Khyber Ropeway Company

Khyber Ropeway Company 1919 to c 1925

In 1925 the following was written:

"Ropeway to be Dismantled
A large part of the Khyber ropeway, which , since its erection in 1919 has handled a maximum of 200 tons of goods per day, is to be dismantled owing to difficulties with the Afghans. The total length of the ropeway is 19 miles".

The ropeway system was run by the Khyber Ropeway Company, part of the Royal Army Service Corps. It appears to have been part of Mechanical Transport.

Lord Montagu of Beaulieu in a House of Lords debate 31 March 1921 said

"Two years ago I was delighted to find that the Government of India carried out a recommendation which I made that there should be a wire ropeway in the Khyber Pass. This has been completed, and has lately taken over twenty tons of stores a day to the summit "

H M Glover of the IFS advised that the Khyber ropeway was erected on the same plan as a ropeway at Patriata of the heavy endless cable type, erected in 1910 for bringing firewood to the troops at Murree, as a consequence of General Sir Gerald Kitson’s aquaintance with the Patriata ropeway in 1912. After the Khyber ropeway was dismantled, part was re-erected by the Forest Department in three sections of total length 8 miles for bringing firewood to Abbottabad.

The King’s College London , Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives website has a catalogue reference "Douglas-Scott-Montagu 7/42 1918 Apr 10 Memoranda, Articles and Reports: Report by Montagu and Capt S Limby on the use of wire ropeways on the North West Frontier and hill stations. Ref S80 QMG. Printed 4 pp and map of proposed road and ropeway Makeland District (2 copies)"

The King’s College London , Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives website has a catalogue reference " Liddell: 15/3/167 1910-1936 :Journal articles relating to British defence in India, including …..'The Khyber Ropeway Company' by Lt Col Richard Parry Crawley in Royal Army Service Corps Quarterly [1931]". However, it is believed the reference year is incorrect, and the correct reference is RASC Quarterly - Volume 12 - 1924 (April, page 137)

Photographs and postcards

• Two photograph from the National Army Museum collection
  • The ropeway transit system, Landi Kotal, 1919 NAM. 1963-09-633-4
  • The ropeway transit system at Landi Kotal, c 1919 Photograph by Randolph Bezzant Holmes. NAM. 1963-09-633-12
• Postcard: Alimusjid Fort with Ropeway, Khyber Pass. This is very similar to the previous photograph which may have been incorrectly labelled. The location of Ali Masjid appears correct. andrewgrantham.co.uk (retrieved 29 May 2014)