Sone Canal Construction Railway/Tramway
Sone Canal Construction Railway/Tramway
The Sone Canal was an irrigation canal from the Soan River (see Spelling Note) and constructed between 1868 and 1874 in the Rohtas District [1].
The records of the Bengal Presidency Public Works Department record that the following was ordered for the project based on the non-standard 4 ft 0in gauge (see Gauge Note) :- four locomotives, 200 4ft gauge wagons, 60 miles of contractors rail and 30 sets of points and crossings [1].
An 1871 report describes the line as running from the quarries to Baroon on the east side of the river. A 1913 report for the Dehri-Rohtas Light Railway mentions that it crossed a seven mile long 4ft 0in gauge bullock hauled tramway operated by the Public Works Department. It is thought this could be the remnant of the construction railway [1].
Spelling Note - River Sone
The spelling used is as given in the various contemporary reports. However there are variants:-
- “History of the East Indian Railway", Huddlestone, 1906", states ‘River Soane’ [2]
- "Grace’s Guide", quoting a 1856 report, uses the spelling ‘River Soane’ [3]
- "Imperial Gazetteer of India" names the river as The ‘River Son’ as a tributary of the River Ganges [4]. We normally take the Imperial Gazetteer of India as the definitive spelling but, in this instance, it is clear that other contemporary sources are more representative.
- ”Wikipedia” uses the spelling ‘Son River’ with alternative ‘Sone River’ [5].
Gauge Note
The 4ft 0in Gauge specified is most unusual and we have classfied this as a Unique Rail Gauge. The only other example of this gauge is the Nalhati-Azimganj Railway, the original name for the Indian Branch Railway.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 “Industrial Railways and Locomotives of India and South Asia” compliled 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 BR19 page 118-119
- ↑ Archive.org "History of the East Indian Railway ..." by George Huddlestone, page 35, pdf page 57; Retrieved 6 Feb 2017
- ↑ Grace’s Guide “Soane Bridge” ; Retrieved 6 Feb 2017
- ↑ Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 20, p. 54. ; Retrieved 6 Feb 2017
- ↑ Wikipedia “Son River”. ; Retrieved 6 Feb 2017
