Calcutta and South Eastern Railway
| Calcutta and South Eastern Railway | ||
|---|---|---|
| [[Image:|150px| ]] | ||
| Line of route | ||
| Calcutta to Port Canning (Matla) | ||
| Gauge / mileage | ||
| Broad gauge | 29 miles (1859) | |
| Timeline | ||
| 1859 | Formed as Guaranteed company | |
| 1868 | Transferred to State ownership | |
| Key locations | ||
| Presidency | Bengal | |
| Stations | Sealdah, Ballygunge, Dhakuria, Jadabpur, Gariya, Bansra, | |
| System agency | ||
| 1868 | State agency | |
| 1884 | Eastern Bengal Railway | |
| How to interpret this infobox | ||
The Calcutta and South Eastern Railway (CSER) was formed in 1859 for "the construction and working of a line from Calcutta to the Port of the Mutlah* - length, about 29 miles(45 km). Capital 250,000l. Rate of Interest Guaranteed - 5 per cent" [1]. *Note this refers to a Port on the Matla River - later known as Port Canning
The line from Calcutta to Port Canning, constructed in 1862 by the 'Calcutta and South-Eastern Railway', was the first railway track on the east bank of the Hooghly. It ran from what was then Beliaghata station (presently Sealdah South station) to Port Canning on the Matla River [2]
The Diamond Harbour Line Railway link was constructed by the 'Calcutta and South-Eastern Railway' in 1883.
History
In 1868, having suffered extensive losses on their Sealdah-Canning line because of floods and other problems, the directors of the CSER exercised their right to surrender the line to the Government of India in return for the capital costs. The CSER thus became the first railway in state ownership.
In 1868 the company sold the line to the Indian government (management then being leased to the Eastern Bengal Railway), and the company was dissolved in March 1870. [3]
The “1870-71 Annual Report for Indian Railways for the Calcutta and South Eastern Railway “ gives:- ‘Broad Gauge (BG) Line sanctioned and opened , nil opened 1870/71 and nil to be finished’. The Report also details the ‘progress of the railway and the commercial summery’ - see separate pages for Report details.
Records
Refer to FIBIS Fact File #4: “Research sources for Indian Railways, 1845-1947” - available from the Fibis shop. This Fact File contains invaluable advice on 'Researching ancestors in the UK records of Indian Railways' with particular reference to the India Office Records (IOR) held at the British Library
An on-line search of the IOR records relating to this railway [4] gives 35 references. The most important being:-
- L/AG/46/8 “Records of the Calcutta and South Eastern Railway Company; 1856-1875”
- L/AG/46/4/13 “Records of the Bengal Central Railway Company, some earlier records relating to appointments made in the UK to the Calcutta and South Eastern Railway; 1856-1866“; this being partially indexed in:-
- Z/L/AG/46 “Index to UK Appointments to Indian Railways; 1849-1925”
Personnel
Thacker's Directories The following for Calcutta and South Eastern Railway Personnel have been indexed in Grace's Guide -
‘Grace’s Guide 1861’ [5].
- Directors London Office, 25 Old Broad Street
- John Borradaile - Chairman
- John Clark Marshman
- Charles Barber
- James Mitchell
- Henry H. Thomas
- John Alfred Burkinyoung
- C.G.Fagan Lieut.Col - Secretary
- Calcutta No 3 Fairlie Place
- Frederick Schiller - Agent
- H. H. Ashworth - Accountant
- Calcutta No 2 Sealdah
- James Longridge - Consulting Engineer, temporarily in charge of the Works
- P. W. Wall - Resident Engineer Calcutta
- Henry Bolden - Resident Engineer Sonapore
- Edward Garrett - Assistant Engineer
- William Shepperd - Surveyor
- St. Leger Hasted - Inspector Sonopore and Mutlah
- William Mabert - Inspector Sonopore and Mutlah
- H. Mabert - Inspector Sonopore and Mutlah
- William Morrison -Accountant
- R M K Roberts – Asst. Accountant
- George Skakle - Storekeeper
- Beauchamp - Storekeeper’s Clerk
- ‘Grace’s Guide 1872’ [6].
- W. K. Walker - Traffic Superintendent
- R.P. Langley - Inspector of Way
- W. H. Hollis - Engine Foreman
- G Grosser - Engine Driver
- J. Cation - Engine Driver
- Blake, Eviet and Mookerjee – Conductors
Further Information
See Eastern Bengal Railway - Lines owned and worked
References
- ↑ "Money Market and City Intelligence", The Times, Wednesday, 15 June 1859, #23333, 7a.
- ↑ Wikipedia "Sealdah South Lines" Retrieved on 10Oct 2017
- ↑ H.M. Government “Statute Law Repeals: Nineteenth Report : Draft Statute Law (Repeals) Bill; April 2012"; page 121, paragraph 3.26. Retrieved on 10Oct 2017
- ↑ “British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue” - Search; Retrieved 21 Jan 2016
- ↑ Grace’s Guide 1861 - Calcutta and South Eastern Railway’ ; Retrieved 4 Jul 2020
- ↑ Grace’s Guide 1872 - Calcutta and South Eastern Railway’ ; Retrieved 4 Jul 2020