Makerwal Colliery Light Railway
Makerwal Colliery Light Railway
The 'Makerwal Colliery', in the Mianwali District, Punjab was opened by Mr Bevan Pitman and R B Ishwardas [1]. Coal mining in Surghar Range was started during 1913 by driving inclines from outcrop of the coal seam [2].
Coal was carried from the various adits (see note) of the mine by aerial ropeway to platforms where it was put into wagons. These wagons were sent to a central coal depot by way of inclines. An 8½ mile(14km) 2ft/610mm narrow gauge(NG) branch line ran from this depot to Traq station on the Trans Indus (Kalabagh-Bannu) RailwayKBR. The coal was then sent to Maris Indus station where it transferred to the BG North Western Railway (NWR) for distribution [1]
The colliery, covering a lease of 1,691 acres, was taken over by the Punjab Government in 1948 and later by the Government of Pakistan [3].
Adit (from Latin aditus, entrance) is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, ventilated, and minerals extracted at the lowest convenient level [4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “Industrial Railways and Locomotives of India and South Asia” compiled by Simon Darvill. Published by ‘The Industrial Railway Society’ 2013. ISBN 978 1 901556 82-7. Available at http://irsshop.co.uk/India. Reference: Entry PP33 page ....
- ↑ 'Makerwal Collieries Limited'; Retrieved 1 Dec 2017
- ↑ Google Books 'Mineral Wealth' by John Coggin Brown, Abani Kumar Dey, Abani Kumar Dey; page 62; Retrieved 1 Dec 2017
- ↑ Wikipedia 'Adit' definition; Retrieved 1 Dec 2017
