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=== Records ===Europeans employed on State Railways were usually on the strength of the '''[[Public Works Department]]'''
It For information about the records of railway staff held at the British Library, follow this [http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelpregion/asia/india/indiaofficerecordsfamilyhistory/occupations/railwayemployment/railway.html link]. Also see '''[[L/F/10 Records of Service 1702-1928]]''' ==== Railway occupations ====Collections of railway records are generally by railway company so it is important a good idea to bear in mind that know which railway company an ancestor worked for. In addition, very few collections of railway staff records created in India before 1947 remain in India, as do are indexed so it is also a good idea to know the records of railways built, owned trade or operated by employment followed on the Indian Princely Statesrailway as occupations were often grouped together when published in staff lists and registers. The records that survive today Even in [[Directories reading list|Thacker's]], this will be found to be the collections held at case in the British Library (and elsewhere) do so because they were originally created individual railway company entries. More information about railway occupations can be found in the UKFibiwiki article [[railway worker]].
Hyde Clarke, ==FIBIS resources==*[http://bookssearch.googlefibis.comorg/frontis/bin/booksaps_browse_sources.php?id=PGcBAAAAQAAJ&printsecmode=titlepagebrowse_classes&dqsource_class=simla&as_brr=1&output=html ''Colonization, Defence, 323 An Index and Description of Employment Contracts issued to experienced UK Railwaymen who were selected to work for various Indian Railways in our ]Fibis database *"The Indian EmpireRailways and a Dynasty of Pearces" by Michael Feilden Pearce, [[FIBIS Journals|''FIBIS Journal] ] Number 25 (LondonSpring 2011)'' pages 13-21. "Part 2. The Viceregal Carriages" ''FIBIS Journal Number 27 (Spring 2012)'', pages 30-36**Read more about Michael Pearce's search in [http: John Weale//www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/1836639/report-grandchildren-of-the-raj "Grandchildren of the Raj"] by Yolande D'Mello May 19, 1857)2013 dnaindia.com.
J.N. Westwood, ''=== Available to FIBIS members only===*Recorded FIBIS Lectures available to members in FIBIS Social Network ** The Railways of India'' by Hugh Wilding. 2009 (Newton Abbot: David & Charles Ltd, 1974Presentation notes included) [out of print; a general history **Difficult Engineering and Determined Engineers' by Ian Kerr 2014. This describes the context and construction of the railways Bhor Ghat Railway incline, Western India c.1856 - c.1863. **The Railways of India from pre 1840 to the 1970sBurma – Their Development and their Personnel” by Dr.]Mike Charney 2015
Ian J Kerr== Recommended Reading ==*Hugh Wilding, ''Building the Research sources for Indian Railways of the Raj 1850, 1845-19001947'' , FIBIS Fact File No 4 (Delhi; OxfordLondon: OUPFIBIS, 19952009) . ISBN 978-0-9547-116-5-8. This title can be ordered directly from the [out of print; a detailed, academic examination with full bibliographyhttp://shop.fibis.org/ FIBIS Shop]
Ian J Kerr*Hyde Clarke, [http://books.google.co.ukcom/books?id=1F9QtYSSa0gCPGcBAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover titlepage&dq=simla&as_brr=1&output=html ''Engines of Change : the Railroads that made IndiaColonization, Defence, and Railways in our Indian Empire''] (Westport, CTLondon: Greenwood PublishingJohn Weale, 20071857) [links to a Google Books preview limited to the first 35 pages].
=== External Links ===*Ian J Kerr, ''Building the Railways of the Raj 1850-1900'' (Delhi; Oxford: OUP, 1995) [out of print; a detailed, academic examination with full bibliography].
Indian Railways*Laura Bear, ''Lines of the Nation'' (New York: Columbia, 2007) [essential but uncomfortable reading for Anglo-Indians with railway roots]. [http://wwwhome.indianrailwaysalphalink.govcom.inau/financecode~agilbert/ADMIN_FINANCEreviewb.html A review] by Robyn Andrews<ref>[http:/AdminFinanceCh1/home.htm "Evolution alphalink.com.au/~agilbert/reviewb.html A review] by Robyn Andrews ''The International Journal of Indian Railways Anglo- Historical Background," ''Indian Railway Administration and FinanceStudies'']Volume 11, Number 1, 2011.</ref>
[http://books.google.com/books?id=tp4IAAAAQAAJ ''Report to the Secretary of State for India in Council on Railways in India''] (Google Books) contains three reports (to the end of the Year 1859; at June 1877; and 1877-1878). Each report is separately numbered. There are a few comments about schools, education and children eg [http://books.google.com/books?id=tp4IAAAAQAAJ&pgReferences==RA2-PA11 1878].<references />
Section 9 of [http{{#widget://home.alphalink.com.au/~agilbert/mills1.html "Some Comments on Stereotypes of the Anglo-Indians"] by Megan Stuart Mills from ''The International Journal of Anglo-Indian Studies'' (Vol 1, Number 2, 1996) is about railway people.Google PlusOne|size=medium|count=true}}
→Historical books online
[[image:India railways1909a.jpg|thumb|250px|''General map of railways in India as of 1909'']]
'''The railways in India were subject to constant changes of ownership, amalgamations and adjustments over the years. The categorisation below is intended to be comprehensive but not exhaustive.'''
== British India ==
The early railway companies were UK companies operating in India. Later the British Government of India (GOI) owned the majority and either managed them directly or leased them back to private management. From circa 1925 the GOI began to call in the leases, operating the services directly. By 1945, most railways were both owned and managed by the GOI.
*[[:Category:Guaranteed Railways|Guaranteed Railways]] included those railway companies, formed by 1859, to which the East India Company, later the GOI, guaranteed a fixed return on capital.
*[[:Category:Private Railways|Private Railways]] (those built without a guarantee) were few in number - only two were formed in the period 1850-1866 and both these were re-constituted by 1870.
*[[:Category:Indian States Railways|Indian States Railways]] were those built or promoted, often on similar terms to those above, by the various Princely States.
*[[:Category:Foreign Railways|Foreign Railways]]. Three small railways were built to serve foreign enclaves. These were managed by British companies but ownership of the lines could never vest in the GOI.<br>
For a full list of railways known to have operated in British India, follow the link below.
*[[:Category:Railways|Railways index, 1845-1947]]
== Independence ==
In 1947, the year of Independence, there were 42 operational railway systems in what had been British India but the most immediate practical consideration of partition was the division of several systems to form what then became [[Indian Railways]] and [[Pakistan Railways]]; later still, the latter was to suffer further upheaval on the formation of [[Bangladesh Railway]].
== Records and employment ==
It is important to bear in mind that railway staff records created in India before 1947 remain in India, as do the records of railways built, owned or operated by the Indian Princely States. The records that survive today in the collections held at the British Library (and elsewhere) do so because they were originally created in the UK.
==== Anglo-Indians ====
[[Anglo Indian|Anglo-Indians]] became closely identified with the running of the railways. By 1905, forming less than ½% of India's total population, they provided 2% of railway employees. Eventually more than 50% of all Anglo-Indian families came to be supported by railway employment either directly or as a dependant of a railway employee.
=== Recommended Reading =Dining cars and catering companies==“All the major trains, like the Grand Trunk Express, the Frontier Mail and the Deccan Queen, had luxurious dining cars attached.” “The caterers were British companies. Spencer’s served the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway and the North Western Railway, Kellner’s the East India Railway and Brandon’s the Great Indian Peninsular Railway and the Bombay, Baroda and Central India. Only the BNR, the Bengal Nagpur Railway, did its own catering.”<ref>[http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/onmyplate/refreshing-the-railways-regional-foods-may-reinvent-pantry-cars/ “Refreshing the railways: Regional foods may reinvent pantry cars"] by Vikram Doctor. December 5, 2015 ''The Economic Times'', quoting Malcolm Murphy in ''The Last Children of the Raj''.</ref>
*J N Westwood, ''Railways of India'' (Newton Abbot: David & Charles Ltd, 1974) [out of print; a general history of the railways of India from pre 1840 to the 1970s].
*Ian J Kerr, [http://dsalbooks.google.uchicagoco.edu/reference/gazetteeruk/ books?id=1F9QtYSSa0gC&printsec=frontcover ''The Imperial Gazetteer Engines of Change : the Railroads that made India : New edition . . . in Council''] (OxfordWestport, CT: Clarendon PressGreenwood Publishing, 1908-1931 2007) [vlinks to a Google Books preview limited to the first 35 pages]. 1, 1909])
== External Links ==*[http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/ ''The Imperial Gazetteer of India : New edition . . . in Council''] Vol 1, 1909 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1908-1931).*[http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,1 "About Indian Railways "] indianrailways.gov.in*[http://www.irfca.org/index.html ''The Indian Railways Fan Club''] Train spotters site about Indian Railways.**[https://web.archive.org/web/20120204155938/http://www.irfca.org/docs/locolists/industrial/display.php?file=Military.txt&title=Military%20Trains Indian/South-Asian Industrial Locos: Military Trains] by Simon Darvill *[http://pakistanrail.com/ ''PakistanRail''] Train spotters site about Pakistan Railways.*[http://mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/r144.html "Modern transport in India"] ''Mike's Railway History''.*[http://www.railwaysofraj.blogspot.com Railways of the Raj] A lively site featuring titbits from railway life in British India.*[http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC8754A97881FF003 FIBIS List of Railway videos on YouTube]*[http://www.essaysinhistory.com/articles/2011/5 ""Fire-Carriages" of the Raj: The Indian Railway and its Rapid Development in British India"] by Amit K. Sharma 2010 ''Essays In History. Annual Journal of the Corcoran Department of History at the University of Virginia''*[http://www.trains-worldexpresses.com/400/410.htm Imperial Indian Mail <nowiki>[</nowiki>and other trains<nowiki>]</nowiki>] trains-worldexpresses.com*[http://www.indiaofthepast.org/contribute-memories/read-contributions/life-back-then/341-railway-travel-in-the-raj "Railway Travel in the Raj"] by Kenneth Hugh Staynor. indiaofthepast.org. The author travelled by trains in India from the 1930s to 1951. ==== Historical books online====*[http://books.google.com/books?id=StwDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR1 ''Railways in India, by an engineer''] 1847 Google Books*[http://books.google.com/books?id=rWrXAAAAMAAJ&pg=PP7 ''Indian railways and their probable results''] by Sir William Patrick Andrew 1848 Google Books*[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=LNApAAAAYAAJ&pg=PP5 ''Madras: Report of the Railway Department 1853''] Google Books*[http://books.google.com/books?id=ZD8KAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover ''Colonization, defence, and railways in our Indian empire''] by Hyde Clarke 1857 Google Books*[http://books.google.com/books?id=7sJzPtyIsmEC&printsec=frontcover ''Discussion of the Question of Railways or Waterways for India''] 1860 Google Books*Juland Danvers, [http://books.google.com/books?id=tp4IAAAAQAAJ ''Report to the Secretary of State for India in Council on Railways in India''], compilation of three reports, viz to end of 1859; at June 1877; and for 1877-1878 [each report is separately numbered]. Online at Google Books.*[http://www.archive.org/stream/reportonindianr00boargoog#page/n8/mode/1up ''Report to the Secretary of State for India in Council on Railways in India for the year 1878-79''] by Juland Danvers 1879 Archive.org*[http://www.archive.org/stream/lawindianrailwa00macpgoog#page/n9/mode/1up ''Law of Indian Railways and Common Carriers''] by Walter Gordon Macpherson 1880 Archive.org*[http://www.archive.org/details/IndianRailways ''Indian Railways''] by Sir William P.Andrew, C.I.E. 1884 4th Edition Archive.org*''Administration Report On The Railways In India''. [http://dli.serc.iisc.ernet.in/handle/2015/36207 pub. 1898], [http://dli.serc.iisc.ernet.in/handle/2015/515323 Part. 2 (1899-1900) pub.1900], [http://dli.serc.iisc.ernet.in/handle/2015/36147 pub. 1901], [http://dli.serc.iisc.ernet.in/handle/2015/95265 1901, pub. 1902], [http://dli.serc.iisc.ernet.in/handle/2015/57423 pub.1906], [http://dli.serc.iisc.ernet.in/handle/2015/94040 pub.1907].*[http://www.archive.org/stream/bradshawsrailwa00unkngoog#page/n411/mode/2up "India, Egypt and the Colonies"] ''Bradshaw's Railway Manual, Shareholder's Guide, and Official Directory 1905'' Archive.org*[http://dli.serc.iisc.ernet.in/handle/2015/207818 ''Summary Of The Administration Of The Earl Of Minto Viceroy And Governor Of India In The Railway Department Nov 1905- July 1910''] 1910 Pdf download, Digital Library of India.*[https://archive.org/details/IndianRailways_201308 '' Indian Railways: Their Historical, Financial and Administrative Aspects''] by Chandrika Prasada Tiwari 1921 Archive.org*[http://www.archive.org/stream/indianrailwaysra033015mbp#page/n5/mode/2up ''Indian Railways Rates and Regulation''] by N.B. Mehta 1927 Archive.org*''Universal Directory of Railway Officials and Year Book 1939-1940'' has a section on India, commencing digital page 67, including names of the senior officials of the various railways. This book is available to read online on the Digital Library of India, in TIFF format, or as a [http://dli.serc.iisc.ernet.in/handle/2015/225200 pdf download].*[http://dli.serc.iisc.ernet.in/handle/2015/57645 ''Railway Department History of Indian Railways''] 1951. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.*[http://dli.serc.iisc.ernet.in/handle/2015/136294 ''Railways In Modern India''] by Lan (Ian?) Kerr 1957. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
==== Maps====Imperial Gazetteer of India Vol 26 Atlas 1909*[http://mikesdsal.railhistoryuchicago.railfanedu/reference/gaz_atlas_1909/pager.nethtml?object=29 Railways Sectional Map 1 (Northwest)]*[http://r144dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gaz_atlas_1909/fullscreen.html Mike's Railway History?object=30 Railways Sectional Map 2 (Northeast)]*[http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gaz_atlas_1909/fullscreen.html?object=31 Railways Sectional Map 3 (South)] "Modern transport in India"
[http[Category://home.alphalink.com.au/~agilbert/onjama~1.html "EIR at Jamalpur - Anglo-Indian Railway Officers"Railways| ]] by Blair Williams ''The International Journal of Anglo-Indian Studies'' (Volume 6, Number 2, 2001).
