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The '''Indian Branch Railway Company ''' (IBR) was formed on 21 Dec 1863 in 1862 <ref name=martin>[httphttps://www.oldmartiniansassociationgracesguide.co.uk/documents/OudhandRohilkandRly.pdf Old Martinian Association “Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway”"Indian_Branch_Railway Grace’s Guide ‘Indian Branch Railway’ ]; Retrieved 2 Sept 201623 Jun 2018</ref> to construct short branches and feeder lines in northern India, with a 20-year subsidy from the Government of India([[Government of India |GoI]]) but no guarantee <ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Branch_Railway_Company Wikipedia “Indian Branch Railway Company”]; Retrieved 5 Mar 2017</ref>.

Around 1872 the Indian ‘Indian Branch RailwayRailway’/Awadh ‘Awadh and Rohilkhand Railway Railway’ was absorbed into the '''[[Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway]]'''(O&RR).

== History Nalhati-Azimganj Railway==*The ‘[[ Nalhati-Azimganj Railway]]’, opened in 1863 as a 4ft(1222mm) [[Rail_gauge_#4 foot Gauge|unique rail gauge]], constructed and worked by the [[Indian ‘Indian Branch Railway]]Company’. The line was taken over by the Government in 1872, and by named as the [[Nalhati State Railway]]; converted to Broad Gauge([[Rail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|BG ]]) in 1892 and becoming the ‘Azimganj Branch Line’ of the [[First Chord EIR Line]] ; 27 miles(43km) <ref>[https://archive.org/stream/BombayBarodaAndCentralIndiaRailwaySystem/Bombay_Baroda_And_Central_India_Railway_System#page/n61/mode/1up “Administration Report on Railways 1918” pages 53-56 (pdf 62-65]; Retrieved 5 Mar 2017</ref>- [[Nalhati State Railway|''See separate page for further information'']]

The ==Cawnpore-Lucknow-Fyzabad Railway project had began ==The line from [[Cawnpore]] via [[Lucknow]] to [[Fyzabad]] was surveyed in 1862 by the IBR and an engineer examined the proposed line from [[Cawnpore]] to Fyzabad route <ref name=Mukher>[https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Pictorial_Lucknow.html?id=7RCe2E5ch80C&redir_esc=y Google Books “The Pictorial Lucknow” by P. C. Mukherji, pages 81-82. First published Lucknow 1883, reprinted by AES New Delhi 2003]; Retrieved 2 Sept 2016</ref>. Construction of the Metre Gauge([[Rail_gauge_#Metre_Gauge|MG]])) line progressed very slowly; and the, 42 miles (67km) long, was opened on 23 Apr 1867. This became the ‘Cawnpore Branch’ of the [[Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway]](O&RR), this . The gauge of the original line is not known but was later converted to Broad Gauge([[Rail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|BG]]) as specification and became part of the O&RR network <ref name=Admin>[https://archive.org/stream/BombayBarodaAndCentralIndiaRailwaySystem/Bombay_Baroda_And_Central_India_Railway_System#page/n139/mode/1up “Administration Report on Railways 1918” page 132, pdf page 139]; Retrieved 2 Sept 2016</ref>.

==Later History==In 1866, Without without a guaranteed return from the Government of India([[Government of India |GoI]]), the IBR found it impossible to continue and in 1867, secured a new contract from the [[Government of India |GoI]] on terms similar to those on offer in the 1850s i.e. a guaranteed return on capital employed.  The contract between the Secretary of State and the IBR Company in August 1867 specified ‘for the construction and working of a light system of 36lbs rails at slow speed – 15 miles per hour, in North West Provinces and Oudh. The original lines proposed were from Lucknow to Byramghat, via Dilserai, and from Dilserai via Shahgunj and Jounpore to Benares, with a branch from Shahgunj to Fyzabad’ <ref name=Mukher/>.

The Benares-Shahganj-Bilwal-Malipur-Akbarpur-Fyzabad-Bara Banki- Lucknow, a length of 199 miles(319km), was opened from 1872 and completed 1874 and became the ‘Benares-Lucknow Loop’ of the [[Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway]](O&RR) <ref name=Admin/>. ''This clearly was originally under construction by IBR when absorbed into O&RR.'' It is not clear if possible that this line was first constructed as a Metre Gauge([[Rail_gauge_#Metre_Gauge|MG]])) but certainly later was operated by O&RR as part of its Broad Gauge([[Rail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|BG]]) network.

*'''L/F/8/11/875''' “Indian Branch Railway Company Limited, Duplicate contract ; 1867”

'''Thacker's Directories'''*Directors. The following London based Directors for Indian the ‘Indian Branch Railways Personnel have been Railway Company’ are indexed in Grace's Guide - *from the 1867 Thacker’s Directory <ref name=Grace>[httphttps://www.gracesguide.co.uk/1867_Thackers:_Indian_Branch_Railway 'Graces Guide' - "Thacker’s Directory, 1867 Thackers – Indian Branch Railways PersonnelRailway Company"]; Retrieved 5 Mar 2017</ref>. *Agent and Engineer-in-Chief, Cawnpore - James E Wilson <ref name=Grace/>

See '''[[Nalhati State Railway]]''' and '''[[Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway]]'''from 1872