ of the [[Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway]](O&RR) <ref name=Admin/>. ''This clearly was originally under construction by IBR when absorbed into O&RR.'' It is possible that this line was first constructed as a Metre Gauge([[Rail_gauge_#Metre_Gauge|MG]])) but certainly later was operated by O&RR as part of its Broad Gauge([[Rail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|BG]]) network.
Around 1872 the IBR was absorbed into the '''[[Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway]]'''(O&RR). The O&RR being merged into the [[East Indian Railway]] (EIR) in 1925.
== Records ==
An on-line search of the IOR records relating to this railway
<ref>[http://searcharchives.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?vid=IAMS_VU2 “British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue” - Search]; Retrieved 23 Jan 2016</ref>
gives the following: -
*'''L/F/8/11/875''' “Indian Branch Railway Company Limited, Duplicate contract ; 1867”
*'''L/PWD/2/168-170''' “Home and Overseas Correspondence of the Indian Branch Railway Company; 1862-1867”''(not catalogued)''
==Personnel==
Unfortunately, there are no IBR staff records held in the [[India Office Records]] at the [[British Library]].
From the 1867 ‘Thacker's Directory for Bengal and other territories’ under ‘Indian Branch Railway Company’ the following are indexed <ref name=Grace>[https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/1867_Thackers:_Indian_Branch_Railway 'Graces Guide' - "Thacker’s Directory, 1867 – Indian Branch Railway Company"]; Retrieved 1 Apr 2020</ref>:-
Directors
*Marquis of Tweedale - Chairman
*William Dent - Deputy Charman
*Murray Gladstone
*C. C. Johnstone Major-Gen – Managing Director
*J. A. Tobin
*R. W. Kennard
*J. A. Turner
*John Pender
*[[Henry Yule]], Col.
*Lestock R. Read
Controller of Accounts Offg.
*J.Walker
Agent and Engineer-in-Chief, Cawnpore
* James E Wilson <ref name=Grace/>
==Further Information==
See '''[[Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway]]''' from 1872
== References ==
<references />
