Rail trail

Col. J P Kennedy 038; the BB038;CI
Col J P Kennedy was a man of many parts. Apart from building the Grand Hindustan and Tibet Road, his philosophy of rail-line alignment ran contrary to the thinking of the day. Thus, while the GIP went inland over the massif of the Western Ghats by following a torturous route with many tunnels and viaducts, Kennedy preferred the route along the coast and going inland through the river valleys of the Tapti and Narmada. Steep gradients, tunnels and other methods requiring expensive solutions would thus be avoided. This gave rise to the concept of the Bombay Baroda and Central India BB038;CI Railway, which went northwards from Bombay along the coast and then, although not following the alignment of the great rivers, nonetheless spread to Central India from Baroda. It was primarily the efforts of Col Kennedy that in 1855, arrangements were made to undertake construction and working of a line from Surat to Baroda, followed by the construction on the Surat-Mumbai section. Although on flat country, this line had to traverse some of the mightiest rivers and water channels in the country. These had to be bridged and two of the most magnificent bridges were built over the Narmada near Baruch spanning the Bassein Creek. Kennedy thus came to be known as one of the greatest builders of bridges, not only in India but also in other parts of the world. By the time Kennedy completed his tenure with the BB038;CI in 1871, the railway had been completed from Bombay to Viramgam.
J L SINGH, RETIRED RAILWAYMAN

Locomotives In Steam-5
Right from the earliest orders, locomotives were supplied by European manufacturers in a knocked-down condition. These were then assembled at the workshops established in India. Jamalpur and later Allahabad workshops took lead in assembling the locomotives. Later Ajmer workshop took lead in manufacturing locomotives in India. The stamp released on May 15, 1976 shows the first locomotive to be fully manufactured in India, at the Ajmer workshop in 1895. It initially worked on Rajputana Malwa Railway. Compared to the broad gauge locomotives, the narrow gauge locomotives were more individualistic. Kalka-Shimla railway locos were 2-6-2 T K class manufactured by Sharp Stewart and company, Glasgow. The stamp released on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of KSR on November 9, 2003 shows KC 520 manufactured in 1902. For a long time this loco was plinthed outside DRM office, Ambala before being restored again to haul steam charters in 2005.
VIKAS SINGH, RAIL ENTHUSIAST

DID YOU KNOW?
BNR hotel-Puri. After introducing a daily overnight train service between Howrah and Puri in 1901, Bengal Nagpur Railway BNR took up the task of constructing a good hotel in Puri. BNR hotel came into existence in 1922 with the acquisition of Ashworth Villa from Dr Elms for Rs 50,000. In October 1925 an amount worth Rs 1.84 lakh was sanctioned for carrying out alteration to make Ashworth Villa worthy of a good hotel. In 1925, the hotel became operational with C Stoner as its first manager. BNR carried out hotel expansion in 1938 under the able supervision of railway engineer E J Zachuk and the work was executed by Calcutta based Britannia and Burn company. The hotel has the distinction of being the first building in Orissa with RCC roof and steel imported from the UK. Famous personalities who have enjoyed the hotel8217;s hospitality include Satyajit ray, Kenneth Galbraith, Prince Schwarzenberg, Desmond Daig and Nirad CChoudhry. The dining room named Legend offers excellent view of the beach. The hotel has a billiards room, lounge, bar, table- tennis room and an excellent library. The wooden stairs, long ceiling fans, wrought iron railings, old style windows 8212; every inch of the hotel has a heritage touch.
VIKAS SINGH, RAIL ENTHUSIAST