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It is important to bear in mind that railway staff records created in India before 1947 remain in India, as do Europeans employed on State Railways were usually on the records strength 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.'''[[Public Works Department]]'''
Collections ==== Anglo-Indians ====[[Anglo Indian|Anglo-Indians]] became closely identified with the running of railway records are generally by railway company so it is a good idea to know which railway company an ancestor worked forthe railways. In additionBy 1905, very few collections forming less than ½% of railway records are indexed so it is also a good idea to know the trade or employment followed on the railway as occupations were often grouped together when published in staff lists and registers. Even in [[Directories reading list|ThackerIndia's]]total population, this will be found they provided 2% of railway employees. Eventually more than 50% of all Anglo-Indian families came to be the case in the individual supported by railway company entries. More information about railway occupations can be found [[employment either directly or as a dependant of a railway worker|here]]employee.
→Historical books online
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: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.
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.
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 a good idea to know which railway company an ancestor worked for. In addition, very few collections of railway records are indexed so it is also a good idea to know the trade or employment followed on the railway as occupations were often grouped together when published in staff lists and registers. Even in [[Directories reading list|Thacker's]], this will be found to be the case in the individual railway company entries. More information about railway occupations can be found in Fibiwiki article [[railway worker]].
==Dining cars and catering companies== Anglo“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-Indians ====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>
==FIBIS resources==*[http://search.fibis.org/frontis/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_classes&source_class=323 An Index and Description of Employment Contracts issued to experienced UK Railwaymen who were selected to work for various Indian Railways]Fibis database *"The Indian Railways and a Dynasty of Pearces" by Michael Feilden Pearce, [Anglo Indian[FIBIS Journals|Anglo-Indians''FIBIS Journal]] became closely identified with the running of the railwaysNumber 25 (Spring 2011)'' pages 13-21. "Part 2. By 1905The Viceregal Carriages" ''FIBIS Journal Number 27 (Spring 2012)'', forming less than ½% of Indiapages 30-36**Read more about Michael Pearce's total population, they provided 2% of railway employeessearch in [http://www.dnaindia. Eventually more than 50% com/lifestyle/1836639/report-grandchildren-of all Anglo-Indian families came to be supported the-raj "Grandchildren of the Raj"] by railway emplyoment either directly or as a dependant of a railway employeeYolande D'Mello May 19, 2013 dnaindia.com.
=== Available to FIBIS members only===
*Recorded FIBIS Lectures available to members in FIBIS Social Network
** The Railways of India by Hugh Wilding. 2009 (Presentation notes included)
**Difficult Engineering and Determined Engineers' by Ian Kerr 2014. This describes the context and construction of the Bhor Ghat Railway incline, Western India c.1856 - c.1863.
**The Railways of Burma – Their Development and their Personnel” by Dr. Mike Charney 2015
== Recommended Reading ==
*Hugh Wilding, ''Research sources for Indian Railways, 1845-1947'', FIBIS Fact File No 4 (London: FIBIS, 2009). ISBN 978-0-9547-116-5-8. [This title can be ordered directly from the [http://shop.fibis.org/amazon.htm FIBIS Online Shop].]
*Hyde Clarke, [http://books.google.com/books?id=PGcBAAAAQAAJ&printsec=titlepage&dq=simla&as_brr=1&output=html ''Colonization, Defence, and Railways in our Indian Empire''] (London: John Weale, 1857).
*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, ''Building the Railways of the Raj 1850-1900'' (Delhi; Oxford: OUP, 1995) [out of print; a detailed, academic examination with full bibliography].
*Ian J Kerr, [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1F9QtYSSa0gC&printsec=frontcover ''Engines of Change : the Railroads that made India''] (Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing, 2007) [links to a Google Books preview limited to the first 35 pages].
*Laura Bear, ''Lines of the Nation'' (New York: Columbia, 2007) [essential but uncomfortable reading for Anglo-Indians with railway roots].[http://home.alphalink.com.au/~agilbert/reviewb.html A review] by Robyn Andrews<ref>[http://home.alphalink.com.au/~agilbert/reviewb.html A review] by Robyn Andrews ''The International Journal of Anglo-Indian Studies'' Volume 11, Number 1, 2011.</ref>
== 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).
*Indian Railways, [http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/financecoderailwayboard/ADMIN_FINANCE/AdminFinanceCh1view_section.htm jsp?lang=0&id=0,1 "Evolution of About Indian Railways - Historical Background"] ''Indian Railway Administration and Finance''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.*Juland Danvers, [http://bookswww.googleyoutube.com/booksplaylist?idlist=tp4IAAAAQAAJ ''Report to the Secretary PLC8754A97881FF003 FIBIS List of State for India in Council Railway videos on Railways 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 ''], compilation Essays In History. Annual Journal of three reports, viz to end the Corcoran Department of 1859; History at June 1877; and for 1877the University of Virginia''*[http://www.trains-1878 worldexpresses.com/400/410.htm Imperial Indian Mail <nowiki>[each report is separately numbered</nowiki>and other trains<nowiki>]</nowiki>] trains-worldexpresses. Online at Google Books.com*[http://www.railwaysofrajindiaofthepast.blogspot.com Railways of org/contribute-memories/read-contributions/life-back-then/341-railway-travel-in-the-raj "Railway Travel in the Raj"] A lively site featuring tidbits from railway life by Kenneth Hugh Staynor. indiaofthepast.org. The author travelled by trains in British Indiafrom 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://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gaz_atlas_1909/pager.html?object=29 Railways Sectional Map 1 (Northwest)]
*[http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gaz_atlas_1909/fullscreen.html?object=30 Railways Sectional Map 2 (Northeast)]
*[http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gaz_atlas_1909/fullscreen.html?object=31 Railways Sectional Map 3 (South)]
==References==
<references />
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[[Category:Railways| ]]
