The Bengal Nagpur Railway was one of the companies which pioneered development of the railways in eastern and central India. It was succeeded first by Eastern Railway and subsequently by South Eastern Railway.
Certificate of Farewell to Mr. Bhagabati Charan Ghosh from The Officers and Staff of the Agent's Office & of the Employee's Urban Bank at his farewell ceremony on 23 December 1920
The opening of the Mumbai–Thane line in 1853 marked the beginning of railways in India. Extension of the railways was set off throughout the country. On the north-eastern side of Mumbai, the Great Indian Peninsular Railway line was extended up to Bhusawal and then split in two. While one track led to Nagpur, the other to Jabalpur to connect with the East Indian Railway line from Allahabad to Jabalpur, thereby connecting Mumbai and Kolkata. The great famine of 1878 provided an opportunity for the construction of 150 km long meter gauge link called the Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway in 1882 connecting Nagpur with Rajnandgaon.[1]
The Bengal Nagpur Railway was formed in 1887 for the purpose of upgrading the Nagpur Chhattisgarh Line and then extending it via Bilaspur to Asansol, in order to develop a shorter Howrah-Mumbai route than the one via Allahabad.[1] The Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway was owned by the provincial government.[2] Bengal Nagpur Railway was formed in 1887.[3] The Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway was purchased from Great Indian Peninsula Railway by Bengal Nagpur Railway in 1888, and was converted to broad gauge.[2] The Bengal Nagpur Railway main line from Nagpur to Asansol was opened for goods traffic on 1 February 1891.[4] It was only after Kharagpur was linked from the west and the south that it was connected to Howrah in 1900.[5]
Although Bengal Nagpur Railway was not a part of original design to connect major points in the subcontinent with a network of railways, it was instrumental in developing a shorter, and hence more popular, route from Howrah to Mumbai and the trunk route from Howrah to Chennai.[1][4][5]
The civil engineer Lt Col Arthur John Barry was the Executive Engineer in charge of the construction of the bridge over the Damodar River and the work of the Damodar district of the Bengal-Nagpur Railway, of which he was afterwards Superintending Engineer of the Bengal section.[6]
Indian officers played a major role in the management of the BNR from the second quarter of the twentieth century. Major (Hon.) Basanta Kumar De, who retired as Commercial Traffic Manager played a pivotal role in surveying for the laying of tracks between Raipur and Vizianagram and Sonepur and Bolangir in the 1930s.
In 1925, Bengal Nagpur Railway purchased five steam railcars from Sentinel and Metro-Cammell.[7][8] In 1936 the company owned 802 locomotives, 5 railcars, 692 coaches and 25.434 goods wagons.[9]
The management of the Bengal Nagpur Railway was taken over by the Government of India in 1944.[4]Eastern Railway was formed on 14 April 1952 with the portion of East Indian Railway Company east of Mughalsarai and the Bengal Nagpur Railway.[10] In 1955, South Eastern Railway was carved out of Eastern Railway. It comprised lines mostly operated by BNR earlier.[10][11] Amongst the new zones started in April 2003 were East Coast Railway and South East Central Railway and South Coast Railway was bifurcated between ECOR and SCR and a new Zone was formed in Visakahapatnam as Headquarters. Both these railways were carved out of South Eastern Railway.[10]
Classification
It was labeled as a Class I railway according to Indian Railway Classification System of 1926.[12][13]
References
^ abc"Number 1 Down Mail". Railways of the Raj. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
^ ab"Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway". fibis. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
^"Bengal-Nagpur Railway". fibis. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
^ abc. South Eastern Railway. Archived from the original on 1 April 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
^ abR.P.Saxena. "Indian Railway History timeline". Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
^Frederick Arthur Crisp Visitation of England and Wales, Volume 14, London (1906)
^Ostendorf, Rolf (1977). Dampftriebwagen, Bauarten, Typen und Systeme (in German). Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart. p. 159-160. ISBN3-87943-517-0.
^"Bengal Nagpur, Articulated Sentinel-Cammell steam railcar, mid 1920's". Flickr. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
^World Survey of Foreign Railways. Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C. 1936. p. 211.
^ abc"Geography – Railway Zones". IRFCA. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
^"IR History: Part - IV (1947 - 1970)". IRFCA. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
^"Indian Railway Classification". Retrieved 10 November 2022.
^World Survey of Foreign Railways. Transportation Division, Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, Washington D.C. 1936. p. 210–219.
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The Bengal Nagpur Railway was one of the companies which pioneered development of the railways in eastern and central India It was succeeded first by Eastern Railway and subsequently by South Eastern Railway Bengal Nagpur RailwayIndustryRailwaysFounded1887Defunct1952 Merged with East Indian Railway Company to form Eastern Railway HeadquartersKolkata IndiaArea servedEastern and Central IndiaServicesRail transportSubsidiariesBengal Nagpur RailwayBengal Nagpur Railway BNR Headquarters now South Eastern Railway SER headquarters Garden Reach Kolkata Garratt 6594 Engine of Bengal Nagpur Railway at the National Rail Museum BNR House residence of the GM of SER Certificate of Farewell to Mr Bhagabati Charan Ghosh from The Officers and Staff of the Agent s Office amp of the Employee s Urban Bank at his farewell ceremony on 23 December 1920 Contents 1 History 2 Classification 3 References 4 External linksHistory EditThe opening of the Mumbai Thane line in 1853 marked the beginning of railways in India Extension of the railways was set off throughout the country On the north eastern side of Mumbai the Great Indian Peninsular Railway line was extended up to Bhusawal and then split in two While one track led to Nagpur the other to Jabalpur to connect with the East Indian Railway line from Allahabad to Jabalpur thereby connecting Mumbai and Kolkata The great famine of 1878 provided an opportunity for the construction of 150 km long meter gauge link called the Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway in 1882 connecting Nagpur with Rajnandgaon 1 The Bengal Nagpur Railway was formed in 1887 for the purpose of upgrading the Nagpur Chhattisgarh Line and then extending it via Bilaspur to Asansol in order to develop a shorter Howrah Mumbai route than the one via Allahabad 1 The Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway was owned by the provincial government 2 Bengal Nagpur Railway was formed in 1887 3 The Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway was purchased from Great Indian Peninsula Railway by Bengal Nagpur Railway in 1888 and was converted to broad gauge 2 The Bengal Nagpur Railway main line from Nagpur to Asansol was opened for goods traffic on 1 February 1891 4 It was only after Kharagpur was linked from the west and the south that it was connected to Howrah in 1900 5 Although Bengal Nagpur Railway was not a part of original design to connect major points in the subcontinent with a network of railways it was instrumental in developing a shorter and hence more popular route from Howrah to Mumbai and the trunk route from Howrah to Chennai 1 4 5 The civil engineer Lt Col Arthur John Barry was the Executive Engineer in charge of the construction of the bridge over the Damodar River and the work of the Damodar district of the Bengal Nagpur Railway of which he was afterwards Superintending Engineer of the Bengal section 6 Indian officers played a major role in the management of the BNR from the second quarter of the twentieth century Major Hon Basanta Kumar De who retired as Commercial Traffic Manager played a pivotal role in surveying for the laying of tracks between Raipur and Vizianagram and Sonepur and Bolangir in the 1930s In 1925 Bengal Nagpur Railway purchased five steam railcars from Sentinel and Metro Cammell 7 8 In 1936 the company owned 802 locomotives 5 railcars 692 coaches and 25 434 goods wagons 9 The management of the Bengal Nagpur Railway was taken over by the Government of India in 1944 4 Eastern Railway was formed on 14 April 1952 with the portion of East Indian Railway Company east of Mughalsarai and the Bengal Nagpur Railway 10 In 1955 South Eastern Railway was carved out of Eastern Railway It comprised lines mostly operated by BNR earlier 10 11 Amongst the new zones started in April 2003 were East Coast Railway and South East Central Railway and South Coast Railway was bifurcated between ECOR and SCR and a new Zone was formed in Visakahapatnam as Headquarters Both these railways were carved out of South Eastern Railway 10 Classification EditIt was labeled as a Class I railway according to Indian Railway Classification System of 1926 12 13 References Edit a b c Number 1 Down Mail Railways of the Raj Retrieved 19 February 2012 a b Nagpur Chhattisgarh Railway fibis Retrieved 19 February 2012 Bengal Nagpur Railway fibis Retrieved 19 February 2012 a b c Major Events in the Formation of S E Railway South Eastern Railway Archived from the original on 1 April 2013 Retrieved 19 February 2012 a b R P Saxena Indian Railway History timeline Archived from the original on 14 July 2012 Retrieved 19 February 2012 Frederick Arthur Crisp Visitation of England and Wales Volume 14 London 1906 Ostendorf Rolf 1977 Dampftriebwagen Bauarten Typen und Systeme in German Motorbuchverlag Stuttgart p 159 160 ISBN 3 87943 517 0 Bengal Nagpur Articulated Sentinel Cammell steam railcar mid 1920 s Flickr 27 June 2017 Retrieved 24 May 2022 World Survey of Foreign Railways Transportation Division Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce Washington D C 1936 p 211 a b c Geography Railway Zones IRFCA Retrieved 21 November 2012 IR History Part IV 1947 1970 IRFCA Retrieved 21 November 2012 Indian Railway Classification Retrieved 10 November 2022 World Survey of Foreign Railways Transportation Division Bureau of foreign and domestic commerce Washington D C 1936 p 210 219 External links EditDocuments and clippings about Bengal Nagpur Railway in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bengal Nagpur Railway amp oldid 1127455999, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
