Nalhati State Railway
The Nalhati State Railway had its origins as the Nalhati-Azimganj Railway; the original section of the line constructed in 1863 by Indian Branch Railway. The line used a 4ft(1222mm) unique rail gauge and the total length was 17 miles(27km).
Worked by Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway(O&RR), 1863-72.
The Indian Branch Railway Company was purchased by the Government of India(GoI) in 1872 and the line was renamed Nalhati State Railway. [1]
The track was subsequently converted to 5 ft 6 in(1,676 mm) broad gauge(BG).
The line was leased to East Indian Railway (EIR), 1892 and later absorbed into the EIR network becoming the Azimganj Branch Line Railway.
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 [2] gives the following: -
- L/AG/46/16 “Records of the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway Company; 1862-66" which records 'From 1863 to 1872 it also managed the Nalhati Railway which ran between Nalhati and Azimganj in Murshidabad District, Bengal.'
- Mss Eur F192/21 “Correspondence regarding the arrangement of special trains for a hunting party on the East Indian Railway and the Nalhati State Railway and a letter from the Nawab of Murshidabad (13 Nov 1890) regarding the supply of elephants"
References
- ↑ "Bengal District Gazetteer - Mukshidabad" by L S S O’Malley, Indian Civil Service, Calcutta . Pages 150-151; Retrieved 24 Dec 2015
- ↑ “British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue” - Search; Retrieved Jan 2016