Nalagarh Sandstone Quarry Railways
Nalagarh Sandstone Quarry Railways
The Quarry at Nalagarh, Rupnager Department, Punjab were used as a source on Sandstone for construction on a number of over a number of times:- see individual pages for more information
- Rupar-Nalagarh Provincial State Railway 1873-c.1885
The first recorded use, opened in 1873 as line for construction of Sirhind Canal in Ambala District and initially known as the 'Sirhind Construction Railway'. The broad gauge(BG) line ran between Doraha, via Rupar to Nalagarh, a distance of 54 miles(86km). The ‘Sirhind Canal’ required sandstone obtained from a quarry near Nalagarh, and the mortar was manufactured of bricks from the ruins of Sirhind and lime from Kankar quarries at Patarheri, a village a few miles from Rupar. The railway line was constructed to carry material from the Nalagarh Quarries to carry material. On completion of the canal the line was made over to the Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi Railway(SP&DR) but evidence in the Gazetteers for the region suggest the line was taken up by 1884 [1] [2].
In 1915-16 the Nalagarh Quarry was used again to provide materials to the ‘Sutlej River Training Works’ at Rupar from Dec 1915 to May 1916. A 2ft/610mm narrow gauge(NG) was laid from the headworks, along the riverbank 14 miles(22km) to the Nalagarh Quarries. The record shows that 30hp locomotives with trucks were used [3].
- Sutlej Valley Project Railways 1921-33
The ‘Sutlej Valley Project’ was a massive undertaken by the Government of India between 1921 and 1933. It required the construction of a dam to the River Indus with its associated headworks and a network of canals.
In an address to the Punjab Engineering Congress in 1923 it seems that the Nalagarh Quarry had been abandoned after each of the two previous uses. The next recorded use was to provide sandstone for the vast ‘Sutlej Valley Project’.
A new broad gauge(BG) line had to be built from Doraha to the quarries at Nalagarh. The record shows that the quarry was using both the BG and a narrow gauge(NG) (probably 2ft/610mm) for conveying stone within the quarry[2]“
References
- ↑ "Ambala District Gazetteer, 1923-24"; page 9(pdf page 16); Retrieved 13 Dec 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 “Industrial Railways and Locomotives of India and South Asia” compiled 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 PB12 page ....
- ↑ “Industrial Railways and Locomotives of India and South Asia” compiled 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 PB13 page ....