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==History==
The '''Scinde Railway Company''' was first established by deed of settlement in March 1855 and incorporated by the ‘Scinde Railway Act’ of Parliament in July 1855 after which a contract was entered with the [[East India Company]] in December 1855. They signed to build a railway from [[Karachi]] to [[Hyderabad]], called the '''Scinde Railway''' <ref> British Library IOR/L/F/8/10 (853) ‘Contract to build a railway from Kararchee to Hyderabad’, 1855 </ref>. The company contracted with the Government of India ([[Government of India |GoI]]) to construct the initial section from [[Karachi]] to [[Kotri]]. The company was granted a 5% return on investment up to a maximum of £1 million in order to build the ‘120 mile’ line <ref name=name> [https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/228649/8330.pdf H.M. Government “Statute Law Repeals: Nineteenth Report : Draft Statute Law (Repeals) Bill; April 2012"; pages 134-135, paragraphs 3.78-3.83] Retrieved on 2 January 2016</ref>.
The company was involved in a number of additional railway line projects, as well as the establishment of the [[Indus Flotilla]] Company on the river Indus. The ‘Scinde Railway Act' of 1857 <ref name=name/> granted it the opportunity to extend its operations.
This was followed by the request The Company had been invited to tender in 1855 by the ‘Scinde Railway Company’ to build the '''[[Punjaub RailwayGovernment of India]] ''' to build a railway from [[LahoreKarachi|Kararchee(Karachi)]] to [[AmritsarHyderabad]] <ref name=Gaz344/>. At this time communication in the area had been mainly through the Indus River, to be called the first Steam Boat was the “Indus” and then the “Planet” and “Satellite” were added when the ‘Scinde Railway Company’ agreed to operate '''[[Indus Flotilla]]Scinde Railway''' <ref> British Library IOR/L/F/8/10 (853) ‘Contract to build a railway from Kararchee to Hyderabad’, 1855 </ref>, this being a distance of about 120 miles(192km). They operated between The company contracted with the Government of India ([[KarachiGovernment of India |GoI]] , ) to construct the initial section from [[MultanKarachi]] and to [[Hyderabad Kotri]] . The company was granted a 5% return on investment up to a maximum of £1 million in 1870 lasting until order to build the railway was completed. ‘120 mile’ line <refname=name> Sind Gazette British Library Compiled by E [https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/228649/8330.pdf H Atkin Bombay Salt Department. M. Government “Statute Law Repeals: Nineteenth Report : Draft Statute Law (Repeals) Bill; April 2012"; Printed for Government at the Steam Press Karachi 1907 Page 354pages 134-135, paragraphs 3.78-3.83] Retrieved on 2 January 2016</ref>.
On 23 June 1863, [[File:Scinde Railway Company - Lines.png|thumb|File:Scinde Railway Company - Lines]]The ‘Scinde 'Scinde Railway Company’ raised £2.5 million pounds to build ' was one part of a railway from communication link developed by the '[[AmristarScinde Railway Company]] ' constructed primarily to reduce the journey time on the final stage of long haul from Britain to [[Delhi]] to be called the '''Delhi Railway'''and [[Calcutta]]. The railway was line from [[Karachi]] to start at or near the terminal at [[AmritsarKotri]] could move cargo and passengers to [[Kotri]] instead of [[Karachi]], saving approx 250km of circuitous journey through Indus River delta. At [[Kotri]] the line linked to or near the [[DelhiIndus Flotilla|’Indus Flotilla’]] Company steamers, also owned by the [[Scinde Railway Company]] which operated upstream to carry goods as fast as practicable. [[Multan]] <refname=Mughal> British Library IOR[http://Lpakistaniat.com/F2009/809/1017/845 (855) “Contract karachi-to build a railway” 1863 -kotri-the-story-of-first-railways-in-pakistan/ All Things Pakistan “Karachi to Kotri - The first railways in Pakistan” by Owais Mughal, Posted on September 17, 2009]; Retrieved on 23 Feb 2018</ref>. From [[Multan]] the ‘[[Punjaub Railway ]]’ ran to [[Amritsar]] where it became the ‘[[Delhi Railway]]’, both owned by the [[Scinde Railway Company]], connected to the [[East Indian Railway]] at [[Ghaziabad]](just east of [[Delhi]]), thus providing a connection between [[Karachi]] and [[Delhi]] and onward to [[Calcutta]].
In 1870, ==Construction== The work commenced in April 1858 to construct the Scinde Railway Company was amalgamated with the broad gauge([[Punjab RailwayRail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|BG]] ) single track railway <ref name=Gaz344> Sind Gazette British Library Compiled by E H Atkin Bombay Salt Department. Printed for government at the Steam Press Karachi 1907 Page 344</ref> and on 13 May 1861 succeeded in connecting the port town of [[Delhi RailwayKarachi]] Companies and renamed as the '''to [[Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi Railway|Scinde, Punjaub and Delhi RailwayKotri]]''' Company. This was covered by on the Indus River, the ‘Scinde Railway Company's Amalgamation Act‘ of 1869first railway line for public traffic between these towns<ref name=name> [http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Scinde_Railway Grace’s Guide “Scinde Railway”] Retrieved on 2 January 2016</ref>. ''See Footnote''
In 1886, The challenges faced during the contracts expired and responsibility for construction were considerable as described in the railway was transferred entirely article “Karachi to the Government of India([[Government of India |GoIKotri - The first railways in Pakistan” by Owais Mughal <ref name=Mughal/]]). The GoI merged , which shows maps and describes many of the [[Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi Railway]] with other smaller state-owned railways to create problems encountered by the Chief Engineer [[North Western RailwayJohn Brunton]].
''Footnote''*''‘Bahrun River Railway Viaduct’ The spelling route involved construction a large stone viaduct, the heaviest piece of masonry upon the line with a length of Scinde1, Punjaub & Delhi Railway is variable. Scinde 728 feet(527 metres), work commenced 1859 and Punjaub are the spellings adopted completed in the legislation - see "Government Statute Law Repeals 2012" pages 134-135, paragraphs 3Jan 1861.78-In addition there were 19 bridges of 48 arches each of 20ft spans; 1 bridge of 3arches each of 30ft spans; 2 bridges of 10 arches of 40ft spans and 2 bridges of 4 arches of 45ft spans.83'' <ref name=name/>
== Further Information ==See and '''[[Karachi-Kotri (Indus River) Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi Railway]]''' for period up to 1861.following amalgamation in 1870 until 1886
Info moved from '[Karachi-Kotri (Indus River) Railway' with redirect; Map added; text revisions with references
'''Scinde Railway''' also known as the '''Karachi-Kotri (Indus River) Railway'''<br>– this was the first railway of the railways of the [[Scinde Railway Company|'''Scinde Railway Company''' - ''see separate page for further information on the formation and development of the Company'']]
''Note''
*''Not to be confused with the ‘Sind Light Railway’ which is a separate narrow gauge railway.''
==Background==The '''[[Karachi-Kotri (Indus River) Scinde RailwayCompany]]''' work commenced was first established by deed of settlement in April 1858 to construct the broad gauge([[Rail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|BG]]) single track railway <ref name=Gaz344> Sind Gazette British Library Compiled March 1855 and incorporated by E H Atkin Bombay Salt Department. Printed for government at the Steam Press Karachi 1907 Page 344</ref>and on 13 May 1861 succeeded ‘Scinde Railway Act’ of Parliament in connecting Karachi to Kotri. This July 1855 after which a contract was entered with the first railway line for public traffic between [[Karachi|Karachi CityEast India Company]] and [[Kotri]], a distance of 108 miles (174 km)<ref> [http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Scinde_Railway Grace’s Guide “Scinde Railway”] Retrieved on 2 January 2016</ref>in December 1855.
‘Mulleer Railway Viaduct’ this was the longest of 6 viaducts using 80 feet clear span Iron Girders – this longest the being 21 spans <ref>[https://books.google.fr/books?id=1WsEAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false Google Books ‘The Line and Works of the Scinde Railway’ by [[John Brunton]], Institution of Civil Engineers, 1862-63 Page 23 ]; Retrieved 19 Feb 2018</ref>
==Records==
==Personnel==
*[[John Brunton]]; 1857, Appointed Chief Resident Engineer of Scinde Railway (Sind Railway) <ref name=Hughes>[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=C-pzUWrCU5sC&pg=PA126&lpg=PA126&dq=description+of+the+line+and+works+of+the+Scinde+Railway&source=bl&ots=DTW2uSH2hD&sig=_JCaeiJ6FfK1irALjNQRIr_RF-8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiypcPWoKfNAhUFIMAKHbSaBOYQ6AEIJDAC#v=onepage&q=description%20of%20the%20line%20and%20works%20of%20the%20Scinde%20Railway&f=false Google Books "The Archaeology of an Early Railway System: The Brecon Forest Tramroads" by Stephen Hughes, page 126]; Retrieved 14 Jun 2016</ref>; 1858-62, 'Supervised the construction of the 108 miles(174km) of the Scinde Railway between [[Karachi]] and [[Kotri]] until its completion in 1862. His detailed "Description of the line and works of the Scinde Railway" <ref>[http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/imotp.1863.23344?src=recsys Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Volume 22, January 1863, pages 451-"Description of the line and works of the Scinde Railway" by John Brunton]; Retrieved 14 Jun 2016</ref> itemise the problems of building in the tropics.'
*[[William Arthur Brunton]], the son of the above; 1857 at age 17, Assistant Engineer; then Area Surveyor on the Scinde Railway (Sind Railway) and the [[Indus Valley State Railway|Indus Valley Railway]]; 1859-1961, responsible for the erection of the thirty-two 45 foot (13.7M) spans of the 'Bahrun Valley Viaduct ' <ref name=Hughes/>. This is the longest bridge on the [[Karachi]]-Kotri (Indus River) Railway|Karachi-[[Kotri]] section and is a viaduct across the Bahrun River. Construction on this bridge was started on 5 March 1859 and completed on 26 January 1861 <ref>[http://pakistaniat.com/2009/09/17/karachi-to-kotri-the-story-of-first-railways-in-pakistan/ "Karachi to Kotri: The First Railways in Pakistan" by Owais name=Mughal, 2009]; Retrieved 14 Jun 2016</ref>.
*[[Willoughby Charles Furnivall]] District Engineer in charge of construction under [[John Brunton]] c.1860-7 <ref name=biog>[http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/bdoceigbai.58347.222 Institution of Civil Engineers "Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland - Furnivall, Willoughby Charles"]; Retrieved on 21 Jul 2016</ref>.
Other staff of the Scinde Railway involved during the construction are acknowledged:-
*J E Hartley; c.1859-c.1861, ‘Scinde Railway’ Resident Engineer supervising the 'Mulleer Railway Viaduct' construction <ref>[https://books.google.fr/books?id=1WsEAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false Google Books ‘The Line and Works of the Scinde Railway’ by [[John Brunton]], Institution of Civil Engineers, 1862-63 Page 23 ]; Retrieved 19 Feb 2018</ref>
*W T Warren <ref name=Bruntonp25>[https://books.google.fr/books?id=1WsEAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false Google Books ‘The Line and Works of the Scinde Railway’ by [[John Brunton]], Institution of Civil Engineers, 1862-63 Page 25 ]; Retrieved 19 Feb 2018</ref>
*Mr Thomas Warren <ref name=Bruntonp25/>
*Mr J Pinder <ref name=Bruntonp25/>
==Historical books online==
*Brunton, John, "Description of the Line and Works of the Scinde Railway". 1863. Available in [http://books.google.com/books?id=1WsEAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1 Full View Google Books] or [http://www.panhwar.com/rarebooks/Description%20of%20the%20Line%20and%20%20Works%20of%20the%20Scinde%20Railway.pdf pdf] from Panhwar.com
==External linksFurther Information ==*See '''[http://web.archive.org/web/20130122163146/http://pakistaniat.com/2009/09/17/karachi-to-kotri-the-story-of-first-railways-in-pakistan/ "Karachi to Kotri: The First Railways in Pakistan"[Scinde Railway Company]]. 17/09/2009. ''', All things Pakistan'''[[Indus Flotilla]]''', now an archived website*'''[[Punjaub Railway ]]''' and '''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_Pakistan "History of Rail Transport in Pakistan"Delhi Railway]] wikipedia '''
and '''[[Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi North Western Railway]]''' following amalgamation in 1885.from 1886 when the line became part of the ‘NWR Mainline’
== References ==
