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(By courtesy of Indian Railways magazine)
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December 27, 2009
A RAILWAY TALE FROM THE RAJ
Here's a short story which first appeared in Indian Railways magazine, telling about an ambitious and compassionate lady, wife of a top railway official during British times, who decided to serve the poor and needy here in India. Daphne Grantham has lived in India for twenty long years and finally decides life is worth living only if she can offer lessons to the poor children in her neighbourhood. Things take a turn for the worse when her husband Ronald succumbs to illness and passes away, leaving Daphne lonely and heartbroken in a far away, foreign land. To find what happens next, click, in turn, on the two images you see below.
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(By courtesy of Indian Railways magazine)
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(By courtesy of Indian Railways magazine)
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December 22, 2009
NEWSPAPER CUTTINGS . . . .
Here's an interesting collection of newspaper reports telling what the British press had to say about the Railways of India during the early days.
http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/irs/irshome/features/readings/archive/india.htm#EX09
December 12, 2009
A TREAT FOR RAIL HERITAGE FANS
If you are longing to explore the railway heritage of India in pictures, you can't afford to miss the IRFCA heritage gallery. It's Sunday today, so take a break, and click on the URL below for a trip into the wonderland of Raj railways !
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http://www.irfca.org/gallery/Heritage/
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http://www.irfca.org/gallery/Heritage/
December 11, 2009
A SPICY BIT OF RAIL HISTORY
Here's an interesting write up that appeared in The Telegraph dated 27 September 2009:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090927/jsp/opinion/story_11545091.jsp
December 10, 2009
OSCAR BROWNING'S MEMOIRS
Oscar Browning wrote his "Impressions of Indian Travel" in 1903: the book was published by Hodder and Stoughton, London, and provided rare glimpses of India's colonial past. We are fortunate, for Browning took the trouble to devote an entire chapter to rail travel, choosing for his model, a journey from Bombay to Calcutta by the Mail via Jubbulpore. Here's an extract:
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WE REACHED BOMBAY AT SUNSET and whilst making the long round which the entrance to the harbour necessitates, had opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the scene. Bombay is, as its name seems to imply, one of the great bays of the world. It is compared to the bay of Naples, but there is no fuschia, no Capri, and no Vesuvius. We lay in the roads all night, and spent four hours next morning before we were moored by the side of the quay. I can say little about Bombay, as I left it the same evening, but I hope to see more of it on my return. I can report that the offices of Messrs. Cook are very large and airy, and that the clerks are extremely courteous; but why they should, without question, send you to Calcutta round by Jubbulpore, when the route by Nagpore is many hours shorter and ten rupees cheaper, is as yet to me an unsolved mystery. I can also say that the town of Bombay is redolent of Italy, and that the view from the balcony of Watson's Hotel into the square below is delightfully suggestive of that country, except that the trees, the birds, and the inhabitants are all different. I can certify that Government House is a fairy edifice, with a lovely garden, and an exquisite view of the bay from the drawing-room windows.
.
Even a few hours cannot be spent at Bombay without a visit to the Towers of Silence, the grim burying-place of Parsees, where the tombs are living animals, and the vultures sit on the infected palm-trees, waiting patiently for their victims; or to the native town, where every step is a picture of character and colour, and where the mind is taken back through Pompeii to ancient Greece, and to the Arabian Nights.
.
It is forty-six hours' journey from Bombay to Calcutta, and these have to be spent in an Indian train, which for the benefit of destined travellers I may as well describe. The first-class carriages are roomy and lofty, the floor-space being, to speak accurately, twelve feet by ten. Each compartment contains four berths, and, as you are informed by an inscription, six seats, but you generally can have one to yourself, as I did. A convenient washing-room is attached, in which, if you like you can go to the length of having a bath. The native servant whom you have hired at Bombay purchases your bedding, for the journey a mattress composed of two soft coverlets, sheets, blankets, and a pillow. A very little reflection will show you how much better it is that you should buy these conveniences new, than that you should use those which have already served for others.
.
The carriages are not sufficiently well lighted to allow you to read with comfort, and, if they were, the jolting would render it impossible, as the track is not a model of perfection, and the dust is very trying. The best thing you can do is to sleep all night and to doze all day, gazing out from time to time at the strange sights which present themselves, as you move. You will then discover that a jungle is not a tangled forest, but any odd piece of waste ground; that tigers may abound in districts which seem little calculated to give them shelter; that natives always walk in single file, and that they are continually washing themselves, even in the dirtiest water.
.
The refreshment arrangements are admirable. Soda water is offered to you just as you are conceiving the wish for it; tea comes to you punctually at 6 a.m., and as often as you may desire it during the rest of the day. No sooner have you passed your hand over your stubbly beard than a barber appears to shave you in the carriage. You get a ‘little breakfast’ of eggs and bacon, with bananas and oranges, at eight, a delightful tiffin in the heat of noon, and a good dinner at sunset.
.
Indeed, your wishes are no sooner conceived than they are satisfied as if by magic, ‘without rest and without haste,’ as the German poet sings. In this manner day succeeds night and night day, till you reach your destination, dizzy, but unfatigued. During the journey you have been rarely excited, but never dull. Perhaps the passage of the Jumna at Allahabad would have been the nearest approach to the first sensation, if it had not taken place at one o'clock in the morning; you also infer that Jubbulpore is a fine city, although you may never have heard of it before. Benares you do not behold, as you are fast asleep in the darkness.
.
You have fellow-travellers who travel with you for a space: an active engineer from the Deccan, with a clear-cut face, anxious to know whether his chance companion is a relation of Robert Browning; a vigorous overseer from the coalfields dealing every day successfully with strange emergencies; a brawny Scotchman, strong as a giant and simple as a child, rushing off for his one-day holiday to the Calcutta races; he has made a pot on the Viceroy's Cup, and is now about to try his luck in the Metropolitan. The British in India work hard, and their relaxation is sport.
.
But the third evening has arrived, the day has hurried into night. My bearer has packed up my bed and bedding, the brawny Scotchman has collected his belongings, and has said ‘good-bye’ to the spruce Baboo advocate in the next compartment, who is making a huge income by the litigious disposition of his countrymen. It is obvious that we are passing through suburbs; the train stops, and here is my oldest Eton pupil to welcome me on the platform, and the scarlet liveries of the Viceroy are gleaming among the dusky crowd.
.
WE REACHED BOMBAY AT SUNSET and whilst making the long round which the entrance to the harbour necessitates, had opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the scene. Bombay is, as its name seems to imply, one of the great bays of the world. It is compared to the bay of Naples, but there is no fuschia, no Capri, and no Vesuvius. We lay in the roads all night, and spent four hours next morning before we were moored by the side of the quay. I can say little about Bombay, as I left it the same evening, but I hope to see more of it on my return. I can report that the offices of Messrs. Cook are very large and airy, and that the clerks are extremely courteous; but why they should, without question, send you to Calcutta round by Jubbulpore, when the route by Nagpore is many hours shorter and ten rupees cheaper, is as yet to me an unsolved mystery. I can also say that the town of Bombay is redolent of Italy, and that the view from the balcony of Watson's Hotel into the square below is delightfully suggestive of that country, except that the trees, the birds, and the inhabitants are all different. I can certify that Government House is a fairy edifice, with a lovely garden, and an exquisite view of the bay from the drawing-room windows.
.
Even a few hours cannot be spent at Bombay without a visit to the Towers of Silence, the grim burying-place of Parsees, where the tombs are living animals, and the vultures sit on the infected palm-trees, waiting patiently for their victims; or to the native town, where every step is a picture of character and colour, and where the mind is taken back through Pompeii to ancient Greece, and to the Arabian Nights.
.
It is forty-six hours' journey from Bombay to Calcutta, and these have to be spent in an Indian train, which for the benefit of destined travellers I may as well describe. The first-class carriages are roomy and lofty, the floor-space being, to speak accurately, twelve feet by ten. Each compartment contains four berths, and, as you are informed by an inscription, six seats, but you generally can have one to yourself, as I did. A convenient washing-room is attached, in which, if you like you can go to the length of having a bath. The native servant whom you have hired at Bombay purchases your bedding, for the journey a mattress composed of two soft coverlets, sheets, blankets, and a pillow. A very little reflection will show you how much better it is that you should buy these conveniences new, than that you should use those which have already served for others.
.
The carriages are not sufficiently well lighted to allow you to read with comfort, and, if they were, the jolting would render it impossible, as the track is not a model of perfection, and the dust is very trying. The best thing you can do is to sleep all night and to doze all day, gazing out from time to time at the strange sights which present themselves, as you move. You will then discover that a jungle is not a tangled forest, but any odd piece of waste ground; that tigers may abound in districts which seem little calculated to give them shelter; that natives always walk in single file, and that they are continually washing themselves, even in the dirtiest water.
.
The refreshment arrangements are admirable. Soda water is offered to you just as you are conceiving the wish for it; tea comes to you punctually at 6 a.m., and as often as you may desire it during the rest of the day. No sooner have you passed your hand over your stubbly beard than a barber appears to shave you in the carriage. You get a ‘little breakfast’ of eggs and bacon, with bananas and oranges, at eight, a delightful tiffin in the heat of noon, and a good dinner at sunset.
.
Indeed, your wishes are no sooner conceived than they are satisfied as if by magic, ‘without rest and without haste,’ as the German poet sings. In this manner day succeeds night and night day, till you reach your destination, dizzy, but unfatigued. During the journey you have been rarely excited, but never dull. Perhaps the passage of the Jumna at Allahabad would have been the nearest approach to the first sensation, if it had not taken place at one o'clock in the morning; you also infer that Jubbulpore is a fine city, although you may never have heard of it before. Benares you do not behold, as you are fast asleep in the darkness.
.
You have fellow-travellers who travel with you for a space: an active engineer from the Deccan, with a clear-cut face, anxious to know whether his chance companion is a relation of Robert Browning; a vigorous overseer from the coalfields dealing every day successfully with strange emergencies; a brawny Scotchman, strong as a giant and simple as a child, rushing off for his one-day holiday to the Calcutta races; he has made a pot on the Viceroy's Cup, and is now about to try his luck in the Metropolitan. The British in India work hard, and their relaxation is sport.
.
But the third evening has arrived, the day has hurried into night. My bearer has packed up my bed and bedding, the brawny Scotchman has collected his belongings, and has said ‘good-bye’ to the spruce Baboo advocate in the next compartment, who is making a huge income by the litigious disposition of his countrymen. It is obvious that we are passing through suburbs; the train stops, and here is my oldest Eton pupil to welcome me on the platform, and the scarlet liveries of the Viceroy are gleaming among the dusky crowd.
December 6, 2009
THE GRAND CHORD RAILWAY
The day is the 6th of December 1906. The place is an unknown town called Gujhandi close to Hazaribagh with a newly laid rail track alongside, winding its way through the hills. The Viceroy, Lord Minto has just finished securing a fishbolt on the track using a silver spanner, and amidst cheers and applause, the company of distinguished guests turn back to the shamiana. The band has struck up a lively tune, and the company seems jubilant and expectant . . . there is a feeling of triumph in the air. Finally the trumpets subside, there is an uneasy calm; Lord Minto rises, while Mr. James Douglas, Agent of the East Indian Railway and Lady Minto and a host of dignitaries look on with pride. The Viceroy clears his throat and begins:
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“Mr. Douglas, Ladies and Gentlemen – In the first place I must thank you Mr. Douglas for the kind words you have addressed to Lady Minto and myself in proposing the toast of our health. It has been a great pleasure to both of us to be here today, and I feel myself particularly fortunate in having had the opportunity of clinching the last bolt in the Grand Chord railway.
.
“Mr Douglas has told us this evening, how the line has been contructed in separate sections, each of them calling for the exercise of the highest engineering skill. The Sone Bridge between Moghal Sarai and Gya, built by my friend Mr Palmer, is one of the great bridges of the world, whilst the distinguished abilities of Mr Highet and the careful construction of Mr Cockshott have triumphed over the difficulties of the Vindhya Range, and have completed the beautiful hill section over which we passed this afternoon . . . . ”
.
These are the first few words of Lord Minto’s speech made on the occasion of the opening of the Grand Chord line on 6 December 1906, a hundred and three years ago, to be exact. Putting aside tedious details, the Grand Chord is the stretch of track connecting the Dhanbad area with Mughalsarai, and passing through Gomoh, Koderma and Gaya. Dhanbad lies in the coal belt of India, and prior to the construction of the chord, coal from the area had to take a circuitous route before it could make its way to the northern parts of the country. It also meant an additional travel of nearly a hundred kilometers for trains running from Calcutta to Delhi. The setting up of the Grand Chord line was a significant milestone in the growth of East Indian Railway, and the occasion of its inauguration was an event of the first magnitude. A programme leaflet published at the time listed the events planned in the following way:
.
GRAND CHORD RAILWAY
--: Programme of Opening :--
.
The timings of trains for conveyance of guests leaving Howrah on the night of the 5th December for Gya and arriving at Howrah on the morning of the 7th is given in the Abstract Time Table already issued.
.
Early tea will be served on the morning of the 6th at Nawadah on arrival of the trains there, that is, at 6-54 to guests by the first train and at 7-19 to those by the second train.
.
Breakfast will be served at Gya in the waiting hall adjoining the station between the hours 8-30 and 9-30.
.
After breakfast the guest trains will proceed to Gujhandi, which is situated at the top of the hill section of the New Railway. At this place a camp has been pitched a little distance away from the line. Luncheon will be served at 1 p.m.
.
The Band of the East Indian Railway Volunteer Corps will be in attendance.
.
His Excellency the Viceroy will reach Gujhandi at 2-40 p.m. and will perform the ceremony of opening the Railway by inserting a fishbolt at one of the rail joints and fastening the same with a silver spanner.
.
The ceremony being concluded, His Excellency’s train will proceed direct to Gomoh and the guest trains will follow as quickly as possible afterwards.
.
Dinner will be at Gomoh at 7-30 in the hall adjoining the station at which their Excellency’s The Viceroy and the Countess Minto will be present. Guests are invited to assemble in the Shamiana adjoining the dining hall at 7-15. A copy of the plan shewing the arrangement of the numbered seats will be furnished to each guest.
.
His Excellency the Viceroy’s special train is timed to leave Gomoh at 9-30 ; the guests’ special trains will run as shewn in the Time Table.
.
Guests from Calcutta will kindly note that the times given in this programme refer to standard time which is 24 minutes behind Calcutta time.
.
At the opening ceremony in Gujhandi, plain clothes morning dress will be worn ; at dinner at Gomoh gentlemen entitled to wear uniform will be expected to appear in menu dress.
.
“Mr. Douglas, Ladies and Gentlemen – In the first place I must thank you Mr. Douglas for the kind words you have addressed to Lady Minto and myself in proposing the toast of our health. It has been a great pleasure to both of us to be here today, and I feel myself particularly fortunate in having had the opportunity of clinching the last bolt in the Grand Chord railway.
.
“Mr Douglas has told us this evening, how the line has been contructed in separate sections, each of them calling for the exercise of the highest engineering skill. The Sone Bridge between Moghal Sarai and Gya, built by my friend Mr Palmer, is one of the great bridges of the world, whilst the distinguished abilities of Mr Highet and the careful construction of Mr Cockshott have triumphed over the difficulties of the Vindhya Range, and have completed the beautiful hill section over which we passed this afternoon . . . . ”
.
These are the first few words of Lord Minto’s speech made on the occasion of the opening of the Grand Chord line on 6 December 1906, a hundred and three years ago, to be exact. Putting aside tedious details, the Grand Chord is the stretch of track connecting the Dhanbad area with Mughalsarai, and passing through Gomoh, Koderma and Gaya. Dhanbad lies in the coal belt of India, and prior to the construction of the chord, coal from the area had to take a circuitous route before it could make its way to the northern parts of the country. It also meant an additional travel of nearly a hundred kilometers for trains running from Calcutta to Delhi. The setting up of the Grand Chord line was a significant milestone in the growth of East Indian Railway, and the occasion of its inauguration was an event of the first magnitude. A programme leaflet published at the time listed the events planned in the following way:
.
GRAND CHORD RAILWAY
--: Programme of Opening :--
.
The timings of trains for conveyance of guests leaving Howrah on the night of the 5th December for Gya and arriving at Howrah on the morning of the 7th is given in the Abstract Time Table already issued.
.
Early tea will be served on the morning of the 6th at Nawadah on arrival of the trains there, that is, at 6-54 to guests by the first train and at 7-19 to those by the second train.
.
Breakfast will be served at Gya in the waiting hall adjoining the station between the hours 8-30 and 9-30.
.
After breakfast the guest trains will proceed to Gujhandi, which is situated at the top of the hill section of the New Railway. At this place a camp has been pitched a little distance away from the line. Luncheon will be served at 1 p.m.
.
The Band of the East Indian Railway Volunteer Corps will be in attendance.
.
His Excellency the Viceroy will reach Gujhandi at 2-40 p.m. and will perform the ceremony of opening the Railway by inserting a fishbolt at one of the rail joints and fastening the same with a silver spanner.
.
The ceremony being concluded, His Excellency’s train will proceed direct to Gomoh and the guest trains will follow as quickly as possible afterwards.
.
Dinner will be at Gomoh at 7-30 in the hall adjoining the station at which their Excellency’s The Viceroy and the Countess Minto will be present. Guests are invited to assemble in the Shamiana adjoining the dining hall at 7-15. A copy of the plan shewing the arrangement of the numbered seats will be furnished to each guest.
.
His Excellency the Viceroy’s special train is timed to leave Gomoh at 9-30 ; the guests’ special trains will run as shewn in the Time Table.
.
Guests from Calcutta will kindly note that the times given in this programme refer to standard time which is 24 minutes behind Calcutta time.
.
At the opening ceremony in Gujhandi, plain clothes morning dress will be worn ; at dinner at Gomoh gentlemen entitled to wear uniform will be expected to appear in menu dress.
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