RAIL TRAIL

Indian Railway history was created on October 7, 1971. On this day, the foundation stone for the first ever transport museum in India was laid by the President of India, V V Giri.

THE MAKING OF A MUSEUM
Indian Railway history was created on October 7, 1971. On this day, the foundation stone for the first ever transport museum in India was laid by the President of India, V V Giri. Also present on the occasion was the Minister for Railways K Hanumanthiya. Thus the Rail Transport Museum, now called the National Rail Museum, came into existence.

The President, in his address, said: I am sure this Museum will draw not only the students and those directly interested in the growth of the Railways but also ordinary men and women and thus be of considerable educative value. Railways are a great unifying factor in the country. This museum, I am sure, would go a long way in depicting the history of our Railways and create a feeling of public ownership and involvement in the development and well- being of the Railways8230; In a vast country like ours with long and rich heritage of Railway systems and operation, it should be possible for us, in the years to come, to set up such museums at various important centres in the country so that people get first hand knowledge of the working of the Railways8230; The Indian Railways have come a long way. To preserve and present India8217;s rich rail legacy, Railways have set up regional rail museums in the Eastern Region at Calcutta, in the Southern Region at Madras and Mysore and a museum specialising in Narrow Gauge at Nagpur. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is showcased at the museum in Ghoom. A new regional museum for the Western Region is being set up at Lonavala. The Indian Railways remains committed to protecting, preserving and presenting for future generations its rich legacy.
8212; Meera Madhusudan,Former Guide Lecturer, National Rail Museum

THE FIRST INDIAN AT THE HELM
Driving down Cuffe Parade and turning onto Wodehouse Road in the southern tip of Mumbai, you will see a housing enclave on your left. Called 8220;Badhwar Park8221;, it is the colony where senior officials of the Indian Railways live when posted to the city. The complex has been aptly named after Shri Fateh Chand Badhwar, the first Indian chairman of the Indian Railway Board. Since its inception in 1925, all chairmen of the Railway Board had been Britons.

Taking over as chairman in 1951, he faced the onerous task of amalgamating the large number of rail systems in the country 8212; ranging from government owned to private ownership by the Princely states. He successfully merged these diverse railways into a single unit, the Indian Railways, during his four-year tenure at the helm. A civil engineer by qualification, he used his technical background to reduce the dependency on imports, primarily from the UK, in keeping with the Nehruvian policy of self reliance. He was one of the first Indians to be recruited as an engineer in the erstwhile East Indian Railway in Calcutta in 1925, at a time when there were virtually no Indians manning the technical services.

Badhwar was a man of many facets. Apart from overseeing the consolidation and operations of the Indian Railways in the tumultuous days following Independence, he was a keen birdwatcher and mountaineer. He passed away in October 1995.

Locomotives in Steam
In the next thirteen weeks we will take you through the fascinating world of Indian steam locomotives, showcasing their development as depicted, where possible, through postage stamps issued both in India as well as abroad, from time to time. It was during the construction of the Solani Aqueduct, part of the Ganges Canal conceived in the 1840s by Colonel Sir Proby Thomas Cautley that the first steam locomotive ran in India. During its construction, British engineers wanted to bring a large quantity of clay and other materials from nearby Piran Kaliar area, situated 10 kilometre from Roorkee. This need to bring earth and other materials compelled the engineers to think of the possibility of running a train between the two points. The line laid was a 4 feet, 8-and-half-inch gauge. An engine was brought from England in 1851. It was known initially as 8220;Jenny Lind8221; after a famous singer of that period. Designed by David Joy, Jenny Lind was an EB Wilson Well Tank type engine, with a wheel configuration of 2-2-2. The engine was renamed Thomason after the then Lieutenant Governor of the North West Provinces. Initially, two wagons were attached to the engine with a capacity of 180 to 200 tons. The train used to cover a distance of two and half miles between Roorkee and Piran Kaliar in 38 minutes with a speed of four miles per hour. The train remained operational for nine months until the locomotive caught fire one day in 1852. But by the time, construction on the aqueduct had been completed. After that steam locomotives continued to be the mainstay of Indian Railways.The steam era finally came to an end when WL 15005 hauled the last broad gauge steam train between Ferozepur and Jalandhar onDecember 6, 1995. Production of steam locomotives had stopped much earlier than that. The last steam loco, WG 10560, christened 8220;Antim Sitara8221; was commissioned at CLW in June, 1970.

DID YOU KNOW
The Hyderabad-Shadipalli line has the unique distinction of a broad gauge line being converted to a metre gauge line in 1901.
During World War I, Gaekwad8217;s Dabhoi Railway sent four X 0-6-2 locomotives to Mesopotamia modern day Iraq.
The Nalhati-Azimganj line, constructed in 1863, had the unique distinction of being a four feet gauge.
The Shahdara-Saharanpur light railway, opened in 1907, was the first and only narrow gauge railway to have originated from Delhi.
At the time of Independence, the Tenali-Repalle line had the unique distinction of being owned by a district board.
The Tezpore-Balipara light railway was subsidised by the local board of Tezpore for transportation of tea in Northeastern part of the country.
8212; VIKAS SINGH, RAIL ENTHUSIAST