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Title 'Red Hills' adopted as this is more widely used; other minor text corrections
The '''Red Hill Hills Railway (Railroad)''' was constructed in 1836 and opened 1837 for the conveying of Ironstone to be used as road-building material within the city of [[ Madras]].
The Red Hills outcrop some 13.5 miles (22Km) north-west of Fort George was the source of this material, which was carried by this Railway (also described as a Railroad) and linked to a canal which became named ‘Captain Cotton’s Canal’. This canal gave connection to the existing ‘Cochrane’s Canal ‘ (later renamed the ‘Buckingham Canal’) that had been constructed in 1806 <ref>[http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V09_038.gif “Imperial Gazetteer of India”, v. 9, p. 32.]; Retrieved 23 Dec 2016</ref>.
The '''Red Hill Hills Railway (Railroad)''' was therefore the first railway in India.
==History==
Despite a few troubles, the line became operational in 1837 with over 1,250 tons (10,000 paras) of ironstone being transported in the first three months Mar-May <ref>British Library IOR/F/4/1867/79385 “Further proceedings regarding the Red Hills-Madras Railroad and Canal”, Vol 1 p 278</ref>
With the experimental track in place and work nearing completion [[Arthur Thomas Cotton|Captain Cotton]] went south with Captain J Smith to Cooloron River, Annicut where a steam hammer, driven by an Avery Steam Engine, was being used to break stone. Then to the [[Port Novo Iron Works and early Locomotive Experiments| Port Novo Iron Works]]. In both places, he experimented with the steam engines and tried modifications to get more power out of them. At the quarry a model of Avery’s Steam engine was being built so it was ready for his return in early June 1837, the first engine built at the Red Hills was supposed to run on track to and from Veysarpadi but the power was not sufficient. The engine was modified and in 12 September1837 with a boiler pressure of 50psi achieved a speed of 4.5 mph pulling effectively 3.5 tons <ref>[https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Reports_correspondence_and_original_pape.html?id=sOILAQAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y Madras Presidency “Reports, correspondence and original papers on various professional subjects connected with the duties of the Corps of Engineers”,, arranged by Capt. J. T. Smith. (Vol. 4 by Major J. H. Bell.) Madras 1859 P 95 reproduced by Google Books.]; Retrieved 23 Dec 2016</ref>
Further improvements were thought achievable but were stopped by the Government, most of the development cost had been provided by private finance <ref> British Library IOR/F/4/1867/79385 “Further proceedings regarding the Red Hills-Madras Railroad and Canal”, Vol 1 p 197 </ref >.
A proposal was made by [[Arthur Thomas Cotton|Captain Cotton]] to utilise the railway for passenger traffic. This proposal was turned down <ref>British Library IOR/ Z/E/4/45/C1048; “Cotton, Capt. Arthur Thomas, Scheme for passenger traffic on Red Hill railroad referred to”; 1838-1842 </ref >.
By 1841 the final dispatch arrived stating the too much had been spent and that due to problems and the low costs of cart transit and an investigation as to why the cart road was unusable. It was found that a few “gentlemen” as stated were the cause of the problem. The rails were lifted and returned to the stores. No traffic ran on the railway after the end of 1841, <ref>British Library IOR/E/4/959 “Reply to letter dated 26th March 1842 7th June 1842 and 16th”</ref>
Both the 'Red Hill Hills Railway (Railroad) ' and the ‘Captain Cotton’s Canal’ are clearly seen on the 1854 map despite the fact that the railway had been abandoned before this date.
==Further Information==
