B&NWR Railway Workshops
Bengal and North-Western Railway Worshops( B&NWR)
Sonpur Workshop
In May 1883 temporary workshops were constructed at Sonepur (Sonpur) to serve the assembly of rolling stock and plant imported from Britain through Calcutta.
Three buildings were erected, comprising a machine shop, a smith’s shop and foundry, and a carriage shop 204 ft (62 mtr) long. Expansion occurred in 1886.
By November 1890 the Workshops were in full commission [1].
The Carriage and Wagon Workshops were transferred from ‘Sonepur’ to ‘Gorakhpur’ in 1903 see below
In 1908 the ‘Sonpur Workshops’ employed 1000 hands [2].
Note change of spelling to Sonpur
Gorakhpur Workshop
The B&NWR workshop at Gorakhpur was established in 1903 for repair and overhauling of metre gauge(MG) steam locomotives, coaches and wagons [3].
The ‘Railway Gazette’ in November 1913 reported [4]:-
The carriage and wagon shops transferred here from Sonepore in 1907.These shops, which comprise, the saw mill, carriage building shop, carriage repairs shop, wagon building and repair shops and paint shop, are contained in a block covering a, ground space of 125,000 sq. ft and divided into 10 bays:-
- Saw Mill , equipped with the latest in wood-working machinery, and is operated by steam and electric power.
- Paint Shop consists of two bays, and is well designed for the work, being well-lighted and protected from dust. A 50-ft. electric traverser runs the whole length of this block.
- Carriage and Wagon and Locomotive shops, consists of the fitting, machine, blacksmith, coppersmith and moulding shops. These are contained in a block with a floor area of 162,500 sq. ft.
- Blacksmith Shop and Foundry occupy the half of this block and are divided from the machine shop by a screen wall.The blacksmith's shop equipment includes a battery of Brett's drop stamps. There is a 10-ton electric crane in the centre bay of this shop, and accommodation for 200 fires.
- Machine Shop, equipped with the most modern tools, specially designed for the class of work to be dealt with. The heavy machine bay is served with a 10 -ton electric crane. Steam, electric and hydraulic power is used.
- Locomotive and Tender Erecting and Boiler Shops. Those shops are still under construction (1913) . The building is 650 ft. in length and 100 ft. wide, and divided longitudinally in two bays of 50 ft., one-half being the erecting shop and the other the boiler and tender shop.The erecting shop is served by two 20-ton electric cranes and contains three lines of rails with 2-ft. pits running the full length. The boiler shop is suitably equipped with the latest practice tools, and is served by two 20-ton and one 10-ton overhead electric cranes. The whole of the shops will be electrically lighted
Samastipur Workshop
Samastipur was another workshops and stores. It was a major junction on the B&NWR [5].
See Also
References
- ↑ Google Books ‘The Making of India, The Untold Story of British Enterprise’ by Kartar Lalvani pages 343-345; Retrieved 14 Apr 2020
- ↑ Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 23, p. 86. ‘Sonpur Village’; Retrieved 14 Apr 2020
- ↑ ‘About Gorakpur Mechanical Workshop’ pdf version ; Retrieved 14 Apr 2020
- ↑ Railway Gazette, November 1913
- ↑ The Imperial Gazetteer of India Vol 22 page 2; Retrieved 28 Feb 2020
