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'T^Litiuif.rt \t'>i<to,i tt Soiu.

SIK MAODONALH S rKI*IIKXSO\.

FnVSDKU OK THK KasT InDIAX KaILWAY.

NOTE TO THE READER

The paper in tKb volume is biitde or the
inner mar^ns are extremdly narrow.

We have bound or rebound the volume
utilizing the best means possible*

PLEASE HANDLE WITH CARE

p/Sf

r BBOTHBB 0FFI0BB8 AND FELLOW WORKMEN ON THE

BASt INDIAN RAILWAY, PAST AND PRESENT.

THIS WORK 18 DEDICATED.

G. H.

J.. pf'sf

MT BROTHER OFFICERS AND FELLOW WORKMBK OK THR

BASt INDIAN RAILWAT, PAST AND PRESENT.

THIS WORK IS DEDICATED.

G. H.

PREFACE.

It is not everyone who realizes what a
great undertaking the East Indian Railway
is, or what it has done and is doing for the
people and the trade of India and parti-
cularly of Calcutta. Yet the author hardly
ventures to expect that this endeavour, to
outline the more important events in its
history, will prove attractive to the general
reader, or help him to an appreciation of the
facts.

It is chiefly for those who are or have
been associated with or employed on the
East Indian Railway that this book has been
written, and if these, as well as those who
enter its service in the future, find something
in its pages to interest them, the writer will
be rewarded.

The author would only add that in
attempting the work he has been prompted
by a feeling that unless something was done
now, to place on record facts which are so
easily forgotten and so soon buried in obli-
vion, the opportunity would be lost. No one
can be more conscious than he is of the many
defects and imperfections of his effort, and
had anyone else evinced a desire to undertake
the task, he would not have set it h\m^Q\£.

PREFACE.

VI PRBFACB.

In saying this he hopes it will be distinctly
understood that the production is on no sense
official and no one but the author is in any
way responsible for it.

His thanks are due to Mr. H. Wood,
Secretary to the Agent in Calcutta, to whom
he is indebted for the two chapters on the
Provident Fund and the Hill School ; to
Mr. P. A. M. Nash, District Locomotive
Superintendent, who kindly furnished the
account of the Jamalpur workshops ; to
Mr. John Strachan, late Locomotive Super-
intendent, and to other friends whose assist-
ance is acknowledged in the pages of the
book.

Calcutta, May 1906. G. HUDDLESTON.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I— Page.

Formation of the East Indian Railway — Original
Idea to connect Calcutta with Delhi — The First
Contract — Commencement of Construction —
Opening of Line as far as Baneegunge ... 1

CHAPTER II—

Progress . of Construction — Effect of the Mutiny —
Visit of Mr. A. M. Rendel to India ... 17

CHAPTER Ill-
Opening of the Railway to Rajmahal and subse-
quently to Delhi — Retirement of Mr. George
Turnbull, the First Railway Engineer in India—
The Construction of the Chord Line decided
upon — Unexpected Growth of Traffic, followed
by Complaints of Want of Adequate Facilities... 28

CHAPTER IV—

The Alignment of the East Indian Railway, and
other matters ..• ... ••• ... 48

CHAPTER V—

1'rade Depression— Mr. A. M. Rendel visits India
again and criticises the Working of the East
Indian Railway — Establishment of a Provident
Fund ... ... •.. ,„ „. 57

CHAPTER VI—

Opening of the Chord Line followed by a Temporary
Slump in Traffic— The Bengal Famine of 1873-4—
Reductions in Rates— Coal exported from Cal-
cutta — Analysis of Statistics introduced ... 63

Vlll CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VII— , Pagi.

Visit of the Prince of Wales to India — Reductions
in Rates — Economies in Working — The Madras
Famine and Shortage of Stock — General Strachej
visits India — The Qiridih Collieries — Prosperity
of the Undertaking ... ... ... ... 72

CHAPTER VIII—

Opening of the Rajputana Railway leads to Competi-
tion between Calcutta and Bombay — The Views
of Government on the Question — The Position
defined by Mr. Crawford, Chairman of the East
Indian Railway ... ... ... ... 89

CHAPTER IX—

Negotiations preceding the Purchase of the East
Indian Railway by Government ... ••» 101

CHAPTER X—

Questions before the Board after the Purchase of
the Railway by Government — Retrospect of the
Position of the Company at the time — Reduction
of Third Class Fares, and other matters ... 106

CHAPTER XI—

Growth of the Coal Trade in 1883— The Question of
Working the East India Railway by State or
Company Management — Agitation in Calcutta
regarding Construction of the Grand Chord —
Retirement of Sir Bradford Leslie — Death of
Mr. Crawford ••• ••• ... ... 123

CHAPTER XII—

Appointment of General Sir Richard Strachey as
Chairman— His visit to India ... ... 136

CHAPTER XIII—

The Grand Chord Line ..« ... ... 141

CHAPTER XIV—

The Jherriah Coal-field ... ... ... 145

CHAPTER XV—

Coal Rates »«• ••• «.. ... ... 151

OONTRNTS. IX

CHAPTER XVI— Page.

Growth of the Coal Traffic .^ ... ... 160

CHAPTER XVII—

The Kidderpore Docks ••• ... ... 169

CHAPTER XVIII—

Train Service and Working Facilities— The Ques-
tion of Wagon Supply ••• ... ... 176

CHAPTER XIX—

Some Further Remarks on Competition and Rates 184

CHAPTER XX—

Third Class Passengers ... ••• ... 190

CHAPTER XXI—

Proposed Central Station in Calcutta ... ... 196

CHAPTER XXII—

Provident Institatiop ... ••• ••• 202

CHAPTER XXIII—

Hill School ... ... ... ... 808

CHAPTER XXIV—

General Growth of Traffic ... ••• ••• 814

CHAPTER XXV—

Various Projects for dealing with the Export Coal
Trade, and other matters ... ... ... 880

CHAPTER XXVI—

Statistics ... ... ••• ••« •«. 829

CHAPTER XXVII—

The Jamalpur Workshops ••« ... ... 240

CHAPTER XXVIII—

Outbreak of Plague — Immunity of E. I. R from
Serious Accidents — The Delhi Durbar~Mr.
T. Robertson's Enquiry into Indian Railway
Working— Removal of Carriage Shops to
Lillooah ... •- •- 262

CHAPTER XXIX-

The East Indian Railway under Two Chairman, %A;^

HISTORY

THE EAST INDIAN RAILWAY.

CHAPTER I.

Formation op the East Indian Railway —
Original Idea to connect Calcutta
WITH Delhi — The First Contract —
Commencement op Construction — Open-
ing OP Line as par as Raneegunge.

In May, 1845, or about twenty years after
the construction of the first raikoad in
England, the East Indian Railway Company,
was organised. The earliest report of the
Directors to the Shareholders was not made,
however, until nearly two years later ; the
interval having been passed in negotiations
with the Honourable East India Company,
and in the preparation of estimates of cost
and of traflfic, as well as in a purvey of the
country through which the proposed line
would pass.

At this time, the Chairman was Sir George
Larpent, the Deputy Chairman, Mr. Bazett
D. Colvin, and the Managing Director,

H, BIR 1

2 HISTORY OF THE M. I. RAILWAY.

Mr. R. Macdonald Stephenson. Of these, Mr.,
afterwards, Sir R. Macdonald Stephenson,
may be said to have been the founder of
the Company, for he it was who first in-
troduced the idea of raihoads in India,
and advocated the construction of the East
Indian Une almost along the same route that
it now traverses.

It was in July, 1845, that Mr. Macdonald
Stephenson, accompanied by three well qual-
ified assistants, proceeded to Bengal and on
arrival in Calcutta commenced, in the
Board's words, " with diligence and discre-
tion which cannot be too highly commended,
to survey the line from Calcutta to Delhi,
through Mirzapore, and so great and per-
severing were the exertions of himself and
StaflF, that, in April, 1846, the surveys of the
whole line were completed ; important sta-
tistical information obtained and an elaborate
report transmitted to your Directors in
London." All trace of this report, excepting
only the statistics of cost and estimates of
traflSc has been lost, but it strongly impressed
the Board with the conviction that a Kne
from Calcutta to Delhi not only possessed
political advantages of the highest order,
but that it would also prove a success as a
commercial speculation. The statistical in-
formation obtained by Mr. Stephenson,
showed that although the cost of introduc-
ing an entirely new system of locomotion in
a country such as India, was necessarily

PRBLIMINAKY NEGOTIATIONS. 6

subject to some uncertainty, yet, there were
good grounds for anticipating that the
maximum expenditure on a double line of
railway from Calcutta to Delhi, through
Mirzapore, assuming that the Government
would grant the necessary land without
charge, would not exceed £15,000 per mile.
It was also calculated that without any
increase of the existing traffic, that is to say,
of the traffic then forwarded by river and
road, a large dividend might be looked for.

From the outset, the Court of Directors of
the Honourable East India Company, shared
with the Directors of the East Indian Railway
Company, the view that the benefit to be
derived by India from the introduction of
a railroad system was beyond question, but
circumstances in the political and monetary
state of India were constantly changing,
while there was no certainty of the London
share market. Very great caution was there-
fore needed in conducting the preliminary
negotiations for the construction of so great
a national work, involving so large a capital
outlay, in a country so distant and at the
time so little known.

Terms were proposed in the first ins-
tance, which would now seem to have been
sufficiently liberal, though the then Board
did not think so, and ultimately obtained sub-
stantial modifications. The first conclusions
of the East India Company, and what
they were prepared to do towards t\vei

4 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

introduction of a railway system in India^
may however be summarised as follows : —

1st. That it was deemed of great im-
portance to connect the seat of the Supreme
Government of India with the North- West
Provinces.

2nd. That provided no serious diflBculty^
arising out of the physical character of the
country, was found to exist, the line of the
first Railway in India should be from Calcutta
to Delhi through Mirzapore.

3rd. That the Honourable East India
Company were prepared to sanction the
construction of two sections of that line,
one in the Lower and the other in the Upper
Provinces ; to grant the land for the Railway
free of all cost for ninety-nine years ; to
advance interest at four per cent, per annum
for fifteen years, on the capital to be employed
on these sections not exceeding £3,000,000
sterling ; to commence paying such interest
so soon as the contract should be arranged,
and to receive repayment thereof when
the profits of the line should exceed four
per cent.

After much correspondence these terms
were modified, the chief points conceded by
the East India Company being that the rate
of interest should be raised from 4 to 5 per
cent., and that the term during which this
interest would be paid should be raised from 1 5
to 25 years. The revised terms were accept-
ed by the Directors " with a grateful sense

FIRST BOARD OF AGKNCY.

of the liberal manner in which they had
been treated by the East India Company,"
and the belief was expressed that the
undertaking ** whilst it will prove a great
blessing to the Empire, will afford the means
of a safe and profitable investment to indivi-
duals."

It should here be mentioned, that other
interests conflicting with the East Indian
Railway Company had at this time to be
considered; another Company had been
formed, shortly after the East Indian, known
as the '* Great Western of Bengal Railway,"
for the purpose of constructing a line from
Calcutta to Rajmahal, to be carried over a
portion of the projected main line of the
East Indian Railway, and entering into com-
petition with the branch to Rajmahal, con-
templated by that railway. It was consi-
dered expedient to amalgamate the interests
of the two companies, and this was done on
terms unnecessary to detail.

Towards the end of 1 847, the Board having
taken into consideration the arrangements
best calculated to give effect to the Company's
operations in India, came to the conclusion,
that "the interests of the undertaking would
be best consulted by the appointment in
India of a Committee of gentlemen, independ-
ent of local interest or connection, and who
should be entirely and wholly subject to the
control of the Board in London," and in
pursuance of this policy two gentlemen " of

6 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

talent and experience " (Messrs. Adams and
Beeston) were appointed to act, conjointly
with Mr. Stephenson, as their representa-
tives in India, and these three sailed to India
on the 20th September, 1847, accompanied
by a staff of Engineers carefully selected by
the Company's Consulting Engineer, Mr.
James Rendel, the father of the present
Consulting Engineer, Sir A. M. Rendel.

So far, once preliminary negotiations had
been settled, it had been plain sailing, but
unfortunately difficulties now arose which
took some time to overcome. Various docu-
ments both anonymous and otherwise were
circulated, and advertised in the public news-
papers and elsewhere, in which endeavours
were made to prove that the proposed line
could not pay, certain of the Directors
resigned, and some of the proprietors delayed
settlement of calls on their shares, with
the result that financial difficulties followed,
and the staff sent out to India had to be
recalled.

In the meantime, there were renewed
negotiations with the Honourable East
India Company, which took up a couple of
years, but ultimately on the 17th of August,
1849, a contract was come to between the^
East India Company of the one part and the
East Indian Railway Company of the other
part, in which the two agreed to co-operate
in the construction " of a line of Railway
from Calcutta towards the Upper Provinces,'^

ORIGINAL CONTKAOT. 7

on certain conditions, the most important
being : —

(1). That the East Indian Railway Com-
pany should pay into the Treasury of the
East India Company, £1,000,000.

(2). That the East India Company should
select the route and direction of a line of rail-
way to be constructed as an experimental line ;
such line to commence at Calcutta or with-
in 10 miles of Calcutta, and to take such a
direction as to form part of a line either to
Mirzapore or to Rajmahal, at the option of
the East India Company. Such selected line
to be completed by the Railway Company,
and opened for the conveyance of passengers
and goods with all practicable speed.

(3). That the East India Company
should provide the land required for the
railway and for stations, offices and so forth.

(4). That the East Indian Railway Com-
pany should make such gradients, furnish
rails of such weight and strength, and provide
either single or double line as the East India
Company would direct, and should also pro-
vide electric telegraphs and perform all such
directions as might from time to time be
given by the East India Company.

( 5 ). That the Railway Company should
provide a good and sufficient working stock
and perform the duties of common carriers
of goods and passengers, and allow the use
of the railway to the public on terms to be
approved by the East India Company, and

8 HISTORY OF THE K. I. RAILWAY.

charge such fares as should be approved by
the East India Company.

(6). That the railway Company, its
oflBcers and servants, accounts and affairs be
subject to the control and superintendence
of the East India Company, and that all
expenses be submitted for their sanction.

(7). That the Railway and its works be
kept in a state of good repair to the satis-
faction of the East India Company.

(8). That the East India Company pay
the Railway Company interest at the rate of
5 per cent, per annum on the £1,000,000 paid
to the East India Company, and that if the
expenditure of the railway should exceed
this sum, and further capital be raised,
interest at the same rate be paid on it also.

(9). That the Railway Company convey
the Government mails and post bags and
servants of the post-oflBce free of charge
and convey troops and other Government
oflScers and servants specified at reduced
fares.

( 10). That the railway become the pro-
perty of the East India Company after 99
years, the engines, carriages, stock, machi-
nery, and plant being paid for at a valuation.

The railway also had the right to sur-
render the line to the East India Company
and the East India Company had a right
of purchase on certain conditions, at any
time within six months after the expiration
of the first twenty-five years.

KARLY OPPOSITION.

Such briefly were the terms of the first
contract, and it seems unnecessary to detail
the obstacles that had to be overcome before
it was entered upon. For some years the
Board were confronted with difficulties and
opposed by persons whose interest seems to
have been to prove that a railway, such as pro-
posed, could not possibly pay. A Mr. John
bourne, for example, who had been a sur-
veyor in the employment of the Company,
advocated that a single line of railway laid
upon the Grand Trunk road to Mirzapore,
was all that was needed, and endeavoured
to prove that a section of 150 miles out
of Calcutta could not be profitable ; he
estimated the revenue on the traffic of the
district between Calcutta and Burdwan, and
putting this at a very low figure calculated
that the working expenses, maintenance and
depreciation would be so enormous that the
outside dividend to be looked for would
be under 2 per cent, on the capital.
Mr. James Kendel disagreed entirely
with Mr. Bourne's figures and estimated
that even if his forecast of traffic was
correct, a dividend of over 7 per cent,
was far more probable. But this is
only an instance of the criticism of the
period. Others held that natives would not
travel by railway, and that there was little
need in a country like India which had
river transport available, to construct a
railroad for the movement of merchandise.

10 HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

which, they held, could not be carried by rail
as cheaply as by river or road, while speed
was no object. There were indeed many op-
ponents to the scheme, but as the Board
remarked at the time : " In the introduce
tion of an undertaking so vast and distant
there must always be difficulties in the first
instance to surmount, but when the stake
which the nation possesses in the interests
of India, and the results likely to attend the
introduction of railways into that country,
are considered, the Board cannot doubt the
disposition of all the authorities connected
with the Government of India, to give those
encouragements to the object, which are
indispensable to induce capitalists to embark
their money in it."

Among the most indefatigable workers on
behalf of the Company was Mr. Stephenson,
and that this was recognised at the time is
apparent from a resolution of the share-
holders recorded in 1849-1850 : —

"That in consideration of the services
rendered by Mr. R. Macdonald Stephenson
to this Company, and of the extraordinary
exertions made, and the risks encountered
by him, in introducing the railroad system
into India, embracing three journeys to
India and the survey of many hundred miles
of railroad — it is the feeling of this meeting
that he should be allowed a compensation
for himself, and his family after his decease,
by way of a percentage on the net profits.

FIXING THB GAUGE. 11

which, over and above 5 per cent, shall be
received by the shareholders on the capital
invested in the experimental section of
railway now contemplated, and that the
Directors be requested to take into considera-
tion the rate of such percentage and submit
the same to a future meeting of the pro-
prietors."

The Directors subsequently recommended
5 per cent, as a suitable allowance, and Mr.
Stephenson must have felt exceedingly satis-
fied. He embarked for Tndia again in March
1850, together with Mr. George TurnbuU,
the Resident Engineer-in -Chief, and in lesa
than a year the first section of the Company's
proposed line was finally determined upon.
" The Authorities, " in the words of the
Board, " have sanctioned the construction of
a line of railroad from Howrah, opposite
Calcutta, to Pundooah, with a branch line
into the Raneegunge Collieries. The total
length will be from 120 to 130 miles ; afid
will in the first instance be laid with a single
line of rails." At the same time contracts
for the construction of the first 40 miles to
Pundooah were let in India, and soon after-
wards work was commenced, a gauge of five
feet six inches being determined upon.

It is said that Lord Dalhousie actually
decided the question of gauge for the first
railway in India. At home there had been
much controversy as to whether the gauge
for English lines should be 4'8^" or 7'-

12 fllSTORY OF THE K. 1. RAILWAY.

Some railways were made to one, others to
the other, Lord Dalhousie laid down that,
in India, the gauge should be between these
two extremes. Had it been possible for
Lord Dalhousie to foresee subsequent deve-
lopments he would probably have selected
the 4' 8^" gauge, and if he had done so there
would have been no excuse for introducing
the complication of the metre gauge.

Mr. H. A. Aglionby, m.p., now became
the Chairman of the Company, and during
the early days of construction the reports
of the Board were necessarily brief, but
•early in 1852, work having been started on
the section between Pundooah and Ranee-
^unge, it was decided that the main line to
the North- West Provinces of India should
proceed via Rajmahal, following the course
of the Ganges, that is to say, by the route
which forms what is now known as the loop
line.

Early in 1854. the first section of the line
to Raneegunge was completed, and Mr.
Aglionby, addressing the shareholders,advised
them that a new contract had been entered
into with the East India Company to extend
the railway to Delhi. Additional capital
was now raised^ and it was found that confi-
•dence in the prospects of the undertaking
was gradually growing. As Mr. Aglionby
remarked ** it was the opinion of men best
Acquainted with mercantile matters that few,
if any, companies in England at the present

MR. BENDBL'S RRPORT. 1$

moment held out higher promise or better
security than their own." Referring to the
assistance given by the Company's Consult-
ing Engineer he said : ** he could not talk
too highly of the indefatigable exertions and
untiring energy of Mr. Rendel ; the advanced
state of the works would speak for them-
selves. Not only was the line from Calcutta
to Raneegunge (a distance of 121 miles)
almost finished, but an extended advance
was actively going on to Rajmahal, a further
increase of 120 miles," and it is interesting
to record what Mr. Rendel said in reply.
Mr. Rendel said, that the shareholders
would be glad to learn that already forty-five
miles of their line had been completed from
Calcutta. There were engineering diflScul-
ties to contend with in India, which people
at home could not possibly conceive. Yet
he was bound to say that the works executed
on their Indian lines were equal to any of
the kind done in this country ; several large
bridges had been built over nullahs and rivers
near Hooghly, and on exceedingly treacher-
ous, sinking and shifting ground. Yet no
failures had happened nor had any accidents
taken place, though since the planning of
their railway, heavier floods had risen in
Bengal than had been witnessed since the
days of Clive. Before the end of the year
the works would bring their rails to the
Raneegunge coal fields and great profits would
accrue when this was completed. On t\v%

14 HISTOBY OF THR B. I, RAILWAY.

opening of the line their rolling stock and
•engines would be found to equal anything of
the sort in England. The Directors of the
East India Company had readily met and
<joncurred in all his suggestions and by the
extraordinary exertions of their engineers,
a survey to Allahabad had been taken in
45ix months. Within four years their line
would be advanced to this populous and
important town, and seven years hence their
railway would be running to Delhi.

From such speeches do we gain a glimpse
of the work of construction in its earliest
•days, of the difficulties overcome and of the
hopes for the future.

The first division of the experimental line
from Howrah to Hooghly was opened for
passenger traffic on the 15th August 1854,
and a fortnight later an extension was
opened to Pundooah. During the first six-
teen weeks no less than 109,634 passengers
were carried, and the gross earnings (includ-
ing receipts for a few tons of merchandise)
were £6,792 155. 9d. or an average of £424
105. 1 liid. per week, and the Board reported
that " looking to the small portion of line
opened, the traffic has far exceeded the most
sanguine expectations ; and perhaps the most
gratifying feature of all is in the fact that,
-contrary to a general belief in the indis-
position and inability of the natives to avail
themselves of railway communication, by far
the largest number of passengers carried

0PBNIN6 TO BAKBB6UNGK. 15

has been of the third class. The following
is an analysis of the traffic: — First Class,
5,511 ; Second Class, 21,005; Third Class,
83,118."

It was considered a most extraordinary
act that the very poorest of the inhabitants
had availed themselves of the Railway direct-
ly it was opened. The third class fare was
then fd. per mile and there were only three
classes, but the fact was proved that neither
caste prejudices nor other considerations
would prevent the native from making use
of the new means of transport, though
previous to this many, who should perhaps
have been better informed, held a contrary
opinion.

The line to Raneegunge was opened early
in 1855, and this was held to be the termi-
nation of the first or experimental line.
During the fifteen weeks after the line had
been opened as far as Raneegunge, the num-
ber of passengers carried was 179,404 or an
average of nearlv 12,000 a week, and the
earnings rose to about £900 a week.

Mr. K. W. Crawford, one of the Directors,
who had been appointed Chairman of the
Board of Directors, on the death of Mr.
Aglionby, in his address to the Shareholders
in August 1855, said that he looked upon
the report on the traffic they had carried as
most satisfactory '' not only as regarded its
amount and the prospect of its increase but
also in this particular, that it put an end to

16 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

the gloomy anticipations of those parties
in this country, whose acquaintance with
India was of a rather ancient date, and who
were apprehensive that the prejudices of the
natives would prevent them travelling by
railway. Such was not the case." Mr.
Crawford added that he had been himself in
India and knew that the natives were fully
alive to everything that could improve their
position. They were aware that time was
to them, as to the people of Europe, a great
element of profit, and they would, therefore,
avail themselves of a means of speedy tran-
sit from place to place, in preference to
exercising the natural means of locomotion.
It may here be remarked that prolonged
experience has shewn that no truer words
were ever spoken. The native of India likes
to travel as fast as he can be carried, and
at the present time there is no better proof
of this than the preference given to the
recently-introduced third class express trains
over the slow passenger trains, but it took
many years to recognise this, and it was
not until 1897, during the Chairmanship
of General Sir Richard Strachey, that third
class passengers were first admitted to the
mail trains below Allahabad, and not until
1905 that express trains were first run for
lower class passengers.

CHAPTER II.

Progress of Construction. Effect of the
Mutiny. Visit of Mr. A. M. Kendel
to India,

We have seen that the first contract with
the East India Company was dated the 1 7th
August 1849, that Mr. Stephenson proceed-
ed to India shortly afterwards, and in
conjunction with the Government Engineers,
decided upon the route the experimental
line should follow, and that in 1854, or
within three and-a-half vears of the time in
which the land necessary for the purpose
had been made over, the Railway was open-
ed as far as Hooghly, and shortly afterwards
as far as Raneegunge. Considering that all
the permanent- way, rolling-stock and other
stores had to be transported from England,
in sailing ships via the Cape, the time taken
was by no means long. By 1856, contracts
had been entered upon for all the rails that
would be required to construct the line from
Calcutta to Delhi, a distance of about 1,000
miles. That is to say a line which would be
about as long as from Land's End to the
North of Scotland and back again.

During the eleven months of 1855, in
which the line was open from Calcutta to
Raneegunge, no fewer than 617,281 passen-
gers were carried, an amount of traffic quite
sufficient to satisfy the most sceptical of the

H, BIB %

1« HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

travelling propensities of the natives of
India, and beyond this there was an imme-
diate development of the goods traffic.
Contracts were entered upon to carry over
100,000 tons of coal from Raneegunge
to Calcutta, and a quantity of ordinary
merchandise was transported, which,
though comparatively small, gave hope
for the future. In the second half of
1855, the revenue from coaching traffic
was £25,000, from goods traffic £6,385,
from coal £7,856, and the working expenses
amounted to 42 per cent, of the gross traffic
receipts. During 1856 the traffic continued
to develop, and the working expenses were
considerably reduced. In this year Mr.
Stephenson's health failed, and he was com-
pelled to relinquish his duties as Agent of
the Company in India, to be succeeded in
1857 by Mr. Edward Palmer who had had a
training on the Great Western and Great
Northern Railw^ays of England. Mr.
Stephenson now joined the Board of Directors
in London.

The Company's Consulting Engineer,
Mr. James Meadows Rendel, who had ren-
dered most valuable service to the Company,
and had always expressed the greatest faith
in its prospects, died in 1857 and was suc-
ceeded by his sons, Messrs. A. M. and G.
Rendel, but the latter shortly afterwards
joined the firm of Messrs. Armstrong, leaving
the work of the East Indian Railway

OUTBREAK OF THE MUTINY. 19

entirely in the hands of Mr. A. M. (now
Sir Alexander) Rendel, who has continued
to be the Company's Consulting Engineer
•ever since. Proposals were under considera-
tion at this time for two most important
•extensions of the Railway, the first from
Mirzapore to Jubbulpore to connect with the
Oreat Indian Peninsula Railway running from
Bombay, the second from Delhi to Lahore.

In the spring of 1857 it was that the Great
Mutiny broke out, and, as a consequence, a
large portion of the work of construction
was delayed, while all new projects had to
stand over.

The Board's report to the shareholders
dated the 29th of October 1857, gives some
account of the Company's afiairs in that
memorable year, and the following extract
from it will oe read with interest :

"The unfortunate events occurring in India at the
present time have, doubtless, created some anxiety as to the
-effect which they may have had on the progress of tlie
Company's operations, and the Board avail themselves of
this opportunity of making the Proprietors acquainted with
the circumstances of the Company to the latest date They
beg to report that, whilst in common with the rest of the
•community, the Company has suffered by the mutiny, it has
not sustained that serious amount of damage which might
have been feared ; as, irrespective of the sacrifice of valuaole
lives, which the Board most deeply lament, the chief loss it
will have to deplore will be that arising from the temporary
stoppage of the principal portion of the works and the conse-
•quent delay in their completion. Jn the Lower Provinces,
for instance, the damage done to the Company's property
has been mainly confined, as far as the Board is aware, to
•certain station works, and the preparations made for the
Soane bridge ; and in the Upper Provinces and on the Eiver
to the destruction of some of its buildings, machinery and

20 HISTORY OF THE E. I. RAILWAY..

tools. It has been a source of sincere gratification to th&
Board to observe the praiseworthy efforts which have been
made by the members of the Stafif to protect the Company's-
property, surrounded as in many cases they have been with
great personal dangers. It would be invidious, where all
have conducted themselves so well, to particularize indivi-
duals, but the Board cannot refrain from noticing in terms-
of the highest commendation the conduct of Messrs. Boyle
and Kelly in the gallant defence at Arrah, and in doing so-
they are satisfied that they only echo the feelings of the
entire executive in India."

The "gallant defence at Arrah" was one-
of the most glorious episodes of the mutiny^
and the name of Vicars Boyle, the East
Indian Railway engineer who rendered the-
defence possible, will ever be remembered,
recorded as it is in every history of the great
struggle. It need only be said here that
among his colleagues he was always after-
wards known as "Victor Boyle."

Although the mutiny retarded the work of
construction, the traffic on such portions of
the line as were already opened for traffic
continued to develop, and there was a very
great growth in the revenue, the total receipts-
for the year 1857 being £132,434 2s. lid.
against £96,100 106\ 2d. in 1856.

In 1858 the terms for constructing the-
branch to Jubbulpore were concluded, and
were, generally speaking, precisely the same-
as for the remainder of the line. Interest on
the additional capital required was guaranteed
by Government at 5 per cent, per annum, and
it was stipulated that the accounts were to be
kept altogether distinct from those pertain-^
ing to the line to Delhi.

FIRST VISIT OF MR. A. M. RBNDKL TO INDIA. 21

During 1858 considerable progress was
made, and the line between Allahabad and
Cawnpore was completed. In this year also
Mr. Meadows Rendel sailed for Calcutta in
order to have an opportunity of becoming
personally acquainted with the local condi-
tions of the coimtry. Mr. Rendel returned to
England before the close of the year, having
inspected the works along the entire length
of the Railway as far as Cawnpore, beyond
which it was not safe to proceed, and the Board
had every reason to be satisfied with the
result of his journey. Among other matters
•dealt with by him, a very considerable saving
was eficcted by his decision to introduce iron
girders instead of brick arches in the con-
struction of bridges, while a difficulty which
had arisen in the transport up-country of
materials, stores and rolling-stock was
overcome, at his suggestion, by building light-
draught steamers and flats for the transport
service of the Company. Some of these
vessels were built in England and some in
Calcutta, and a means of relief afforded
which could not otherwise have been
•effected.

We must now go back a few years to give
A brief account of a project which will be
referred to again elsewhere but should also
he mentioned here. In 1856 the Board of
Directors, hearing that a plan for construct-
ing a bridge over the river Hooghly was
wnder consideration, and that a new Port

22 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

subsidiary to Calcutta, was about to b&
established on the river Mutlah, offered to
make the surveys of a line of railway to
connect that Port with the Company '&
line.

The Court of Directors of the East India
Company, having considered the matter, took
the view that it was then premature to con-
nect Mutlah with Calcutta by railway, and
told the Board so.

In the meantime, however, another Com-
pany was established for the express purpose
of making this railway, and proposed to-
raise the necessary capital without any
guarantee of interest. On this the Secretary
of State for India invited the Board to-
express their views. They replied in thesa
terms " in the present state of the question
of bridging the Hooghly, they are not pre-
pared to recommend the Proprietors to-
undertake the construction of the Railway in
question, but if any concession for the
line should be made to third parties, it i&
their conviction that a clause should be insert-
ed, requiring the sale of the line to the^
East Indian Railway Company hereafter, on
terms to be settled by arbitration, should the
public interests render such a course desir-
able," and so the question of directly con-
necting the East Indian Railway with a
subsidiary port to Calcutta on the river
Mutlah remained in abeyance until it waa
re-opened by Col. Gardiner, Agent of the^
Company, many j^ears afterwards.

MURDBB OF MESSRS. EVANS AND UMNBLL. 28

At this time it had been proposed to en-
trust the construction of an extension of the
Railway from Delhi to Lahore to the East
Indian Railway Company, and surveys were
taken by the Company's Officers of the river
Sutlej, with a view to determining the best
point at which that river should be crossed,
but in 1859, the Government decided to
make this section over to another Company,
then known as the '* Punjab Railway " and
the Board relinquished tbeir claim.

In the meantime the survey of the Jub-
bulpore branch was being pushed on, and it
may here be mentioned that, while in the
prosecution of this work, Mr. Evans, the
Chief Engineer, and Mr. Limnell, his
Assistant, were attacked and murdered by a
party of rebels. Mr. Limnell " whose quali-
fications," in the words of the Board, " were
reported to be of the highest order, had but
lately joined the service, but Mr. Evans was
one of the oldest and most respected of the
Company's officers, and had only recently
been promoted to the post which he held at
the time of his death."

Some details of this incident taken from
an account given me by Mr. H. Wenden,
C.I.E., now Agent of the Great Indian Penin-
sular Railway, but at the time a young
engineer on construction work, supplemented
by an account by Mr. John Lewis, who was an
engineer on the Jubbulpore line shortly after
the occurrence, are of considerable interest.

24 HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

During the cold season of 1858-9 Mr.
Evans, Chief Engineer of the AUahabad-
Jubbulpore extension survey party, together
with Messrs. Limnell and CoHn Campbell,
two of his assistants, were in camp in Rewah
territory at a place called Entowah. They
had just finished their midday meal when
Campbell hearing a *' bobbery" looked out of
his tent and saw a posse of armed natives
bearing down on the camp. His sais, an old
grey-bearded Mahomedan, ran up to Colin
Campbell with his grey horse saddled and got
him on to it. By hard riding he managed
to reach Manickpore in safety, though chased
for many miles by sowars^ and the next day
went on to Allahabad where he reported the
tragedy.

Mr. John Lewis says, " Colin Campbell
took me over the route of his escape, and how
he stuck on his horse over such a country is
one of the marvels of horsemanship."

The men who made the attack on the
camp were part of a band of outlaws cast off
from Tantia Topee's force and led by a muti-
neer named Runmust Singh, who, after
Evans' head had been cut off*, ordered Lim-
nell to carry it.

Limnell carried it until he was exhausted
and then Runmust Singh ordered some of his
men to kill him ; this they refused to do say-
ing they had killed one sahib, he must kill
the other, which he did by shooting him
down.

PR0GRBS8 OF CONSTRUCTION. 25

The country was scoured by a body of
Alexander's Horse and some Gurkhas, and
shortly afterwards Runmust Singh was
-captured and hanged in Rewah.

Throughout 1859, construction proceeded
Apace, work progressed along several sections
of the Railway simultaneously.* The chief
difficulty lay in the transport of material
up country, and another trouble of a more
temporary nature was a terrible cholera
-epidemic which ravaged the Rajmahal Dis-
trict during October and November of that
year. For some weeks no less than eight
to ten per cent, of the coolies employed died
weekly, and the disease did not altogether
disappear until the middle of December.
During the epidemic it is estimated that
over 4,000 labourers succumbed, and the
reports of the engineers engaged on con-
struction shew what a trying time they
had.

But by the close of 1859, considerable
progress had been made. The 24 miles
between the river Adjai and Sainthea
4station, the remaining portion of the South
Beerbhoom District, had been opened for
traffic, while the section to Rajmahal was
-almost completed. From Rajmahal also, as
far as Colgong, the works were in a forward
state, and good progress was being made
with sections beyond as far as Monghyr, the
Jamalpur tunnel was in course of construc-
tion, and the only bar to progress further

26 HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

north was the want of bridge and permanent
way material which could not be forwarded
sufficiently quickly.

In the North- West Provinces also work
was already going on as far as Agra, while
arrangements were in progress for getting
possession of the necessary land for the
entrance into Delhi. The Board reported
that ^* the great difficulty still to be overcome
is the transport of permanent-way materials^
from Calcutta to the works", but they had
every confidence that " when the line is-
opened to Rajmahal, and their steam flotilla
is fairly at work, this last remaining bar ta
completion will be removed."

Let us now glance at the traffic being
carried in these early days.

During the year 1859, the number of
passengers carried was 1,388,714 against
1,172,852 in the previous year.

The weight of goods carried was 299,424
tons against 190,566 tons in 1858, and the
increase in th^ mineral traffic was so great
that it was decided to extend what was then
known as the branch to the collieries, from
Raneegunge to Barrakur. '

The net traffic receipts, converted into*
pounds sterling at^the rate of 2s. the rupee,,
are shewn in the following table : —

1855

•{«^«}l2lmUes.

1858 142 „
1869 166 „

£31,252

57,060

82,770

88,148

128,534

€

STATISTICS OF TRAFFIC. 2T

In 1855, the net receipts per mile open per
week were £4 195. 4d, in 1859, £16 9s. 7d.
The percentage of working expenses to
receipts were, in 1855, 53-26, in 1859, 44-85.
The number of passengersand tons of goods-
carried compared : — -

1855. 1859.

Passengers. Goods. Passengers. Goods.

No. Tons. No. Tons.

790,281 27,213 1,388,714 299,424.

At the end of 1859, there were 19 passen-
ger and 30 goods engines running on the line,
and 8 passenger and 20 gopds engines under
construction or repair, the whole of the coach-
ing stock amounted to 228 vehicles, while^
the goods stock only totalled 848 wagons.

CHAPTER HI.
Opening op the Railway to Rajmahal and

SUBSEQUENTLY TO DeLHI. RETIREMENT OB

Mr George Turnbull, the first Rail-
way Engineer in India. — The Construc-
tion OP the Chord Line decided upon,
— Unexpected Growth of Traffic,

FOLLOWED by COMPLAINTS OF WANT OP
ADEQUATE FACILITIES.

On the 4th July 1860, the first train ran
through from Calcutta to Rajmahal, and on
the 15th October following this secition of the
Railway was advertised as open to the public,
the interval of the rains having been employed
in putting the line into efficient order, and
allowing the earthwork to settle and consoli-
date. " Great expectations," the Board said,
" have been formed of the large traffic which
will come upon this portion of the line, but
the Board think it right to guard the share-
holders against too sanguine an expectation
that this traffic will appear simultaneously
with its opening. It will certainly take time
to draw it from its accustomed channels, and
whilst no doubt there will at once be a very
<5onsiderable apparent tonnage conveyed, it
wall principally be in the Company's own
materials, the real trade of the country coming
gradually, and until the advantages of railway
transit are better understood m India, pro-
bably in the first instance somewhat slowly."

OPENIMO TO KAJMAHAL. 29

To commemorate the opening of the line aa
far as Rajmahal, the Government of India
struck a large silver medal which was distri-
buted to the principal officers engaged on
the work. The following is a copy of the
communication sent to one of the District
Engineers employed on tlie work : —

From

THE SECRETARY TO GOVT. OF INDIA,

Public Works Depnrtmmt,

Sir,

GRAHAM TEDDIE, Esq.,

District Engineer,

Easit Indian Raihcaff.

I AM commanded by Ilis Excellency the Viceroy
and Uovernor-General of India to transmit, for your ac>
ceptance, the medal struck by order of Government on the
occasion of opening the East Indian Railway to the
Ganges at Rajmahal. as being a memorable point attained
in the construction of that great work, on which you have
been employed.

I have the honour to be

Sir,

Your most obedient servant,

n. YULE, LiEUT.-CoL.,
Secretary to the Govt, of Tndia,

The Company had now 249 miles at work
in Bengal and 12(5 miles open for traffic in
the North-West Provinces, and during the
year 1860 the additional length of 87 miles
from Cawnpore to Etawah, was opened to
traffic. Certain considerations, however,
rendered it desirable to postpone the cou-

30 HISTORY or THE B. !• RAILWAY.

jstruction of the Jubbulpore section and this
part of the scheme was, for the time being,
placed in abeyance.

During 1861, further sections of the line
were opened for traffic, 72^ miles in Bengal
and 120f miles in the North- West Provinces,
And by the beginning of 1862 the line was
<3ompleted to Mongh37r, so that the Company
had at work 359^ miles in Bengal and 243f
miles in the North- West Provinces, or a
total of 603|^ miles, and there was every
hope that the whole of the main line would
be completed by the end of 1862. In this
year also it was determined to proceed with
the construction of the Jubbulpore branch.

Throughout 1863 various sections of the
main line were completed, but it was not
until the 1st August, 1864, that the East
Indian Railway was opened up to the banks
of the river Jumna at Delhi. The delay
was largely due to a question having been
raised by Government as to the route the
line should follow. In the words of the
Board " The large bridge over the Jumna
at Delhi was being rapidly pushed forward
when the Government of India proposed that
the line should proceed to Lahore, via Meerut
and Saharanpur, instead of from Delhi, in
a direct line to Ferozepore. Pending the
settlement of this question, the principal
works on this bridge have been temporarily
suspended, because the arrangement now
suggested might render it desirable to com-

OPENING TO DELHI. HI

plete the bridge as a road bridge into Delhi
instead of as a railway bridge. This alter-
ation is undoubtedly of great advantage to
the Company engaged on the Lahore line,
and appears to have been originated by the
Government for good and sufficient reasons ;
but it has necessarily involved many serious
-considerations, which the Directors of this
Company have, on public grounds, and in the
interests of this Company, thought it right
to submit to the Secretary of State."

The question was discussed at great length,
but in the end the problem was solved by a
compromise. It was agreed that the East
Indian Railway should run into Delhi, and
that the Punjab line should be constructed
via Meerut and Saharanpur but that it should
also have access to Delhi by running over a
short section (12 miles) of the East Indian
Railway from Ghaziabad. Mr. Crawford,
Chairman of the Board, in his address to the
shareholders in April 1864 said that '* It
was a great gratification to him to state that
the line from Calcutta to Delhi was open for
traffic with the exception of the bridge over
the Jumna at Allahabad. They could now
take passengers over their line from Calcutta
to Delhi and mce versa a distance of 1,020
miles. He thought everyone must admit that
notwithstanding the various difficulties and
obstructions thrown in their way from time
to time, the progress they had made was very
satisfactory. They could not compare the

32 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

work on any line in England, either for
magnitude or length of continuous line, with
their East Indian line. There was not a line
on any part of the Continent to compare with
it. Even the Grand Trunk line of Canada
could not compare with it as to works, pro-
gress or length of line. The completion of
the works at the Delhi end of the line had
been impeded by considerations as to route
and in respect of the point of junction with
the Punjab line. The original course of the
line had been altered by the Government and
it was now to go, through the centre of the
Doab between two rivers, in the direction of
Delhi. The Punjab line had also been altered
so that both lines should enter Delhi. These
alterations in route had caused great delay
in finishing the third great bridge, involving
considerable expense to the Company. The
works on the Jubbulpore line were proceed-
ing satisfactorily, and there was every reason
to believe that the line would be completed
by 1866. From information they had
received, there was no doubt the works would
be completed on the Jubbulpore line to it&
junction with the Bombay Railway at Jub-
bulpore and be ready for exchanging traffic
with the Great Indian Peninsula Company
when they could meet them with their
line."

At this period the construction of the
present main or Chord Line was already under
consideration, several alternative routes had

8 3 1*?

OS'S 2

S » fl
c8 o ce

GOYKBNMBNT APPRBGIATIOK. 33

been surveyed and Government was being
pressed to sanction the adoption of one of
them. The ^eat advantage of the Chord
line was that it would shorten the distance
for carrying " through traffic" by nearly 100
miles and save the expense of doubling the cir-
cuitous route via the Loop or then Main line.
In the meanwhile, the Government was
full of appreciation of the results already
attained. On the 25th August, 1863, the
Secretary to the Government of Bengal,
Railway Branch, wrote to the Secretary to
the Government of India : —

"With reference to the results shewn in the Bevenue
Accoant of the East Indian Railway for the last half year,
which have been prominently noticed in the note submitted
to the Qovernment of India, I am instructed to state that
the Lieutenant-Governor desires to express the gratification
with which he regards the successful issue of the operations
of the season. The vast amount of trafSc, both in passen-

gers and goods, which has been attracted to the Bailway
uring the first six months of its opening to Benares,
notwithstanding the novelty of the^ undertaking, the
necessarily imperfect nature of the station accommodation,
the inexperience of the establishments and the insuflScient
available means, both of locomotion and transport, reflects,
in His Honor's opinion, the highest credit on the Company's
officers, especially those of the Traffic Department, with
Mr. Batchelor at their head, and holds out an almost
certain promise that the Bailway in a short time will not
only become independent of the guarantee and yield a
profit in excess of 5 per cent, to the shareholders, but may
conduce beyond all former expectation to the wealth and
improvement of the country, and to the strength and
financial prosperity of the Government.''

Previous to this the Viceroy, Lord Elgin,
had personally gone over the line from
Calcutta to Bcmares, and we must not omit
to notice the following extract from the offi-

H, BIB %

34 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

cial Gazette, in which is recorded what he
observed on his journey, and his appreciation
of the work done by the Company's Chief
Engineer in Bengal, Mr. George Tumbull,
who, after thirteen years laborious duty,
found that his health would no longer permit
him to give the Company the benefit of his
services, and was about to leave India. The
Board, in referring to the acknowledgment
by Government of Mr. TurnbuU's unique
services, remarked that : —

" Gratifying as any such tokens of respect would doubt-
less be to Mr. Tumbull, they will be nothing as compared
with the reward he will find in the contemplation of the
kindly feelings with which future ages of India Will
unquestionably regard the name of the man whose genius

Elanned and whose indomitable courage and perseverance
ave carried out the magnificent series of works entrusted
to his care."

Extract from " Official Gazette."

Benares^ February *7th, 1863.— H. E. the Viceroy on his
arrival at this city desires to congratulate the ofScers of the
East Indian Bailway Company and thepublic on the comple-
tion of the additional section of the Grrand Trunk line of
Bailway, from Calcutta to the North-West Provinces, that
has been recently opened to Benares, and on the prospects of
the early opening of the whole line for trafi&c up to Allaha-
bad and Delhi.

2. The distance from Calcutta by rail to Benares is 541
miles. Work was begun in 1851. The line to Burdwan
was o[>ened in February 1855 ; to Adjai in October 1858 ;
to Bajmahal in October 1859 ; to Bhagulpore in 1861 ; to
Monghyr in February 1862, and to opposite Benares in
December 1862. In ten years therefore have been opened
(including branches) a continuous length of 601 miles,
being at the rate of 60 miles a year. This is exclusive of
the portion of the line already finished between Allahabad
and Agra in the North- West Provinces, and of the sections
from Agra and Allyghur, which it is expected will be
ready in a few weeks. Including this length, the progress
of the East Indian Bailway has not been short of ninety

MOBB GOVEBNMBNT APPRECIATION. 85

miles a ^ear—a rate which, if it has not come up to the
ezpeotations first entertained is, under all the circum-
stances of the case, satisfactory as regards the past and
encouraging as regards the future.

3. On his journey from Calcutta to Benares H. E. ob-
served, with much interest, the numerous striking works
that have been so successfully constructed on this Bail way
by the Oompany's eu^rineers, and viewed with particular
4idmiration tne great girder bridge over the Soane, which,
it is believed, is exc^ded in magnitude by only one bridge
in the world. The smaller girder bridges over the Kiul
4ind Hullohur, the heavy nood arching in the vicinity of
these rivers, the masonry bridges over the Adjai and More
and the Monghyr tunnel, also attracted the attention of
H.-£. the Viceroy, as works of more than ordinary difficul-
ty designed and carried out with signal ability.

4. H. E. the Governor-General gladly accepts this op-
portunity of acknowledging the services rendered by the
officers of the Bail way Company in the prosecution of this
great work ; and of expressing more specially the strong
sense he entertains of the high engineering skill and the
steady devotion to his duties exhibited by Mr. George
Tumbull, the Chief Engineer of the Company in Bengal, who,
in a few days, will give up the direction of the works which
he has now seen completed. Although not in the immediate
employment of the Government, Mr. Turnbull has, in the
opinion of H. E , well earned the expression of the thanks
of the Governor-General for his professional services, which
liave, indeed, been rendered as much to the public as to the
Bailway Company. In all Mr. TurnbuU's dealings with
the omcers of the Government, he has invariably shewn
that moderation and desire to conciliate, which were
essential for the harmonious and successful carrying on of
the railway works, under the peculiar conditions imposed
by the terms of the Government guarantee ; and the Gover-
nor-General has much satisfaction in signifying, on behalf
of the Government of India, his high estimation of the
manner in which all Mr. TurnbulPs relations with the
Oovemment have been conducted.

6. H. E. the Viceroy will not fail to bring to the favour-
able notice of H. M.'s Government the long and excellent
4services of Mr. Tumbull, who, having been the first Bailway
Engineer employed in India, has now happily seen the por-
tion of this great work on which he was more particularly
engaged brought to a close, after many years of arduous and
persevering labour, under circumstances of unusual difficulty^

86 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

with the most complete satiBfaction to his employers and to
the Government, and with the highest credit to himself.

(Sd.) R. Strachet, Lieut.-Gol., b.s.,

Secretary to the Government of India with
the Oovenwr-Oeneral,

Mr. TurnbuU had encountered and over-
come various difficulties. Besides the magni-
tude of the works, the construction of a
railway was a novelty in India and a
practical knowledge of the country, the
people, and their language had to be acquired.
The native had to be trained to accomplish
tasks entirely foreign to anything he had
seen or heard of before and the wonderful
adaptability which enabled him to carry out,
under European guidance, the construction
of a railroad was in itself an indication that
he would afterwards be able to take charge
of its stations and goods sheds, maintain it&
permanent way and buildings, construct its
engines and rolling stock, work its telegraph
and carry out, often under the most trying
circumstances and contending against all
manner of difficulties, every kind of duty
that would be likely to be required of him.

In the early progress of the work the
engineers were much impeded by the
Sonthal insurrection, and the importation of
labourers from Nagpur and other distant
parts became a necessity. The unhealthiness
of some parts of the country, especially about
the base of the Kaimahal hills, was the cause
of great delays, while from Monghyr upwards

RBTXBBMBNT OF MB. TURNBULL. 37

the eflTect of the Indiaa Mutiny was to
throw back progress for nearly two years.
The circumstances of the route having been
taken along the banks of the Hooghly, the
Bhagarathi and the Ganges made it
necessary to cross all the affluents of those
great rivers, involving large bridges and
extensive viaducts, besides embankments of
unusual length and size, and if any pioneer of
railway construction deserves a memorial
to his name it is Mr. George TurnbuU.

Mr. TurnbuU was succeeded by Mr.
Samuel Power who had been Superintending
Engineer of the Soane bridge. At this time
the line had three Chief Engineers ; Mr.
TurnbuU had been Chief Engineer of the
Bengal Division, Mr. George Sibley was
Chief Engineer of the North- West Provinces,
and Mr. Henry P. Le Mesurier was Chief
Engineer of the Jubbulpore line. On the
opening of the line to Delhi Mr. Sibley also
received the thanks of Government.

By 1864 the traffic of the East Indian
Railway had fast outgrown the facilities for
dealing with it ; stock could not be con-
structed fast enough to carry the traffic but,
as the Board explained, " there was no blame
for deficiency in rolling stock or other matters
that could be laid to the Board. They had
sent out a large quantity of material, includ-
ing ironwork for carriages and wagons ; but
the workshops and factories had been unable
to supply the carriages fast enough." It is

38 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY,

curious to read now of stock difficulties so far
back as 1864 ; the same cry had been heard
ten years before then and has continued
to the present time. But it was not only in
regard to shortage of wagons that there
was, even in those early days, difficulty in
dealing with the traffic offering. Then, as
now, the terminal facilities were totally
inadequate. In his report for the first half
of 1864 Mr. Power, Chief Engineer, Bengal
Division, remarks : —

" It is to be regretted that no improvement has taken
place in the terminus at Howrah, where, at this season, it
18 distressing to witness the general embarrassment of the
traffic and the destruction of cotton, grain and other
property, arising principally from the want of accommoda*
tion at this station, from whence confusion appears to be
propagated over all the line. * * * The heavy expenditure
on permanent goods sheds, formerly proposed, would not
be expedient now, when the establishment of a great
metropolitan station in Calcutta is under discussion,"

While the Board said : —

** At present the terminus of the line was at Howrah
opposite Calcutta, but everybody said the proper place for
the terminus was in Calcutta itself, and it was proposed
that the East Indian line should be brought across the
Hooghly, by a bridge at a point about two miles above
Calcutta, and thus be brought into the city itself, and there
form junctions with two other Kail ways. The capital re-
quired for this purpose was about £1,000,000."

The question of bridging the Hooghly
and constructing a terminus in Calcutta was
jointly considered by Mr. A. M. Kendel,
the Company's Consulting Engineer, and
Mr. Power, who in 1865 reported as
follows : —

PROPOSED CBNTRAL STATION IN CALCUTTA. 89

'<It can hardly be expected that the community of
Calcutta should be contented with their present means of
access to the Railway, and it has long been foreseen that as
soon as the value of railway communication in India was
established, a demand would be made for a more perfect con-
nection with the capital. As far back as 1854, the subject
was referred by the then Government of India to the late
Mr. Bendel. During the Mutiny, and for a few years
subsequent to it, the attention of the public was otherwise
occupied, but early in 1862 Mr. Tumbull, by the direction
of the Government, prepared plans for a bridge over the
Hooffhly, near Pultah Ghat In the early part of last year
the Eastern Bengal Railway Company proposed to connect
their line with the East Indian by a bridge 30 miles above
Calcutta. This scheme would have had the effect of trans-
ferring to the Eastern Bengal the whole of the East Indian
through traffic for the same length. It was therefore
opposed by the Board and ultimately rejected by the
(Government of India, apparently on the ground that, in
the interest of the public, the bridge should be placed as
near as possible to Calcutta, and should be a part of the
East Indian Railway system. Finally, towards the close of
last year, a Committee was appointed in India by the
Governor-General to investigate the question in connec-
tion with the improvement of the port generally. The
Board are in possession of the evidence taken before
the Committee and the report which they have had based
upon it. It is sufficient here to say that we fully agree with
the Committee in regard to the necessity for the bridge and
terminal station in Calcutta, also in regnrd to the site
selected for them. We have reason also to believe that the
Government of India entertain a similar opinion ; and
however much the Board may desire to avoid so important
an increase of the Company's responsibilities, yet if it is
offered to them under the usual guarantee, they cannot, in
our opinion, if they would be uncontrolled in the use of
their access to Calcutta, refuse to undertake it.''

Further reference will be made to this
proposal of bridging the Hooghly and
constructing in Calcutta a central station.
SuflSce to say for the present that we know
what has actually been done. The Hooghly
has not been bridged in the immediate vici-
nity of the city, except by a floating roadway

40 HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

and there is no central station. The Blast
Indian Railway crosses the river about 25
miles North of Calcutta and runs on the
metals of the Eastern Bengal Railway to the
Kidderpore Docks, on the southern outskirts
of the city, and the idea of bridging the
Hooghly and constructing a centrd station
is apparently further off accomplishment
than it was in 1864.

Other schemes for improving facilities
of transport were however being also con-
sidered and notably the construction of the
chord line from Raneegunge to Luckieserai
on the Ganges. This scheme was strongly
supported by Mr. Rendel on the around
that it woula save doubling the Loop line be-
tween Khana and Luckieserai, a distance of
252 miles, it would have the effect of bring-
ing the coalfields 200 miles nearer the centre
of the Company's system, thus benefiting
not only the Company but the public, and it
would greatly shorten the distance between
Calcutta and the North- West Provinces,
the more material point being that it would
place Allahabad, where the traflBc of the
North- West Provinces would diverge to the
east or west, in a position that would go far
to counterbalance the advantage which Bom^
bay has been assumed to possess over Cal^
cutta as a shipping port.

The arguments in favour of the chord
line were such as could not be controverted
and the scheme was carried. I do not

DECISION TO CONSTRUCT THB CHORD LINE. 41

think that at the present day any better
arguments could be advanced in favour of
the grand chord line now under construction.
The position at the time was that the single
line via the loop could not carry the traffic
oflTering, in fact it was the general opinion
that it could not carry sufficient traffic to earn
more than a net revenue of 5 per cent.
Therefore the question to decide was whether
this single line, traversing a round about
route should be doubled, or whether a new
line by a shorter route should be constructed.
The decision was in favour of the short-er route,
but in the meantime considerable pressure
was put upon the Secretary of State and the
Board to double the loop or old line, as well
as to construct the new route via the chord.
The Government of India and the Bengal
Chamber of Commerce both urged upon the
Secretary of State the necessity for this being
done, but the Board shared the opinion of
their chief engineer, Mr. Power, that such
a course was quite unnecessary and even-
tually the Secretary of State accepted the
views of the Board. That these views were
correct is proved by the fact that up to
the present time the loop line remains
single and fully meets traffic require-
ments.

The work of constructing the chord line
was exceedingly slow and it was not opened
for public traffic until the 1st January
1871, although the centre line had been set

42 HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

out by the engineers early in 1865. It is
true that the country is broken and difficult
and that the thick jungle necessitated very
close examination to select the best ground,
but after all this had been done there were
great difficulties with the contractors who
nad taken up the work of construction and
it was on this account that the chief delay
occurred.

The bridge over the Jumna at ^Lllahabad
was opened for traffic on the 15th August,
1865. It had taken nearly 8 years to construct
and its completion wm a subject for much
congratulation ; it was the middle link in the
long chain of unbroken communication
established by the East Indian Railway, for
the first time in the history of India, between
the right bank of the Hooghly at Calcutta
and the left bank of the Jumna at Delhi.
Mr. Sibley, the Chief Engineer of the North-
West Provinces and Messrs. Collett and
Donne, the District and Assistant Engineers
and the subordinate staff under them received
the thanks of Government and the encomiums
of the Board.

The only remaining works of construction
now in hand were the bridge across the Jumna
at Delhi together with the station arrange-
ments in that city, the Jubbulpore branch and
the chord line with its branch to the Giridih
collieries. It was also decided to double part
of the line, which was then all single with the
exception of the Burdwan-Howrah section.

OPENING THROUGH TO DELHI. 43

The Jumna bridge at Delhi was openeji for
traffic in 1866, this was the last of the great
bridges and its completion meant in the
words of Mr. Crawford, the Chairman of the
Board, that "a passenger starting from Cal-
cutta could cross the river in one of the
Company's ferry boats to their present ter-
minus at Howrah and from thence, by one
of the Company's trains proceed to the city
of Delhi in the same carriage over the whole
distance/'

The Jubbulpore branch was not completed
and opened for traffic before the 1st June,
1867, out prior to this date a temporary coach
service was established between Jubbulpore
and Nagpur, the then terminus of the Great
Indian Peninsular Railway, so that passen-

fers were able to proceed from Calcutta to
Bombay and vice versa, the journey from
Calcutta occupying about five days and the
cost being Rs. 231-2-6. Rather different to
the ordinary first class fare of Rs. 91-11-0
now in force.

A word as to the growth of traffic is now
desirable. For the first time in the history of
the undertaking, the net earnings during the
half vear ended the 30th June, 1866, enabled a
dividend to be declared, exceeding the guaran-
teed interest of 5 per cent., the additional
dividend was at the rate of J per cent, and so
within 12 years of the opening of its first
section, the corner was turned in which the
Railway began to earn something beyond

£ -

ai 1,680

263,025

269,406

439,964

625,894

928,751

1,119,316

44 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

%vhat the Groverment had guaranteed to the
shareholders.

In a previous chapter the annual net
earnings were given to the end of 1859, and
continuing this we find them to have been
during the next seven years : —

I860

1861

1862 •••

1863

1864

1865

1866

In 1859, under a million and a half passen-
gers were carried, in 1886 the number had
risen to considerably over fc«ir millions, while
the weight of goods and minerals lifted had,
in the same period, risen from 299,424 to
802,043 tons. In the working expenses
however there was very little improvement ;
standing at 44*85 per cent, of the gross
•earnings in 1859 they had only been reduced
to 44-34 per cent, in 1866.

The growth of traffic had, as previously
indicated, been far beyond the most sanguine
expectations and considerable dissatisfaction
was expressed by the public at the inadequate
facilities provided by the Railway. In his
address to the shareholders on the 29th June,
1866, Mr. Crawford referred at some length
to the complaints made. He said : —

** The subject of traffic naturally suggests to me the com-
plaints which have been made in India during the last four
months with respect to the management of our line. And

COMPLAINTS OF INADEQUATE FACILITIES. 45

upon that I must Bay that while, undoubtedly, a single-
line has not been found equal to the conveyance of the
traffic of that part of India which it serves, so efficiently as-
we should desire, still I am bound to^sav that I cannot accept
on the part of the Company any blame in consequence.
It was not at all unreasonable to expect that when
the line was completed throtkghout, the traffic of that part
of India would be brought on our line, in a great degree
deserting the old modes of conveyance, whether by road or
by river. But it would have been, I apprehend, an unwise
policy on our part to have anticipatea that event to the-
fullest extent, even if we had the means to do so, because
if any disappointment had ensued, then I think, the Direc-
tors would have been fairly chargeable with something ap-
proaching to rashness if they had embarked your money in
an unnecessary outlay."

Such was the explanation of the Chairman
of the Directors, and from it, if from nothing^
else, the fact clearly stands out that the
traffic to be carried far exceeded all anticipa-
tions. The Railway in short was quite
unprepared for the demands made upon it,.
but considering the expenditure that im-
provements of facilities would have involved,,
caution was needed and the Directors could
not be blamed for exercising caution or for
taking time to consider and examine what
was best to be done. The merchants of
Calcutta held a meeting at which some
resolutions were passed, first '*That no*
check of any kind should be placed on the
supply of rolling stock till the requirements^
of the traffic are satisfied." Secondly " That
the line should be doubled throughout its
entire length with as little delay as possible/"
Thirdly "That by means of a bridge over
the Hooghly at Calcutta, the terminus of the

46 BISTORT OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

line should be transferred from Howrah to
the metropolis, and if possible, to some
•central position which shall form a terminus
common to all lines entering this City."

Now it would have cost probably six
millions sterling to double the line through-
out and to add such a supply of stock as
would meet all the requirements of the busiest
43eason and the interests of the shareholders
had to be considered — but apart from this it
would not have been possible at the time to
raise in London so large an amount of addi-
tional capital. Therefore the Board had to add
to the facilities by degrees. Over 99 per cent,
of the capital of the East Indian Kailway had
been subscribed in London and the Chairman
held the opinion that it was not quite reason-
able that merchants in India should expect
other people to find an unlimited amount for
the purpose of enabling the Railway, upon an
emergency, to meet every possible demand
made upon it. " But," he added, " with a

freat traflSc existing, with the certainty
efore us that the traffic when fully developed
will be sufficient to pay a very large return,
•even as a double line, I have no doubt what-
ever, that our policy of gradually doubling
the line at convenient places, from time to
time, and as gradually stocking it, will
answer all the just expectations that can be
•entertained of us."

At this time the line was about to be
doubled from Luckieserai, where the Chord

ADDITIONS TO BOLUKG STOCK. 47

and Loop lines met, as far as Allahabad and
arrangements had been made for the supply
of no less than 215 additional locomotives.
In addition to this the rolling stock was
being materially added to, so that the Board
of Directors were doing all that could well
be expected of them and were by no means
asleep to the position.

CHAPTER IV.

The AuGNMiNT of the East Indian Rail-
way AND OTHER MATTERS.

The actual route the East Indian Railway
should follow on its course from Calcutta
to Delhi, naturally formed a subject for
much controversy. The general idea was to
get to Delhi through Mirzapore and the
original survey was made with the intention
of taking the line very much along the
course of the route now being constructed
as the Grand Chord ; it was in fact at first
proposed to run the lower section of the
railroad in as direct a line as possible to
Benares.

Had this idea been adopted, the selection
would not have been without distinct
advantages. It would, in the first place,
have given a far shorter route to the
North- West Provinces than that afforded
by the Loop line ; secondly it would
have led to the discovery of the Jherriah Coal-
field forty years earlier than it was actually
opened up ; and thirdlv, it would have al-
tered the whole complexion of the Indian
Mutiny, for without any great pressure on
the resources of the engineers the shorter

DECISION IN FAVOUR OF THK LOOP LINE ROUTE. 4^

route could easily have been completed as
far as RajgMt, on the banks of the river
Gangesopposite Benares, before the summer of
1857. If this much had been accomplished,
Benares, instead of Calcutta, would have
formed our military base, the massacre of
Cawnpore would have been unheard of and
Lucknow would never have been besieged.
Our troops would, in short, have only had to
deal with Delhi, and the East Indian Railway
would have been the means of ^ving at least
half the bloodshed, and of terminating the
struggle in quarter the time actually taken.
When the Mutiny broke out the rail ended
at Raneegunge, that is to say, within 121
miles of Calcutta, and when time meant
everything and each day was precious, it
took troops the best part of three weeks to
march from the rail head to Benares, while
the conveyance of stores and munitions of
war took still longer.

At least two years were lost in discussion,
but at last the decision was come to, to take
the main line more or less along the course of
the Granges, the chief object being " to tap
the river at Rajmahal." When, however, the
railway got as far as Rajmahal, there was
no river to tap, as in the meantime the
Ganges had changed its course and the im-
portance of Rajmahal had gone. But apart
from this, the idea of making the main line
vid the loop and constructing a branch line
to the Raneegunge coal field, committed the

H, BIB 4

50 HISl'ORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

railway to an impossible course for its up-
country coal traflBc. It meant that all coal
for Upper India had first to be conveyed fifty
miles m a downward direction, and then had
to be sent upwards by the roundabout loop
line. To illustrate in some measure what
this amounted to when put into mileage, it
is only necessary to say that the openmg ot
the present Chord line effected a saving of
146 miles between Raneegunge and Benares,
while the opening of the Grand Chord line
will mean the saving of another 50 miles be-
tween the same points.

On the other hand there is much to be
said in favour of the decision to run the
original main line along the fertile valley of
the Ganges. Setting aside the fact that,
before the days of railroads, the river wao the
chief means of transport and the main route
of commerce, all the more important towns
and trading centres such as Bhagulpur,
Monghyr and Patna lay along its banks, and
seeing that the first object of the railway,
from a commercial point of view, was to
secure traflBc, it was most desirable that
these towns should be served. They were
the marts for the disposal of the produce of
the adjoining districts, including the trans-
Ganges districts which were then, of course,
without railroads of any kind. It was more
necessary to open out this part of the country
than to run a railway through a coalfield,
which, seeing that there was then but a

RBASONB IN FAVOUR OF THK LOOP LINE ROUTB. 61

small market for the disposal of coal, was
unlikely to yield a traflBe for many years ;
or to traverse an unprofitable route, at a time
when the first need was to draw to the
railway a traffic that existed and only needed
to be secured and developed. Had the
railway in the first instance been constructed
through the hills of Hazaribagh, traversing
a wild and thinly populated country, while
the fertile and thickly peopled districts of
the Gangetic plain were left untouched,
there is little doubt that the financial success
of the undertaking would have remained
for a long period unassured. It is true that
if, in the first instance, the main line of rail
had followed the direct route, a branch line
might have been constructed from, say, Gya
to JPatna, and that the East Indian Railway
Company's Collieries at Giridih might have
been reached in a reverse direction, from the
vicinity of Parasnath, still the great dis-
tricts bordering the best part of the Ganges
would have been left untouched, and the
whole of the traffic they contribute to the
rail would have been lost.

On the v-hole therefore, the decision to
run the original main line via the loop was a
wise one, notwithstanding the fact that this
route involved the crossing of all the water-
ways which drained into the Ganges, and so
necessitated an enormous amount of bridging;
notwithstanding also that it was the more
expensive route to construct. It may also

52 HISTORY OF THB K. I. RAILWAY.

be said that had this route not been followed
by the East Indian Railway at the outset,
another company would certainly have
stepped in ; the Great Western of Bengal
Railway was in fact formed with this very
object.

An alternative which does not appear to
have been discussed, but has occurred to
the writer, would have been to continue the
loop line as far as Moghalsarai and to con-
struct the main line by the route which the
Grand Chord will follow. This would have
saved the construction of the present Chord
between Sitarampur and Luckieserai, a sec-
tion of the line which is not at all profit-
able, except for the Giridih branch, which
could have been constructed in the reverse
direction.

The loop line had not been opened long
when the necessity for the Chord or present
main line was established, and its construc-
tion decided upon; it would have been a
fatal error if, instead of constructing the
Chord line, the single line along the loop
had, as some proposed, been doubled. It
was enough that, at a time when railroads
in India were mere experiments, the em-
bankments and bridges of the loop were
constructed to carry a double line, though
to this day a single line is ample for its
traffic requirements.

In the meantime other questions as to
alignment arose, the more important being

ALIGNMENT BKTWKKN AGRA AND DBLHI. 53

that in relation to the route to be followed
between Agra and Delhi. It was at first
decided to cross the Jumna at Agra and to
run the line along the right bank of that
river to Delhi ; this was indeed the more
direct route and work was actually started
on it, part of the embankment being in
evidence to this day. Before, however,
any rails were laid, a discussion arose and as a
consequence a change was introduced ; the
Government decided that the better course
was to construct a branch line to Agra, in
the same way that a branch line had been
constructed to the river Ganges opposite
Benares, and that the main line should be
taken along the Ganges Doab, that is to say,
between tihe Ganges and Jumna rivers,
crossing the latter at Delhi instead of at
Agra. Here again the great advantage was
that more important towns would be served,
and a still more fertile country traversed,
than by following the shorter and more
direct route along the right bank of the
Jumna. These being the facts it seems
particularly unjust that years afterwards,
overlooking the claims of the East Indian,
the construction of the direct line between
Agra and Delhi should have been given by
Government to a competing railway ; yet
this is what has been done and a Wes-
tern India line now owns the route originally
proposed by the East Indian Railway, and
competes for its traffic.

54 HIBTORT OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

Having reached Delhi the primary object
of the East Indian Railway was accom-
plished. It is unnecessary to refer again
to the controversy as to the entry into
Delhi and the proposal that the East Indian
Railway should be continued to Lahore, we
know how these questions were settled ;
it is enough to say that, at the time, the
Directors were satisfied with what had
been accomplished, and that until after the
appointment of General Sir Richard Strachey
as Chairman of the Board, nothing more in
the way of extension or construction was
undertaken, although, as indicated elsewhere,
the claim of the East Indian Railway to
construct the Grand Chord line was, from
time to time, strongly pressed on the Govern-
ment. The story of the Grand Chord line
is dealt with in another chapter ; it would
have been hard indeed had the making of
this route been also entrusted to another
system.

Time passed, and the construction of other
railways proceeded apace. The Govern-
ment of India came to the conclusion that
in order to open up those parts of the
country, off the main routes, where traffic
was not likely to be heavy, certain railways
should be constructed on the metre gauge,
instead of on the broad gauge which had
been accepted as the standard when railway
construction began. In this way_the_ jla^-
putana Railway came Into "existence and has

RAIL COKNBCTION WITH SIMLA. 55

ever since been saddled ^th the^ tranship-
ment difficulty, at every point ar^i;^idi_it^
joins a broad gauge line ; a severe-bandioap
in many ways, but particularly so where
competitio n^ ex is^ There are few who
doubt now that metre gauge lines should
only be constructed as feeders to broad
gauge railways, but so far as the writer
knows, there is no definite policy in the
matter.

In their anxiety to make railways cheaply,
the Government also sanctioned a metre
gauge railway between Muttra and Hathras,
which was afterwards extended to Agra on .
the one side and to Cawnpore on the other.
This line was made within the sphere of
influence of the East Indian and at once
started to compete for its traffic. How it
was that the East Indian Railway failed to
protest against the scheme is not clear, but
it is evident that this line should have been
constructed on the broad gauge, as part of
the East Indian system which it crosses.

In 1889 a Company was formed to connect
the East Indian Railway with the summer
head-quarters of the Government of India
in Simla. This line, starting from Delhi
and termiaating at Kalka at the foot of the
Simla hills, is known as the Delhi-Umballa-
Kalka Railway, and is worked by the East
Indian as part of its system. Since then a
Railway on a 2' 6" gauge has been con-
structed between Kalka and Simla which is

56 HISTORY OF THE K. I. RAILWAY.

managed as a separate concern, but has not
so far proved a financial success ; the cost of
its construction seems to have been a great
deal heavier than at first anticipated, while
its traffic is inconsiderable.

The South Behar Railway which runs
from Luckieserai Junction to Gya is another
lipe constructed by a company but worked
by the East Indian, and in the same way
the East Indian works the Tarkessur Rail-
way, a short branch from Sheoraphuli to
Tarkessur. The Patna-Gya line originally
constructed by the State and worked as a
State line, and the branch from Nalhati to
Azimgunge, which had also become a State
Railway before it was handed over to the
East Indian and its gauge altered, are now
incorporated with the East Indian, and there
is little doubt that the South Behar should
be treated in the same way.

CHAPTER V.

Trade depression— Mr. A. M. Rendel visits
India again and criticises the working
OF THE East Indian Railway — Estab-
lishment OP A Provident Fund.

Following several years of progress and
successive seasons of increase, a temporary
check set in in 1867. The period was marked
by extreme depression in trade, and added to
this the country was visited by abnormal
floods, rendering the roads to the stations im-
passable for heavy traflSc. The cotton boom
of 1866, which had done so much to increase
the receipts that year, was at an end, and
under all heads of merchandise there was a
falling off*, though fortunately the passenger
traffic continued to grow.

This change in the march of progress at
once drew attention to the question of
expenditure, and the point was raised whether
it was really necessary or desirable to pro-
ceed with all the difterent works that had
been sanctioned. Mr. A. M. Rendel, the
Companj^'s Consulting Engineer, was accord-
ingly deputed to visit India again, to in-
vestigate the question on the spot, in
communication with the officers of the
Company and of the Government, and to
consider in regard to works in contemplation
or in course of execution, whether they

58 HISTORY OF THE B. I. KAILWAY.

should be proceeded with or deferred. Mr.
Rendel proceeded to India in November
1867, and returning in March 1868, submitted
a very full report on the various matters
relating to his mission. He found that the
great growth in expenditure during the
preceding two years had been in advance of
the natural development of the traffic, and
as a consequence, many works which were
projected, when it seemed that the power of
the Railway to carry traffic was the sole limit
to its use, were indefinitely postponed. Among
others the doubling of the line between
Gahmar station and Allahabad was deferred
resulting in a saving of about £527,000.
He reviewed the question relating to the
construction of a bridge across the Hooghly
river at Calcutta ; dealt with the detail of
duty performed by rolling-stock, stated his
view that the mileage run was out of pro-
portion to the work done and criticised the
working generally. He advocated mixed
trains and a reduction in the third class fare
from 3 to 2^ pie per mile, and investigated
fuel consumption and numerous other matters.
He also advocated that the whole line should
be placed under one, instead of three chief
Engineers, examined generally the establish-
ment employed and proposed certain rules
relating to the salaries of the staff and
so forth. He altered the form of statistics
shewing cost of working the line and made
many suggestions which could not fail to

PROVIDBNT FUND BSTABLISHBD. 59

be beneficial, and were for the most part
adopted.

At this time one of the most difficult
questions which had presented itself to the
Board, in the organisation and management
of the staff in India, had been how to meet
the claims constantly urged for the payment
of pensions, after a given period of service^
founded upon the analogy of the Government
services. The Company's European staff
consisted of gentlemen, drawn chiefly from
the best managed English lines, and it was
felt that, without some retiring provision
being made for them, the railway service in
India did not form sufficient attraction.
Various schemes, with a view to make the
service more popular, were suggested, both at
home and in India, but until 1 867 every such
proposition was found, from one cause or an-
other, to blB impracticable. In that year the
conclusion was come to, after much anxious
consideration, that the best mode of meeting
the difficulty was to establish a Provident
Fund, in the advantages of which all the ser-
vants of the Company, European and native,
receiving a monthly pay of Rs. 30 and up-
wards should participate, the Fund being
supported by contributions from the staff,
assisted by the Company.

It was proposed : —

1st. That the present staff shall contri-
bute to the Fund only if they think fit ;
but that all persons joining the service on

60 HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

and from a given date, with a monthly pay
of Rs. 30 or over, and those who may be
promoted to this pay, shall be required to do
so.

2nd. That the staff shall be divided into
two Classes — Class A consisting of all
European servants of the Company and
Class B comprising all servants of the Com-
pany not Europeans.

3rd. That those in Class A shall contribute
5 per cent, and those in Class B 2^ per cent,
on their respective monthly salaries.

4th. That the Company shall contribute
annually 1 per cent, on the surplus net
earnings, after 6 per cent, per annum has
been appropriated to the Company and the
Government, in the terms of their contract,
together with 1 per cent, on the 6 per cent, so
appropriated so far as the surplus will admit
of the said contributions.

5th. That the monies of the Fund shall be
invested, from time to time, either in Indian
Government securities or in railway stock,
and that subject to rules and regulations to be
prescribed by the Board, the Fund and all
accruing interest shall be the property of
the respective members of the staff in the
ratio of their subscriptions.

Such were the rules of the original
Provident Fund. Its creation was beneficial
to the staff in numerous ways and it had the
effect of giving every servant a direct per-
sonal interest in the economical working of

OPENING OF JUBBULPOBB BRANCH. 61

the line, but it has never to this day given
any employee a sufficient retiring allowance,
and although various changes have been
made in the original scheme, all of which
have been introduced with the object of assist-
ing the subscribers, a strong feeling exists
that something more is needed.

In 1867 overtures were made to the Board
to take over the Nalhati Branch Railway,
constructed by a company known as the
Indian Branch Railway Company, but the
Board then declined to entertain them, as
they were not prepared at the time "to
construct or work any more branch lines."
It was not until about 30 years afterwards
that this railway, which in the meantime
had been transferred to the State anovwas
known as the Nalhati State Railway, was
taken over by the East Indian and converted
into a broad gauge line. It is kno\vn now as
the Azimgunge branch line, and is part and
parcel of the undertaking.

The Jubbulpore line was opened on the
1st August, 1867, before the Great Indian
Peninsular Railway was ready to connect,
and in the same year it was decided to
construct a road bridge between Howrah and
Calcutta, though whether this work should
be undertaken by direct Government agency,
or committed to the Municipality with
Government assistance, was not then settled^

During the second half year of 1868 the
traffic shewed signs of reviving and the net

62 HISTORY OF TBB B. I. RAILWAY.

receipts of the year exceeded those of 1866,
but the depression was not yet over and the
development of traffic for some time was
very gradual.

The following statement shews the net
earnings of the Company from 1866 to 1869
inclusive : —

£ s. d.

1866 ... .. ... I,1I9,.316 6 2

1867 ... ... ... 1,076,741 12 8

1868 ... ... ... 1,217,620 16 8

1869 ... ... ... 1,446,322 6 10

The increases shewn in the net earnings
would not have been so great but for the
fact that working expenses w- ere considerably
reduced. By 1869 they had been brought
down to 41*57 per cent, of the gross earnings.
In this year the number of passengers car-
ried was 4,911,018 and the weight of goods
and minerals 1,261,113 tons.

In 1869 the East Indian Railway Volun-
teer Rifle Corps was formed, Mr. Edward
Palmer, the Agent, was the first Honorary
Colonel and about 416 servants of the Com-
pany at once enrolled themselves. The number
of members has since increased very greatly
and the corps is now over 2,300 strong with
very few inefficients.

CHAPTER VI.

Opening of the Chord line followed by

A TEMPORARY SLUMP IN TRAFFIC ThE

Bengal famine of 1873-4 — Reductions
IN rates — Coal exported from Calcutta
— Analysis op statistics introduced.

The year 1870 opened with the Chord Hne
still awaiting completion, but otherwise this
was the only important work of construction
that remained unfinished.

The Chord line was opened for pubUc
traffic on the 1st January 1871, and on this
date the work of constructing the East
Indian Railway was considered to have
ended. The engagements of all engineers
not required for the maintenance of the line
were now terminated, and the Board directed
that the permanent staff should " be fixed at
the lowest scale consistent with the nature
of the duties to be performed."

The opening of the Chord route increased
the mileage of the Railway to 1,280 miles —
400 miles being double and 880 miles single —
but no sooner had the Railway been thus
far completed than a serious decline in traffic
set in. The tonnage of goods and minerals
carried during the first half of 1871 was
580,378 tons, against 700,804 tons in the
corresponding half year of 1870. The

64 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

Company's goods sheds were empty, its
wagons lay idle in sidings and many of its
engines were put out of running. The
Government of India were so concerned that
they appointed a Committee to investigate
the cause.

But there were no doubts as to the chief
reasons of the decrease ; in 1870 an excep-
tionally large famine traffic had been carried
in consequence of a scarcity in the North-
West Provinces, while the export seed trade
of 1871 was much smaller than in the prece-
ding year, because of a dull market in Calcutta,
and because, in the words of the Board, the
merchants, whenever the market was dull,
" preferred the somewhat cheaper though
more dilatory conveyance afforded by the
river, which, owing to a very heavy rainfall,
became navigable at an earlier period of
the year than usual." Then again the Board
tell us of another cause of decreased traffic,
which is curious reading in these days, "the
importations of English coal at Calcutta,
as compared with any previous period since
the Railway has been opened, have been so
large as to have successfully competed m
price with native coal, and have unques-
tionably very seriously interfered with the
market for the latter."

The Committee appointed by Government
do not appear to have thrown any fresh light
on the question, but there is little doubt that
the rates charged at the time were excessive,

RBTIRBMBNT OF MR. E. PALMEU. 65

or traflfic would not have fluctuated as it did
between the river and the rail. A change in
the mode of regulating the charge for carriage
was sorely needed, though the point was not
seriously taken up until some years later,
when the experiences of a serious famine
shewed what the possibilities were. Greater
attention seems, however, to have been paid
to^ lowering the cost of transport, and a
fmiiher reduction in the working expenses
followed. In the first half of 1872 these
were brought down to 38*66 per cent, of the
gross earmngs and in 1873 to 37 per cent.

In 1873 Mr. E. Palmer, who had succeeded
Sir Macdonald Stephenson in May 1857 and
had held the oflfice of sole Agent until 1866,
when a fresh Board of Agency, of which he
became Chairman, was constituted, retired.
Mr. Palmer left the East Indian Railway, the
foremost line in India for financial success,
and in the words of the Consulting Engineer
to the Government of India, " second to none
in vigour of administration." The Govern-
ment of India also expressed their apprecia-
tion of Mr. Palmer's "long and loyal service
and high character."

The Agency was now reconstructed, and
instead of consisting of three members, was
conducted by two only, Messrs. Cecil
Stephenson and George Sioley.

Owing to a failure of the rains in 1873 a
famine occurred in Bengal, and the following
extract from Mr. Crawford's address to the
BIR ?>

66 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

shareholders indicates the measures taken
by the Government of India and the Rail-
way Company to assist the people during
that calamity : —

" The Directors had placed the line at the disposal of the
Government. The Railway rate was fo?. per ton per mile,
but the Government was sending the people provisions at a
much less carriage charge than that, and made up the
deficiency to the Company. Apart, however, from all
questions of profit, it was a source of sincere gratification
to the Directors, that they were able to render substantial
assistance to the (Government, in supplying the population
of fiensal with food. Qiving the Government the assist-
ance of all their locomotive plant, they were enabled to
deliver 4,000 tons of grain daily for the use of the people."

From the 1st November 1873 to the 3rd
September 1874, the quantity of food grains
carried into the famine-stricken districts and
delivered at stations between Rajmahal and
Arrah, was estimated at nearly seven hundred
and fifty thousand tons. The traffic consisted
chiefly of rice from Howrah, and of other
grain from the North- West Provinces, and
was consigned partly on Government and
partly on private account.

In order to convey and accommodate so
large an addition to the ordinary business of
the Company, some thirty additional engines
were erected and brought into use ; forty-six
drivers and firemen were sent out from
England, and ten were lent by the Madras
Railway ; wagons were hired from the Bom-
bay Baroda and Central India Railway ;
the staff* of guards was largely augmented ;
watchmen were engaged to protect the grain

FAMINE IN BENGAL. 67

lying at stations ; and sidings to the river
6anges were laid, for the use of the Govern-
ment, at Mokameh, Barh, and Futwah.

The half-yearly report of the Directors
referring to this subject states that " the
desire of the Board effectively to support
the efforts of the Government in coping
successfully with this, perhaps the greatest
exigency of modern times, has been most
ably and efficiently seconded and sustained
throughout, by the unwearied and zealous
co-operation of the whole of the service."
Put in another way the East Indian Railway
had been the main instrument by which a
dire calamity had been prevented from
attaining the proportions of a fearful catas-
trophe. This had been done without any
interference whatever with the regular
traffic of the country and at a rate which
left no burden upon the Indian exchequer.
The Railway, it was alleged, "was not a
competitor with the river Ganges for the
supply of the food required by the starving
population, but merely another instrument in
the hands of the Government for accom-
plishing their object."

As a result of the Bengal famine, con-
siderable attention was given to the grain
rates, and the wants of the different districts
served by the Railway were carefully studied
with a view to developing traffic generally.
Perhaps the most important lesson learnt
was that, in the upper part of India, there

68 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

was a very large growth of grain and espe-
cially of wheat, a good deal of which found its
way down the river Indus to the sea at
Kurrachee. In a favourable season there
was an immense surplus to dispose of and
efforts were made to draw this produce to
Calcutta, by quoting lower rates for its car-
riage than had previously been thought
of. These efforts proved in a large measure
successful ; by introducing considerably re-
duced grain rates, a valuable traffic was
drawn to the line and a profitable business
established.

The only section of the Railway which
was not doing so well as anticipated was the
Jubbulpore branch, its local traffic was poor
and the traffic interchanged with the Great
Indian Peninsular Railway nominal. The
Chairman said in his address in July 1874,
"the Jubbulpore line must be considered
for the present in the light of a political
line, and it is very useful to travellers ; but
as regards the trade and commerce of the
countiy, the line has not done much." The
Jubbulpore branch runs for the most part
through an uncultivated waste, poorly popu-
lated, and has always been the least paying
portion of the Railway.

In 1873 some Bengal coal was taken by
Madras for the use of the Madras Railway,
and some was conveyed to Singapore for the
manufacture of gas, and some to Bombay
for cotton spinning works. The quantity

THB CHORD ROUTE AND THK COAL TRAFFIC. 69

exported was small, but this was the first
recorded trade in export coal and at the time
quite a new feature in the traffic. While on
the subject of coal, it is well to s*iy a few
words as to the result of opening the Chord
line route. It will be remembered that ont^
of the reasons for constructing this route
was that it would have the effect of bringing
the Bengal coalfields nearer to the centre
of the Company's system. The policy of the
Board had often been questioned on the score
of the initial expense, and on the grounds
that the Chord route ran through an unprofit-
able tract of country, which its opponents
thought was adequately served by the original
branch line to the Kaneegunge collieries.
In 1875 Mr. Crawford in his address to the
shareholders dwelt on this subject ; he said : —

" Tbey might now look upon the policy involved in the
construction of that line with the utmost satisfaction. It
had placed at their command that ample and abundant
supply of fuel, which had enabled them to carry on their
operations, without any fear whatever of being brought
Dto difficulty for want of it."

Not only did the Chord line place at the

ervice of the Company and of the public,

acluding foreign railways, a vast quantity of

asily accessible coal, but in opening out new

)urces of supply, it brought about, not only

reduction in cost, but a better quality of fuel

lan that obtainable from Raneegunge itself

During 1875 considerable changes were

ewle in the personnel of the administration

Calcutta, Mr. Cecil Stephenson, Chief

70 HISTORY OF THE E. I. RAILWAY.

Agent, died, and Mr. Sibley, who had been
Chief Engineer for many years, retired, and
seeing that all construction works of any
magnitude were at an end, it was thought
unnecessary to retain the services of both an
Agent and a Chief Engineer. Mr. Bradford
LesHe, now Sir Bradford Leslie, who had
formerly been Chief Engineer of the Eastern
Bengal Railway Company and had after-
wards been employed in building the floating
road bridge over the Hooghly, was selected
to fill the dual appointment of Agent and
Chief Engineer.

Shortly after Mr. Cecil Stephenson's death
a tablet to his memory was placed on the
wall of Howrah Station and a copy of the
inscription on it is here given : —

In Memory of
CECIL MACKINTOSH STEPHENSON,

Agent of the

EAST INDIAN RAILWAY COMPANY,

Who died at Sea on the 21st November 1875, aged 66.

THIS TABLET IS ERECTED

As A MARK OF TIIEIR SINCERE ESTEEM AND ReSPBCT

By more than five thousand Officers and Men

Of the East Indian Railway

(And others desiring to join),

Who have also placed a similar Tablet

In the Calcutta Cathedral,

And Instituted a Scholarship

In the Diocesan School at Naini Tal

FOR SONS OF EAST INDIAN RAILWAY
SERVANTS.

ANALYSIS OF 8TATI8TIC8. 71

The following statement shows the net
earnings of the Company from 1870 to 1875
inclusive : —

£, s. d.

1870 ...

...

... 1,649,628 17

1871 ...

...

... 1,380,377 1 8

1872 ...

• ••

... 1,483,386 11

1873 ...

...

... 1,686,338 6 2

1874 ...

... 2,196,877 1 5

1876 ...

...

... 1,624,333 6 3

The figures combine the earnings of the
main and Jubbulpore lines, though at this
time the accounts were separately kept, and
are interesting as shewing the effect of the
famine traffic of 1873-74. They also shew,
excluding the two exceptionally poor years,
1871-72, when trade was more or less stag-
nant and everything depressed, that following
the famine there was a distinct development.

In 1871 we find for the first time an
analysis of statistical figures much in the
form in which they are given at the present
time. The principle of these statistics was
laid down by Sir Alexander Rendel ( then
Mr. Rendel) in conjunction with Colonel
Strachey, b.e., now Sir Richard Strachey,
Chairman of the Board, and will be referred
to in greater detail elsewhere. It is sufficient
to say here that according to the first analysis
the average load of a goods train on the
main line was 109 tons and on the Jubbulpore
branch 68 tons. At the present time an
average load of under 275 tons is considered
poor.

CHAPTEK VII.

Visit op the Prince of Wales to India —
Reductions in rates — Economies in work-
ing. — The Madras Famine and shortage op
STOCK — General Strachey visits India. —
The Giridih Collieries — Prosperity op
THE Undertaking.

In 1875-1876 His Royal Highness the
Prince of Wales visited India and great

S reparations were made to afford him a
loyal welcome. That the efforts made to
ensure his comfort while travelling on the
East Indian Railway were successful, is
proved by the following extract from the
Gazette of India, dated 22nd April 1876 : —

" On the East Indian Railway, His Rojal Highness the
Prince of Wales travelled in January 1876 from Howrah
to Bankipore, and thence to Benares, also from Cawnpore
to Delhi ; and from Delhi to Ghaziabad, on going to the
Punjab, and from Ghaziabad to Agra in returning thence.
In February, His Royal Highness travelled from Agra to
Aligarh, and in March from Cawnpore to Allahabad and
on to Jubbulpore.

The orders issued concerning the details of working the
Royal train by the authorities of the East Indian Rauway
were such as to ensure punctuality in running, combined
with all possible precautions for safety.

On the conclusion of the journey to Jubbulpore, His
Royal Highness was pleased to acknowledge his thanks
personally to the Officiating Agent and Traffic Manager for
their attention to him, and to commend the railway
arrangements in connection with the several State cere-
moniidt of arrival and departure of trains during the different
jonmejs made upon the line by His Royal Highness."

MR. A. M. RBNDIL VISITS INDIA AGAIN. 73

The visit of His Roval Hiffhness the
Prince of Wales resulted in a concourse of
Native Princes and others visiting Calcutta,
and led to a considerable increase in receipts
from passenger traffic, but as a set-oft* tliere
was a certain outgoing to be taken into
account under the head of carriage building
and outward demonstrations ; a special train
had to be constructed, as the Prince of Wales
could not be sent about in an ordinary
carriage, and stations had to be decorated in
token of loyalty ; all this cost money, but
the Chairman in analysing the financial
result to the Railway said : ** I dare say we
may put it down that if His Royal Highness
had not gone to India we should have been
about £40,000 worse off than we are." See-
ing that the special train constructed for the
Prince of Wales, was used for the next
twenty-five years as the Viceregal train, this
result was by no means unsatisfactor3^

About the same time Mr. A. M. Rendel
again visited India. The completion by the
Government of the bridge over the Hooghly,
between Howrah and Calcutta having ren-
dered necessary considerable alterations at
the Howrah terminus, Mr. Rendel was de-
puted to investigate the requirements of the
case on the spot Mr. Kendel not only
dealt with the question of Howrah station
but went over the whole line from one end
to the other and settled various details with
the Company's officers in India.

74 HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

Reference has been made in a previous
chapter to the effect of the Bengal famine
on the question of goods rates. Mr. Crawford,
the Chairman of the Board of Directors,
referred to this in his address to the share-
holders in January 1877 ; he said —

" The experience of the famine traffic had shewn us that
ther/e was an enormous production of the soil in India of a
very valuable character, but which had been for the most
part necessarily retained in the districts in which it
was grown, for the want of any other market than the
local markets of the neighbourhood."

This was in some measure true, but we
have seen ah*eady that a good deal of the
surplus production of the soil found its way
to the seaboard by river, and particularly by
the river Indus to Kurrachee. In 1876 the
Government took off the export dues, which
up till then had militated against a really
large export trade, and at about the same
time silver began to decline in value. The
depreciation of silver assisted the export of
country produce and some encouragement
in railway rates was alone needed to draw
the traffic to the Railway. Reductions were
accordingly made, and as Mr. Crawford in
another part of his address added : —

" The e£fect of the reduction of the rates was to enable
purchasers of wheat at Cawnpore, 684 miles from Calcutta,
to rely upon their being able to get their wheat down to
Calcutta for a sum not exceeding about 6s. 4d. per quarter.
That taken into account with other elements of reduced
cost has led to a very great and important increase in the
trade of grain between India and this country . The same
has been the case with seeds. The duty of the company
was to assist by reduction of charge in facilitating the

GROWTH OF T^R KXPORT WHBAT TRADE. 75

removal of this large produce of grain and seeds and our ratea
have enabled merchanto to bring their wheat to England^
together with their linseed and other seeds, at a cost
which could not have been possible a very short time before."
*' I do not see an v thing in the conditions in which this
traffic has been carried on to deter me from expecting a
continuance of it"

At about the same time arrangements
were concluded with the line then known as
" the Sindh, Punjab and Delhi Railway," by
which purchasers of grain in the Punjab were
able to bring their grain to Calcutta, a dis-
tance of 1,245 miles, at a cost of about V2s. 9d.
per quarter, a rate which was then considered
remarkably low. As illustratinor the growth of
the export wheat trade, the following figures
of exports from Calcutta are interesting,
more than one-half being brought down by
the East Indian Railway : —

Years. Tons exported.
1874 18,926

1876 68,632

1876 170,240

The company was now enjoying a period
of activity, and prospects were undoubtedly
encouraging. The Kailw^ay was about 25
years old and past experience justified the feel-
ing that it would continue to prove one of the
grandest undertakings in the world's history.
But the success of the East Indian Railway
was not entirely owing to the measures taken
to develop traffic ; a large share of its
prosperity was due to the economical condi-
tions under which the line was worked. Mr.
Crawford at the same meeting said, "we

76 HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

should never have arrived at a satisfactory-
net result, if our efforts on this side to inculcate
economy had not been most actively and
honestly supported on the other side." His
remarks had special reference to an outcry
raised by the Indian newspapers of the day, as
to the alleged injustice of replacing European
by native labour. Mr. David Campbell, the
Locomotive Superintendent, had recently
promoted about 87 native firemen to appoint-
ments, previously held by Europeans, as
shunters and drivers of goods trains on branch
lines, with most satisfactory results. The
experiment carried out in the face of much
opposition led to a considerable economy and
naturally had the full support of the Board.

Another economy introduced in 1877 was
in connection with the maintenance of the
telegraph. The Railway had established a
line of telegraph wire on one side of the line,
and the Government had a line of telegraph
on the other side. This necessitated two
telegraphic establishments, and it was ob-
viously a waste of money that one establish-
ment should be employed in keeping in order
and repair the line on one side, while another
establishment should be engaged in looking
after the wires on the other. An arrange-
ment was therefore come to with the Govern-
ment, under which they undertook the repair
and maintenance of the railway wires, and
the Railway had no longer to keep up a
staff of its own for the purpose.

WAGON 8H0BTAQB DURINQ HADRAH FAMINK. 77

A failure of the rains of 1876 led to another
famine in India, this time in the Madras and
Bombay Presidencies. A strong demand
for food grains, pulses and rice set in in
October 1876, ana continued unabated almost
throughout 1877. The great bulk of the traffic
flowea over the East Indian Railway from
the North- West Provinces and the ^Punjab,
the largest proportion going via the Jubbul-
pore line and the Great Indian Peninsula
Railway, but there was also a heavy traffic
to Howrah, for transmission to Madras
by sea.

At the same time there was a large wheat
and seed export trade, and consequently the
usual sequence of a shortage of wagon
supply. The papers in India teemed with
expressions of disapproval of the East
Indian Railway management, because it had
not sufficient stock to meet the extraordinary
demands made upon it. The facts were that
the stock of wagons had amply sufficed to
meet the famine requirements of 1873-74,
but when it came to sending East Indian
Railway wagons hundreds of miles away
from the home line to distant Madras, it
became impossible to meet all demands.
Out of a total stock of 6,600 goods wagons, as
many as 1,200 or say one-fifth were constantly
absent from the line, conveying produce to
the Bombay or Madras Presidencies. There
would have been an abundant supply of
wagons to carry our own traffic but there

68 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

The only section of the Railway which
was not doing so well as anticipated was the
Jubbulpore branch, its local traffic was poor
and the traffic interchanged with the Great
Indian Peninsular Railway nominal. The
Chairman said in his address in July 1874,
"the Jubbulpore line must be considered
for the present in the light of a political
line, and it is very useful to travellers ; but
as regards the trade and commerce of the
country, the line has not done much." The
Jubbulpore branch runs for the most part
through an uncultivated waste, poorly popu-
lated, and has always been the least paying
portion of the Railway.

In 1873 some Bengal coal was taken by
Madras for the use of the Madras Railway,
and some was conveyed to Singapore for the
manufacture of gas, and some to Bombay
for cotton spinning w^orks. The quantity

THB CHORD ROUTE AND THK COAL TKAFPIO. 69

exported was small, but this was the first
recorded trade in export coal and at the time
quite a new feature m the traffic. While on
the subject of coal, it is well to say a few
words as to the result of opening the Chord
line route. It will be remembered that one
of the reasons for constructing this route
was that it would have the effect of bringing
the Bengal coalfields nearer to the centre
of the Company's system. The policy of the
Board had often been questioned on the score
of the initial expense, and on the grounds
that the Chord route ran through an unprofit-
able tract of country, which its opponents
thought was adequately served by the original
branch line to the Kaneegunge collieries.
In 1875 Mr. Crawford in his address to the
shareholders dwelt on this subject ; he said : —

'* Tbey might now look upon the policy involved in the
CQnstmction of that line with the utmost satisfaction. It
had placed at their command that ample and abundant
supply of fuel, which had enabled them to carry on their
operations, without any fear whatever of being brought
into difficulty for want of it."

Not only did the Chord line place at the
service of the Company and of the public,
including foreign railways, a vast quantity of
»sily accessible coal, but in opening out new
wjurces of supply, it brought about, not only
k reduction in cost, but a better quality of fuel
han that obtainable from Raneegunge itself.
During 1875 considerable changes were
lade in the personnel of the administration ^
I Calcutta, Mr. Cecil Stephenson, Chief M

70 HISTORY OF THE E. I. RAILWAY.

Agent, died, and Mr. Sibley, who had been
Chief Engineer for many years, retired, and
seeing that all construction works of any
magnitude w^ere at an end, it was thought
unnecessary to retain the services of both an
Agent and a Chief Engineer. Mr. Bradford
Leslie, now Sir Bradford Leslie, who had
formerly been Chief Engineer of the Eastern
Bengal Railway Company and had after-
wards been employed in building the floating
road bridge over the Hooghly, was selected
to fill the dual appointment of Agent and
Chief Engineer.

Shortly after Mr. Cecil Stephenson's death
a tablet to his memory was placed on the
wall of Howrah Station and a copy of the
inscription on it is here given : —

In Memory of
CECIL MACKINTOSH STEPHENSON.

Agent of the

EAST INDIAN RAILWAY COMPANY,

Who died at Sea on the 21st November 1875, aged 56.

THIS TABLET IS ERECTED

As A MARK OF TIIEIR SINCERE ESTEEM AND ReSPBCT

Bt more than five thousand Officers and Men

Of the East Indian Railway

(And others desiring to join),

Who have also placed a similar Tablet

In the Calcutta Cathedral,

And Instituted a Scholarship

In the Diocesan School at Naini Tal

FOR SONS OF EAST INDIAN RAILWAY
SERVANTS.

ANALYSIS OF STATISTICS. 71

The following statement shows the net
earnings of the Company from 1870 to 1875
inclusive : —

£, 9. d.

1870 ... 1,649,628 17

1871 ... 1,380,377 1 5

1872 ... 1,483,386 11

1873 ... 1,686,338 6 2

1874 ... 2,196,877 1 5

1876 ... 1,624,333 6 3

In 1871 we find for the first time an
analysis of statistical figures much in the
form in which they are given at the present
time. The principle of these statistics was
laid down by Sir Alexander Rendel ( then
Mr. Rendel) in conjunction with Colonel
Strachey, r.e., now Sir Richard Strachey,
Chairman of the Board, and will be referred
to in greater detail elsewhere. It is sufficient
to say here that according to the first analysis
the average load of a goods train on the
main line was 109 tons and on the Jubbulpore
branch 68 tons. At the present time an
average load of under 275 tons is considered
poor. m

CHAPTER VII.

In 1875-1876 His Royal Highness the
Prince of Wales visited India and great

Preparations were made to afford him a
loyal welcome. That the efforts made to
ensure his comfort while travelling on the
East Indian Railway were successful, is
proved by the following extract from the
Gazette of India, dated 22nd April 1876 : —

" On the East Indian Railway, His Eojal Highness the
Prince of Wales travelled in January 1876 from Howrah
to Bankipore, and thence to Benares, also from Cawnpore
to Delhi ; and from Delhi to Ghaziabad, on going to the
Punjab, and from Ghaziabad to Agra in returning thence.
In February, His Royal Highness travelled from Agra to
Aligarh, and in March from Cawnpore to Allahabad and
on to Jubbulpore.

The orders issued concerning the details of working the
Royal train by the authorities of the East Indian Railway
were such as to ensure punctuality in running, combined
with all possible precautions for safety.

On the conclusion of the journey to Jubbulpore, His
Royal Highness was pleased to acknowledge his thanks
personally to the Officiating Agent and Traffic Manager for
their attention to him, and to commend the railway
arrangements in connection with the several State cere-
monials of arrival and departure of trains during the different
journeys made upon the line by His Royal Highness."

MR. A. M. RBMDIL VISITS INDIA AGAIN. 73

The visit of His Roval Hiffhness the
Prince of Wales resulted in a concourse of
Nj\tive Princes and others visiting Calcutta,
and led to a considerable increase in receipts
from passenger traffic, but as a set-off' there
was a certain outgoing to be taken into
account under the head of carriage building
and outward demonstrations ; a special train
had to be constructed, as the Prince of Wales
could not be sent about in an ordinary
carriage, and stations had to be decorated in
token of loyalty ; all this cost money, but
the Chairman in analysing the financial
result to the Railway said : ** I dare say we
may put it down that if His Royal Highness
had not gone to India we should have been
about £40,000 worse off than we are." See-
ing that the special train constructed for the
Prince of Wales, was used for the next
twenty-five years as the Viceregal train, this
result was by no means unsatisfactory.

74 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

Reference has been made in a previoua
chapter to the effect of the Bengal famine
on the question of goods rates. Mr. Crawford^
the Chairman of the Board of Directors,
referred to this in his address to the share-
holders in January 1877 ; he said —

" The experience of the famine traffic had shewn us that
there was an enormous production of the soil in India of a
very valuable character, but which had been for the most
part necessarily retained in the districts in which it
was grown, for the want of any other market than the
local markets of the neighbourhood."

This was in some measure true, but we
have seen already that a good deal of the
surplus production of the soil found its way
to the seaboard by river, and particularly by
the river Indus to Kurrachee. In 1876 the
Government took off the export dues, which
up till then had militated against a really
large export trade, and at about the same
time silver began to decline in value. The
depreciation of silver assisted the export of
country produce and some encouragement
in railway rates was alone needed to draw
the traffic to the Railway. Reductions were
accordingly made, and as Mr. Crawford in
another part of his address added : —

'* The effect of the reduction of the rates was to enable
purchasers of wheat at Cawnpore, 684 miles from Calcutta,
to rely upon their being able to get their wheat down to
Calcutta for a sum not exceeding about 6s, 4d. per quarter.
That taken into account with other elements of reduced
cost has led to a very great and important increase in the
trade of grain between India and this country . The same
has been the case with seeds. The duty of the company
I to assist by reduction of charge in facilitating the

GROWTH OF T^E KXPORT WHBAT TRAOB. 75

removal of this large produce of grain and seeds and our rates
have enabled merchants to bring their wheat to England^
together with their linseed and other seeds, at a cost
which could not have been possible a very short time before."
** I do not see anything in the conditions in which this
traffic has been carried on to deter me from expecting a
continuance of it."

At about the same time arrangements
were concluded with the line then known as
" the Sindh, Punjab and Delhi Railway," by
which purchasers of grain in the Punjab were
able to bring their grain to Calcutta, a dis-
tance of 1,245 miles, at a cost of about I2,s\ 9d.
per quarter, a rate which was then considered
remarkably low. As illustrating the growtli of
the export wheat trade, the following figures
of exports from Calcutta are interesting,
more than one-half being brouglit down by
the East Indian Railway : —

Years. Tons exported.
1874 18,926

1876 68,632

1876 170,240

The company was now enjoying a period
of activity, and prospects were undoubtedly
encouraging. The Kail way was about 25
years old and past experience justified the feel-
ing that it would continue to prove one of the
g-andest undertakings in the world's history,
ut the success of the East Indian Railway
was not entirely owing to the measures taken
to develop traflBc ; a large share of its
prosperity was due to the economical condi-
tions under which the line was worked. Mr.
Crawford at the same meeting said, " we

76 HISTORY OF THB K. I. RAILWAY.

should never have arrived at a satisfactory
net result, if our efforts on this side to inculcate
economy had not been most actively and
honestly supported on the other side." His
remarks had special reference to an outcry
raised by the Indian newspapers of the day, as
to the alleged injustice of replacing European
by native labour. Mr. David Campbell, the
Locomotive Superintendent, had recently
promoted about 87 native firemen to appoint-
ments, previously held by Europeans, as
shunters and drivers of goods trains on branch
lines, with most satisfactory results. The
experiment carried out in the face of much
opposition led to a considerable economy and
naturally had the full support of the Board.

Another economy introduced in 1877 was
in connection with the maintenance of the
telegraph. The Railway had established a
line of telegraph wire on one side of the line,
and the Government had a line of telegraph
on the other side. This necessitated two
telegraphic establishments, and it was ob-
viously a waste of money that one establish-
ment should be employed in keeping in order
and repair the line on one side, while another
establishment should be engaged in looking
after the wires on the other. An arrange-
ment was therefore come to with the Govem-
menty under which they undertook the repair
and maintenance of the railway wires, and
.j|l0 Kailway had no longer to keep up a
^*' of its own for the purpose.

WAQON 8H0RTAGB DURING MADKAH FAMINR. 77

A failure of the rains of 1876 led to another
famine in India, this time in the Madras and
Bombay Presidencies. A strong demand
for food grains, pulses and rice set in in
October 1876, and continued unabated almost
throughout 1877. The great bulk of the traffic
flowea over the East Indian Railway from
the North- West Provinces and the Punjab,
the largest proportion going vid the Jubbul-
pore line and the Great Indian Peninsula
Railway, but there was also a heavy traffic
to Howrah, for transmission to Madras
by sea.

68 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

was a very large growth of grain and espe-
cially of wheat, a good deal of which found its
way down the river Indus to the sea at
Kurrachee. In a favourable season there
was an immense surplus to dispose of and
efforts were made to draw this produce to
Calcutta, by quoting lower rates for its car-
riage than had previously been thought
of. These efforts proved in a lar^e measure
successful ; by introducing considerably re-
duced grain rates, a valuable traffic was
drawn to the line and a profitable business
established.

The only section of the Railway which
was not doing so well as anticipated was the
Jubbulpore branch, its local traffic was poor
and the traffic interchanged with the Grreat
Indian Peninsular Railway nominal. The
Chairman said in his address in July 1874,
"the Jubbulpore line must be considered
for the present in the light of a political
line, and it is very useful to travellers ; but
as regards the trade and commerce of the
countiy, the line has not done much." The
Jubbulpore branch runs for the most part
through an uncultivated waste, poorly popu-
lated, and has always been the least paying
portion of the Railway.

THB CHORD ROUTE AND THK COAL TRAFFIC. 69

exported was small, but this was the firet
recorded trade in export coal and at the time
quite a new feature m the traffic. While on
the subject of coal, it is well to say a few
words as to the result of opening the Chord
line route. It will be remembered that one
of the reasons for constructing this route
was that it would have the effect of bringing
the Bengal coalfields nearer to the centre
of the Company's system. The policy of the
Board had often been questioned on the score
of the initial expense, and on the grounds
that the Chord route ran through an unprofit-
able tract of country, which its opponents
thought waa adequately served by the original
branch line to the Kaneegunge collieries.
In 1875 Mr. Crawford in his address to the
shareholders dwelt on this subject ; he said : —

'* They might now look upon the policy involved in the
eonstmction of that line with the utmost Hatisfaction. It
had placed at their command that ample and abundant
supply of fuel, which had enabled them to carry on their
operations, without any fear whatever of being brought
into difficulty for want of it."

Not only did the Chord line place at the
service of the Company and of the public,
including foreign railways, a vast quantity of
easily accessible coal, but in opening out new
lources of supply, it brought about, not only
t reduction in cost, but a better quality of fuel
han that obtainable from Raneegunge itself

During 1875 considerable changes were
lade in the personnel of the administration
I Calcutta, Mr. Cecil Stephenson, Chief i

70 HISTORY OF THE E. I. RAILWAY.

Agent, died, and Mr. Sibley, who had been
Chief Engineer for many years, retired, and
seeing that all construction works of any
magnitude were at an end, it was thought
unnecessary to retain the services of both an
Agent and a Chief Engineer. Mr. Bradford
Leslie, now Sir Bradford Leslie, who had
formerly been Chief Engineer of the Eastern
Bengal Railway Company and had after-
wards been employed in building the floating
road bridge over the Hooghly, was selected
to fill the dual appointment of Agent and
Chief Engineer.

Shortly after Mr. Cecil Stephenson's death
a tablet to his memory was placed on the
wall of Howrah Station and a copy of the
inscription on it is here given : —

In Memory of
CECIL MACKINTOSH STEPHENSON,

Agent of the

EAST INDIAN RAILWAY COMPANY,

Who died at Sea on the 21st November 1875, aged 56.

THIS TABLET IS ERECTED

As A MARK OF THEIR SINCERE EsTEEM AND ReSFECT
Bt MORS THAN FIVE THOUSAND OFFICERS AND MeN

Of the East Indian Railway

(And others desiring to join),

Who have also placed a similar Tablet

In the Calcutta Cathedral,

And Instituted a Scholarship

In the Diocesan School at Naini Tal

FOR SONS OF EAST INDIAN RAILWAY
SERVANTS.

AMALT8I8 OF STAT18TI08. 71

The following statement shows the net
earnings of the Company from 1870 to 1875
inclusive : —

otf. S. d.

1870 ,..

...

... 1,649,628 17

1871 ...

...

... 1,380,377 1 6

1872 ...

...

... 1,483,386 11

1873 ...

...

... 1,686,338 6 2

1874 ...

. .

... 2,196,877 1 6

1876 ...

...

... 1,624,333 6 3

The figures combine the earnings of the
main and Jubbulpore lines, though at this
time the accounts were separately kept, and
are interesting as shewing the effect of the
famine traffic of 1873-74. They also shew,
excluding the two exceptionalh' poor years,
1871-72, when trade was more or less stag-
nant and everything depressed, that following
the famine there was a distinct development.

In 1871 we find for the first time an
analysis of statistical figures much in the
form in which they are given at the present
time. The principle of these statistics was
laid down by Sir Alexander Rendel ( then
Mr. Rendel) in conjunction with Colonel
Strachey, b.e., now Sir Richard Strachey,
Chairman of the Board, and will be referred
to in greater detail elsewhere. It is suflScient
to say here that according to the first analysis
the average load of a goods train on the
main line was 109 tons and on the Jubbulpore
branch 68 tons. At the present time an
average load of under 275 tons is considered
poor.

CHAPTER VII.

Visit op the Prince op Wales to India —
Reductions in rates — Economies in work-
ing. — The Madras Famine and shortage op
STOCK — General Strachey visits India. —
The Giridih Collieries — Prosperity op
THE Undertaking.

In 1875-1876 His Royal Highness the
Prince of Wales visited India and great

" On the East Indian Bailway, His Royal Highness the
Prince of Wales travelled in January 1876 from Howrah
to Bankipore, and thence to Benares, also from Cawnpore
to Delhi ; and from Delhi to Ghaziabad, on going to the
Punjab, and from Ghaziabad to Agra in returning thence.
In February, His Royal Highness travelled from Asra to
Aligarh, and in March from Cawnpore to Allahabad and
on to Jubbulpore.

On the conclusion of the journey to Jubbulpore, His
Royal Highness was pleased to acknowledge his thanks
personally to the Officiating Agent and Traffic Manager for
their attention to him, and to commend the railway
arrangements in connection with the several State cere-
monials of arrival and departure of trains during the different
journeys made upon the line by His Royal Highness/

MR. A. M. RBNDBL VISITS INDIA AGAIN. 73

The visit of His Royal Highness the
Prince of Wales resulted in a concourse of
N>\tive Princes and others visiting Calcutta,
and led to a considerable increase in receipts
from passenger traffic, but as a set-oft* there
was a certain outgoing to be taken into
account under the head of carriage building
and outward demonstrations ; a specrial train
had to be constructed, as the Prince of Wales
could not be sent about in an ordinary
carriage, and stations had to be decorated in
token of loyalty ; all this cost money, but
the Chairman in analysing the financial
result to the Railway said : '* I dare say we
may put it down that if His Royal Highness
had not gone to India we should liave been
about £40,000 worse off than we are." See-
ing that the special train constructed for the
Prince of Wales, was used for the next
twenty-five years as the Viceregal train, this
result was by no means unsatisfactory.

About the same time Mr. A. M. Rendel
again visited India. The completion by the
W)vemment of the bridge over the Hooghly,
between Howrah and Calcutta having ren-
dered necessary considerable alterations at
the Howrah terminus, Mr. Rendel was de-
puted to investigate the requirements of the
case on the spot Mr. Rendel not only
dealt with the question of Howrah station
but went over the whole line from one end
to the other and settled various details with
the Company's officers in India.

74 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

" The effect of the reduction of the rates was to enable
purchasers of wheat at Cawupore, 684 miles from Calcutta,
to rely upon their being able to get their wheat down to
Calcutta for a sum not exceeding about 6s. 4d. per quarter.
That taken into account with other elements of reduced
cost has led to a very great and important increase in the
trade of grain between India and this country . The same
has been the case with seeds. The duty of the company
was to assist by reduction of charge in facilitating the

GROWTH or T^E KXPORT WHBAT TUAOB. 75

removal of this large produce of grain and seeds and our raten
have enabled merchants to bring their wheat to England^
together with their linseed and other seeds, at a cost
which could not have been possible a very short time before."
** I do not see an v thing in the conditions in which this
traffic has been carried on to deter me from exi)ecting a
continuance of it."

At about the same time Hrningemeiits
were concluded with the Hue then known ixh
" the Sindh, Punjab and Delhi Riilwav," by
which purchasers of grain in the Punjab were
able to bring their grain to Calcutta, a dis-
tance of 1,245 miles, at a cost of about \2s, [)d.
per quarter, a rate which was then considei'ed
remarkably low. As illustrating the growth of
the export wheat trade, the following figures
of exports from Calcutta aii* interesting,
more than one-half being brought down by
the East Indian Railway : —

Years. Tons exp')rted
1874 18.92(i

1876 68,532

1876 170,240

The company was now enjoying a period
of activity, and prospects w^ere undoubtedly
encouraging. The Railwaj^ was about 25
years ola and past experience justified the feel-
ing that it would continue to prove one of the
grandest undertakings in the world's history.
But the success of the East Indian Railway
was not entirely owing to the measures taken
to develop traflBc ; a large share of its
prosperity was due to the economical condi-
tions under which the line was worked. Mr.
Crawford at the same meeting said, " we

76 HISTORY OF THB K. I. RAILWAY.

Another economy introduced in 1877 was
in connection with the maintenance of the
telegraph. The Railway had established a
line of telegraph wire on one side of the line,
and the Government had a line of telegraph
on the other side. This necessitated two
telegraphic establishments, and it was ob-
viously a waste of money that one establish-
ment should be employed in keeping in order
and repair the line on one side, while another
estabUshment should be engaged in looking
after the wires on the other. An arrange-
ment was therefore come to with the Govern-
ment, under which they undertook the repair
and maintenance of the railway wires, and
the Railway had no longer to keep up a
staff of its own for the purpose.

WAQON SHORTAGE DURING MADKAH FAMINK. 77

A failure of the rains of 187() led to another
famine in India, this time in the Mmlnis and
Bombay Presidencies. A strong demand
for food grains, pulses and rice set in in
October 1876, and continued unabated almost
throughout 1877. The great bulk of the traffic
flowed over the East Indian Railway from
the North- West Provinces and the Punjab,
the largest proportion going via the Jubbul-
pore line and the Great Indian Peninsula
Railway, but there was also a heavy traffic
to Howrah, for transmission to Madras
by sea.

At the same time there was a large wheat
and seed export trade, and consequently the
usual sequence of a shortage of wagon
supply. The papers in India teemed with
expressions of disapproval of the East
Indian Railway management, because it had
not suflScient stock to meet the extraordinary
demands made upon it. The facts were that
the stock of wagons had amply sufficed to
meet the famine requirements of 1873-74,
but when it came to sending East Indian
Railway wagons hundreds of miles away
from the home line to distant Madras, it
became impossible to meet all demands.
Out of a total stock of 6,600 goods wagons, as
many as 1,200 or say one-fifth were constantly
absent from the line, conveying produce to
the Bombay or Madras Presidencies. There
would have been an abundant supply of
wagons to carry our own traffic but there

68 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

was a very large growth of grain and espe-
cially of wheat, a good deal of which found its
way down the river Indus to the sea at
Kurrachee. In a favourable season there
was an immense surplus to dispose of and
efforts were made to draw this produce to
Calcutta, by quoting lower rates for its car-
riage than had previously been thought
of These efforts proved in a large measure
successful; by introducing considerably re-
duced grain rates, a valuable traffic was
drawn to the line and a profitable business
established.

The only section of the Railway which
was not doing so well as anticipated was the
Jubbulpore branch, its local traffic was poor
and the traffic interchanged with the Great
Indian Peninsular Railway nominal. The
Chairman said in his address in July 1874,
"the Jubbulpore line must be considered
for the present in the light of a political
line, and it is very useful to travellers ; but
as regards the trade and commerce of the
country, the line has not done much." The
Jubbulpore branch runs for the most part
through an uncultivated waste, poorly popu-
lated, and has always been the least paying
portion of the Railway.

THB CHORD ROUTE AND THK COAL TRAFFIC. 69

exported was small, but this was the first
recorded trade in export coal and at the time
quite a new feature in the traffic. While on
the subject of coal, it is well to say a few
words as to the result of opening the Chord
line route. It will be remembered that one
of the reasons for constructing this route
was that it would have the effect of bringing
the Bengal coalfields nearer to the centre
of the Company's system. The policy of the
Board had often been questioned on the score
of the initial expense, and on the grounds
that the Chord route ran through an unprofit-
able tract of country, which its opponents
thought was adequately served by the original
branch line to the Raneegunge collieries.
In 1875 Mr. Crawford in his address to the
shareholders dwelt on this subject ; he said : —

" They might now look upon the policy involved in the
construction of that line with the utmost satisfaction. It
had placed at their command that ample and abundant
supply of fuel, which had enabled them to carry on their
operations, without any fear whatever of being brought
into difficulty for want of if

Not only did the Chord line place at the
service of the Company and of the public,
including foreign railways, a vast quantity of
easily accessible coal, but in opening out new
sources of supply, it brought about, not only
a reduction in cost, but a better quality of fuel
than that obtainable from Raneegunge itself

During 1875 considerable changes were
made in the personnel of the administration
in Calcutta, Mr. Cecil Stephenson, Chief

70 HISTORY OF THE E. I. RAILWAY.

Agent, died, and Mr. Sibley, who had been
Chief Engineer for many years, retired, and
seeing that all construction works of any
magnitude were at an end, it was thought
unnecessary to retain the services of both an
Agent and a Chief Engineer. Mr. Bradford
Leslie, now Sir Bradford Leslie, who had
formerly been Chief Engineer of the Eastern
Bengal Railway Company and had after-
wards been employed in building the floating
road bridge over the Hooghly, was selected
to fill the dual appointment of Agent and
Chief Engineer.

Shortly after Mr. Cecil Stephenson's death
a tablet to his memory was placed on the
wall of Howrah Station and a copy of the
inscription on it is here given : —

In Memory of
CECIL MACKINTOSH STEPHENSON,

Agent of the

EAST INDIAN EAILWAY COMPANY,

Who died at Sea on the 21st November 1875, aged 56.

THIS TABLET IS ERECTED

As A MARK OF THEIR SINCERE EsTEEM AND ReSPECT
By MORE THAN FIVE THOUSAND OFFICERS AND MeN

Of THE East Indian Railway

(And others desiring to join),

Who have also placed a similar Tablet

In the Calcutta Cathedral,

And Instituted a Scholarship

In the Diocesan School at Naini Tal

FOR SONS OF EAST INDIAN RAILWAY
SERVANTS.

ANALYSIS OF STATISTICS. 71

The following statement shows the net
earnings of the Company from 1870 to 1875
inclusive : —

£, s, d.

1870 ...

...

... 1,649,628 17

1871 ...

...

... 1,380,377 1 6

1872 ...

...

... 1,483,386 11

1873 ...

...

... 1,686,338 6 2

1874 ...

... 2,196,877 1 5

1875 ...

...

... 1,624,333 6 3

In 1871 we find for ths first time an
analysis of statistical figures much in the
form in which they are given at the present
time. The principle of these statistics was
laid down by Sir Alexander Rendel ( then
Mr. Rendel) in conjunction with Colonel
Strachey, r.e., now Sir Richard Strachey,
Chairman of the Board, and will be referred
to in greater detail elsewhere. It is sufficient
to say here that according to the first analysis
the average load of a goods train on the
main line was 109 tons and on the Jubbulpore
branch 68 tons. At the present time an
average load of under 275 tons is considered
poor.

CHAPTER VII.

Visit op thb Prince of Wales to India —
Reductions in rates — Economies in work-
ing. — The Madras Famine and shortage of
STOCK — General Strachey visits India. —
The Giridih Collieries — Prosperity of
the Undertaking.

In 1873-1876 His Royal Highness the
Prince of Wales visited India and great

'* On the East Indian Railway, His Bojal Highness the
Prince of Wales travelled in January 1876 from Howrah
to Bankipore, and thence to Benares, also from Cawnpore
to Delhi ; and from Delhi to Ghaziabad, on going to the
Punjab, and from Ghaziabad to Agra in returning thence.
In February, His Royal Highness travelled from Agra to
Aligarh, and in March from Cawnpore to Allahabad and
on to Jubbulpore.

The orders issued concerning the details of working the
Boyal train by the authorities of the £ast Indian Railway
were such as to ensure punctuality in running, combined
with all possible precautions for safety.

On the conclusion of the journey to Jubbulpore, His
Royal Highness was pleased to acknowledge his thanks
personally to the Officiating Affent and Traffic Manager for
their attention to him, and to commend the railway
arrangements in connection with the several State cere-
monials of arrival and departure of trains during the different
journeys made upon the line by His Royal Highness."

MR. A. M. RBNDBL VISITS INDIA AGAIN. 73

The visit of His Royal Highness the
Prince of Wales resulted in a concourse of
Native Princes and others visiting Calcutta,
and led to a considerable increase in receipts
from passenger traffic, but as a set-off there
was a certain outgoing to be taken into
account under the head of carriage building
and outward demonstrations ; a special train
had to be constructed, as the Prince of Wales
could not be sent about in an ordinary
carriage, and stations had to be decorated in
token of loyalty ; all this cost money, but
the Chairman in analysing the financial
result to the Railway said : " I dare say we
may put it down that if His Royal Highness
had not gone to India we should have been
about £40,000 worse off than we are." See-
ing that the special train constructed for the
Prince of Wales, was used for the next
twenty-five years as the Viceregal train, this
result was by no means unsatisfactory.

About the same time Mr. A. M. Rendel
again visited India. The completion by the
Government of the bridge over the Hooghly,
between Howrah and Calcutta having ren-
dered necessary considerable alterations at
the Howrah terminus, Mr. Rendel was de-
puted to investigate the requirements of the
case on the spot Mr. Rendel not only
dealt with the question of Howrah station
but went over the whole line from one end
to the other and settled various details with
the Company's officers in India.

74 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

Reference has been made in a previous
chapter to the eflPect of the Bengal famine
on the question of goods rates. Mr. Crawford^
the Chairman of the Board of Directors,
referred to this in his address to the share-
holders in January 1877 ; he said —

**The experience of the famine traffic had shewn us that
thene was an enormous production of the soil in India of a
very valuable character, but which had been for the most
part necessarily retained in the districts in which it
was grown, for the want of any other market than the
local markets of the neighbourhood.'*

" The effect of the reduction of the rates was to enable
purchasers of wheat at Cawnpore, 684 miles from Calcutta,
to rely upon their being able to get their wheat down to
Calcutta for a sum not exceeding about 6s. 4d. per quarter.
That taken into account with other elements of reduced
cost has led to a very great and important increase in the
trade of grain between India and this country . The same
has been the case with seeds. The duty of the company
was to assist by reduction of charge in facilitating the

GROWTH OF T^K EXPORT WHBAT TRADE. 75

removal of this large produce of grain and seeds and our rates
have enabled merchants to bring their wheat to England^
together with their linseed and other seeds, at a cost
which could not have been possible a very short time before.'^
*' I do not see anything in the conditions in which this
traffic has been carried on to deter me from expecting a
continuance of it."

At about the same time arrangements
were concluded with the line then known as
" the Sindh, Punjab and Delhi Railway," by
which purchasers of grain in the Punjab were
able to bring their grain to Calcutta, a dis-
tance of 1,245 miles, at a cost of about 125. 9c?.
per quarter, a rate which was then considered
remarkably low. As illustrating the growth of
the export wheat trade, the following figures
of exports from Calcutta are interesting,
more than one-half being brought down by
the East Indian Railway : —

Years. Tons exported

1874 18,926

1875 68,532

1876 170,240

The company was now enjoying a period
of activity, and prospects were undoubtedly
encouraging. The Railway was about 25
years old and past experience justified the feel-
ing that it would continue to prove one of the
grandest undertakings in the world's history,
ut the success of the East Indian Railway
was not entirely owing to the measures taken
to develop traflfic ; a large share of its
prosperity was due to the economical condi-
tions under which the line was worked. Mr.
Crawford at the same meeting said, " we

76 HISTORY OF THB K. I. RAILWAY.

should never have arrived at a satisfactory
net result, if our efforts on this side to inculcate
economy had not been most actively and
honestly supported on the other side." His
remarks had special reference to an outcry
raised by the Indian newspapers of the day, as
to the alleged injustice of replacing European
by native labour. Mr. David Campbell, the
Locomotive Superintendent, had recently
promoted about 87 native firemen to appoint-
ments, previously held by Europeans, as
shimters and drivers of goods trains on branch
lines, with most satisfactory results. The
experiment carried out in the face of much
opposition led to a considerable economy and
naturally had the full support of the Board.

WAGON SHORTAGE DURING MADRAS FAMINE. 77

A failure of the rains of 1876 led to another
famine in India, this time in the Madras and
Bombay Presidencies. A strong demand
for food grains, pulses and rice set in in
October 1876, and continued unabated almost
throughout 1877. The great bulk of the traflfic
flowed over the East Indian Railway from
the North- West Provinces and the Punjab,
the largest proportion going via the Jubbul-
pore line and the Great Indian Peninsula
Kailway, but there was also a heavy traflfic
to Howrah, for transmission to Madras
by sea.

At the same time there was a large wheat
and seed export trade, and consequently the
usual sequence of a shortage of wagon
supply. The papers in India teemed with
expressions of disapproval of the East
Indian Railway management, because it had
not suflficient stock to meet the extraordinary
demands made upon it. The facts were that
the stock of wagons had amply suflficed to
meet the famine requirements of 1873-74,
but when it came to sending East Indian
Railway wagons hundreds of miles away
from the home line to distant Madras, it
became impossible to meet all demands.
Out of a total stock of 6,600 goods wagons, as
many as 1,200 or say one-fifth were constantly
absent from the line, conveying produce to
the Bombay or Madras Presidencies. There
would have been an abundant supply of
wagons to carry our own traflfic but there

78 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

were not suflficient to carry grain to Madras
as well as to Calcutta, and obviously it was
beyond the bounds of possibility to meet this
exceptional demand. The Board however at
once applied for Government sanction to the
provision of 1,000 more wagons and 50 addi-
tional engines, at a cost of a quarter of a
million of money, and sanction was accorded
after some short delay.

Towards the close of 1877 and at the
beginning of 1878 shareholders were begin-
ning to enquire what action the Govern-
ment intended to take in respect to the
purchase of the Railway. Mr. Crawford,
although he could then make no oflficial
announcement, had already taken up the
question and was in communication with
the Government as to its intentions. The
position was that on the 15th February 1879,
and for six months afterwards, the Govern-
ment had the power of giving notice to the
Company of its intention to purchase the
property, such intention to take effect on
the expiration of six months' notice. The
terms of purchase were the average market
value of the stock of the Company for three
years preceding the date on which such
notice should be given. There was much
conjecture as to the course the Government
would follow, and when it was announced,
early in 1878, that Lieut. -Genl. Strachey,
R. E., a member of the Council of the Secre-
tary of State for India, had proceeded to

VISIT OF GRNL. STBAOHBT AND MR. RENDBL. 79

Calcutta to consider, " with the Government
and Railway authorities on the spot, certain
propositions for the completion of the
Company's system," it was not unnatural to
associate his visit with the question of
Government purchase of the Railway.

The Board thought it desirable that Mr.
A. M. Rendel, the Consulting Engineer to the
Company, should also proceed to India and
take part in the enquiries to be made by
General Strachey, as, setting aside the
question of purchase, there were many
important matters requiring decision. The
rapidity with which traffic had developed in
recent years rendered it essential to decide,
without delay, what further facilities should
be provided. In other words it had become
very necessary that accurate information
should be obtained as to the works needed to
enable the Railway to meet the development
of traffic. Among these works were the carry-
ing of the line over the river Hooghly by a
bridge at a convenient point above Calcutta,
the idea then being to construct a passenger
station in the Metropolis and so leave the
whole of the Howrah property for the wheat,
seeds and coal trade. Then again, there were
the questions of extending the double line and
of bridging the Ganges at or near Benares,
so as to make a better connection with the
Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway. These were
big questions and there were many others
of minor importance.

80 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

It is not necessary here to refer in any
detail to this visit of Genl. Strachey and
Mr. Rendel to India. Genl. Strachey 's visit
was undoubtedly in connection with the
question of Government taking over the East
Indian Railway, and this wiU be more fully
dealt with in another chapter. Mr. Rendel
as usual submitted a very full report as soon
as he returned, dealing with the engineering
questions above referred to, but no proposals
were made by the Board to the Government
to enter upon the works recommended by
him, because the intentions of Government
in regard to the purchase of the line were
not known until some time afterwards.
Suflfice to say here that in 1879 a Bill was
presented in Parliament " to enable the Sec-
retary of State in Council to enter into
contracts for the purchase of the undertaking
of the East Indian Railway Company and for
other purposes in relation to such Company."
This Bill received the Royal assent on the
11th August 1879, and under its provisions a
contract, to continue in force for a period of
not less than 20 years from the 1st January
1880, was entered into, embodying the con-
ditions on which the undertaking was continu-
ed in the hands of the Company.

Before giving any details of the growth
of traffic during the period immediately
preceding the purchase of the Railway by
the State, there are one or two incidents to
record. In 1878 the Company lost, through

DEATH OF MBSSRS. ROBERTS AND BATOHBLOK. 81

death, the services of two of its most valued
officers. Mr. Robert Roberts, the Chief
Auditor, died at Alexandria on his way to
England, after a service of eighteen years,
and was succeeded by Mr. R. C. S. Mackenzie,
the first assistant of the Department. Mr.
J. C. Batchelor, who for nearly twenty years
had discharged with ability and zeal the
duties of Traffic Manager, died suddenly in
Calcutta, and Mr. N. St. L. Carter, Deputy
Traffic Manager, was appointed to fill the
vacant post. It may here be mentioned
that Mr. Batchelor was formerly an officer
on the staflFof the London and North Western
Railway and was considered one of the most
able Traffic Managers the East Indian
Railway ever had.

The net earnings of the East Indian Rail-
way Company from 1876 to 1879 inclusive
were : —

1876

...

... £2,110,286 10 4

1877

•••

... 2,770,667 11 10

1878

t..

... 2,344,942 9

1879

•••

... 2,666,751 16 7

Prior to the year 1876 wheat exports
firom India had been comparatively small,
but in that vear the^e was so great an
advance in tne trade that British India,
instead of being at the bottom, took the
third place in the list of countries from which
the United Kingdom drew its supply, and
there was every indication of a stuT further
increase in despatches as facilities were

BIB &

82 HISTORY OF THB B* I. RAILWAY.

enlarged and made available to commerce.
The seed traffic was also crowing in import-
ance, but more important than either of these
two was the, as yet, almost mideveloped coal
traffic. It is true that it had already reached
some magnitude, and was gradually growing,
but this was chiefly due to the requirements
of railways, which had to take coal, and not
to the creation of an export trade, which
followed years afterwards when a more suit-
able tariff was introduced. In 1876 there
was very little demand for local coal for sea-
going steamers, and the chief consideration
of the time seems to have been moderately
cheap fuel for railway consumption.

The quantity of coal carried for the public
during the three years ending 1876 was

1874

Tons 506,519

1875

„ 515,846

1876

„ 520,262

Now in connection with the coal traffic of
these days it must be remembered that the
.East Indian Railway collieries supplied a
large portion of the public demand. The
Giridih coalfield was discovered in the early
years of the history of the East Indian Rail-
way, and, thanks to the intelligence and fore-
sight of Mr. (afterwards Sir) Macdonald
Stephenson, the East Indian Railway Com-
pany acquired control over it. At one time
there was a sharp controversy between the
Government and the Company as to the use
of this coal-field. The Gtovemment said

BAST INDIAN RAILWAY COAL PROPBRTY. 83

they could not allow guaranteed capital to
be used in working a coal mine, and in fact
gave orders that the mines were to be closed.
What followed is best described in Mr.
Crawford's words: — "We on our part were not
prepared to submit to this, and as the Gov-
ernment would not alter their determination
we brought out what was called ^The Auxiliary
Railway Company, ' by which we proposed to
make the Chord line, and to develop the
Giridih property. A letter was written to
Sir Charles Wood, in which we pointed out
to him, from what I may call the commercial
aspect of the case, how absolutely necessary
it was that we should take the course we
proposed to take. We told him the great
advantages that in our judgment would arise
from it. Sir Charles Wood gave way, autho-
rity was given to make the Chord line, to get
access to these mines, and you see the result.
We get our coal at Is. 5d. a ton."

It was not, however, the East Indian
Railway that alone benefited by the cheap
coal made available by the construction of
the Chord line. The East Indian Railway
did not require for themselves all the coal
that was raised from their mines, and was
able to place at the disposal of Government
and of other railways connecting with them,
the whole of their surplus raisings, for which
cost price was charged in addition to rail-
way freight. There were, however, other
coal-owners in India besides the Railway

84 HISTORY OF THB B. I. BAILWAT.

Company, and these people took exception
to the course pursued by the Company and,
in the words of Mr. Crawford, threatened
"all manner of things." "They talk," he
said, "of getting an interdict from the
Government. In fact they threaten legal
proceedings ; but they are not aware of this,
that we are entitled under our constitution
to work and to win and to make profit out
of coal and minerals. It was one of those
things for which we are indebted to the
foresight of our colleague, Sir Macdonald
Stephenson, who after thirty years' connec-
tion with us, is still happily with us. He
foresaw the advantages that would arise from
this ; therefore in the deed of contract we
have the power to do these things, and that
deed has been approved by Government ;
there is therefore no doubt as to our legal
authority to deal if we choose in coal. How
we came to possess the coal was in this way.
We were engaged some twenty-five years
ago in constructing our line along the Gan-
ges, where a large quantity of brickwork was
to be done. Our people were at their wits'
end for fuel wherewith to bum the bricks.
As the Americans say, they prospected the
country, and it resulted in finding coal.
When found. Sir Macdonald Stephenson
took measures immediately to acquire con-
trol over the coal. That was obtained and
we have now legal control over the coal pits.
Thwe are other coal deposits, and other

PROFITS OF GOVBBNMBM' FROM THE B. I. R. 85

people can work them if they like, as well
as ourselves. Our purpose in relation to
coal is this — ^to use as much as we require for
our own purposes at the smallest cost, having
done this we wish to supply our neighbours
with as much coal as we can, they paying
us merely the profits of carriage. There
is the Oudh and Rohilkhand, which is com-
paratively speaking our nearest neighbour
m one du'ection, and I hope we shall be able
to keep them continually supplied with the
coal they require on terms satisfactory to
them, and the same with the Great Indian
Peninsular."

How the controversy regarding the sale
by the Kailway of its surplus coal ended it
is needless to recapitulate, at the time the
words were spoken the Company was on the
eve of negotiations with Government as to
its fixture. It was feared that the Govern-
ment might not only purchase the under-
taking but work it also. Mr. Crawford held
the view, apparently accepted by Govern-
ment, that " no railway of this magnitude is
likely to succeed if it is administered by
departmental officers of Government." The
Railway was abeady paying the Govern-
ment handsome profits, in the year 1877
the Government share amounted to about
X600,000, and on this Mr. Crawford said,
" Gentlemen, if you will turn to the pages of
a certain book called the Fables of -^sop, you
will see the story of a countryman who was

S6 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

fortunate in possessing a goose whicli laid
every day a golden egg ? You know what the
countryman did with the goose. We, the
East Indian Railway Co., are the goose ; the

§ olden egg is the £600,000 which the
ecretary of State will get out of this
Railway for the year 1877 ; but whether
Lord Salisbury will be the country-
man or not remains for the future to
discover."

Let us look for a moment at the goose as
described by Mr. Crawford in a previous
speech. It shews how the Railway was
then regarded and what expectations were
held for its future. He said " with regard
to the undertaking itself, you will bear in
mind that there is perhaps no railway enter-
prise upon the face of this earth, traversing
so great a distance, that is more favourably
placed than ours is. We have little or noth-
ing to contend with in the way of unfavour-
able gradients ; we have a plain and level
country to pass through. We have a river,
it is true to compete with, but which I think
will be found in the long run will be less of
a competitor than a coadjutor with us. We
serve a country densely peopled — a people
living in a state of tranquility, who are able
to devote themselves to the exercise of all
the arts of life, whatever they may be, which
they pursue, whether agriculture or manufac-
tures or whatever else ; and we have arrived
at that time now when the cultivators of

HB. CRAWFORD DBSORIBBS THE B. I. R. 87

the soil in India, and the traders into whose
hands the produce of the cultivators passes,
have found that the supply of every article,
wherever produced along the East Indian
line, exceeding the local consumption, is
carried to marKet by rail. A man can enter
upon the cultivation of land with confidence
that his produce, if in excess of that required
for the supply of the immediate neighbour-
hood, will find a market elsewhere. All this
arises in a great measure from the fact that
the produce there raised is of a kind readily
taken by other people than the people of
India. There are acres upon acres, districts
of land in India, which are now covered
with wheat cultivation. There are large
areas in the lower, independently of the
Upper Provinces of India, where the culti-
vation of oil seeds, linseed and rape seeds,
and other things of that kind is carried
on to a vast extent. There is nothing
whatever in the ordinary circumstances of
India which can prevent our enjoying to
the full extent the full benefit as railway
carriers."

During the period we are now dealing
with the growth of the passenger traffic and
the measures advisable to encourage it were
also being considered. The increase in the
passenger traffic was thought not so great
as it might have been and the question of
reducing the third class fare was a subject
to which consideration was being given. Mr.

88 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

Crawford in his address to the shareholders
in 1878 said :—

'' I do not know whether our rates are higher than they
ought to be, but to carry a passenger eight miles for 3a.
cannot inflict a very great burden upon him. The Southern
of India Bailwa}7, I am told, however, carry passengers at
two-thirds of our rates and their traffic is increasing. If
that be the case it certainly behoves us to see how far the
principle of lower fares can be applied with success upon
our system. It is not to be forgotten that it is a dangerous
question to meddle with, and we had better be cautious in
what we do."

What was done a few years later is related
elsewhere, in the meantime we need only
mention that the Railw^ay was carrying over
six million passengers annually in 1875 and
that, in 1879, the figures had gone up to more
than seven and one half minions, of whom
nearly seven millions were of the third class.

The working expenses were still decreasing,
in the second half of 1879 the percentage
to gross receipts for the main line was down
to 31-86 and in whatever way regarded the
general outlook was most favourable.

CHAPTER VIII.

Opening op the Rajputana Railway leads
TO competition between Calcutta and
Bombay — The views op Government on

THE QUESTION — ThB POSITION DEFINED BY

Mr. Crawford, Chairman of the East
Indian Railway.

The Rajputana-Malwa (metre gauge)
Gk)vemment Railway, connecting the
North West Provinces with Bombay,
vid the Bombay, Baroda and Central India
Railway, was opened for traflfic on the Ist
January 1881, and very shortly afterwards,
the question of the competition between
the Ports of Calcutta and Bombay came
under the consideration of the Government
of India, with a view to the laying down of
principles upon which the traflfic by the rival
routes should be conducted, having due regard
to the several interests concerned.

Taking the two important centres Agra
and Delhi, distances to Bombay and Cal-
cutta then compared : —

Miles.

Agra to Bombay vid Eajputana ...

„ „ ,, vid Jabbnlpore
Agra to Calcutta
Delhi to Bombay vid Raiputana...

„ „ „ ^'d Jubbulpore
Delhi to CalcntU

847
1,121

841

889
1,284

954

90 HISTORY OF THR K. I. RAILWAY.

The Board of the East Indian Railway
held that the Calcutta trade should be given
the full advantage of the economical condi-
tions under which their line was worked ;
they argued in fact that the East Indian
Railway should have the power of carrying
goods at cheaper rates than other railways.

The managements of the Bombay Baroda
and Rajputana State Railways declined to
accept this view, and undeterred by the
disadvantage of break of gauge, at once
began active competition by reducing charges,
in order to draw to Bombay by their route, a
large portion of the traffic which had pre-
viously been carried by the East Indian
Railway, from Agra and Delhi, to Calcutta.

The Great Indian Peninsular Railway,
which had previously only secured a small
portion of the traffic of the North-West and
l^unjab to Bombay by the Jubbulpore route,
found themselves seriously handicapped and
proposed to construct an extension of their
line to Cawnpore, which would shorten the
distance by their route, both from Cawnpore
and above. This proposal was accepted by
the Secretary of State and thus a further
complication was introduced, though it is true
that it was not until some years later that
the connection was actually made by the
Indian Midland Railway, since amalgamated
with the Great Indian Peninsular.

The Government of India wrote a des-
patch on the question in which the general

GOVBRNMBNT OF INDIA VIEWS. 91

principle was laid down that railway rates
should be fixed " at the lowest limit possible
to secure a fair profit on working. This
principle was very much in accord with the
views of the East Indian Railway Board,
who now looked upon the competition with
less alarm, for they knew they could make a
fair profit out of far lower rates than other
rsttlways and therefore had the whip hand.

Let us, however, extract more fully from
the Government despatch, which is dated
19th May 1882.

**The Qovernment of India has certainly no wish to
favour either the port of Calcutta or that of Bombay in
this matter. Both ports have their respective advantagea
and disadvautages as regards the export of country produce.
Bombay has a magnificent harbour and a convenient dock^
combined with lower freight charges to Europe ; but as
regards inland transport it has the disadvantage of costly
fuel and hilly country. Calcutta on the other hand has
a somewhat dangerous river for its approach, no docks and
heavier freight charges to Europe ; but in respect of inland
transport it has great advantages, not only from the abun-
dant supply of cheap coal but also from its river transport.
The competition of the river compels low charges on the
railways, while the cheap coal enables thetie low charges to
be remunerative ; and it appears to His Excellency the
Governor-General in Council that if the Government ruled
that the rates from Delhi and Agra to Bombay and Calcutta
were to be the same, such ruling would be distinctly favour-
ing Bombay at the expense of Calcutta, and placing an
artificial restriction on the East Indian Railway traffic,
thereby depriving the districts served by it of the natu-
ral advantages of their position."

At this time the rates from Agra and Delhi
to Calcutta and Bombay were considerably in
favour of Calcutta, and the Government of
India in this despatch merely reiterated the

92 H1ST0B7 OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

theory they had promulgated in a previous
letter to the Government of Bombay, to the
effect that ** the ultimate limit of legitimate
competition between the various lines must
be regulated by their capabilities of making
an equally fair profit from the traffic they
carry. "

A long controversy ensued in which the
Chambers of Commerce in Calcutta and
Bombay joined, while the Secretary of State
expressed an opinion quite opposed to that
held by the Government of India. He was
in favour of leaving the rival railway lines to
compete for the trade by quoting whatever
rates they found desirable, subject to the
interposition of Government in extreme cases,
and laid down that "the advantages due
either to geographical position or other
circumstances, shoW funSsh no reason for
imposing on either artificial restrictions, in
order to produce an equal return of net profits
on the capital of both."

These very opposite views in no way
brought the controversy to a close. It
continued for years before even a temporary
solution was come to, but ultimately the
Government of India, in 1887, accepted in a
large measure the principles laid down by the
Secretary of State that "the managers of
railways should be left to fix their own rates
and fares, that the interests of railways and
trade generally would be better served by
accepting the legitimate consequences of

MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM RATES. 93

competition, and that the interposition of
Grovemment would be justified only in cases
where companies, under the security of a
guarantee, might fix rates below what would
cover the cost of transport with a margin of
profit."

Certain general rules were then formulated
by Government, subject to which railways
were left free to fix such rates and fares as
seemed most advantageous for their res-
pective lines.

Among these rules were what is known as
maximum and minimum rates, but otherwise
the utmost latitude was allowed the several
railway managements. In other words it
was left to the railways to compete with
each other, until they reached the minimum
charge permissible, whether this minimum
meant a profitable charge or otherwise. The
natural result has been that in the course
of years of competition, coupled with other
considerations, the lines leading to Calcutta
and Bombay have both reached the minimum
in many instances, and the East Indian Rail-
way, not being able to go further, loses the
advantage that a purely commercial concern
would gain by reason of the cheaper con-
ditions under which it is worked.

As will be shewn further on the question
has recently been revived, and is under
discussion at the present moment; but
while this correspondence was going on and
at a time when the Rajputana route had

94 HISTORY OF THB B I. RAILWAY.

atarted active competition with the East
Indian Railway for the trade of the North
West, and when the Great Indian Peninsular
Railway was still endeavouring to gain access
to Cawnpore, Mr. Crawford issued an interest-
ing brochure entitled " Some Observations
on the Development of the Railway System
of the Valley of the Ganges."

In this sketch Mr. Crawford considered
the general effect of the accomplishment of
certain projects likely to affect the working
of the East Indian Railway.

He referred firstly to the approaching
completion of the Hooghly bridge, connect-
ing the railways on either side of Calcutta ;
then to the bridge crossing the Ganges river
at Benares and the probable acquirement
by the Government of the Oudh and Rohil-
kand Railway ; then to the development of
the Bengal and North- Western Railway
System, serving, with the Tirhoot State
line, the important provinces north of the
Ganges, and lastly to the competition between
Bombay, Kurrachee and Calcutta.

It is only with the last portion of the
pamphlet that we are here interested, and
more particularly with the competition
between Bombay and Calcutta.

" This competition," he remarked, " was
unknown, in point of fact it was not possible,
before the meeting of the East Indian and
Great Indian Peninsular lines of Railway at
Jubbulpore in the year 1869, audit has been

MR. Crawford's views. 95

effective only since the completion of the
Rajputana-Malwa (narrow gauge lines) and
their incorporation with the Bombay-Baroda
line in 1881, thus affording Bombay a
continuous unbroken communication with
points of contact with the East Indian line
at Agra and at Delhi The basis upon which
this competition is, as regards Bombay, the
great superiority the port possesses over the
port of Calcutta, owing mainly to natural
causes — the extent and depth of the water of
its harbour, its facility of access and immunity
from cyclones and, more than all, its position,
confronting, on the Western coast of India,
the entrance to the Red Sea, and the com-
munications with every part of Europe.
Add to these the moderate port charges and
there appears to be some reason why there
should be a reputed difference of IO5. per
ton in favour of Bombay, between the
freights from Bombay and those from
Calcutta, and just as much, say IO5. per ton
in the relative costs of the transport of goods
between the marts in upper Inaia and their
destination in Europe."

" If by the gifts of nature Bombay is so
largely superior to Calcutta as a shipping
port, there is a set off of no slight importance
m the fact that the approach to, and departure
from Bombay, are subject to the drawback of
the Western GhS,ts in both the lines of the
Great Indian Peninsular Railway leading into
the interior of the country, and the flooding of

96 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

the rivers, notably the Taptee and Nurbudda,
which cross the path of the Bombay and
Baroda Kailway, in its northward course to its
junction with the Rajputana-Malwa line at
Sabarmati. Added to this, coal is not to be
found economically suitable for the purposes
of locomotion at any point on either of these
lines. The consequence is that both of these
depend upon the imported coal into Bombay
for the supply of their requirements, at a
cost as follows compared with the East
Indian Railway Company : thus the

Half year ended
30th Jane 1885.
East Indian Railway used ... Tons 100,176
Great Indian Peninsular „ ... „ 108,490
Bombay and Baroda „ „ 24,987

Costing

East Indian Railway ... Bs. 479,4S2

per ton at 1/8 per rupee ... 7«. ll^d.

Great Indian Peninsular ... Bs. 1,678,778

per ton at 1/8 per rupee ... £l ts, 9^d.

Bombay and Baroda Bs 493,112

per ton at 1/8 per rupee ... £1 12«. lO^d,

This statement showed that, in the one item
of coal, the East Indian possessed an enor-
mous and indisputable advantage over the
Bombay lines, but if it was a fact that
Bombay possessed a superiority in homeward
freights it still remained necessary for the
East Indian, by the observance of every
practical economy in management, and by
affording every possible facility to the public,
to take all the advantage it could of its

MR. Crawford's views. 97

cheap working, and so retain the traffic to
which it considered itself entitled.

The bridging of the Hooghly, the enlarge-
ment of Howrah station and the additions
to locomotive and wagon stock then contem-
plated were among the measures which, in
Mr. Crawford's words, enabled the East
Indian Railway " to enter into a free and
open competition with the Great Indian
Peninsular and Bombay and Baroda Rail-
ways, confident of being able to hold their
own, if they are only allowed fair play."

Taking the Great Indian Peninsular Rail-
way first, their avowed object in getting
into Cawnpore was to divert from the East
Indian Railway as much as they could of
the Cawnpore-Calcutta traffic.

"Cawnpore," wrote Mr. Crawford, "is distant from
Calcutta 684 miles, and it will be, it is understood, 831 miles
distant from Bombay, consequently the distance from
Bombay to Calcutta by the two routes conjointly being
1515 miles, the half-way house or mid-point of the entire
route will be at 757 miles from either port or about
31 miles distant westward of Calpee. In otner words, all
things being equal, a ton of goods could be sent from that
half-way house to either port for the same charge for
freight.

'' But all things are not equal in this case of competition.
If, on the one hand, the Western Port of India is un-
supplied by nature with coal of any kind for the locomotive
uses of the railways, and the courses of those Railways are
impeded and obstructed by mountain ranges and the
opposing waters of ^reat rivers, we find, on the other hand,
Calcutta in immediate connection with coal-fields of great
extent on the very line of her chief Bailway, and that
railway pursuing its way of nearly 1000 miles to Delhi
over a course practically level throughout.

'* llie results of these differences m the natural conditions
under which the East Indian and the lines of Western

BIR 7

98 HI8T0BY OF THK B. I. RAILWAY.

India are worked have been formulated in the Summary
of the Analysis of Working of Indian Railways, and
show —
Average cost of hauling a goods unit (one ton) one mile

East Indian Railway

... pies 2-40

Great Indian Peninsular ..•

... „ 5-27

Bombay and Baroda

... „ 4 77

Rajputana Railway

... „ 5-20"

This great difference in favour of the
East Indian Railway was, in Mr. Crawford's
opinion, " sufficient to transfer the central
economical working meeting point on the
Indian Midland line, 356 miles to the west-
ward of Cawnpore."

In the competition with the united Bom-
bay, Baroda and Rajputana Railways the
case was somewhat different ; the distance
from Calcutta to Agra being 841 miles and
from Bombay to Agra 847 miles, the mid-
way house is 3^ miles to the west of Agra,
or say at Agra itself, but according to
Mr. Crawford's calculations the economical
working midway point would be 307 miles
westward of Agra.

These arguments, which are perfectly
sound, apply with equal force to the present
time. Beyond laying down maximum and
minimum rates, the Government has, as
already indicated, in no way interfered with
competition between the different railways in
India, the minimum rates are the same for
all and, as a consequence, the Bombay lines
charge from Agra to Bombay the same as the
East Indian charges from Agra to Calcutta ;

MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM KATKS. 99

while from Cawnpore the Great Indian
Peninsular and the East Indian have been
known, during active competition, to both
charge the minimum allowed them for the
more important items of traffic, or in other
words to maintain equal mileage rates irres-
pective of the cost of working. Therefore up
to the present time the East Indian Railway
has not been allowed to get any advantage
from the more economical conditions under
which it is worked. Such an arrangement is
not only contrary to the spirit of commercial
enterprise, but is distinctly unfair to the East
Indian Railway. It is very doubtful whether
the minimum rates can pay in the case of rail-
ways which are not so cheaply worked, and it
would be interesting to hear what arguments
there are to the contrary. It may also be
remarked here that to protect the public by
prescribing maximum rates, above which no
railway may charge, is understandable, but
that rates should be governed by minima,
below which no railway may go, is an econo-
mic absurdity. Minimum rates were no
doubt brought about by the system of Gov-
ernment guarantees, and the fear that, with-
out some such restriction, certain railways
would charge lower rates than were profit-
able to them, but this is no defence when
it limits the powers of a railway, in a
position to charge less than the prescribed
minimum, and yet derive a fair margin of
profit.

100 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

This question of competition will be refer-
red to in other phases elsewhere ; it is
sufficient to say here that Mr. W. A. Dring,
the present General Traffic Manager of the
East Indian Railway, has in a recent note
on slow freight rates re-opened the question
of a varying minima and it is on this that we
are now awaiting the decision of Government.
Mr. Dring says : —

"The present minimum charge of '2Zd per ton mile
is acting as a restraint on the operations of the manage-
ments to which Oovernment has entrusted the working
of its railways, and it seems probable that in the earlj
future Qovernment may consider whether the minimum
can be reduced. There will then be the problem whether,
as hitherto, there shall be one minimum for all alike, or
whether the theap working lines shall be allowed to charge
a lower rate than the system where the prevailing conditions
do not permit of the same economy. In other words,
whether the cost of working shall be taken into consider-
ation in fixing the minimum rate which may be quoted by
the different systems. It is too much to expect that there
shall be a different minimum for each railway, small and
large, but it is submitted that different minimum rates
based on cost of working could be laid down for the larger
systems, and a general minimum for the smaller, and that
such a procedure would be both fair to the consignor whose
goods are to be carried, and in the interests of Government
as owning the railways."

CHAPTEK IX.

Negotiations Preceding the Purchase of
THE East Indian Railway by Government.

The negotiations which preceded, and gra-
dually led up to the purchase of the East
Indian Railway Company by Government,
have been placed on record by Mr. Crawford,
in a pamphlet published in 1880, entitled
** A Short Account of the Preliminary Nego-
tiations."

Towards the close of 1876, the first of the
three years constituting the period of which
the average price of the Company's stock in
the market was to be taken as the value of the
Railway, in the event of the Secretary of
State electing to purchase the line, had
nearly run its course, and the time had
arrived, when the interests of the Company
required that the consideration of its fate in
the future should no longer be deferred.

The measures taken by Mr. Crawford are
best told in his own words ; he says : —

" As a first step I proceeded to prepare a paper, which
dealing with some of the leading facts as they lay before us,
would familiarise my own min^ and the minds of my col-
leagues on the Board, and of any other persons under whose
observation they might come, with the main features of the
case and the magnitude of the interests concerned ; at the
same time they presented something like a definite proposi-
tion for consiaeration.

102 HISTORY OF THE E. I. RAILWAY.

" My next step was to write to Lord Salisbury under date
8th March 1877, to the effect that *as the time approached
when the relations of the East Indian Bail way Company
with the Government of India would come under review in
the terms of the contract, we found our freedom of proceed-
ing in the management of the line, and consideration of
measures for the development of the trafSc, much affected
by the uncertainties of our position ; requesting in conclusion
that His Lordship would allow me to see him on the subject.
I waited on him on the 15th March 1877. He heard what
I had to say, and having spoken amongst other things of
difficulties in the interpretation of the contract, referred
me in the end to General Strachey, the Chairman of the
Bailway Committee of his Council."

" Various communications having passed between General
Strachey and myself, I received from him in the result, a
declaration of Lord Salisbury's views in the following
confidential letter dated 3rd May 1877 : —

" I return the {>aper you left with me. Acting on your
authority to do so, if I thought fit, I have shewed it to lx)rd
Salisbury. To take up tlie discussion where we left it, I
now wish to repeat what I before said, that the only basis on
which I have any authority to treat is, that the Railway
shall become the property of the State. At the same time it
is suggested, that arrangements might be come to between the
Government and the Company, under which the Company,
either as now constituted or in some modified shape, might
continue to work the Railway on a lease for a term of
years.

" If no such arrangement commends itself to the Company
it will only remain for the Government to act under the
terms of the existing contract, when the date for exercising
the power of purchase arrives. The exact form that
should be given to a working arrangement must be subject
of negotiation. The essential condition, which I cannot
give up, is, that the prospective share in the profits of the
Railway, which a working company shall receive, must be
limited to an amount which will fairly represent the
remuneration to which they would be entitled for managing
the business. I am at present disposed to estimate this
as follows : —

"The capital represented by the whole concern being taken
at 30 millions, the Government might be expected to share
on 25 millions, and would leave 5 millions as the sum on
which the Company would share in the division of the profits.
**The five millions in question might be contributed^
either as a new subscription of debenture capital, or might

QBNL. STRAOHBY ON THE QUB8TI0N OF PURCHASE. 103

be transferred from the amount which the Government
will have to pay the Company, as purchase-money, on the
termination of the existing contract.

" If such a basis were accepted for discussion, it would,
I think, not be difficult to come to an understanding, as to
the principles on which the existing shareholders should
be paid, on the transfer of the Railway to the Government,
so as to give them the full value contemplated by the
contract. It would probably simplify matters if this were
disposed of quite apart from the arrangement for the
future, at least provisionally.

" The question that would then arise would be whether
the capital amount, which I have proposed to fix at five
millions, should be subscribed as an addition to the existing
capital, subject to the condition of being paid up as re-
quired from time to time, or whether it should be regarded
as having been supplied by a corresponding amount of the
sum payable to the shareholders, on the purchase of the
Bailway by the Government, leaving the future provision of
capital to oe met independently.

" The net profits to be divided between the Government
and the Company would be the net income of the Bailway,
after deducting the annual sum paid by the Government,
in fulfilment of the terms of the old contract and interest
on the sum advanced by the Government, as guaranteed,
entered with the simple interest accrued thereon, together
with all interest on Debentures, not included in the pay-
ment under the old contract.

'* I think that this includes all the more essential points
on which to form an opinion, whether we are likely to come
to an understanding as to a working arrangement for the
future or the contrary.

**In any case, as Governments are proverbially slow in
their action, it has already become time for us to bring our
machinery into operation in connection with this question,
and if you hear that this has been done, you will not be
surprised, though at the same time you are not to assume
that there is an intention of closing the door to an arrange-
ment with you, on a basis such as we can accept."

This undoubtedly was a most important
communication. It indicated that the Gov-
ernment fully intended to purchase the East
Indian Railway, though they did not intend
to take it over absolutely, if the Company

104 HISTORT OF THB B. I. RAILWAT.

J)roved willing to enter into an arrangement
or working the line that would meet their
views.

Mr. Crawford very carefully considered
this letter, and having discussed the terras
with his colleagues wrote to General Stra-
chey on the 2nd June, 1877, as follows : —

" I have carefully considered the proposals contained in
your letter of the 3rd May. It may suffice for present
purposes if I say that they appear to me to contain the
oasis of a practical working arrangement in the future."

Mr. Crawford in his pamphlet proceeds to
say that the whole subject was then, or soon
afterwards, subraitted for the judgment of the
Government of India, and further action on
the part of the Board became unnecessary,
until, it being made known later on in
the autumn that General Strachey was
about to go to India, the Board applied for
and obtained the sanction of the Govern-
ment to their Consulting Engineer, Mr.
Rendel, proceeding to Calcutta also, in order
to facilitate, by his presence on the spot, the
settlement of many matters affecting the
Railway that were likely to come under
discussion.

The reply of the Government of India to
the reference of Lord Salisbury having been
received, Mr. Crawford was invited by Sir
Louis Malet, the Under Secretary of State,
on the 16th July, 1878, to call at the India
Office, and on doing so found that he had
been entrusted by Lord Cranbrook (who had

OOMPLBTION OF PUB0HA6B NB60TIATI0NS. 105

taken the place of Lord Salisbury as Seere-
ary of State) with the negotiations.

Frequent communications followed, in the
course of which the whole matter was fully
discussed, and ultimately Mr. Crawford met
in the room of Sir Louis Malet at the India
Office, Sir John Strachey, the Finance
Minister in India, Colonel Williams, the
Under Secretary in the Department of
Public Works at Calcutta, Mr. Cassells of
the Council, Mr. Danvers, the Government
Director of Guaranteed Railways, and Mr.
Waterfield, the Financial Secretary. This
meeting led to still further discussion, and
finally an official letter was addressed to Mr.
Crawford, as Chairman of the Board, which
determined the arrangements subsequently
agreed to.

It is unnecessary to trace further the his-
tory of these transactions, recorded as they
are in the published proceedings of the Com-
pany and in the passage of the Bill through
Parliament. Nor is it necessary to refer to
the measures taken by the Board to carry
the provisions of the *' Purchase Act " into
eflTect. Enough has been said to shew the
course taken up by preliminary negotiations ;
what followed is too well known to be de-
tailed here.

CHAPTER X*

Questions before the Board after the pur-
chase of the railway by government.
Retrospect of the position of the Com-
pany AT THE TIME — REDUCTION OF THIRD
CLASS FARES AND OTHER MATTERS.

On the last day of the year 1879 the con-
tracts, under which the mutual relations of
the Company and the Indian Government
had subsisted for more than thirty years, ter-
minated ; the undertaking was transferred
to the Secretary of State and a fresh agree-
ment for the management and working of
the Railway came into force.

The negotiations with the Secretary of
State had been long and difficult, but the ulti-
mate arrangement was satisfactory both to
the Government and the Company. The real
object of the Government in making this
new agreement seems to have been to secure
to the State a larger share of the profits than
it received under the previous contracts, and
at the same time to leave the working and
management of the line in the hands of the
Company who had so successfully administer-
ed its affairs in the past.

The general principle of the new contract
in regard to the division of earnings was that,
having ascertained the amount of net working

DISPOSAL OF SURPLUS ASSETS. 107

profits, certain deductions were made in res-
pect of interest charges, contributions to pro-
vident fund, and so forth, and the balance,
called the surplus profits, was then left to be
divided between the Government and the
Company in the proportion

4-5th8 to Government.

l-5th to the Company. ^

Now at the time of the purchase of the
Railway by the State, the Company had in
hand certain surplus assets, amounting to
over one hundred thousand pounds, and the
question arose how this sum should be dis-
posed of. Part of it consisted of unclaimed
interest and dividends and could not be
touched, but there remained at the disposal
of the shareholders about seventy thousand
pounds and out of this it was decided to

gay thirty-four thousand to Sir Macdonald
tephenson, in commutation of a pension
voted to hini some years previously, and
from the balance to make a grant to Mr.
Robert Ingram Crawford, the Chairman
of the Company, whose exceptional ser-
vices called for some special recognition.
Mr. Crawford was one of the few gentle-
men who met together, before the East
Indian Railway Company was formed, to
consider the question whether the railway
system was adapted to India and if so how
money for the purpose of constructing a rail-
way could best be provided. He and Mr.
Stephenson then agreed that nothing could

108 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

be done without a Government guarantee,
but it took them some years to establish the
principle of a guarantee, and not until this
had been done could the Company be formed.
Mr. Crawford had been with the Company
from its initiation ; he had made himself
master of its history and of every one of its
transactions ; he had been instrumental in
introducing many economies and finally had
devoted several years of his life to the negotia-
tions with the Government, which haa just
been brought to a successful issue. It was
decided to make him a grant of fifteen thou-
sand pounds, and to divide the balance of the
surplus assets among the shareholders.

There were also at this time certain
balances at the credit of the " Savings Bank"
and " Fine Fund" standing in the books of
the Company, apart from the funds of the
undertaking, which were also available for
disposal.

The position of the subordinate staff of
the Company in India, with reference to the
education of their children and placing them
out in life, had long been an object of solici-
tude with the Directors, and it was thought
that this money might be devoted to the
establishment of a school in the hills for the
education of the children of Company's ser-
vants. The amount available from the com-
bined funds was rather more than four lakhs
of rupees and was at least sufficient to form a
nucleus for carrying out a scheme of the kind.

PKOPOSBD BEDUCTION OF THIRD CLASS FAKES. 109

Such were among the questions before the
Board at the time of the purchase of the
Railway by the Government, and we shall
hear more about the hill school later on.

The report for the first half of the year
1880 deals for the first time with the under-
taking of the East Indian Railway as a
whole. Previously the accounts relating to
the Main and Jubbulpore lines had been kept
separately, but on the first of January 1880,
the undertaking was handed over to the
Company to be worked without distinction
of parts, and consequently the figures, from
this time onward, relate to the work done by,
and the expenditure and earnings of, the two
lines together.

Questions which had been deferred pending
settlement of negotiations with the Govern-
ment as to the future of the Railway now
came up for decision. In the new contract
the Secretary of State took power to " re-
quire the fare of passengers conveyed in
dosed carriages with seats to be reduced to
any rate not below two pies per mile." It
will be remembered that the Board had
already had imder consideration the question,
of reducing the third class fare, which waa
then three pies per mile, but although they
were not yet prepared to make a definite
move, the wishes of Government, as indicated
in the contract, were clearly in support
of such a measure — what actually followed
is described later on.

110 HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

Then again the report of Mr. Rendel on
the subject of his last visit to India had to
be dealt with. The chief object of this visit,
as already indicated, had been to consider
with Mr. Leslie, the Company's Agent at
Calcutta, what extension of the works of
the Railway, having reference to the then
recent rapid increase of traffic, might, on the
assumption of its continuance, be necessary
within the next few years.

The subject which first engaged Mr.
Rendel's attention was one to which the
constantly augmenting traffic of the line
attached a daily increasing importance,
namely, the provision of proper means for
transferring goods, on their arrival at Howrah,
from the Railway to the ships in the Hooghly
river or to warehouses in Calcutta or Howrah
and vice versa.

The warehouses were mostly on the Cal-
cutta side of the river, and goods leaving
the East Indian Railway could only reach
them either by being carted over the floating
bridge or by boat. A connection by- rail was
therefore greatly to be desired.

Messrs. Rendel and Leslie now held the
opinion that the connection should be made
about 24 miles north of Calcutta, thus placing
the East Indian Railway in direct communi-
cation with the Eastern Bengal Railway and
the Port Trust Jetties along the Calcutta
fore-shore. The Board accepted their views
and the Government after considering the

JUBILEE BRIDGE DESIGNED. Ill

matter proposed that the bridge should be
constructed by the East Indian Railway as
part of the undertaking.

The cost of the bridge, excluding the sum
required for the approaches and for the
junction of the two lines, was originally
estimated at Rs. 20,00,000 and the Railway
Company at once agreed to undertake the
work. Mr. Leslie came to England and, in
consultation with Mr. A. M. Kendel, drew

X designs which were sanctioned shortly
rwards.

In 1880 Dr. Saise, p.g.s.. Assistant Mana-
ger of the Company's Collieries, made a very
careful survey of the coal-fields then opened
up in Bengal and summed up his conclusions
in the following words : —

" The output of the coal-field is from
400,000 to 450,000 tons per annum, of which
the East Indian Railway raises 250,000 to
300,000 tons ; assuming an output of 500,000
tons, the coal-field will have a life of 162
years."

The output of the collieries has for many
years very largely exceeded Dr. Saise's esti-
mate of 500,000 tons a year„ and as far as
the East Indian Railway is- concerned, its
collieries are unable to turn out enough coal
to meet its own requirements. The Rail-
way has in consequence to buy part of its
supplies in the open market, but then it must
not be forgotten that the field of operations
has also been greatly extended.

112 HISTOBT OF THE K. I. RAILWAY.

The length of line open in 1880 was l,504j
miles, or from Howrah to Delhi with certain
branch lines. The total length of railways
open to traffic throughout India was at that
time 9,148| miles, and we find in the adminis-
tration report a reference to the development
of Indian Railways, which illustrates the
feeling of Government in those days : —

'* The year 1880 is remarkable in the history of railways
in India as bein^ connected with three important events.
It has seen an unprecedentedly rapid and successful deve-
lopment of state railways, it has witnessed the introduc-
tion of private enterprise into railway construction, it
marks the date of the railway conference."

The battle of the gauges had only just
been determined and railway competition
had, compared with present day conipetition,
hardly begun. Still in the Traffic Manager's
report for the second half of the year a refer-
ence is made to competition ; speaking of the
speed of goods trains the remark appears : —

" It behoves us now that Hallway Companies are compet-
ing with us so keenly, to increase as far as possible the
speed of goods trains f and again — " It is much to be
regretted that our new engines cannot be run at a higher
speed than 13 and 16 miles an hour with 600 ton loads.''

The head-quarters of the Traffic Depart-
ment were at Jamalpur, Mr. N. St. Le^er
Carter was the Traffic Manager, he had with
him a Deputy and a Personal Assistant and
the line was divided into five Traffic Districts.
Some idea of the working may be derived
from a glance at the time tables and goods
and coaching tariffs of the period.

TRAIN SBBVIOB IN 1880. 113

The Chord Ime mail train used to leave
Howrah at 9 p.m., Calcutta time, it reached
Dinapore at 10-25 the next morning, Alla-
habad at 7-8 P.M., halted at Cawnpore from
1-20 to 1-50 A.M. and arrived at Delhi at
2-45 P.M., on the second day, thus taking 42|-
hours between Howrah and Delhi, a through
speed of little more than 22|- miles an hour.
The load was 16 vehicles and no third class
passengers were carried below Allahabad ;
the parcels and luggage traffic was nominal, so
that it is hard to find any justification for
what appear to have been most unnecessari-
Iv long halts all along the route. That at
Cawnpore, in the middle of the night, could
only have been allowed with the object of
refining time lost elsewhere.

The down mail did the same run in prac-
tically the same time as the up, and besides
the mail trains there was but one through
passenger train each way, which took over
53 hours to cover the 954 miles.

A second passenger train terminated at
Allahabad, a mail and a passenger train ran
between Howrah and Burdwan, and a few
locals for a shorter distance, between Howrah
and Pundooah. The load of these local trains
was 20 vehicles.

The number of stations open for traffic
was naturally far less than now, some of the
runs on the Howrah district being as long
as 12 miles, while on the Upper Districts
this was the ordinary distance between

H,SIB 8

114 HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

stations and some runs were far longer, as
much in fact as 16|^ miles.

The Coaching tariff, then called the Time
and Fare Table, was a small volume of 78
pages and contained train timings, fares and
rules. The intermediate class fare was 4|-
pies per mile, and the third class 3 pies, but
as has been already indicated, the question
of reducing the latter was under consider-
ation. The TraflSc Manager held the opinion
that reduction was unnecessary, and his
opinion was shared by other oflScials in India.
Naturally, the question was one for consider-
able controversy. There were two proposals,
one to reduce the fare from 3 to 2f pies per
mile, the other to reduce to 2 pies. Both pro-
posals were strenuously opposed by the
Agent, the TraflSc Manager and Chief Audi-
tor, mainly on the ground that if either of
them had the anticipated effect of increasing
abnormally, the number of passengers to be
carried, the provision of suflScient vehicles
in which to cariy them would become an
impossibility ! In spite of this opposition,
the reduction to 2 J pies, ordered by Govern-
ment as an experimental measure, was sup-
ported by the Home Board, who indeed had
no alternative but to acquiesce, although
they were admittedly doubtful as to the ex-
pecfiency of the move. The reduced fare was
introduced on the Jubbulpore branch and on
the main line above Nairn in Januaiy 1882,
being extended below Naini in July following.

BBDUCnOM OF THB THIRD CLASS FARE. 115

The earnings from third class passengers
at once responded; in 1881 they amounted
to Ks. 90,02,162, in 1882 they went up to
Ks. 99,99,999. It is only fair to mention that
this OTeat rise in the earnings was partly due
to a Kumbh Mela at Allahabad, still there
was never, in after years, any loss in a year's
:figures ; on the contrary the third class traffic
continued to respond and the lesson of the
reduction is one to be remembered. To illus-
trate how strenuously it was opposed in
India, the following extract from the Traffic
Manager's report for the first half of 1881
will suffice : —

'* Third class passengers as usual shew a decided increase
on the figures of any previous half year, rendering still more
incomprehensible and inexplicable the course to be pursued
of reducing the third class fare by one-sixth."

Successive half-yearly reports harped on
the question, but the oidy explanation can be
that previous remarks had in some way or
another to be justified ; thus we find that in
the second half-year of 1882, a temporary
falling off in intermediate class passengers
is attributed to the reduction in third class
fares, and again in 1884, it was actually pro-
posed that the old fares should be reverted
to, the Traffic Manager writing : —

**It is evident from the low average distance travelled
by third class passengers, that the reduction made in 1882
in the hope of encouraging longer journeys has entirely
failed in its object, and I Uiink the time has now arrived
to revert to our former rate of 3 pies per mile for the
greater portion of the line. "

116 fflSTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

So much for the controversy on third
class passenger fares, the reduction was
evidently a very sore point, but the results
proved from the outset that it was fully
justified. Since those days the average dis-
tance travelled by each passenger has become
still shorter, but this is due, not to reduc-
tion in fares, but to the greater number of
people who have gradually been induced to
take the rail for short journeys, instead of
walking the distance, and also to the opening
of alternative routes.

The fares for first and second class passen-
gers were much the same in 1880 as at the
present time, first class one anna and-a-half
and second class nine pies, but no reduction
was then made, as it is now, for long distance
journeys. Efforts were however being con-
sidered to develop the higher classes, and
we read as a novel feature in Indian Railway
administration, of the opening of negotia-
tions with Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son, the
well-known tourist agents. In the year 1 8 80,
Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son started their
first agency in India at Bombay.

The goods and mineral traffic was contend-
ing with what we would now consider a very
high tariff. Giridih coal worth Rs. 3 a ton
in wagons at the Collieries, cost Rs. 30 a ton
by the time it reached Lahore, while to
Calcutta the freight charge from Sitarampur
was no less than lis. 3-13 a ton. No rebates
whatever were allowed and with such a tariff

COAL TRAFFIC. 117

in force there is no wonder that English
coal readily found its way to Calcutta. The
Traffic Manager in hi s report for the second
half of the year 1880 remarks : —

" During the fimt three months of the half year there
was a brisk traffic in coal to the Port, but in October and
subsequently, owing to large arrivals of foreign coal
brought by steamers and ships as ballast, the demand for
Indian coal considerably abated."

The quantity of English coal imported
into India in the year was no less than
€83,768 tons. Madras found it cheaper
to use patent fuel brought from England
than to depend on Indian coal. The total
weight of coal despatched downwards in the
year 1880 was 563,241 tons ; since then we
have seen in a single year a downwards coal
trafficof 4,881,524 tons.

But though the downwards coal traffic
was so poor, the upwards was still poorer ;
the upwards figures for the year being
168,990 tons against an upwards traffic in
the year 1905 of 1,260,740 tons. Efibrts
were however being made to develop a
better traffic with the railways and mills in
Upper India. In October 1880 the charge
for coal in full wagon loads, carried not less
than 300 miles, was reduced from ^th to ^th
pie per maund per mile. It was hoped at
the time that this reduction would enable up-
country mills to use coal in place of wood fuel.

But it was not only the coal rates that
required reducing, the coal-fields of Bengal,
as we now know them, were scarcely touched

118 HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

and the assistance given to colliery pro-
prietors was nominal. It was recorded at the
time, as a great concession, that with a view
to the encouragement of trade, the Railway
Company womd lend second-hand rails to
those who could not meet the entire cost of
providing themselves with the necessary
sidings to their pits, and in 1881 the Company
discontinued the sale of coal to outsiders.

Apart from coal, the rates for all classes
of merchandise were exceedingly high
compared with what they now are, and
in some instances transport diflSculties were
enormous. As an instance the route from
Calcutta .to Darjeeling was via Sahebgunge.
Goods were forwarded by rail to Sahebgunge,
thence by steam ferry across the Ganges to
a place called Caragola and onward by bul-
lock cart. The charge for tea from Darjeel-
ing, where by the way the East Indian
Railway had an out-agency, to Caragola,
was over Rs. 2-0-0 per maund, and for s^t in
the upwards direction nearly Rs. 3-0-0, and
yet the traffic was growing.

The rate for wheat from Delhi to Howrah
was 1 3 annas per maund compared with 0-7-11
per maund, the present rate. The whole of
the goods tariff was contained in one small
volume ; now the goods tariff comprises three
large volumes, and there is a separate one for
coal. The total goods earnings of the year
were well under 300 lacs of rupees or less
than a poor half year's earnings now.

OPENING OF RAJPUTANA RAILWAY. 119

But great changes were coming on apace.
Up to 1881 Calcutta was much in advance
of Bombay in the quantity of wheat and
seeds exported from India, while Kurrachee
was a port of minor significance. The open-
ing up of a large wheat-producing country, by
the construction of the Rajputana Railway,
altered the aspect entirely, for in addition to
opening up a new country, this Railway also
had the eTOct of directly connecting the Pun-
jab with Bombay ; and although Calcutta
still continued to do well in seeds, Bombay
shot ahead with its wheat exports and
following this the source of wheat supply
gradually moved from Bengal to the North-
west.

The opening up of the Rajputana Railway
shortened the distance between Delhi and
Bombay by 345 miles and distances now
compared : —

Miles.

Bombay to Delhi vid BombaT, Baroda and Central

India and Rajputana Railway ... ... 889

Ditto. viV^ Jubbulpore ... ... 1,234

Ditto Calcutta to Delhi .. ... 964

As a consequence the question of competi-
tion between feombay and Calcutta assumed
what was described as "a position of grave
importance," and so much consideration had
to DC given to it that Mr. Leslie, the Agent
and Chief Engineer, was relieved of his duties
as Chief Engineer, retaining only charge
of the Hooghly bridge, and Mr. C. H.

120 HISTOBY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

Denham was appointed Chief Engineer. This

2uestion of competition between Bombay and
/alcutta is dealt with however in greater
detail elsewhere.

In spite of all this the first half of the
year 1883 will long be remembered by those
who were on the line at the time as a record
wheat year. The Howrah sheds were blocked
for weeks, with the grain which came from
Cawnpore, Benares, Patna and other points,
and the resources of the Railway to carry it
were taxed to the utmost. Mr. Urban
Broughton, who was oflSciating TraflSc
Manager, devised a system of night deli-
veries from Howrah passenger station, and
even third class carriages w^ere requisitioned
to load the grain when wagons could not be
got. As a climax the water-supply on the
Chord line failed and much of the traffic had
to be diverted over the single line via the
loop. Fortunately this did not occur until
the month of June, by \^hen the great bulk
of the traffic had already passed down and
the rains were near at hand.

In these days the earnings from wheat
were often heavier than from coal ; in the
first half of 1883 the freight earned on the
wheat carried w^as over 31 lacs of rupees,
whereas from coal the takings were under
30 lacs.

The wheat traffic of 1883 was the heaviest
ever carried until 1904. The figures of these
two years are interesting as indicating, not

NEW PBOVIDBNT FUND RULES INTRODUCED. 121

only the great increase in weight carried in
the latter period, but the reduction in freight
earned owing to the heavy reductions in
rates charged.

Tods. Bb.

1883 ... 469,173 63,76,536
1904 ... 769,162 48,46,310

Some attention was given in the early
eighties to the question of train loads, the
loads of goods trains above Moghalsarai
were raised from 400 to 450 tons and below
Asansol from 600 to 700 tons. But al-
though these loads were permissible it is not
evident that measures were taken to ensure
their being availed of, as the average load of
goods trains was not more than 175 tons.

With the sanction of Government new
Provident Fund rules were introduced in
1881. Under these rules, though the main
principles of the original fund were upheld,
certain important modifications were intro-
duced. A distinction which previously ex-
isted between Europeans and non-Europeans
was abolished, all servants of the Company,
without distinction of race, drawing Rs. 15
per mensem and above, were called upon to
subscribe 5 per cent, of their pay to the Fund
and each member was given the option of
subscribing an additional amount not exceed-
ing another 5 per cent. It was laid down
that the contribution of the undertaking
would be declared on the net profits of the
year only, and that no ad interim contribution

122 HISTOBT OF THB B. I. BAILWAT.

would be made in respect of the first half
of the year as had hitherto been done.
These rules continued in force until 1903
when, as shewn in another chapter, they
were further modified and the existing rules
introduced.

CHAPTER XI.

Growth of the Coal Trade in 1883 — The

QUESTION OF WORKING THE EasT InDIAN

Railway by State or Company Manage-
ment — Agitation in Calcutta regard-
ing construction of the Grand Chord.
— Retirement of Sir Bradford Leslie.
— Death of Mr. Crawford.

Following the great wheat export trade
of 1883, there was a short period of depres-
sion. In 1883 everjrthing had been in
favour of the exportation of Indian wheat ;
the stocks held in England and on the
Continent were small and there were poor
harvests, both in Europe and America. But
in 1884 the position was reversed and the
average price of wheat in England became
lower than it had been since the year 1780.
During the first half of 1884 there was, on
the East Indian Railway, a decrease in
wheat traffic alone of no less than 158,084
tons, and the only considerable set off was an
increase of 53,785 tons in the weight of coal
carried.

The coal trade which for some years had
been slowly developing, was now beginning
to attract attention. When the East Indian
Railway was constructed, coal was almost

124 HISTORY OF THK K. I. RAILWAY.

unknown in India. Mr. Crawford referring
to this in 1885, remarked : —

" If a man fell in with a bit of coal in his walk, he would
pick it up as a curiosity, and throw it away because it
dirtied his finger. That was all that was known of coal
SO years ago. It was the act of this Company which
brought coal to light. From a basis of comparatively
nothing 30 years ago, we have now risen to carry one
million and a half tons in the course of the year. The
native mind is so full of prejudice, that one might have been
afraid that the use of an article like coal would have excited
some superstitious feeling, but when the native came to
know that coal was only fossilized wood, he had no objection
to burn it, and with such an enormous population as we
have in India, with such large cities and factories rising in
all quarters and steam engines and so on, we see the
explanation of the great increase in the quantity of coal
brought to us for conveyance. So it will go on and very
largely increase. I venture to predict that the time will
come, which I shall probably not witness, when the article
of coal will be our largest source of profit."

Mr. Crawford had great foresight and his
prediction has come true, but he seems to
have looked more to the internal consump-
tion of coal than to the export trade, which
has been where the largest growth has
actually come. The natives of India have
not yet taken freely to the use of coal as fuel
for domestic purposes, when they do so the
consumption will be enormous ; and it is
perfectly certain that sooner or later the
time must arrive when they will have to, for
wood fuel and charcoal are becoming more
and more scarce every year, and there is
nothing left to burn, but dried cowdung or
coal. Already we find coal used by natives
for brick burning and for manufacturing

STATE VKRSUS COMPANY MANAOBM£NT. 125

purposes. Sweetmeat makers use it and
it is burnt by blacksmiths even in remote
villages, but for cooking purposes, or for
heating houses in the cold season, or for
other similar domestic use, we very seldom see
coal burnt, except perhaps in the vicinity of
the colliery district or in Calcutta and the
neighbourhood. The retail price is in fact
still too high to suit the pockets of the
majority.

In the year 1884, in the course of an
enquiry before a select Committee of the
House of Commons on " East India Railway
Communications," Mr. Juland Danvers, the
then Grovernment Director of Guaranteed
Railway Companies and Secretary in the
Public Works Department at the India
Office, being asked to state his reasons for an
opinion he had given, that he thought that
the Agency of both the State and of private
enterprise might usefully be employed in
working railways in India, though, as a
principle, he preferred that of companies,
replied : —

*' The advantages of making use of private enterprise, even
when assisted by guarantees or subsidies, appear to me to
be these. It relieves an already overburdened Government
of duties which can be equally well performed by others.
It prevents an increase to Government establishments and
to pension lists. It secures more steady progress, by
avoiding interruptions to which State undertakings are
liable. It secures also the supply of money as required,
and its application to the special purpose which an arrange-
ment between the Government and the company is intended
to fulfil, whereas war, famine, and other exigencies of State
may interfere with the supply of money when most required

126 HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

for works under Qoyemment. It avoids the disadvantages
appertaining to State agencj, which is liable, more or less,
according to circumstances and to the character of those in
authority, to be affected by influences from which a
company under proper State and legislative supervision is
free. It ensures better than any other way the formation
of railway systems or administrations of suitable size. It
is the best way of securing a healthy competition . Supposing
a system of Government agency to be carried out in its
entirety, a huge state monopoly would be established which
would not be advantageous to the country or conducive
to the interests of the various districts traversed. Upon
the whole, therefore, I think that, under suitable legislative
enactments, and with fair competition, the best results will
be secured by employing companies as far as practicable.
Might I be allowed to quote a high authority in support of
this view, namely. Lord Salisbury. When he was Secretary
of State he had to consider the question of purchasing the
East Indian Railway and in a despatch to the Government
of India relating to that proposition he says : —

* The question is shall the Railwav, if purchased by
the Government, be worked directly by the State, or
shall an attempt be made to continue the working
through the agency of a company, suitably constituted,
to which the Railway shall be leased for a term of
years ? I am not disposed to call in question the possi-
bility of carrying out the working of a railway, such
as the East Indian, through Gk)vernment agency in a
satisfactory manner. But die difiiculties in the way of
combining the habitual, and indeed necessary rigidity,
with which a system of Government financifu and
administrative control must work, with the freedom of
action required for the successful management of a
constantly varying business like that of a railway,
made up of a vast mass of details, would be consider-
able ; and to avoid them would require both a happy
selection of officers and well-contrived administrative
rules and methods, which, though no doubt attainable,
could not be confidently or permanently reckoned upon.
1 view with no small anxiety the ever continued expansion
of the vast establishments of your Government, which,
as they grow, place an ever increasing weight of business
on yourself and your officers, whose strength is already
over-taxed, and leave an ever diminishing area for
independent action That such a state of things is, to
some extent, an almost necessary consequence of our
position in India, may be true ; but this in itself is an

COMPANY, MANAGBHBNT PREFBBRBD. 127

argument for resistiDg the tendency, when it may be
done without the sacrifice of objects of evident import-
ance. For such reasons I should in the present case, as
now advised, gladly hear from Your Excellency's Gov-
ernment that you were of opinion that the working of
the East Indian Eailway might, without objection, be
entrusted to a private company, in the event of the
purchase of the line being effected.'
"The result we know. The working arrangement was

made, and I think it will be admitted that the best results

have ensued."

Mr. Danvers strongly advocated the policy
of employing private enterprise and experi-
ence, in opposition to State line management,
and Mr. Urawford in 1885 wrote a brochure
or pamphlet called " The Result we know,"
the object of which was, by an analysis of
statistics for the preceding five years, to
verify the truth upon which Mr. Danvers'
argument was founded, and to place on record
what private experience and private direction
had effected, in the case of the East Indian
Railway.

It is unnecessary to quote in detail from
this brochure, but as a result of the examina-
tion of the figures relating to the coaching
and goods traffic, the Board of Directors wrote
several letters to the Agent in India, impress-
ing upon him the necessity of examining into
and cultivating every possible means of increas-
ing the traffic of the line. Particular stress
was laid on the desirability of developing
the local movement of passengers and goods,
by reducing charges and affording facilities
between large internal centres, and by

128 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

encouraging the use of coal for domestic
purposes. The letters in fact were a clear
indication of the liberal intentions of the
Board and a guide to the policy they desired
should generally be followed.

During the next fewyears the competition
between Bombay and (Jalcutta became more
acute and considerable reductions were made
in the railway rates, by the different
administrations interested. At about the
same time some correspondence arose as to
the construction of the Grand Chord line,
attempts being made to influence public
opinion towards its being carried out by the
Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway, but the
claim of the East Indian was beyond dispute
and nothing came of the agitation.

One of Mr. Crawford's last acts as Chair-
man of the East Indian Railway Company
was to publish " some observations on the
remarks of Sir Alexander Wilson at the
Annual General Meeting of the Bengal
Chamber of Commerce on the 28th Feb-
ruary 1889 and other sayings and doings at
Calcutta in connection with the proposed
Grand Chord line."

The President of the Chamber of Com-
merce had said at the Annual Meeting held
in Calcutta on the 28th February, 1889, that
the East Indian Railway was the sole means
of transport between the North-West Pro-
vinces and Calcutta ; that its resources were
inadequate for the trade of the country;

X. B. B.'S LETTKR OK THB B. I. R. 129

that it maintained a high tariff of rates and
only granted concessions when competition
necessitated its doing so ; that trade was
gradually being deflected from Calcutta and
that an independent alternative route was
necessary, in order to break down the mono-
poly possessed by the East Indian Railway.
On all these points Mr. Crawford had
observations to make and in addition re-
printed a letter from X. B. E. which had
appeared in the Englishman of the 13th
March, 1889. This letter afforded a most
complete answer to the statements put for-
ward at the meeting of the Chamber of Com-
merce, and Mr. Crawford had but little to
add to it. The writer, who it is not difficult
to identify, was even as long ago as 1889, one
of the best-known railway men in India.
The letter was as follows : —

Sir,

I have read with much interest the remarks made by the
President at the recent annual meeting of the Bengal
Chamber of r'ommerce, on the subject of the extension and
development of the railway system in India, and more
particularly the construction of a second line of railway
between the North -West Provinces and the port of Calcutta.
The President had come to the conclusion and the Hon.
Mr. 8teel considered Sir A. Wilson's remarks worthy
of profound enquiry and deliberation, that a second railway
under management independent of the East Indian Bailway
was really required, on the following grounds : —

1. That it has been seen over and over again, when
there have been times of pressure, how inadequate the
resources of the East Indian Bailwav have been for the
requirements of the State and the trade of the country.

2. That the East Indian Bailway being a monopolist
company, a high tariff of rates has been maintained, from
which concessions have been so grudgingly extracted that

H, BIB 9

130 HISTORY OF THB K. I. RAILWAY.

Calcutta merchants have seen their trade gradually but
steadily deflecting to the other side of India, and under
existing circumstances have been powerless to stop this
deflection.

3. That the competition resulting from the construction
of an alternative route would ensure proper accommodation
for goods and traffic and bring down rates sufficientlv, to
attract again to Calcutta, a considerable amount of the
traffic which is now attracted by cheaper land carriage to
the Western Coast.

4 That competition alone will secure that control of
rates so essential to the development of the resources of
the country and that all control over the East Indian
Railway rates has been abandoned by (Government.

If you will permit me to remark, under each of these
four heads, I shall be much obliged.

The line stated to be necessary is that affording an
alternative route between Moghalsarai and Calcutta.

1. The statement that the £ast Indian Railway
has repeatedly failed in times of pressure seems rather
sweeping. It is extremely questionable whether it
can be stated that the capacity of this Railway to
transport traffic over its lines between stations has
ever been approached. There is a double line through-
out between Moghalsarai and Howrah, and the only
means of ascertaining whether more lines of rails are
required seems to be to determine what daily tonnage
can be hauled over the present lines, and what tonnage
could be given by Calcutta merchants, with favourable
rates to Calcutta, as compared with the charges to
Western Ports, taken advantage of by Calcutta. If it
be found that the double line of the East Indian
Railway Company is prepared to deal with a consider-
able progressive development of traffic, why should
money be sunk in 400 or more miles of new line, if the
alternative railway is intended to enter Calcutta at a
separate terminus from that of the East Indian Rail-
way, as would appear to be the intention of the Presi-
dent of the Chamber of Commerce ? The difficulties
referred to by the President have, even in the merchants'
view, been practically confined to terminal accommoda-
tion. The only serious difficulty was in 1883, when
export trade developed suddenly beyond all expecta-
tions. Merchants had neither cargo, boats nor carts
to clear arrivals to their full extent ; no steamers, nor
warehouses in which to stow consignments when
cleared, the result being that the then existing

X. B. K.'S LRTl'BR ON THE K. I. U. 181

accommodation at Howrah became " congested *' and
fventnally rolling stock, instead of transporting grain
and seeds, became locked up in warehousing them at
Howrah. Since 1883 the railway accommodation
has been largely increased, and only three years later,
in 1886, Howrah dealt with the same weight of traffic
in the busy months as in 1883, without difficulties
either to merchants or the railway. Since 1886 the
shed room at Howrah has been further increased, and
there is now also the option to merchants to deliver on
the Calcutta side.

2. If the East Indian Eailway is a monopolist
company, it must be admitted that it uses its powers
with great consideration towards its constituents. The
Administration Beport recently issued by the Director-
General of Railways shews that the charges levied by
certain railways for the carriage of goods vary as be-
low ; —

Average sum in pies received for carrying a ton of
goods one mile : —

Eadt Indian. North Wost- Great Indian Baroda RajputMna.
em. Peninsular.

5-96 6-43 8-21 919 808

The charges by the East Indian Railway are, therefore
much lower than those of the lines serving Bombay and
Kurrachee. In other words Calcutta has an immense
advantage over Bombay in the matter of railway
charges.

3. As explained under head (1) it is very much open
to question, indeed, whether Calcutta, including Howrah,
has not ample accommodation for the present, and even
for a largely increased trade. On the other hand, there
seems to have been no attempt to show that a new line,
running, as must the alternative route, through a
country already served by the East Indian Railway
and branches, can attract any considerable new traffic.
If the two railways were under separate managements,
and proceeded to competition, the undoubtedly low
rates already charged by the East Indian would be
liable to further reduction, and there would be every
probability of the new railway becoming a burden to
its owners. There is only one railway in India charg-
ing lower rates than the East Indian, and that railway,
although open for a number of jyears, returns only 3^
per cent, per annum on the capital outlay. As regards

132 HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

the alleged cheaper land carriage to Bombay, the Pre-
sident was clearly in error in his statement on this point.
The distance from Calcutta to Bombay, vid Jubbulpore,
is 1,400 miles, Jubbulpore being distant 616 miles from
Bombay and 784 miles from Calcutta. Even at Jub-
bulpore and at the important station of Sihora, near to
Jubbulpore, charges are greatly in favour of Calcutta,
notwithstanding the shortest lead to Bombay, while
from Kirwee 673 miles from Bombay and 727 miles
from Calcutta, the charges for grain and seeds are, per
hundred maunds—

Es. As. P.

To Bombay ... 69 6

To Calcutta ... 50

4. The question whether the control of rates %as
been abandoned by Government appears to be one
requiring the confirmation of Government or of the
East Indian Railway. It is to the mutual interests
of Calcutta merchants and of the East Indian Railway
to keep trade to Calcutta and prevent diversion to
Western Ports, and all will iigree that the East Indian
Railway must be reasonable in its charges, when the
fact is known that last year Bombay got the lion's share
of the trade from an important station, distant 540
miles from Calcutta and 880 miles from Bombay, rates
Rs. 43 per hundred maunds in favour of Calcutta. In
other words the charge to Bombay was almost twice as
much as to Calcutta.

All circumstances considered, it is submitted that
further enquiry on the part of the Chamber is desir-
able regarding the facilities they already receive from
the existing line of communication.

X B. E.

To this letter no convincing reply was
forthcoming, but after many years the Gov-
ernment, as will be seen in another chapter,
sanctioned the construction of the Grand
Chord line as part of the undertaking of the
East Indian Railway.

It need hardly be pointed out that the
interests of the State and of the East Indian

OPBNINQ OF JUBILEB BRIDGE. 133

Railway Company are, and always have
been, identical, and both would have been
seriously affected by a diminution of the
traffic of the Main Line, had the construction
of the Grand Chord Line been entrusted to a
rival company. And it is difficult to see that
the public would in any way have benefited.

The development of the Bengal and North
Western Railway led to the opening of the
Digha Ghslt branch, where it was intended
that the bulk of the traffic between that
system and the East Indian Railway should
be interchanged by means of a steam ferry,
for the conveyance of wagons across the
river Ganges.

The Tarkessur Railway, constructed by
private enterprise, was handed over to the
East Indian Railway to work on the 1st
January, 1885, and in the same year the
Indian Midland Railway was formed under
the auspices of the Great Indian Peninsular,
with the object of connecting that system
with the East Indian Railway at Cawnpore
and Agra. The Hooghly Bridge was com-
pleted and formally opened to traffic by
His Excellency the Viceroy on the 21st
February, 1887, receiving from him the
appropriate name of the " Jubilee Bridge,"
while Sir Bradford Leslie, its constructor,
was appointed a Knight Commander of the
Indian Empire. The bridge over the Ganges
at Benares was also completed in 1887, and
in the same year the distinction of Knight

134 HISTORY OF THE E. I. KAILWAY.

Commander of the Indian Empire was con-
ferred on Sir Alexander M. Rendel, who had
then been for upwards of thirty years the
Consulting Engineer of the Company.

Sir Bradford Leslie, k.ci.b., retired in
1887, and was succeeded as Agent by Mr.
David Wilkinson Campbell, ci.b., who was
at the time the Locomotive Superintendent
of the Company. Shortly after his retire-
ment Sir Bradford Leslie put forward a
scheme for the construction of a new line of
railway, between Moghalsarai and the town
of Hooghly, to compete with the East Indian
Railway. The Board lost no time in enter-
ing with the Secretary of State their protest
against this scheme, on the ground " that
the construction by this Company of a Grand
Chord line between Sitarampur and Moghal-
sarai, the main line originally proposed and
surveyed by this Company in 1850, would
be the natural complement to a line following
the course of the Ganges, whenever the
circumstances of the country, commercial,
political or otherwise, should require it and
justify the large expenditure which it would
involve.'*

In 1888 the first portion of the Company's
hill school at Mussoorie was opened. This
school which has since proved a great benefit
to the Company's employes, is not intended
for the education of the children of servants
of the superior grade but for the children
of those who, by reason of their position in

DEATH OF MB. CRAWFORD. 135

the service, lack the means of sending them
to be educated in England. A more detailed
account of the Hill School will be found
elsewhere.

In 1888 Sir Macdonald Stephenson
resigned his position as Deputy Chairman
of the Board, though he continued on the
directorate until 1892, and in 1889
Mr. Crawford, who for thirty-five years had
been Chairman of the Company, died. These
two had been associated in the formation of
the Company, Mr. Crawford had been a
Director as early as 1847 and had been
Chairman of the Board since 1854. His
services both in the interests of Govern-
ment and in those of the shareholders had
been of a specially valuable nature.

Mr. Crawford, to quote from Herepath,
" had a great eye for figures "; like all masters
of the arithmetical and statistical craft, he
put life and force into his statistics ; giving
them that margin which never fails to carry
home the particular point to be inculcated.

CHAPTER XII.

Appointment of General Sir Kiohard
Strachby as Chairman — His visit to India.

On the 10th of October, 1889, General
Straehey was appointed Chairman of the
Board of Directors, and immediately decided
upon a personal visit to India. Accom-
panied by Sir Alexander Rendel, the Consult-
ing Engineer of the Company, he sailed in
January and arrived in Bombay on the 1st
February, 1890.

General Straehey remained in India until
the middle of March, and during his six weeks'
stay dealt with many important questions*
He instituted an enquiry into the routine of
the (company's work, by appointing a commit-
tee to investigate the manner in which all
departments were conducted ; the general ob-
ject being to simplify procedure and expedite
the transaction of business without impair-
ing efficiency. He gave his attention to the
train service, and particularly to the transit of
goods, directing that immediate steps should
be taken to improve the speed of trains, and
that "at all events one despatch shall be
provided to carry goods of the higher class
directly to Cawnpore," for in those days there
was no direct service between Calcutta and

Photo, hy Fredk: HoUyer.

LTEUT.-GENL. SIR RICHARD STRACHEY, R.E.,
G.C.S.I., LL.D.. F.R.S., F.R.G.S,

Ch>iirman, East Indian Kaiuwax.

QBNL. 8TRA0HBT IN INDIA. 137

Cawnpore, and merchants complained bitter-
ly of the unconscionable time their consign-
ments took in transit. He arranged for sanc-
tion to the sinking of trial pits to test the
quality of coal in the Jherriah coal-field, with
a view to the opening up of that field by exten-
ding the Barrakur branch line, which then
terminated at Barrakur, across the river. He
attended meetings of the Chamber of Com-
merce, both in Calcutta and Cawnpore, and
originated the idea of a local Consultative
Board. He studied the question of coal rates,
and modified the terms under which sidings to
mills and collieries were constructed, so as to
make them less burdensome than they then
were. He re-opened the question of cons-
tructing the Grand Chord line, and of putting
in additional branch lines as feeders to the
main line ; reviewed the position in regard to
the opening of the Kidderpore Docks, and
dealt with numerous other important issues
under consideration at the time. This visit
of the Chairman to India was in fact attend-
ed with far reaching results, but above all, it
gave the Government of India, the servants
of the Railway Company, and the public
who were its constituents, a very clear indi-
cation of what his future policy would be. It
was at once recognised that a new regime had
set in, and that, as General Strachey remarked
at the time, '* with the advance of knowledge
and experience many changes had become
desirable which should not be deferred."

138 HISTORY OF THK B. I. RAILWAY.

In 1889, the Head-Quarters of the Traffic
Department were at Jamalpur, an out-of-the-
way station on the loop line, where for
months together a merchant was never seen.
One of the first acts of the Home Board,
after the appointment of General Strachey
as Chairman, was to direct that the Traffic
Manager should make Calcutta his future
Head-Quarters, so that he might " be more
in touch with the merchants and traders of
Calcutta than is now possible, distant, as he
is, some 300 miles from the port." The
move was not a popular one with the Traffic
Department, and many arguments were
advanced against it, but the wisdom of
the change soon became apparent and was
naturally insisted upon. One can hardly
conceive now how the traffic business
of the undertaking could be managed
from any other place than Calcutta, where
the Head of the Department is not only in
constant touch with the mercantile com-
munity, but is in the same building as the
Agent, the Chief Engineer, the Chief Auditor
and other officials of the Company, and of the
Government, thus effecting a great economy
in time and correspondence.

It was in 1889 that the enormous possi-
bilities of a development of the coal trade
first attracted serious attention. Steamer
companies trading to the East were begin-
ning to realize the advantage of utilising
local sources of supply, instead of importing

REPKKBSNTATIOMS KKGAKDIMG THE COAL TARIFF. 139

Welsh coal to Indian ports ; the rapid
extension of Indian railways opened up a
growing field for the consumption of Bengal
coal, while mills and factories realized that
their requirements were only limited by the
excessive railway freight charged.

The British India Steam Navigation
Company, having large interests in sea-
going steamers, represented that they were
anxious to establish, at several ports,
dep6ts of Bengal coal, in replacement of
the Welsh coal they had previously used.
The Government was anxious to secure
more favourable rat^s for the carriage of
coal for the consumption of State railways,
and, in fact, claimed that all such coal should
be charged at the minimum permissible
rate. Simultaneously with this, the mill-
owners of Cawnpore were agitating for
better terms for the transport of their coal,
while other influential people were advocat-
ing the expediency of reducing the rates on
the cheaper classes of fuel, in view of the
probable development of brick burning. Cer-
tain concessions were at once made, a rebate
of 16 per cent, on the then tariff was
granted on exported coal, and a rebate of
10 per cent, on rubble or slack coal. But
General Strachey recognised that it was no
time for half measures : it was evident to
him that the whole question would have to
be very carefully considered, and his policy
became clear, when, during his visit, he

140 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

declined to agree with the Government claim
that coal for the use of State Railways should
be carried at a lower rate than coal for other
railways, or, in fact, that there should be
any differentiation between rates allowed to
any particular class of consumers.

This question of coal rates was indeed
one of the most important subjects raised
during the Chairman's visit to India, and,
although no immediate settlement was then
come to, beyond the settlement of certain
general principles, still the basis was laid
for the consideration of the coal tariff as a
whole, and this, coupled with the projected
opening up of the Jherriah coalfield, and of
the Kidderpore Docks, laid the foundation
for the enormous traffic since developed.

CHAPTER XIII.

The Grand Chord Line.

The question of constructing what is
known as the Grand Chord Line, long ad-
vocated by Mr. Crawford, was one of the
subjects put before General Strachey during
his visit to India. The Grand Chord Line
had first been surveyed in 1850, with the
idea of constructing the original main line by
that route, it being the more direct way
to the North- West ; but the Government of
the day preferred, and no doubt wisely
preferred, the somewhat more circuitous
Loop Line route, which tapped the great
cities and trade centres along the banks of
the River Ganges. Mr. Crawford in 1886
reopened the question of constructing the
Grand Chord, on the ground that it would
not only form a relief to the growing
traffic of the mainline, but would consolidate
the great railway system of the Gangetic
Valley. Without going into the earlier
history of the project it is enough to say
here that, before the arrival of General
Strachey, the country had been re-surveyed
by Mr. Parker, one of the Company's
Engineers, and that estimates of the cost
of construction had been prepared, which

142 HISTORY OF THR R. I. RAILWAY.

included a branch to the Palamow coal-field
and a branch into Jherriah, though it was
admitted that the precise location of the
different lines comprising the scheme might
eventually be altered and improved. General
Strachey directed that the estimates should
be placed before the Government of India,
with an offer to construct both the Grand
Chord Line and the branches referred to as
part of the undertaking. This was in the
early part of 1890.

Years passed and nothing could be done
owing to the impossibility of obtaining the
requisite funds, but at last, in 1895, the
Government authorised part of the work
being begun, under certain specified condi-
tions, which the Board accepted. In the
meantime, as detailed elsewhere, there
had been considerable discussion as to the
agency through which the Grand Chord
Line should be constructed, and it was a
subject for congratulation that the just
claims of the East Indian Railway were
not passed over. General Strachey in
advising the shareholders of the decision
remarked : ''I need not therefore dwell on
this subject beyond expressing my satisfac-
tion that the question, as to the Company
being eventually placed in a position to carry
out the Grand Chord Line, is now virtually
settled and that no further controversy
regarding it will be possible. I may, however,
take the opportunity of adding that the

KFFKCT OF OPKNING THE GRAND CHORD. 143

Board, and I feel sure you will all agree
with them, while, consistently holding the
opinion that the Company was fairly entitled
to construct the Grand Chord Line, as a part
of the undertaking of the East Indian Rail-
way, when circumstances were held to be
ripe for it and that its eventual construction
was inevitable, as it offered the shortest
possible route between the Upper Provinces
and Calcutta, yet have never made objections
to opening up a fresh route giving access to
Calcutta."

The first portion of the line to be con-
structed was the section from Gya to Moghal-
sarai, including the important bridge over
the Soane River at Dehree and the branch
to the Palamow coal-fields. After this
portion had been opened for traffic, the
Government accorded sanction to the con-
struction of the remaining portion, between
Gya and the Barrakur branch ; this latter
section, which involves very heavy work
through a hilly country, is now nearing
completion and should be opened for traffic
before the close of 1906.

The construction of the Grand Chord Line
will shorten the distance between the Upper
Provinces of India and Calcutta by 50 miles
and will bring the Jherriah coal-fields much
nearer to these Provinces. Its opening will
not only cheapen coal in Upper India,
but will involve a reduction in the charges
for transport of a considerable proportion

144 HISTORY OF THE K. I. RAILWAY.

of the traffic now carried to and from sta-
tions above Moghalsarai. How far such
reduction in charge will be followed by
increased traffic remains to be seen, but
there is little doubt that the opening of a
shorter route will be of some benefit to
the port of Calcutta in its competition with
Bombay^and although, judging by the nature
of the country traversed by a considerable
portion of the new line, it is doubtful
whether its local traffic will prove more than
nominal, there is no reason to look forward
to the result with any anxiety.

CHAPTER XIV.

The Jhbrriah Coal-field.

As early as 1886 proposals were made by
the Railway Company to construct a bridge
across the river at Barrakur, and to extend
the branch line, which then terminated at
that station, to the collieries on the other
side. In other words the Company had long
recognised that a bridge over the Barrakur
River was the key to the Jherriah field.

Some time before General Strachey visited
India in 1899, Mr. Ward, Manager of the
Company's Collieries, had made a preliminary
survey of this coal-field, which lay still
farther inland than the collieries immediately
beyond the Barrakur River, which the railway
first intended to serve. The results of this
survey were thought sufficiently satisfactory
to induce the Chairman, during his stay in
India, to solicit the approval of the Govern-
ment of India to the sinking of trial pits to
test the quality of the coal ; while the ques-
tion of extending the Barrakur branch line
into Jherriah was at the same time mooted.

In 1890 a further report on the Jherriah
field was submitted by Mr. Ward. This re-
port established beyond question that the
area surveyed contained a coal-field of very

H, BIR \^

146 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

great extent, both in respect to the quality
of coal and its value.

Estimates and plans of a projected line of
railway from Barrakur Station to the Jher-
riah coal-field, a distance of about 36 miles,
were prepared, and the Board sanctioned
the estimates subject to the confirmation of
the Government of India. With a view to
expediting matters the Board also addressed
the Secretary of State, pointing out that
the expediency of constructing an extension
across the river at Barrakur had first been
suggested some years previously, that the
Directors were satisfied that it was desirable,
but that hitherto they had been unable to
obtain the assent of the Government of
India; that further enquiry had confirmed
their previous views, and had shewn the
expediency of giving a somewhat greater
extension to the line than at first contem-
plated.

The Board, not having been able to obtain
consent to the original proposal, appear to
have anticipated further delay in obtaining
Government sanction to the larger scheme,
and therefore adopted every means in their
power to convince the Secretary of State of
the desirability of constructing the extension
without loss of time. In their letter they
not only pointed out that there were good
grounds for believing that the projected
Ime would prove remunerative at an early
period, but referred again to their general

GOVBRNMBNT SANCTION THB JHBRRIAH BRANCH. 147

policy in regard to the coal traffic in the
following terms : —

** As Lord Oro88 is aware, the £oard have recently, with
his Lordship's assent, made important reductions in the
coal tariff, with a view to doing all that was within their
power to develop and assist tbis important industry, and
they think it is no more than reasonable to look forward,
if proper facilities are provided, to the possible future deve-
lopment of a large export trade of coal from Calcutta, the
commercial value of which, if successful, it would not be
easy to exaggerate With this in view they will concinue to
do all in their power to extend and facilitate the economi-
cal working of the Bengal coal-fields, and they regard the
present project as likely to be highly advantageous to the
community generally."

After some delay the Secretary of State
approved of the construction of the Jherriah
extension; in 1892 the Government of
India sanctioned the work, and it was at once
started. On the 20th May 1894 trains be-
gan running as far as Ghootrya, some seven
miles beyond Barrakur, the first train carry-
ing 100 tons of coal and 50 passengers !

From such small beginnings do greatthings
come when enterprise is guided by intelligent
foresight. In less than three years the
wisdom of the policy of the Railway Company
was fully established, for by 1897 the collier-
ies on the Jherriah and Toposi branch lines,
the latter having been extended at the same
time as the Jherriah branch, were contri-
buting not far from a million tons a year to
the traffic of the undertaking. It must not
be thought that there was no real difficulty
in obtaining sanction to the construction
work proposed by the Company ; on the

148 HISTORY OF THE K. I. KAILWAT.

contrary Government opinion for some
time appeared opposed to expenditure, on
what some of its responsible officers thought
might prove an unprofitable undertaking.
A certain Consulting Engineer to Grovern-
ment, whose opinions ordinarily carried great
weight, held the view that the Jherriah
branch would never pay, and that it was not
wanted, but General Strachey persisted
when others might have given way in de-
spair. At a meeting of the shareholders in
1891, he publicly urged his case, sajdng : —

**It is a subject of continued regret and disappointment
that the Government still withholds its decision as to the
proposals of the Board for constructing the branch line
from Barrakur to the Jherriah coal-field. The position
of the Company under its contract with the Secretary
of State, in respect to the provision of additional
Capital, has unquestionably had a most unfortunate effect
in crippling the Board in its attempts to carry out exten-
sions of the undertaking, and the responsibility for any
failure in this direction does not rest with them. It is not
easy to understand how the Indian Government, which
constantly professes its anxiety for the extension of rail-
ways, when it can be shown that they are likely to be
profitable and can be undertaken without adding to the
burdens on the State, is able to reconcile such professions
with its passive resistance to the Board's proposals, or how
it can appropriate the enormous profits made from the
East Indian Railway, without an apparent thought of the
claims of districts tnat have provided these large sums, to
obtain extensions and amelioration of their means of
communication, in carrying out which the Board is not
only ready but most anxious to participate."

It must be remembered that in these days
there was little or no public opinion to
support Greneral Strachey ; the Jherriah
coal-field was known only to a few; the land

THB BBNOAL-NAGPUR RT. IN JHBRRIAH. 149

was all in the hands of natives, who had no
idea of its value, and in fact, but for the
ooal beneath it, it had no value. It was
merely a bare uncultivated waste, the true
value of which was quite unsuspected.

But as soon as the East Indian Railway
constructed a line into the centre of the
field, Coal Companies were formed, sidings
applied for faster than they could be put
in, and a rush of traffic came which was
so sudden that it was almost beyond the
power of the railway to carry it. The
consequence was that the railway, while
making the most strenuous eflPbrts to provide
additional facilities, was blamed instead of
thanked, and the public, thinking no doubt
that competition would lead to further reduc-
tions in rates, clamoured for the admission
to the field of the Bengal-Nagpur Railway.
The Government allowed this other line in,
to compete for the traffic of the Jherriah
collieries, created by the enterprise of the
East Indian Railway alone. But after this
was accomplished the Bengal-Nagpur Rail-
way found that it could not compete for
the important Calcutta traffic because of
its longer lead to that port, and because
of the fact that the Government would not
allow it to quote rates for the traffic below
the sanctioned minimum, such rates being
necessary to equalize with the low charges
made, before its entry, by the East Indian
Railway. So far as the Government, the

150 HI8T0BT OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

Bengal-Nagpur Railway and the public
were concerned, the entry of this line into
the Jherriah coal-field was more or less a fiasco
and matters were at a dead-lock, when the
East Indian Railway Company, following its
usual liberal policy, came to tne rescue, and
induced the Government to allow the Ben-
gal-Nagpur Railwai^ to quote equal rates
with it, and so participate in a share of the
Calcutta traffic, which undoubtedly belonged
to them alone.

Such in brief is the history of the Jherriah
coal-field, and a few figures of the traffic
derived from it will suffice to prove its great
importance.

• • • • ♦

Coal Traffic from Jhbrriah Branch.

Tons.
1894 ... 38,831

1899 ... 1,310,397

1905 ... 2,827,726

CHAPTER XV.
Coal Rates.

It will be remembered that in 1889 the
Government of India claimed that coal, car-
ried by the East Indian Railway Company,
for the use of State Railways, should be
charged at a uniform rate of 1-1 0th pie per
maund per mile, and when General Strachey
visited India this claim was very fully inves-
tigated by him. He examined the subject
from a statistical point of view, and proved
that there were very grave misconceptions
as to the cost of carrying traffic by railway,
and that the actual cost of transport, so far
from being as low as i^th pie per maund
per mile was then really about half-way
between ^th and ^th pie.

But while this was his estimate of the
average cost of carriage of all classes of goods.
General Strachey recognised that the trans-
port of coal justified the demand for a lower
rate than the average and proposed a scale,
varying according to distance, of ^rd to ^th
pie per maund per mile, with a rebate of 5
per cent on the total freight charges, when-
ever more than 1^ lakh of maunds were
carried in any half-year. General Strachey,
in making tins proposal, firmly deprecated

152 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

the Goverment suggestion that State Rail-
ways should be charged a lower rate than
others. To quote his own words : " there is
no sufficient ground for treating railways
worked by State Agency differently from
those worked by Companies."

Such was the position in the beginning of
1890, and it did not take long for the Govern-
ment to recognise the soundness of the
arguments put forward. The claim to the
^th pie rate was given up, and it was
admitted that all railways, whether State or
otherwise, should be treated alike. But
during the discussion further developments
arose, and the outcome was that the whole
question of the coal tariff was placed before
General Strachey, as Chairman of the East
Indian Railway, and General Williams, then
Deputy Government Director for Indian
Guaranteed Railways.

These two jointly drew up a scale of
charges, and recommended that they should
apply to all customers alike, whether railway
administrations in the hands of the Govern-
ment, or Companies, manufacturing firms or
exporters or other traders, and the Secretary
of State, having accepted them, requested
the Goverment of India to take the necessary
steps to put them in force as early as possible.

^Briefly stated the proposed tariff was as
follows : —

(a) For all stations up to 400 miles 0*15 pie per maund
per mile.

INTRODUCTION OF RBDUCBD GOAL TARIFF. 153

(6) For all stations over 400 miles, for the first 400
miles according to clause (a), for distances in excess
0*10 pie per maund per mile.

These rates were subject to a scale of
rebates for large consignments, and certain
rules were detailed as to routing and so forth.
In accepting them the Board of Directors of
the East Indian Railway wrote to the Sec-
retary of State, on the 4th August 1891, in
the following terms : —

*<The Board readily assent to the proposals in question
and trust that the important concessions to the public in
respect of the coal tariff, which they embody, will be pro-
ductive of much general advantage.

'< The Board are fully impressed with the great importance
to all Indian interests of increasing the facilities for the
supply of cheap coal, and they look forward with much
hopefulness to tne early establishment of an export traffic of
coal from Calcutta, the value of which it would be almost
impossible to exaggerate, not only as regards the coal owners,
but to all Indian industries, and they trust that their
endeavours to realize such a result may receive the support
of the Secretary of State and the Grovernment of India.

'* It will be the desire of the Board to carry out to the
fullest extent, that experience may shew to be reasonable
and practicable, the reduction in the charges for the trans-
port of coal over the undertaking, and they quite recognise
that the tariff, which it is now proposed to adopt, wiU be
subject to reconsideration should this hereafter be found
desirable."

Thus was this all important subject settled,
not in India but in London, not on the
narrow lines suggested by the Government of
India, but on the broad principle that there
should be no diflferential treatment of the
customers of a railway, or, in other words, that
a rate given to one should equally apply to all.
The general effect of the new arrangement

154 HISTOBT OF THB E. I. RAILWAY.

was to give a substantial redaction in the
rates for all distances, amounting to about
15 per cent, and this required a corresponding
increase of traffic to maintain the revenue at
its former level, but at the time no uneasiness
was felt, for, as the Chairman remarked, " the

frowth of the coal traffic leaves no room fo
oubting the early realization of the requisite
increase and gives reasonable ground for
expecting still further and more satisfactory
expansion in the future."

That the expectations of the Home Board
in respect to the growth of the coal traffic
were fully realized is proved in a few words.
In 1891 the freight earnings of the East
Indian Railway from coal were little more
than 63 lakhs of rupees, in the year 1896
they had risen to over 97 lakhs, and in 1901
to over 180 lakhs. This enormous expansion
of traffic will be dealt with more fully in
another chapter, suffice to say here that the
scale of charges, drawn up by Oenerals
1^51 Strachey and Williams in ttftt remained in
force without material alteration for many
years and was accepted, not only by the
East Indian, but generally speaking by all
the railways in India.

Naturally, as time went on and experience
was gained of the practical working of the
new coal rates, certain modifications were
found desirable, but these, whether in the
rules or in the rates, were all in the nature
of concessions to the trade, notably an

FIJRTHBB BBDUCnON IN GOAL RATBS. 155

additional rebate of 10 per cent on coal ex-
ported by sea, together with certain other
changes of rule introduced in 1895 ; but in
the main the 1891 scale remained in force
until 1902 and during this period the traffic
developed more rapidly than the facilities
required to deal with it could be introduced.
As early as 1893 there was under serious
consideration a proposal to construct a short
branch line, from !Bally Station to a point on
the river just below the Botanical Gardens^
where it was thought that a coal jetty
equipped with mechanical loading appliances
would greatly facilitate the export trade, but
like the Luff Point Scheme, which followed
many years later, the idea was abandoned,
after it had got as far as being recommended
to the Government. Proposals of this nature
and proposals actually carried out, with the
object of improving facilities for dealing with
the general expansion of traffic, and parti-
cularly of the coal trade, hardly come within
the province of this chapter, and we may
pass on to the next great change in the coal
tariff inaugurated by General Sir Richard
Strachey m 1902. It must not, however,
be supposed that this last change was sud-
denly adopted, as some have thought, as a
protective measure, because of the entry of
the Bengal-Nagpur Railway into the
Jherriah field ; on the contrary, it had been
contemplated for many years before that
time, but various considerations necessitated

156 HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

delay ; among these we need only mention
the shortness of wagon stock, congestion of
traffic on the running lines and inadequate
shipping facilities. Curing the whole period
in which the 1891 tariff was in force the
growth of the coal traffic was most closely
watched, and, as early as 1896, further
concessions were mooted, though it had not
then been established that any grounds
existed for reductions ; on the contrary, the
continued expansion of the trade during the
previous five years supported an opposite
view, virions aspects of the question were
discussed from time to time, but, although
minor concessions were granted, as for
instance the reduction in the weight required
to be put into wagons in order to obtain the
** full wagon" rates, any substantial modifica-
tion of the tariff had to be deferred. As
a matter of fact, in 1898, the Board proposed,
to their Agent in India, certain material
reductions in charges from the Jherriah and
Toposi branches, in order to place the
collieries in those fields in a better position
than they were, compared with fields nearer
Calcutta, but these also were deferred
because there was a rise in the price of coal,
and the Jherriah field, as evidenced by the
traffic carried, was in no way hampered by
the charges in force. Beyond this. Colonel
Gardiner, the then Agent of the Company,
feared that to give a large reduction to the
Jherriah coal-field, except as a part of a

THB 1902 SCALE. 157

complete scheme, would raise an outcry
from collieries lower down the line.

In June 1902, however, the Board of
Directors revealed a complete scheme of
revision, and in doing so pointed out that
they had had the question before them since
1898, remarking that ** until now circum-
stances have not admitted of action being
taken in the direction contemplated." The
tariff introduced in 1891 was reviewed, and
it was shewn that, with the modifications
from time to time introduced, it had been
consistent with a great development of the
trade. The rebate system was commented
upon, and the opinion expressed that, so far
as the ordinary coal traffic was concerned,
it was not necessary or convenient and
should not be perpetuated. Its abolition
would benefit small consignors. But, for a
variety of reasons, the special treatment of
export coal was held to be established and a
special rebate on such coal would therefore
be continued.

The Board's proposal was to introduce the
following tariff for coal in full wagon loads : —

For distances up to 76 miles

inclusive ... 014 pie per maund per mile.

Plus for any distance in excess

of 76 miles and up to 200

miles inclusive ..• O'lS „ „ „

Plus for any distance in excess

of 800 miles and up to 450

miles inclusive ... 0*10 „ „ „

Plus for any distance in excess

of 460 miles and up to 1,000

miles inclusive ... 0*09 ,, ,, „

158 HISTOBT OF THB B. I. BAILWAY.

A rebate of 20 per cent to be allowed on all
coal exported, no other rebates being allowed.

These proposals were at once adopted,
although it was estimated that the reduc-
tions involved a sacrifice of about 20 lakhs
of rupees per annum. The benefit to the
trade was as fairly distributed as possible
to all consumers ; great encouragement was
^iven to long lead traffic and to the export
trade, while in no case did the withdrawal of
rebate on inland traffic cause hardship. On
the contrary each consignor got the equiva-
lent or more at the time of despatch, instead
of several months afterwards, and the incon-
venience of calculating rebate dues was at
once put an end to.

The nicety of the calculations involved in
introducing this revision of the coal tariflF,
its completeness and general suitability were
entirely due to General Sir Richard Strachey,
by whose hand the scheme was drawn up,
and it seems evident from the trial already
given to it that this tariflF has proved an un-
doubted success.

In his address to the shareholders on the
traffic of the first half of 1903, Sir Richard
Strachey referred to this matter in the
following terms : —

*' I may be excused for taking this opportunity for for-
mally repudiating the suggestion, recently made by the
Agent of the Bengal-Nagpur Railway Company, that the
introduction of the new coal tariff on the East Indian
Railway last year was designed to prejudice the development
of the coal traffic of the Bengal-Nagpur line. The sugges-
tion appears to me to be so absurd on the face of it as

WAGON STOCK AND FURTHER RKDUOTIONS. 159

hardly to have called for notice, but the boldness of attri-
buting to the Board of this Ck)mpany, the deliberate
intention of sacrificing, for such an object, receipts amount-
ing to some 20 lakhs of rupees in the year, is such, that
persons having no knowledge of the facts might not
unreasonably suppose that the suggestion could not have
been made, unless it were based on some ground of fact.
I therefore have thought it right to refer to Uie matter. The
revised tariff, which was adopted with the objects I have
mentioned, had the approval of the (Government of India.
The correspondence nas been recently published in India,
and will show that there was no sort of foundation for the
imputation to which I have referred, which was put forward
as evidence in relation to the project for establishing an
export coaling station on the Hooghly, below Calcutta, with
the merits of which, the motives that led to the reduced
charges for transport on the East Indian Bail way, could
have no possible connection "

Recently a fiirther scheme of reduced rates
for coal has come under consideration, but it
is hoped that before it is generally introduced
the question of wagon stock, in which to carry
any large accession of traffic, will not be lost
sight of. If the rates are reduced before the
railways are ready with a considerable increase
to their facilities, there will be no benefit to
the trade but rather the reverse. At the
present time more wagons are in coal than in
all the rest of the traffic of the East Indian
Railway put together, that is to say, more
wagons are loaded every day in the colliery
district alone, than in all the other districts
of the line taken together, and yet the rail-
way is short of requirements.

CHAPTER XVI.

Growth of the Coal Traffic.

Nothing in the history of the East Indian
Railway has been more remarkable than the
growth of the coal traffic during the past
15 years. Up to the year 1889 few had
recognised its immense possibilities, and
there was certainly no idea of a great export
trade setting in, while internal requirements
were comparatively small and restricted
almost entirely to the needs of railways.
There seems to have been at the outset a
good deal of prejudice on the part of those
who had previously burnt Welsh coal, and
particularly on the part of the engineers of
the larger steamship companies, against the
introduction of Bengal coal in its place ;
these prejudices were only overcome by
degrees, but once a start had been made the
import of coal from the United Kingdom
was doomed. In the first half of the year
1885, more than 45,000 tons of Welsh coal
were imported into Calcutta, during the first
half of 1889 the quantity imported dropped
to less than 1,000 tons, and an export trade
then started, principally in bunker coal for
the use of the steamers of the British India
Steam Navigation Company, which extended

FACILITIBS KEEDBD FOR GBOWIKG TRAFFIC 161

even more rapidly than the most sanguine
antici|)ated. In 1890 the growth of the
export of Bengal coal from Calcutta first
attracted serious attention, though in pro-
portion to the total downwards traffic the
export figures were still comparatively small.
Rangoon was the port which at first took
the largest quantity ; Bombay, which is now
the largest taker of Bengal coal, adhering
very largely to the Welsh product untu
some years afterwards.

In 1891 the want of facilities for dealing
with a large coal traffic were recognised.
The Traffic Manager, Mr. J. Rutherford,
commenting on the expansion which would
follow the opening up of numerous mines in
the coalfields adjacent to Asansol and Sita-
rampur and of the Jherriah field, an exten-
sion to which was then about to be started,
remarked that " we have neither the wagon
stock nor the terminal accommodation re-
quired for such an accession to our traffic,"
and strongly advocated the construction by
the Railway Company of special jetties and
loading machinery at a point on the river
below the Botanical Gardens, to which he
proposed a short branch line should be run
from Bally Station, a few miles above the
Howrah terminus. The upwards coal traffic
was also growing, the diflterent railways in
the North- West, Oudh and Punjab were
consuming more, though the use of coal for
domestic purposes was nominal, and in places

H, BIR II

162 HISTORY OF THE B. !• RAILWAY.

like Cawnpore, which was rapidly becoming
the internal centre of commercial enterprise,
wood was still burnt extensively in preference.
In the year 1893 the export trad^ from
Calcutta had grown to about 250,000 tons,
and towards the close of the year, the
Kidderpore Docks, constructed for the
receipt of ordinary merchandise, were first
brought into use for loading export cargoes
of Coal. It was, however, anticipated that
the docks would not at all meet the require-
ments of the trade, and that if the rapidly
growing business was to be dealt with there,
considerable additions would be needed,
while the railway approaches would also
have to be improved. The opening of the
docks to export coal traffic at once brought
the Jubilee Bridge over the Hooghly into
use ; previous to this time it had been more
or less a white elephant, for very little
business of any kind had been done at the
docks. In the second half of 1892 about
189,000 tons of all classes of traffic were
carried over the bridge, in the second half of
1893 the weight rose to 345,000 tons, of
which two-thirds were coal. In 1894 there
was a still further advance in the export coal
trade, and Greneral Sir Richard Strachey
forecast, in an address to the shareholders of
the Company, what the future was likely to
be : " There is no possible reason," he
remarked, " why the whole of the coal now
exported from England, whether required

DIFFIGULTIBS IN WORKING. 163

on land, or for consumption at sea east of
Aden, should not be replaced by Indian
coal."

By 1895 the Toposi and Jherriah colliery
branches were partially opened and imme-
diately there followed a great accession
of traffic, new mines were opened out in all
directions and it became a difficulty for the
engineers to keep pace with the demands
for sidings to the different collieries. From
this time onward the coal traffic increased
by leaps and bounds, and it was in the export
trade that the increase was most noticeable ;
in 1891 the export trade of Calcutta
amounted to 137,000 tons, in 1896 it had
risen to 574,000 tons, in 1901 to 1,995,000
tons, and in 1905 to 2,767,000 tons. It
would be tedious to attempt to traverse the
great difficulties in working a traffic which
had expanded so suddenly ; the shortness of
stock, the inadequate terminal facilities, the
congestion on the line owing to the want of
engine power and of proper marshalling
yards and so forth had all to be overcome,
and nothing could be done sufficiently
quickly to materially ease the position.
Many schemes were put forward, many
proposals discussed, and throughout the
time of greatest trial, the Home Board
not only gave strong support to the efforts
of the staff m India, but continuously pressed
on the Gk)vernment the crying need for more
wagons, more sidings, better facilities and so

164 HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

forth, but relief was only too tardily granted
in some cases and declined altogether in
others. Addressing the shareholders in
June 1897, General Sir Richard Strachey
said : —

" There can be little doubt that the Bengal coal trade has
a great future before it, and that its increasing requirements
will demand constant attention and a further considerable
development of the means of transport and facilities for
shipping for export. I cannot think that the export of coal
on a large scale, and I would remind you that it nas already
risen to more than half a million of tons in the half-year,
can be conveniently or economically carried on from docks
designed to meet the requirements of the ordinary export and
import trade of a commercial centre like Calcutta. It is there-
fore in my opinion a matter of regret that a more comprehen-
sive view of this question has not been taken and that
arrangements have not been made, as was proposed by the
Board some years a^o, for establishing a system of coal ex-
port, more closely following what experience, on a very large
scale in this country, has shown to be best suited for this
special class of business. The wisdom of the policy of ex-
tending the coal lines in Bengal, to which the Board have been
able to giye effect by constructing the Jherriah and Toposi
branches, is now fully established, and the new collieries on
them are already contributing not far from a million tons a
year to the traffic of the undertaking.''

In subsequent addresses General Sir
Richard Strachey referred, over and over
again, to the pressing needs for better facilities
and for more rolling stock, and over and over
again defended the management of the rail-
way against the not infrequent attacks of the
mercantile community, whose complaints of
want of wagons, or of blocks of traffic, result-
ing, as they alleged, in loss of business, were
at the time common. At a meeting of the
shareholders held in December 1901, the

RI8B IN COAL SHABES. 165

Chairman spoke very plainly, and his words,
which proved most prophetic, are worth
quoting. He said : —

**A8 the coal owners of Bengal are among the most per-
sisteot of those who exclaim against the management
of the East Indian Bailway, and of the want of attention
paid to their interests, I will venture to call their attention
to the following statement of the present value of the coal

Eroperties in Bengal, properties that, as I have already said,
ave been entirely created by the initiative of the railway,
and the continued prosperity of which has been ensured by
equally constant attention to their requirements. The ex-
tremely low rates at which coal has been carried on all
Indian railways for the last ten years is also due to the ac-
tion of the East Indian Bailway ; the opening out of the
Jherriah coalfield, which was opposed by the Government
of India, was at last sanctioned by an appeal to the Secretary
of State by the Board."
Present value of shares in Bengal Coal Companies-
Paid up Quotation.

Rs.

Adjai

... 100

250-255

Bengal

... 1,000

3,150

Bengai-Nagpur

... 10

30i

Borrea

... 100

155

Barrakur

... 100

125

Equitable

... 100

262

K atras- Jherriah

... 10

40t

New Beerbhooro

... 100

179

Reliance

... 100

190

" I have no wish," he added, ** to be a prophet of evil, but
there is an opinion afloat, which seems deserving of serious
attention, that the very rapid development of the coal trade,
accompanied, as it has been, by this remarkable inflation of
vidues, may be the forerunner of a season of speculative
mining enterprise, and of over production, in excess of the
growing requirements of the public."

Within a year of the time these words were
spoken their truth became apparent, the
output of the collieries became much larger
than a market could be found for and share

166

HI8T0BY OF THB B. I. BAILWAT.

quotations declined with a run. Fortunately
the check was only a temporary one., and lost
ground was soon regained.

Nothing, however, will better illustrate the
rapid growth of the coal traffic than the
following brief statement, shewing the weight
carried and the earnings during periods sepa-
rated by five years : —

Year.

Total coal
traffic.

Up.

Down.

Exported.

Total earn,
ings.

1889 ..

1894 ...
1899 ...
1906 ..

Tons.

1.404.711

2.144.382
3,897.596
6,142.264

Tons.

303,910

466,768

a%,644

1,260,740

Tons.

1,100,801

1,677.614
3,267.052
4.881,624

Tons.

not avail-
able.
297,000
1.136.000
2,767.000

Rs.

64,26,925

79,61,472
135,29,686
202,44,250

These figures speak for themselves, and
call for no comment beyond the remark that
they are an eloquent testimony to the part
played by the East Indian Railway Com-
pany. In thf^ early days of development allu-
sion was often made to the undertaking
having what was termed a monopoly of the
transport, and it was clearly intimated that
such a monopoly was prejudicial to develop-
ment. The Board of Directors naturally took
exception to such views, unsupported as they
were by facts, and in 1894 expressed their
opinion very clearly in the following words : —

" A monopoly that is used to keep up prices to the detri-
ment of trade cannot be too strongly deprecated, but such a
necessary monopoly as that enjoyed by the East Indian

PROSPBBITY OF THK COAL TRADB. 167

Bailway, in respect of the traffic over its own liiie, conducted
on the principle of reducing the rates to a miuimum and of
working in the most economical manner, is a positive advan-
tage to the public, and to destroy it by introducing any
intermediate agency, which could only lead to additional
unnecessary expenditure would be an act of folly The condi-
tions under which the traffic of the East Indian Railway is
conducted render excessive charges impossible, and the well-
known facts of the case clearly shew that the Board have
made very important reductions of charge, which may reason-
ably be taken to indicate that their policy is a liberal one and
that they intend to persevere in it so far as they are able."

**The Board have seen with much satisfaction that the
downward coal traffic has responded in a very marked man-
ner to the reductions already made in the tariff. It is
their firm conviction that, by judicious arrangements, the
traffic may be brought into a condition that will admit of
further important reductions of charge, and, unless obstacles
are put in their way, they look forward to practical eflfect
being given to this anticipation."

The point of these remarks seems to be
that, whatever detractors may say, there is
no getting over the fact that the interests of
the Railway Company and of the trade are
identical ; and that the Railway Company
has done all in its power to foster and
develop the coal traffic of Bengal is clearly
proved by results. During the past six
years the raisings of Bengal coal have
increased from four to seven million tons
annually and the trade generally has never
been so prosperous as at the present time.
But it is not only by reducing rates, and by
opening up the coalfields adjacent to its
main Tine, in the Asansol and Barrakur
Districts, that the East Indian Railway
Company has assisted in developing the
great traffic it now carries. There was still

168 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

another field within its territory, namely the
Daltonganj field in the Sasseram District,
1 50 miles nearer the north-west than the
coalfields of Bengal proper. This field was
also opened up by the East Indian Railway
Company and now form^ an additional source
of supply. Although it has not, so far,
proved of any great value, still its opening
goes to prove that the Company has at heart
the interests of the public.

For some years the coal traffic has been
of such importance to the East Indian Kail-
way that an annual report on its principal
features is submitted to the Home Board.
It need only be added that in every direction
eflForts are made to comply, as fully as possi-
ble, with the wishes of the coal owners for
modifications of the traffic arrangements
that they regard as likely to be beneficial,
but difficulties in the way can only be
overcome by degrees, however willing the
management may be to carry them through.

CHAPTER XVIL

Thb Kidderpore Docks.

At the time that General Strachey was
appointed Chairman of the East Indian Rail-
way Company, the Kidderpore Docks were
being constructed and there was much
discussion as to the rates that would be
charged on traffic booked to and from the
new terminus.

The Jubilee Bridge across the Hooghly
River had been opened for traffic a short time
before, and trains were running over it as
far as the Chitpore and Sealdah termini
of the Eastern Bengal Railway in Calcutta,
a provisional arrangement having been come
to, under which traffic carried to these
stations should be charged the same as if
carried to the East Indian Railway terminus
of Howrah and vice versa.

It was agreed that no compulsion should
be used to force ships into the docks, and
therefore all facilities at Howrah, which in
the course of years had become the estab-
lished centre for the receipt and despatch of
merchandise, had to be preserved intact.
Beyond this the East Indian Railway was
saddled with the interest on the cost of the
Jubilee Bridge, for which until then it had

170 HISTORY OF THK B. I. RAILWAY.

received practically no compensation, while
extensive alterations and additions had
become necessary at Hooghly Junction, in
order to enable the railway to make up full
train loads for the termini on the Calcutta
side of the river. Therefore the question of
the rates to be charged on traffic hauled by
East Indian Railway trains to the Kidder-
pore Docks was an important one.

The Government of India held the opinion
that " there should not be any diflFerence in
freight charges on up-country through goods
consigned to or from Calcutta, whetiier they
are dealt with at Howrah or at Kidderpore",
but the Eastern Bengal Railway Company,
over which the trains had to be hauled to
the docks, claimed a rate of two rupees per
train mile on every East Indian Railway
train passing Naihati Junction, and the
Board could not see their way to paying so
excessive a rate and at the same time mak-
ing no additional charge to the public.

The Board, however, wished to do all in
their power to assist the trade of the port,
and therefore proposed to the Government
that if for East Indian Railway trains run-
ning to Sealdah, Chitpore or the Kidderpore
Docks the Eastern Bengal Railway Com-
pany would accept one rupee per train mile
on the actual distance run, they on their
part would be prepared to charge the public
the same rate to any of these places as to
Howrah.

TRAFFIC DEALT WITH AT THE DOCKS. 171

Finally, a compromise was arrived at, the
Eastern JBengal Railway Company agreed
to reduce the train mile rate of two rupees
on trains run to Chitpore and Sealdah to one
rupee eight annas, and to accept a rate of
twelve annas per train mile on trains run to
the docks, charges to the public being the
same in all cases as the charge on traffic
for Howrah, and this arrangement, being
agreed to by the East Indian Railway,
has remained in force to the present
day.

So much for the question of rates. The
docks had been constructed mainly for the
grain and seed traffic ; there was no idea of
coal being dealt with there ; no idea, in fact,
that an export coal trade would ever set in ;
but almost from the day of opening the coal
trade forced itself upon the docks. Coal haa
now become the principal traffic consigned
there. Coal berths have been constructed
and added to, but still the accommoda-
tion is barely sufficient for the requirements,
of the trade and more additions are con-
templated. It is only in recent seasons,
however, that the grain and seed traffic
has gone to the docks ; for many years
the sheds constructed to deal with this
traffic lay empty and idle, the merchants
preferring to work at Howrah, where their
business had so long been established. In
1898, or several years after the docks had
been opened for traffic, General Strachey

172 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

addressing the shareholders said : — " No
perceptible eflfeet has yet been produced on the
trade arrangements of Calcutta by the par-
tial opening of the docks, to which very few
vessels have hitherto resorted. Difficulties
have arisen, that had not been foreseen, in
inducing traders to modify the practice that
has hitherto prevailed, as to loading and
unloading ships, when lying at their
moorings in the river, by means of lighters,
and these have not yet been so far overcome
as to bring about any general movement of
the export trade to the docks, to meet which
all requisite preliminary arrangements have
been made. It is, however, hardly likely
that an alteration of system can be very
long delayed."

It was in 1898 that, in consequence of a
block of wheat at Howrah, the traffic was
for a few days diverted to the docks, only
to block the shed accommodation there also ;
and in 1899 the docks actually declined to
receive grain and seeds except under restric-
* tions, as the authorities feared a repetition
of their experience of the previous year, a
fear that was shared by the merchants
who had suffered from the resulting
confusion.

The aversion on the part of the trade to
utilising the accommodation at the docks
was in no way due to the action of the East
Indian Railway ; on the contrary the East
Indian Railway had doive vvW \w\t^ ^ower to

DOCKS NOT AT FIRST USBD FOB GRAIN OB 8BBDS. 173

promote the use of the sheds available there;
but the mercantile community did little
to overcome diflficulties, although it was a
matter of vital interest to them, for the
trade of the port was burdened to provide
means for paying the interest on the capital
outlay and the cost of maintaining the docks,
from which no advantage was being obtained.
" It is certainly difficult," the Chairman had
said in 1 893, " for any one like myself, not
acquainted in detail with the circumstances of
the case, not to feel surprise that the mercan-
tile community, which would seem to be so
greatly interested in this matter, should treat
it with such apparent indifference." General
Strachey repeatedly advocated measures to
assist the trade of Calcutta, by transferring
the bulk of the export and import work to
the docks, but it was years before the change
was accomplished, and then more by the force
of circumstances than by the action of
those most interested. And in the mean-
time, year after year, as regularly as
the season came round for exporting grain
and seeds, the Howrah terminus became
blocked and the East Indian Railway con-

fested with traffic. For this the East
ndian Railway management was invariably
blamed, though it was repeatedly explained
that the blocks of traffic were actually due to
no fault on the part of the railway, but
were caused by the consignees of goods
bein^ unahle or unwilling to t«kfe ^^\n^t^

174 HIHTOBT OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

at Howrah, on the arrival of the wagons
carrying the goods. In 1899 General Sir
Richard Strachey remarked that ''notwith-
jstanding the efforts made to attract the
export trade from Howrah to the docks
the bulk of it is still dealt with at Howrah,
partly because the dock charges are in
many cases in excess of those incurred by
shipping with boats from Howrah, but
mainly owing to a large number of the
up-country traders finding the Howrah
terminus to be more convenient, as it offers
facilities for certain classes of export produce
changing hands, which the conditions of the
trade require."

In 1901 a change came over the scene,
only a small portion of the export produce
passing through the docks, the Howrah
terminus became, as usual, as full as it
could be, and some measure of relief had to
be decided upon. The Wheat and Seeds
Association and the principal export firms
were consulted, and with their assent it was
decided to temporarily close Howrah to the
receipt of linseed. The experiment proved
successful, the linseed went to the docks,
and ever since then the docks have been
the chief centre for the export of linseed,
while a considerable proportion of the wheat
trade is also dealt with there.

During the year 1897 the total traffic
crossing the Jubilee Bridge amounted to
2,040,686 tons ; in 1901 the figures rose to

INCRBASBD FACILITIES AT DOCKS. 175

3,613,451, the proportions of coal and ordi-
nary merchandise being : —

Coal. Ordinary merchandise.

1897 1,682,667 458,129

1901 2,995,600 617,861

At the present time over 4^ million tons of
traffic cross the Jubilee Bridge yearly, of
which more than two million tons consist of
coal exported from the Kidderpore Docks,
where there are eight coal-loading berths, one
of which is provided with a mechanical load-
ing appliance. An increase of three more
coaling berths is now contemplated, and,
judging by the continued growth of the
trade, they will not be provided at all too
soon. In other ways also the accommoda-
tion at the Kidderpore Docks has in recent
years been vastly improved ; generally speak-
ing the docks are now on a level with trade
requirements.

CHAPTER XVIIL

Train Service and Working Facilities —
The Question of Wagon Supply.

When General Strachey visited India in
1889 he found that the train service was
exceedingly slow. What was described as
the " fast train" took no less than 37^ hours
to cover the distance of 954 miles between
Howrah and Delhi, that is to say, it trundled
along at a through speed of little more than
25 miles an hour ; while consignments of
goods occupied weeks in transit where they
should have taken days.

Everything in the way of progress seemed
to have been neglected, nothing was up-to-
date. The stations were not interlocked;
the out-door signals and the train signalling
apparatus were of the most primitive kind ;
passenger carriages were illuminated with
vegetable oil lamps, which onlyserved to make
darkness visible, and not a single engine or
vehicle was fitted with a vacuum brake. In
addition to this, the conditions of working
were risky, if not dangerous, for over the
greater portion of the line " following trains "
were allowed, and it was only over a com-
paratively short section of double line that
the "absolute block" system was in force.

IMPROVEMENT OF TRAIN SERVICE. 177

With such a state of affairs there was obviously
a crying need for remedy.

General Strachey during his stay in India
wrote, a note on the speed of the mail trains,
in which he drew attention to the excessive
number of stoppages en route, and suggested a
revised time-table. This time-table was shortly
afterwards adopted and reduced the run of the
mail between Sowrah and Delhi from Z7^ to
31 J hours. At the same time he insisted
upon an immediate revision of the goods train
service, vnth the result that, early in 1890, a
fast through goods train was run from Howrah
to Cawnpore, and a very great saving effected
in the time of transit of through booked
goods ; but even these improvements were
not sufficient, and as soon as the Chairman
returned to England, the Board wrote suggest-
ing further accelerations. Ever since then
the Chairman has continued to devote per-
sonal attention towards effecting improve-
ments ; he has closely watched the running
of trains, commenting each half-year on the
time actually taken over the different sec-
tions of the line, so that the staff know well
that punctuality of the train service is con-
sidered all important ; in addition to this
there has been no measure towards improve-
ment that has not had his cordial support.

At the present time the absolute block

system is in force throughout the entire

length of the line ; all coaching vehicles are

fitted with vacuum automatic brakes ; goods

H, BiR \a»

178 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

vehicles are being so fitted and their carrying
capacity has been materially increased ; the
majority of stations are either interlocked
or are being interlocked ; the signalling has
been greatly improved and the train service
has been very much accelerated. The mail
train, with a load equal to eighteen heavy
coaches, now runs from Howrsii to Delhi in
28|^ hours, and lighter trains have been run
over the same distance in very little more
than 24 hours. Such speeds would have
been impossible even five years ago, for it
took a long time to carry out the many
improvements required, to enable the staff in
India to work up to such results.

In the meantime the difficulties to be
contended with, whenever traffic was at all
brisk, were enormous. Year after year the
line below Asansol became blocked with
trains, that could not be got through because
the terminals were glutted with goods, and
because there was an utter absence of proper
facilities for dealing with the traffic that
had grown with such rapidity. Progress
seemed slow, but by the year 1902, such im-
provements had been effected that an excep-
tionally heavy traffic was carried, for the
first time, without congestion. The General
Traffic Manager in his report on the results
of the working during the first half of that
year remarked —

" Perhaps the most satisfactory feature of the half-year's
traffic was that even when at its highest, we were able to

IMPROVED TRAIN LOADS. 179

put it through without any block at Howrah or on the
line, and without a single complaint of short wagon supplies.
This was due to a combination of causes, notably the
increase in upwards coal traffic, giving our wagons going up
country for grain, a load in both directions and so minimis-
ing delay for stock ; the linseed traffic being dealt with at
Kidderpore Docks, from the start, instead of only being
dealt with there when Howrah got into difficulties ; a
comparatively small wheat traffic ; an improved supply of
brake-vans and engines, together with other favourable
influences, unnecessary to detail, which rendered the move-
ment of the traffic easier than it has been for several years."

These remarks almost read in the nature
of an apology for the season's work being
accomplished without any of the difficulties
that had beset the staff in previous years, but
the fact is that, facilities had improved, and
their effect was for the first time showing
itself; even under the most favourable
circumstances the traffic could not have been
properly dealt with unless this had been so.
Since 1902 the line has never been blocked,
although a still heavier traffic has been carried,
and carried with greater expedition than
was possible under the old method of work-
ing. This result has not, however, been alto-
f ether due to the better facilities provided
ut to the increased attention given to the
improvement of train and wagon loads.
During the past few years the average load
of a goods train has been greatly increased.
In the first half of 1902 it was 20275 tons ;
in the first half of 1903, 226-97 tons ; in the
second half of 1903, it rose to 243 tons ; in
the first half of 1904 to 252*58 tons; and in
the second half of the same year to 276 tons.

180 HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

All increased train load meant fewer, but
heavier trains, fewer engines, fewer brake-
vans and a considerable saving in coal and
staff; this question is only mentioned here. as
one of the causes that have facilitated the
passing of a heavy traflfic over the line,
though this perhaps is the least important
sequence of a measure that has resulted in
most important economies.

Spealang to the shareholders in 1903,
General Sir Richard Strachey referred to
the improved conditions of working in these
terms : —

" There is every reason to think that the improvements of
various descriptions in the system of signalling and in
providing for tne more expeditious movement of the traffic,
which have been in steady progress for some years past,
have proved their value by increased freedom from obstruc-
tions, and facility in dealing with the traffic on the busiest
parts of the line. Increas^ attention is bein^ given to the
great importance of improving the train loads, l>y which it
is anticipated that large reductions in the train mileage may
be secured and corresponding economies, both in the cost of
running and of the rolling stock required for the traffic
moved''

A word may here be said on the question
of wagon stock. Following the rapid
development of traffic and particularly of the
coal traffic which has been the most marked
feature, in recent years, of the Company's
administration, there have been constant
difficulties in regard to the supply of loco-
motives, wagons and brake-vans. Within the
past few years the locomotive and brake-van
difficulty has been overcome, the line is no

WAGON STOCK. 1^1

longer congested, whenever traffic is brisk,
and engine or brake-van shortage is hardly,
if ever, heard of; but still the wagon supply
continues inadequate. At the present time
very bitter complaints are being made, more
especially by those interested in the coal
trade, that stock requirements are not met in
the way they should be.

In the year 1900 the wagon stock of the
East Indian Railway was under 14,000 wag-
ons, in 1905 it was over 17,000 wagons ; in
other words, the wagon stock has been increas-
ed by about 24 per cent in five years. The
weight of goods traffic, including coal, has
increased during the same period by 21 per
cent, yet during some period or another
there has been shortage of stock.

There is, certainly, a reverse side to the
picture ; whenever traffic at all slackens hund-
reds of wagons lie idle in sidings, and it is
a fact that the traffic of the East Indian
Railway fluctuates very greatly. It is doubt-
ful whether the railway could possibly
provide a stock equal to all demands at
periods of highest pressure ; it is doubtful
whether any railway in the world of like
size has ever been able to do so. Certainly
shortness of stock due to rushes of traffic, or
to congestion of the line, or to block at the
terminals or elsewhere, is not peculiar to the
East Indian Railway. We have heard of the
same sort of thing happening in America on
some of the best equipped lines, and so long as

182 HISTORY OF THB E. I. RAILWAY.

railways exist, and have to be worked at a pro-
fit, as indeed all commercial enterprises must
be, shortness of stock will occasionally be felt.
Could the traffic of the East Indian Rail-
way be evenly distributed over every week
of the year, we should never hear of short-
ness of stock, but this is clearly impossible,
and admitting that there is even occasional
shortage, the question arises, what surplus
should be provided in order to meet require-
ments when traffic is above normal, for
obviously there should be some surplus. As
a general basis of regulating supply, it has
been calculated that every wagon should
carry 75,000 ton miles of traffic in half a
year ; this means a very full use of the
available stock. Still it has been worked to,
and sometimes exceeded in the past, and is,
perhaps, a sufficiently liberal allowance for
the future. There are times, feowever,
when an excessive number of East Indian
Railway wagons have to be sent away with
loads to Foreign Railways, and when Foreign
Railway wagons are not coming to any great
extent on to the East Indian ; at these
times the margin of work required becomes
too tight. There are other times when the
nature of the traffic is such that the best
advantage cannot be obtained from the stock
employed ; then also there is shortage.
Moreover, it may be admitted that a railway
should be, within limits, ahead of require-
ments rather than behind them, but up to

WAGON STOCK. 183

the present, except when working conditions
have been most favourable, it has been diffi-
cult to keep pace with the development and
expansion of traffic. When we find shortage
continuing, month after month, for long
periods at a stretch, there is little doubt that
the railway is short of requirements. This
is the present position, and although additions
are now being made to the stock, which
should minimise difficulties, it is not likely
that complaints of shortage will altogether
cease. If the additions sanctioned were
ready and on the line at the present moment
there would not be one too many wagons.
It is hoped that, in anticipation of continued
growth of the traffic, regular additions to
the wagon stock will continue to be sanction-
ed every year, until the railway finds itself
ahead of requirements.

CHAPTER XIX.

Some Further Remarks on Competition
AND Rates.

Although the low charges at present in
force on the East Indian Railway are mainly
due to the liberal policy followed in volunta-
rily reducing the rates for such items as coal,
still it must not be forgotten that a famine
in Bengal first directed attention to the
possibility of carrying traffic, over long dis-
tances, at charges which were previously con-
sidered impossible, and that competition has
also had its effect on the tariff.

It has been shown that serious competition
against the East Indian Railway began, when
the opening of the Rajputana route to Bom-
bay first threatened Calcutta with the diver-
sion of the trade of the Upper Provinces.
But the East Indian Railway has not had to
contend with the rivalry of the Western
lines alone ; it has also had to meet the com-
petition of various alternative railway routes
and of rivers, canals and roads. To talk
therefore of the East Indian Railway having
a monopoly of traffic shows a strange miscon-
ception of facts.

Before the East Indian Railway has run
150 miles of its course from Calcutta it gets

RIVKB COMPETITION. 185

in touch with the River Ganges, the main
waterway of Bengal, on which a service of
•competing steamers is ever ready to convey
traffic to and from the metropolis, at rates
far below those which would be profitable to
the railway. That the railway is able to
compete with these steamers is mainly due to
the speedier transit it can offer and to the fact
that during the monsoons, when steamers
are best able to ply, the Railway is
generally experiencing a slack time and is in
a position to make special concessions in
rates. These rates, known as " monsoon
rates," are successful in drawing to the rail
s, share of the trade which it would other-
wise lose, but in any case the direct effect
is reduction.

As to native boats, these attempt to
<5arry all they can from any source, but while
they take something away they also bring
something to the rail, and therefore may be
regarded as feeders as well as competitors.
It was in order to enable country boats to
bring produce to the rail direct that branch
lines were originally constructed to all the
more important ghstts on the river bank; and,
on the whole, although the river has been
the cause of many rate reductions, it is really
one of the best friends of the railway. The
riparian stations on the East Indian Railway
Are among its most important.

Before the railway gets beyond the effect of
river competition it has to contend with the

186 HISTORY OF THK B. I. RAILWAY.

claims of the Western lines which are always
trying to draw to Bombay the traffic whose
natural port is Calcutta. This competition
begins within 500 miles of Calcutta and
extends over the whole length of the railway
above, including of course the Jubbulpore
line, where, perhaps, the East.Indian Railway
position is weakest.

The influence of competition is also felt
with the Bengal-Nagpur Railway running by
an alternative route to Kutni Station on
the Jubbulpore branch ; with the Oudh and
Rohilkhand Railway and connected systems
running almost parallel, and tapping the East
Indian at several points ; with the Bengal
and North-Western which has gradually but
surely extended its system on the other
side of the River Ganges, and afiects rates
as high up as Delhi and even beyond ;
with the Southern Punjab and North-
Western Railways which endeavour to draw
traffic toKurrachee; not to mention railways
which have been permitted to construct
alternative routes, within the sphere of East
Indian Railway control, such as the Agra-
Delhi Chord and that greatest of all blunders,
the Cawnpore-Achneyra line. It would form
a history in itself to trace the effect of all the
competition the East Indian Railway has to
meet, to discuss the several agreements come
to with foreign lines and to disentangle
the many disagreements ; and even if this
was done it would not be of great interest to

FAIR COMPETITION NOT FBABED. 187

any but traffic experts ; it would not assist
materially in judging the main results, which
have been an exceedingly low, if complicated,
tariff and an ever-increasing traffic.

The East Indian Railway has never feared
fair competition, but there is a strong feeling
that some restriction should be placed
on lines which needlessly reduce charges
at competitive points, and then, in order,appa-
rently, to make up for the loss, retain their
internal rates at an excessively high figure.
The system of laying down a hard and
fast rule for all railways, irrespective of
the length of lead or of cost of working, in no
way meets the case, especially when the
absurdities of the methods resorted to on
some systems are seen ; but these have
become more apparent since competition
has grown keener, and the public are now
beginning to appreciate the facts and to
place them before the Government.

Speaking to the shareholders in 1891,
General Sir Richard Strachey remarked : —
"The East Indian Railway has no cause to
look with anxiety or jealousy at any increase
of railway facilities offered by other lines, the
traffic of the undertaking rests on a thoroughly
sound, independent basis, and only needs a
judicious system of management and a liberal
tariff, such as the Board desires to offer to the
public, to ensure its continued expansion.'"
General Sir Richard Strachey also accepts
the view, which is undoubtedly correct, that

188 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

"'^f there is sooie loss by the diversion of traffic
from the East Indian Railway that, in the
absence of other lines, it might have retained,
it is beyond question that any such result is
largely compensated, if not actually counter-
balanced, by the increased traffic due to the
opening up of communication with districts
formerly inaccessible." At the same time,
the Board, while recognising that the traffic
which is directed from the North- West Pro-
vinces towards Bombay, should be provided
with whatever facilities it may require,
fail to see why the East Indian Railway
:should be left powerless to respond to reduc-
tions because they are bound by a common
minimum, although they can afford to carry
st cheaper rates than any other line in India.
If, as the Secretary of State says, " the
advantages due either to geographical posi-
tion or other circumstances " should furnish
no reason for artificial restrictions, then what
•can be said of the restriction of a minimum
rate, when a railway can carry at a profit
below that minimum ?

Then again, although the Board declined
to recognise the claim of the railways,
•designed to carry the traffic of Central
and Western India, to interfere in the
•carrying trade between places like Agra
and Delhi, which ever since the opening of
the East Indian Railway has been exclu-
sively in its hands, yet the Government
of India have recently given to one of its

THE PUBLIC AND THE RATE QUESTION. 189

opponents the construction and working of
the Agra-Delhi Chord.

It is suggested that these and similar
questions are those to which the public of
Calcutta should direct their best attention,
realizing that their interests are identical
with those of the East Indian Railway.

CHAPTER XX.

Third Class Passengers.

Third class passengers constitute a very
large proportion of the coaching traffic of
the East Indian Railway; they provide nine-
teen-twentieths of the total passenger traffic
and account for four-fifths of the coaching
receipts. Recognising that the prosperity
of the coaching traffic mainly depends upon
its lowest class passengers, the attention
of the Board of Directors and of the staff in
India has always been directed towards
measures for the development and con-
venience of this class.

In the year 1882, the third class fare had
been reduced under the directions of the
Board from 3 to '2^ pies, or to, say, one-fifth
of a penny per mile, but the question of
making a further reduction in the charge was,
from the time of his appointment as Chair-
man, constantly in the mind of General Sir
Richard Strachey ; unfortunately there were
considerations that necessitated delay in
carrying out his views ; nothing could be done
before the railway was prepared with addi-
tional rolling-stock, and it was on this account
alone that concessions had to be given
cautiously.

WANT OF STOCK DELAYS REDUCTION IN FARES. 191

Addressing the shareholders in June 1894,
General Sir Richard Strachey remarked :
" The measures now being taken for provid-
ing a substantial increase to the passenger
vehicles will, I hope, soon admit of some
modifications of the fares of the lowest class,
that will extend the facilities for travelling
to a larger proportion of the population, for
no proposal for any reduction of these fares
could be practically entertained until the avail-
able rolling-stock was sufficient in quantity
to meet a considerable increase of numbers,
which at present is far from being the case."
And again in December 1897 : "That there
is still a very large field for the profitable
development of the third class traffic is beyond
question, but it could not be fully realized
without a further reduction of rates, which
the Board would not hesitate to introduce
under suitable arrangements, one essential
preliminary step being the construction of a
large additional number of vehicles, without
which it would be impossible to cope with the
increased traffic that must be anticipated.
The Board continue to keep this subject in
view, and generally are increasing the faci-
lities for travelling.'' In 1900 proposals for
reducing the passenger fares were still under
consideration, and in 1901 the first step was
taken. In his Address to the shareholders
in 1901, General Strachey said : " The Board
have still been unable to carry out any gene-
ral reduction of the passenger fares such as

192 HiSTOkY OF THE K. I. RAILWAY.

they would desire to adopt, from their inabiU-
ty to provide the additional carriages, without
which this could not be undertaken, but a
small advance in this direction has been made
by . reducing the rates for long distances.'^
In his Address in December 1904, General
Strachey remarked in regard to the third
class : " With a view to stimulating the chief
branch of the traffic, the Board have taken
steps for a further reduction of third class
fares for distances above 100 miles, and are
prepared to carry out further reductions when
proper provision is made for the addition to
the carriage stock, which, it may be presumed,
will be necessary to meet the requirements of
the increased traffic likely to follow the re-
duction of fares."

The reduction in third class fares referred to
was, like the coal rates, based on a sliding
scale, according to the length of journey
made.

For the first 100 miles the fare of 2^ pies
per mile remained as at present, the scale
for longer distances being, on the additional
length travelled —

101 to 300 miles, 2 pies per mile,
over 300 miles, 1^ pie „ „

Further reductions will probably be made
on the same basis of a sliding scale, and
may be looked for as soon as the railway is
better equipped with coaching stock. Up
to the present additions to the rolling stock

MB. BBLL'S PBOPOSBD ONB AND A HALF PIB FARK. 193

have barely kept pace with the normal
growth of the traffic. The East Indian
Railway has never been ahead of require-
ments, it has never had a margin to meet
any large accession of passengers, and during
times of pressure third class carriages have
to be supplemented by goods wagons ; this
state of affairs is most undesirable, but it is
obvious that, unless large additions are made
to the coaching stock, it must either continue
or passengers DC turned away.

Apart from the consideration of the ques-
tion m England, in India also the third class
Csenger hgts had constant attention. As far
k as 1893 there was much controversy on
a proposal made by the late Mr. Horace
Bell, then Consulting Engineer to the
Government of India, that a very sweeping
reduction in the fare of the lowest class
should be made. Mr. Bell proposed a fare
of 1^ pie per mile, but his proposal met
with little or no acceptance ; it was rejected
by the Director-General of Railways, by
the President of the Railway Conference,
and by several managements, who all con-
sidered it not only Utopian but impossible.
Beyond this was tlje fact that the third
class passenger traffic was rapidly growing
under the tariff introduced in 1882, and that
a 1^ pie rate tried on the Madras Railway
had proved a failure.

It must never be forgotten, however, that
India is a country of poor people and that

H, BIB \S%

194 HISTORY OF THB R. I. RAILWAY.

when the average wage of the population is
considered, in relation to the fares now
charged, it means that only about 21 miles can
be travelled for an average day's earnings. In
America the third class passenger can travel
about 60 miles for a day's wage, and in
England about 40 miles. Therefore the
fares in India should be as low as they can
possibly be made, and in time it is hoped that
material reduction will be possible

Taking periods of 5 years from 1882, the
following figures shew the number of third
class passengers carried and the earnings
therefrom on the East Indian Railway
system : —

Year. No. Re.

99,99,999 E. I. Proper.
107,86,077 do.

124,40,368 E. I. Ry. System.
132,46,810 do.

166,61,674 do.

172,46,816 do.

Besides reductions in fares charged, other
steps have from time to time been taken
towards improving the facilities for travelling
in the third class. In 1897, under the direct
orders of the Chairman, the mail trains
were thrown open to third class passengers ;
previous to this the main line mail trains
below Allahabad only carried higher class pas-
sengers, and their servants. Then again the
type of carriage has been greatly improved,
separate vehicles have been provided for
women, and lavatories are a feature of

1882

... 9,066,963

1887

... 12,118,381

1892

... 14,662,138

1897

... 16,776,104

1902

... 19,846,498

1905

•.. 22,126,477

FACILITIBS FOB THIRD CLASS FASSBNGBRS. 195

present day stock. Beyond this, the train
service has been greatly added to and
accelerated, but still it is quite admitted that
a good deal remains to be done. In 1904
the Government of India invited railway
servants to write essays, suggesting measures
likely to ameliorate the concutions of travel,
and to deal generally with the wants of
third class passengers, showing how they
could best be met. These essays gave food
for thought to many railway employes, and
several valuable suggestions were made which
it is hoped will in time bear fruit. On the
East Indian Railway an express train for
lower class passengers has recently been
introduced and is now one of the most
popular and remunerative long distance
trains run over the line, and it is now being
considered whether a second similar train
cannot be run.

CHAPTER XXI.

Proposed Central Station in Calcutta.

In a previous chapter reference has been
made to a proposal, made in 1862, to bridge
the Hooghly Uiver, as near as possible to
Calcutta, and to construct in the metropolis
a central terminal station, so as to form a
more perfect connection between the rail-
way and the capitial, and to afford the public
a more convenient pomt for taking or leaving
the rail. In those days there was no bridge
of any kind across the river, and passengers
and goods had to be boated or ferried over
the Hooghly, to and from the railway
station, an arrangement so inconvenient as
to be more easily imagined than described ;
it was then indeed a pilgrimage to get to or
from the East Indian Railway Station at
Howrah.

Since then a floating road bridge has
been constructed and it is as easy to ap-
proach Howrah Station from say, Chowrin-
ghi, as it is to drive from Oxford Circus to
Waterloo. But it is not the passengers or
goods from Chowringhi who need to be con-
sidered ; they are in the minority, and it
makes little difference to them whether the
railway station is in Howrah or in Dalhousie

A OOMMITTEB CONSIDER CENTRAL STATION SCHEME. 197

Square or in Bow Bazaar. The mass of the
people, the great native population of
Calcutta, live on the North side of the city,
and for these Howrah is just as conveniently
situated, as it would be if the site was fixed
in the centre of the business part of the town.

In 1899, however, the idea of constructing
a central station in Calcutta, which for some
years had remained dormant, was revived.
Proposals were made by a Syndicate known
as the " Calcutta Central Railway Syndi-
cate," and their proposals were considered
by a committee and ultimately by the
Government of India.

Briefly stated the Syndicate ofifered to
construct a bridge, with a central railway and
a central station, at an estimated cost of 425
lakhs of rupees, accepting a guarantee of 2^
per cent on the capital employed, the re-
venue to be derived from a toll on goods and
passengers.

The Committee who investigated the pro-
posal agreed that a central railway station
was preferable to maintaining different
termini on the margin of the town ; they
agreed that Bow Bazaar afforded the
best site ; they thought however that the
expense should not be defrayed in the man-
ner proposed by the Syndicate, by the levy
of tolls, but that the construction should be
undertaken by the railways concerned, and
not by a separate Company. While they
considered it desirable to construct a railway

198 HISTORY OF THB K. I. RAILWAY.

bridge over the Hooghly, and to connect the
railways on the West and East banks, by a
line running through the heart of the city,
their approval was subject to the condition
that the scheme was financially practicable.

On the question of the estimated cost and
of the possible revenue there was much
difference of opinion, and ultimately the
Government of India informed the Syndicate
that their offer, unsupported as it was by
those most interested, namely, the public
of Calcutta, could not be entertained.

In the meantime the Lieutenant-Governor
of Bengal, who had given the question his
most careful consideration, made a counter-
proposal " to develop the use of Sealdah,"
the terminus of the Eastern Bengal State
Railway on the Eastern border of the city,
" as a passenger station for the traffic with
Upper India and for lessening the concentra-
tion of traffic at Howrah by every practi-
cable means."

His views were summarized in these terms:

(1) ** A railway bridge below Naihati is not at present
required ; when one is required it should not be built below
Cossipore. The construction of any bridge on piers in the
stream, at or near Howrah i whether road or railway bridge),
would be an experiment so dangerous to the shipping inter-
ests of the port that it would not be justified, unless traffic
could be served by no other reasonable alternative. "

(2) The plans for railways from West and North- West
of Calcutta should be prepared with this in view.

(3) The development of goods traffic, vid the Jubilee
Bridge, to and from the Kidderpore Docks, for both exports
and imports, should be encouraged by all reasonable and
practical means.

VIBWS OF B. I. BAILWA7 BOARD. 199

(4) The use of Sealdah as a passenffer station from
and to Upper India should be carefully developed and all
concentration of traffic at Howrah, passenger or goods,
lessened by every practical means.

(5) Another and more central railway station in the
heart of Calcutta is not required, would add to the grave
congestion of the area, and could not be made remunerative.

With a good deal of this the Board of the
East Indian Kailwav concurred. They
agreed that a railway bridge below Hooghly
was not needed ; stated that thev had done
and would always do all in their power to
develop and encourage goods traflSc vid the
Hooghly Bridge, by equalizing the rates on
all traffic passing from any part of the East
Indian Railway, to and from the Docks, with
those to and from Howrah ; though the dis-
tance from Hooghly to the Docks is about
12 miles greater than to Howrah, and
though the capital expenditure on the
Hooghly Bridge and its approaches and
subsidiary stations had amounted to between
60 and 70 lakhs of rupees. They had, they
said, in order to facilitate the passage of
export traffic, pressed on the Government of
India the necessity for allowing the East
Indian Railway to construct a separate line
of its own from the Hooghly. Bridge to the
Docks.

As to the use of Sealdah as a passenger
station the Board remarked that in their
view " the character of the passenger traffic
that is now dealt with at Howrah cannot be
properly understood, if it is supposed that it

200 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY,

has reached its present development from
any causes other than those arising from the
necessities of the case, and the natural adap-
tation of the population of Calcutta and the
suburban towns, under the conditions of
their various occupations and habits of life,
to the conveniences oflfered to them by the
railway. It cannot be doubted that during
the fifty years and upwards, during which
the Howrah Station had formed the princi-
pal terminus of the East Indian Railway, the
population has settled itself locally, with an
intelligent appreciation of the best means of
obtaining the services of the railway in the
form most likely to be advantageous^to it. "

The Board, however, were in no way averse
to the use of Sealdah as a supplementary
station to Howrah, they had in fact made a
proposal to this effect some years previously.
They desired an experiment to be made by
starting at least one East Indian Railway
passenger train from Sealdah instead of from
Howrah, but circumstances prevented the
trial, and it is remarkable that there has
never been any public expression, on the part
of any section of the Calcutta population, of
the need of a direct train service from Seal-
dah to stations on the East Indian Railway.

The Board quite concurred with the view
of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal that
a central station was not needed. Calcutta
is an essentially terminal station for all the
railways that centre there, and no such

CENTRAL STATION IMPRACTICABLB. 201

transfer of passenger or goods traffic from
station to station takes place in Calcutta,
v^ ith a view to subsequent transmission over
other lines, as is often the case at other large
centres of population at which railway junc-
tions take place.

There is in fact no valid reason for " a
common passenger station for all lines center-
ing in Calcutta, ' and though a central sta-
tion and a railway bridge connecting Howrah
and Calcutta would undoubtedly oe a con-
venience, the cost of providing it is far too
great to bring it withm practicable reach.

What is wanted is a suitable and commo-
dious station at Howrah, and this at last is
being constructed, though, unfortunately, the
Government of India have only sanctioned
part of what the East Indian Railway ori-
ginally proposed, as necessary to meet the
joint requirements of themselves and of the
Bengal-Nagpur Railway Company.

CHAPTER XXII.

Providbnt Institution.

Thb establishment of the East Indian
Railway Provident Institution was the
outcome of a desire, on the part of the Board
of Directors, to assist their employes to make
some provision for the period of their old
age after retirement from the service, or for
their families in the event of their premature
death, and in a general way it followed the
idea of the Superannuation Funds connected
with the various English Railways.

The Institution was formally inaugurated
with effect from 1st January 1868 and from
that date membership was made a condition
of service, men already in the service being
allowed the option of joining or not, as they
pleased. In the first instance the member-
ship consisted of two classes — A and B —
the one representing employes of European
domicile and the other those representing
other classes of employes drawing salaries of
not less than Rs. 30 per mensem. The sub-
scriptions were 5 per cent and 2^ per cent of
salaries respectively, and the Company
undertook to add annual contributions
thereto, provided the annual net earnings

AGGBS8I0N OF 8UB80BIBBB8 IK 1874. 20&

attained a certain limit, such contribu-
tions being distributed to members in
proportion to the total amount standing
at their credit on the books. The anti-
cipations as to the net earnings of the
railway were not realized at the outset, and
it was not until 1874 — the year of the Tirhoot
Famine — that the first contributions were
received. In the meantime, the disappoint-
ment referred to had led to considerable
dissatisfaction amongst the stafi^, and in
consequence of representations made to them
the Board of Directors allowed all members
the option of withdrawing from the Fund.
This was availed of to a large extent, but
with the prosperous outlook in 1874 there
was a general desire for admission to the
Fund, both on the part of those who had
previously withdrawn from it and of others
who had throughout refrained from exer-
cising their option of joining, and in August
1874 the Board of Directors, as an act of
grace, again threw open the door of admis-
sion to all who were eligible under the rules,
reserving only the condition, that such
option must then be exercised once for all
and adding as a further concession that all
members might subscribe as from 1st Janu-
ary 1874, in order to participate in the expect-
ed contribution for that year. This act of
grace resulted in a large accession to the
membership of the Fund and as it was
immediately followed by a contribution

204 HISTORY OF THR B. I. RAILWAY.

equivalent to 87 per cent, of the total amount
at credit of each member on the books on
31st December 1874, there was a universal
feeling of gratification throughout the service,
more especially among those members who
had adhered to the Fund from the date of
its inception and whose tenacity and loyalty
were thus so substantially and unexpectedly
rewarded.

The position continued in this state until
1880 when the first contract of the under-
taking expired, and the then Agent, Sir
Bradlord Leslie, represented that the division
of the membership into two classes and
the limitation of subscriptions to salaries of
not less than Rs. 30 per mensem created an
undesirable distinction, which pressed hardly
upon a large body of the Company's employes
This representation was accepted by the
Board of Directors, and from 1st January
1881, the previous ckss distinctions were
abolished, and membership was eligible to all
employes drawing a monthly salary of Rs.l5
and upwards, the general rate of subscrip-
tion being fixed at 5 per cent. This rate was
made compulsory, and as a further incentive
to thrift, each member was permitted to add
an additional subscription limited to a maxi-
mum of a further 5 per cent on salary,
such optional subscriptions ranking for
participation in the contributions by the
undertaking — which at this time were
declared half-yearly instead of annually as

NEW BULBS INTttODUCBD. 205

before — to the extent of the available surplus
after all compulsory subscriptions had been
credited a sum equivalent to cent, per cent,
thereon.

The introduction of these new rules
involved the division of contributions on the
sum of the annual subscriptions, instead of, as
heretofore, on the sum of the gross holdings
of members, thus placing old and new
members on the same footing, without regard
to length of service and accumulations in the
Fund. This action was resented by a large
body of the older members whose profits were
thereby considerably diminished. The opinion
of Actuaries was taken, and after a full consi-
deration of the oase of the older members,
the Board accepted the view that their legal
rights had been to some extent invaded and
allowed them a grant of Rs. 1,50,000 as
compensation.

From this time — 1st January 1881 to 30th
June 1903 — the annual contributions by the
undertaking admitted of the addition to
members' accounts, of sums equivalent to their
annual subscriptions and a further considerable
addition in respect of optional subscriptions.

In the meantime, some other Indian
railways had adopted a fixed compulsory
rate of subscription of 8^ per cent, of salary ;
optional subscriptions being at the same time
permissible, practically without limit, up to
the extent of salary, but debarred from parti-
cipation in any share of the contributions, and

206 HI8T0RT OF THE B. I. RAILWA7.

it was found, on studying the cases referred
to, that the basis of contnbution, if authorized
for adoption on the East Indian Railway,
would admit of larger contributions, even
though the actual amount of monthly
subscriptions were reduced from 10 to 8^
per cent. On a representation of the
circumstances, the Board of Directors and the
Secretary of State for India sanctioned the
application of these new rules to the East

• Indian Railway, and they were accordingly
adopted with eflfect from 1st July 1903 ; the
I'esult to members who accepted them being
that they have since that date received as
a,n annual contribution to their assets in the
Fund a sum exactly equivalent to one
month's pay — neither more nor less — and
with the growing prosperity of the East
Indian Railway undertaking there seems to
be every prospect of this state of things
heing prolonged indefinitely.

No statement of the history of the East
Indian Railway Provident Institution would
be complete which omitted mention of the
fact that it has already proved an invaluable
boon to hundreds of retired East Indian
Railway employes and their families, and that
it deserves the fullest and most grateful
recognition on the part of those who may
confidently look forward to the benefits which
it ensures on retirement. Still it does not do
to trust to the Provident Fund alone as a

sufficient provision fox t\\^ ^\3toxt^, Oi^^ecially

PROVIDBNT FUND. 207

in the case of those who retire out of India,
and many hold that something more is
needed to put railway servants on a par with
those who retire from Government service on
a pension.

CHAPTBK XXIII.

Hill School.

On the purchase of the undertaking by
Government on Ist January, 1880, it was, as
already explained, found that a sum of over
four lakhs of rupees remained at credit of
the Saving Bank and Fine Funds ; the for-
mer representing profits on working and the
latter the unexpended accumulations of fines
levied from the staflF. It was at once recog-
nized that these monies should, if practicable,
be devoted to some object for the benefit of
the staff, and there was little diflSculty in
arriving at a unanimous decision, that the best
means of securing this object was the provi-
sion of a school, in a temperate climate, for
the education of the children of the European
and Eurasian employes. The Company had
already provided and subsidised schools at
each of the large stations in the plains, both
for the domiciled and the native staff, but
there was a demand, on the part of the former
class, for the benefits of a Hill climate for
their children during the hot season and the
question was how this demand could best be
met. On the one hand, there were existing
scholastic institutions at such of the HiU
stations as Darjeeling, Mussoorie, Naini Tal,

PURCHASE OF OAKGROVB BSTATB. 209

Murree, and Simla which might have served
the purpose, but either the character of
endowments, or the scale of fees levied,
debarred the larger proportion of the servants
of the Company from obtaining the advantage
of these schools and it was felt that the only
feasible arrangement was to secure a purely
railway school, under the absolute control
of the principal oflScers of the Company.
The results obtained by the North- Western
(State) Kailway from an experiment made
in this direction at "Fairlawn" near Jhera-
pani, a place situated about mid- way between
Rajpore and Mussoorie naturally attracted
enquiries to that locality, and it happened
at this juncture that " Oakgrove," a well-
wooded and secluded estate, comprising 193
acres of land in the adjoining vicinity, was
in the market. This was purchased by the
Company for the comparatively small sum
of Rs. 30,000 and arrangements were at
once made for erecting the requisite build-
ings. In June 1888, the school was opened
with a capacity for 210 pupils, having cost
with the estate a sum of Rs. 200,000. The
Board having, at the outset, recognized the
disabilities under which the staff lay in
respect of the scale of fees charged by other
available institutions decided to set apart
a further sum of Rs. 200,000 as an endow-
ment towards payment of the Teaching Staff,
the one object kept permanently in view
being that the scale of fees levied should be

H, BIR \\:

210 HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

such that all members of the staff could avail
themselves of the benefits of the school. On
these grounds the scale was fixed at Rs. 14 for
the first child, Ks. 12 for the second and Rs. 10
for the third and other children per mensem,
a rate which, apart from the endowment and
such grants-in-aid as could be obtained from
Government, was obviously inadequate to
cover the actual expenditure. This feature
of the scheme, though not ventilated by the
Committee of Management, was apparently
recognized at the commencement by the
staff, and many of the better- paid subordinate
officers declined to send their children to
the school and mainly, it is believed, owing
to this fact the numbers of the scholars did
not equal the capacity of the school until
1895. At this period applications exceeded
the limits, and as there was still a balance
of about a lakh of rupees remaining from the
funds before mentioned, it was decided to pur-
chase the adjoining " Jherapani " estate and
build a separate school for girls on the site.
This estate, comprising 52 acres of land, Ues
contiguous to the "Oakgrove" estate without
any intervening boundaries, and on a favour-
able site on it, a well-built school for girls
was erected, capable of accommodating 140
scholars, and opened in the month of April
1897. The total expenditure on the entire
school, including the Hospital and Sani-
tarium, Swimming Bath and Bakery having
cost Rs. 500,000 including the endowment.

THE NORTH-WBSTERN JOIN THE EAST INDIAN. 211

On the whole, the school has proved an
unqualified success, and in 1905 had an
average resident attendance of 394 pupils.
(There are no day scholars.) The accommoda-
tion, although stated generally at 210 in the
boys and 140 in the girls' school, is fully
equal to providing for 400 scholars without
infringing the Government standard require-
ments in respect of the space necessary for
each scholar unit.

With the advent of the East Indian Rail-
way School at ** Oakgrove " the North-
western Railway decided to close their
adjacent establishment at "Fairlawn" and
entered into an arrangement with the East
Indian Railway Company : under it they
secured the right to send the children of North-
western RaUway employes to the school,
and agreed in view of the fact that it had
be^n erected, equipped and endowed from
East Indian Railway sources, to guarantee a
minimum sum per annum and the payment
of a capitation fee that was mutually agreed
upon as fairly representing the actual rate
of expenditure unit, the North- Western
Railway employ^ being only charged a sum
relative to his salary and the diflference
made up from the revenue of the North-
western Railway. This arrangement has
continued up to the present time, and
has been found of mutual benefit to the
school and the North- Western Railway
employ^.

212 HI8T0KY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

With the expiration of the second contract
between the Secretary of State for India and
the East Indian Railway Company on 31st
December 1899, the former secured to
Government under the third contract all
proprietary rights in the school, but left
the control and management of it to the
Company.

For some years past, the school attendance
has, roughly speaking, been made up of an
equal number of East Indian and North-
western Railway children, and lately two
oflScers of the North- Western Railway have
been, at the instance of the East Indian
Railway Board of Directors, added to the
list of ex'officio Governors of the school.

The standard of education at the school
has been well maintained throughout. The
pupils have taken a high place, and on more
than one occasion the first place on the
Government examination lists for the whole
of the United Provinces. The same may
also be said of the examinations tor entrance
to the Roorkee Engineering College. A
large percentage of the ex-pupils have found
situations on the parent lines which they
represent, and have thus fulfilled the ob-
jects for which the school was established.
Standing as it does at an elevation of 5,300
feet above sea-level the climate of the school
is temperate : the site is salubrious and far
from all insanitation, the entire estate being
absolutely reserved for the purposes of the

THE HILL SCHOOL A SUCCESS. 213

school. There is an excellent and pure
water-supply flowing directly to the school,
through its iron pipes, direct from the
** Mossy Falls " springs.

There is a rifle-range and ample room for
out-door games, which are marked features of
the school course, and a large swimming bath.

In every way the school is simply but
thoroughly equipped, and the Institution as a
whole and the results obtained from it, form
a most gratifying vindication of the impulse
which led to its inception and of the expen-
diture of the large sum of money which it
has entailed.

The constant aim of the governing body
is not only to conserve, but, wherever
possible, to increase, the benefits conferred
by the Institution, the most recent addition
being the grant by the East Indian Railway
and North- Western Railway undertakings of
Rs. 5,000 each per annum towards the
foundation of scholarships and exhibitions,
tenable by the pupils of the school.

CHAPTER XXIV.

General Growth of Traffic.

In the year 1889 the total receipts from all
sources of traffic amounted to Rs. 458,79,405 ;
in 1894 they were Rs. 543,33,171 ; by 1899
they had gone up to Rs. 655,07,440, and
during 1905 they were no less than
Rs. 779,45,988.

In 1889 the percentage of working expenses
to gross receipts were 34*63, in 1894 30*64,
in 1899 32-52, and in 1905 35*31.

Nothing could speak more eloquently than
these figures of the management of the East
Indian Railway ; with a great expansion of
traffic there has continued a marked economy
in working, and it was this result that General
Sir Richard Strachey set himself to achieve
from the moment he assumed the Chairman-
ship. Addressing the shareholders in 1890,
he said : " It was my aim, while in India to
inculcate the absolute necessity for seeking

better results so that while the

greatest practical economy was ensured, the
varied interests, connected both with the pas-
senger and goods service of the railway, should
be constancy respected and their reasonable
demands complied with." Eight years later
he comments on what had by then been

THB B. I. COMPARBD WITH OTHBB RAILWAYS. 215

accomplished in the following terms : — " The
careful attention given to administrative
measures has reduced the working expenses
below the amount at which they stood twelve
years ago, although the passenger traffic has
increased more ttian 75 per cent, and the
goods traffic nearly 50 per cent., and it may
confidently be aflSrmed that this has been
accomplished in conjunction with a greatly
improved condition of the permanent way,
works and rolling stock, and increased effici-
ency in every branch of the service."

The exceptional position of the East Indian
Eailway Company in relation to other Indian
Railways and the economical way in which
it is worked, compared either with Indian or
English lines, has often formed a theme of
comment in Sir Richard Strachey's addresses
to the shareholders, but we need only quote
one instance here — in 1897 he said: "It
will, I think, be useful again to point out, as
I have done on former occasions, the relative
^reat importance of the East Indian Railway,
in respect of the traffic with which it has to
deal, compared to other Indian Railways, and
from which you will better be able to judge
of the nature of the responsibility which
the Company accepts with the manage-
ment of the undertaking. During the last
four months for which we have returns
of the traffic, it appears that the gross
receipts of the East Indian Railway, the
length worked being 1,833 miles, amounted

216 HISTORY OF THB B. I, RAILWAY.

to 187^ lakhs of rupees. During the same

Jeriod, the aggregate receipts of the Great
ndian Peninsular, the Indian Midland, the
Bombay and Baroda, the Rajputana-Malwa
and Bengal-Nagpur Railways, the total
length worked on which was 5,399 miles,
amounted in all to 188f lakhs of rupees."

The traffic of the East Indian Railway
has continued to give results immeasurably
beyond that of any other railway in India, and
although this is in a large degree due to the
enormous coal traffic carried, still the expan-
sion of other branches of traffic has also been
very considerable. Allowing for variations
in the wheat, grain and seed trade, due to the
nature of the export demand or to famine or
other cause, there has been continuous and
marked development in practically all classes
and kinds of traffic, and this is a most
satisfactory feature, as it is on the growth of
the general traffic, in all its branches, that
the Company must rely for its continued
progress and prosperity, rather than on the
expansion of any particular items.

In the interval between the years 1895
and 1900, there were increases under the
head of passengers amounting to two millions
in number; under merchandise to a little more
than one million tons ; and under coal to
more than two million tons, but, although
it is necessary to found a review of the
working of the railway upon figures indicat-
ing numbers of passengers and quantities

VALUE OF THE RAILWAY TO THE COUNTRY. 217

of goods carried, as well as the amount of
rupees earned and spent in the process, yet
this does not truly indicate the value or
importance of the work done by the railway
for the country.

" To appreciate this," General Strachey
remarked in 1901, "we must bear in mind
the enormous advantages given a vast
population, by the increasing facilities for
travelling over great distances which other-
wise would have been practically impos-
sible. The extent of this convenience is
indicated by the fact that in the past half-
year more than eleven million persons have
travelled on the railway, ten millions of
whom were of the less affluent classes.
Similar considerations apply to the effect pro-
duced on the trade and material progress of
the country. The protection against the
worst results of drought has been complete
and could have been obtained by no other
means. The facilities for the transport of
^opds over considerable distances must have
increased the potential wealth of the people
by several millions sterling yearly, through
giving the means of carriage, at very low
rates, and opening markets that would other-
wise have Deen inaccessible, thus greatly
stimulating and supporting internal as well
as export trade."

The growth of traffic on the East Indian
Railway has in a large measure been due
to attention to detail, and to the means taken

218 HIBTOBT OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

to stimulate the internal as well as the ex-
port trade of the country. Changes in the
habits of the people have also had their
eflTect on the traffic of the railway, or to
put it in another way, the railway has
enabled the population to adopt measures
or to alter customs which, but for the rail-
way, would never have been thought o£
This we see in many directions, but to take
one illustration only ; in the early eighties
vegetable oil, locally manufactured, was the
onfy illuminant used by the masses ; a wagon
load of kerosene oil was unknown, and only
a few cases, for the use of Europeans and
the more wealthy natives, were carried.
Railway rates were reduced, and in 1889 the
East Indian railway carried a traffic of
24,376 tons — further reduction followed and,
in 1905, the year's traffic in kerosene oil
amounted to no less than 88,751 tons, a
considerable portion of which was carried in
bulk, for the carriage of which the Company
had in the meantime constructed special
stock. Nowadays kerosene oil may be pur-
chased in any village in India, and the people
bum practically nothing else. Similar re-
marks might be made in respect to other de-
tails, and speaking of the great growth of
traffic since the formation of the line, the
money returns of the East Indian Railway
having during 40 years increased more than
a hundredfold. General Strachey remarked
in 1896 " when it is remembered that the

STATKMBNT OF BAUNINGS SINCE OFBNING. 219*

line with which we are concerned is no longer^
as it was in 1855, the only, or almost the only,
railway in India, but one out of many, we are
enabled to form some idea of the great change*
in the habits of the people, the surprising
expansion of trade, the rapid development of
the resources of the country and our immense
strengthening of our hold of India which are
due to the introduction of railways."

The following table shows the growth of
traffic earnings, in, periods of ten years, since
the opening of the line : —

Gross earnings of the East Indian Railway system
I during the following years.

Period.

CoAohing.

Goods and
minerals.

Sundries.

Total.

♦

Rs.

15th August to

31st DMember

1854

87,962

3,551

1,767

93,280

1884

60»18.053

77,43.271

1,69,806

1.39,31,130

1874

88,48,497

2,70,77,403

14,12,461

3.73.38.361

1884

1.30.66.845

2,99.88,895

7.83,973

4,38.^,713

1894

1,81.50.604

3,63,55,879

8.26,688

5,g,g,171

1W4

2,33,46.816

5,41,10 958

12,68,238

7.87.26,012

Number of passengers and tons of goods carried.

Period.

No. of pa»»enger8.

Tonfl of goods of all
descriptions.

15th August to

31st D^sember

1854

141,161

Not available.

1864

4,014,171

660.571

1874

6,038,191

2.330.907

1884

11,126.560

4.313.066

1894

17,209,825

6,133,732

1904

23,585,686

12,233.188

CHAPTER XXV.

Various Projects for dealing with the
Export Coal Trade and other matters.

Mention has been made of a scheme to
provide coal jetties and loading appliances at
a* point on the River Hoogmy adjacent to
the Botanical Gardens. The locality was
considered eminently suitable and convenient
for the purpose and the approach to it, from
the vicinity of Bally Station, a short distance
above Howrah, could, at the time it was
mooted, have been constructed without inter-
fering with valuable property, so that the
expense was not likely to be unusually great.
There was therefore some reason to hope that
the Government would sanction the work,
which, in the words of General Sir Richard
Strachey, would '* supply the coal owners of
Bengal, the means of giving to the export
trade a development commensurate with the
almost inexhaustible supplies of the mineral
which is within their reach and which it will
be the endeavour of the undertaking to
carry to the place of shipment at the lowest
possible cost."

It was far from the object of the East
Indian Railway, either in connection with
this scheme, or ottieT pxo^o^^ ^\A, ^or^^^t^

PR0P08KD PORT ON THE MUTLAH. 221

to assist the trade of Calcutta, to obtain
any exclusive advantage for the Company,
or to go in any way beyond the proper
functions of a railway which, according to
Sir Richard Strachey's policy, were "to
extend to the utmost the means of transport
for the commercial community generally, and
to support, within the sphere of their
legitimate action, all efforts made with this
object, however they may originate." The
scheme, if it had been adopted, would have
assisted all railways bringing coal into
Calcutta for export, but unfortunately
differences of opinion arose as to the expe-
diency of carrying out the proposal, and the
idea was abandoned.

Later on another scheme was put
forward, which may in fact be said to
have been the revival, in another form, of a
very old project. Colonel Gardiner, the
Company's Agent in Calcutta, recommended
the construction of a subsidia^ port on the
Mutlah River, at a place called !r ort Canning,
to which a line of rail had already been con-
structed, and where it was thought that the
export coal traffic could better be dealt with
than at the Kidderpore Docks, which, it will
be remembered, were originally intended for
the export of grain and seeds but not of coal.

Surveys were made, and it was then found
that the Mutlah had .ceased to be a river in
the ordinary sense of the term ; it had in
fact become a tidal estuary ot ^thv ofl "^^

222 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

«ea, with a very deteriorated channel, diffi-
cult to navigate. The conclusion come to was
that the idea of establishing a coal export
•dep6t at such a place failed to offer any
prospects of success. This scheme also was
abandoned.

Time went on, and the great growth of
the coal export trade proved how necessary
it was to afford some relief to the pressure
on the resources of the docks. The
Bengal-Nagpur Railway had not only
gained access to the Jherriah field, but had
extended their line via Midnapur to a point
on the right bank of the Hooghly opposite
Calcutta, immediately below the East Indian
Railway Station of Howrah. Here they
had established a wagon ferry, to get into
<lirect communication with the Kidderpore
Docks ; in other words, a wagon loaded at
any station on their system could be passed
by their own route to the Kidderpore Docks
without break of bulk. They also had access
to the docks via Asansol and the Jubilee
Bridge at Hooghly, but neither of these
routes gave them all they wanted. They
appeared to desire to wrest from the East
Indian Railway the bulk of the coal export
trade, by constructing a line to a point on the
Hooghly some miles below Calcutta, where
they proposed to establish docks, provided
with mechanical loading appliances and to
<iivert the coal export trade to this point. The
place where it was pioipo^ed to ^laee this

THE LUFF POINT SOHBMB. 223

coal export dep6t was known as Luff Point,
but in the opinion of those best acquainted
with the river it was not possible to take
ships in and out of docks at Liuff Point with
any degree of safety or without obstructing
the navigation of the river. The Govern-
ment, however, appointed a Commission to
consider the scheme which involved many
issues, as, for instance, the abiUty of the
Kidderpore Docks to deal with the trade ;
the possible expansion of the coal export
business of the port in the future ; the cost of
constructing new docks and the difficulties of
dealing with coal exports at a place distant
from Calcutta, to which only one railway
would have the means of approach.

The Commission met in Calcutta in the
cold season of 1900-1 and went very fully
into the subject, with the result that
the scheme, as put forward by the Bengal-
Nagpur Railway, was not accepted. Public
opinion in Calcutta was divided, but in the
main it was opposed to the idea. The
*' Englishman," in common with other papers,
published articles and correspondence con-
taining different views. The first of these,
being a fair sample of the feeling at the
time, is partly reproduced, and it will be noted
that the poUcy suggested in this article is
the solution ultimately come to, viz., equal
rates, by both the East Indian and Bengal-
Nagpur Railways, from the Jherriah coal-
field to Calcutta.

224 history of the e. 1. railway.

The Luff Point Scheme.

*' The Luff Point Scheme is likely to deve-
lop into one of the most momentous economic
problems ever placed before the Calcutta
public, and it is well that its true issue and
effect on the trade of the port be considered,
before the Commission, which will shortly
sit, begins to take evidence. A little more
than two years have passed since the Gov-
ernment decided to give the Bengal-Nag-
pur Railway access to the Jherriah coal-
fields. The coal trade had pressed for the
admission of this line, because it was felt
that there would then arise a competition
between the East Indian and Bengal-Nagpur
Railways, and that as a result the freight on
coal would be reduced, and beyond this it
was thought that collieries would be put in a
more favourable position in regard to wagon
supply. The actual effect has been that the
advent of the Bengal-Nagpur Railway has
opened out a large additional area of supply,
and this has helped materially to bring down
the sale price of coal ; w^hether colliery pro-
prietors have really benefited is an open
question, but at any rate they have attained
their object. In giving the Bengal-Nagpur
Railway access to the Jherriah field, the
Government laid down as a principle that
the collieries in the field, wherever situated,
might call for the wagons of whichever of
the two railways tViey d^^Vi^d to consign

THE "englishman" ON THE LUFF POINT SCHEME. 225

their coal by, and the railways decided that
rates should be equal by both routes.

Recently the Government held that neither
of the two railways, competing for the traffic
under these conditions, should be allowed to
go below the prescribed minimum rate of
^th pie per maund per mile, and conse-
quent on this decision the Bengal-Nagpur
Kailway, which, in some instances, had gone
below the minimum, in order to equalize
pharges with the shorter route, ind the East
Indian Railway, enhanced its rates to the
public, not as might have been expected to
the minimum allowed, but in some cases to
a great deal beyond. The effect has tem-
porarily been to put the Bengal-Nagpur
Railway out of competition for the carriage
of the export trade, but we cannot think that
the Government intended that this should be
the sequence of their decision, and undoubt-
edly the position is capable of a simple
solution, which neither the East Indian nor
Bengal-Nagpur Railways could object to.
And we should say that a solution is
possible which would also be acceptable to
the trade, who cannot expect more than that
both railways should be placed on equal
terms for their custom, and that, as a conse-
quence, freight to Calcutta should not be
higher, from any point by the longer route,
than it is by the shorter.

We hold in fact that the position prior to
the recent ruling of GovermiierA) ^bjb^ ^

H, SIB \^

226 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY*

satisfactory one, both to the railways and to
the trade. Now if this is accepted, the
question to consider is, what the result would
be if the Luff Point Scheme was adopted
and the export trade was taken from the
Kidderpur L)ocks to Luff Point. First of
all we may assume that the Government
would be bound to give the East Indian
Railway access to Luff Point, on the same
terms as the Bengal-Nagpur Eailway. In
other words, the East Inman Railway would
be empowered to run coal to Luff Point at
the same rate of freight as the Bengal-
Nagpur Railway, and, so far as can be seen,
over the same route as the Bengal-Nagpur
Railway for most of the way. Were this
not so, or, in other words, were the East
Indian Railway put out of competition for
the carriage of export coal, the trade would
revert to much the same position as
before the Bengal-Nagpur Railway was
admitted to the Jherriah coal-field, that
is to say, coal owners would again become
dependent upon one line of railway for
the carriage of their coal instead of two.
Does the trade consider that they would be
any better served by the Bengal-Nagpur
Railway alone than they were previously
served by the East Indian Railway alone?
The Chairman of the Indian Mining Asso-
ciation proved beyond question, at a recent
meeting, that the Kidderpur Docks were
capable of dealing with any likely expansion

THE "BNGLISHMAN" ON THB LUFF POINT SCHEME. 227

of the coal trade tor many years to come,
and that LuflF Point was not wanted. Why
then saddle the port with costly facilities
which are not required and which in the end
the public must pay for ?

Luff Point is not wanted ; what is wanted
is already available, viz,, two railways
between the coal-fields and the port of
Calcutta. Beyond this, equal rates and .
facilities should be given by both railways,
and no more money should be wasted on
additional lines or docks ; in saying this we
include the costly Bankura-Bishenpur Chord
Line Scheme. The accident that one railway
happens to have a somewhat shorter route
than the other should not, in a case of this
kind, be allowed to influence the question of
rates, so long as the percentage of difference
in mileage is only nominal ; and where the
interests of both railways are identical with
those of the trade, we may be confident that
in no case would they charge anything
beyond the lowest possible freight. If,
however, one railway ran to Luff Point
and the other to the docks and both
charged, as they undoubtedly would, equal
rates to either place, the trade would go
to the point from which shipping charges
were lowest, and in this case either
Luff Point or the docks would be bound
to become a white elephant, with which
the port of Calcutta would be eternally
saddled."

228 HISTOBT OF THB E. I. RAILWAY.

To go back a few years earlier than the
Luff Point controversy. In 1898, in order
to relieve the pressure on the East Indian
Railway below Burdwan, where, whenever
traffic was at all brisk, there was constant
congestion, the Company proposed to
construct a short chord to Howrah. The
route was surveyed, but before sanctioning
.construction the Government appointed a
Committee to consider its necessity.

This Comimittee sat in 1901, Mr. James
Douglas, the Agent, representing the
Railway Company, the rest of the Committee
being composed of Public Works officers, the
majority of whom were opposed to the
scheme. Besides considering the measures
necessary for the relief of congestion of traffic
on the lower section of the East Indian
Railway the Committee also dealt with the
following questions : —

(1) The entrance of the Bengal -Nagpur Railway into
the Jherriah coal-fields.

(2) The provision of an independent access to Calcutta
from the North- Western Provinces.

As a result the short chord line proposed
by the East Indian Railway was abandoned,
and the Bengal-Nagpur Railway were allowed
into Jherriah.

CHAPTER XXVI.

Statistics.

Accurate statistics of work done on Indian
railways have, almost from the earliest
days, been held to be one of the most
important factors of economical manage-
ment, as they afford an efficient means of
ascertaining the work actually performed and
the cost of performing it. The histow of
railway statistics in India is contained in
a note published by General Sir Kichard
Strachey in 1901, here reproduced : —

" Note on the bearing of accurate statistics
of working on the economical mana-gement of
railways : —

" The Times of the 14th December, quoting
from the Statist of the same date, which
has a long article on the subject, announces,
on the authority of the General Manager of
the great railway system known as the North-
Eastem Railway of England, as though it
was something remarkable, that its managers
have determined to adopt what the Statist
calls the American system of ton and passen-
ger mileage returns. It tells us also, on the
same authority, what I think will startle
some persons, that the average tT^m\c«jia.^\jL
the Aorti-Eastem system axxrai^ ^^ l^^»s

230 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

1900 were, in round numbers, in passenger
trains only 62*4 persons, in merchandise
trains only 44 tons, in mineral trains only
92^ tons, or in merchandise and minerals
taken together 66 '6 tons ; and that the aver-
age rates charged were, for passengers •617c?.
per mile, for merchandise 1*64 per ton per
mile, and for minerals Id. per ton per mile,
or taking merchandise, live stock and minerals
together 1 '24 per ton per mile ; and there is
no reason to suppose that the train loads and
charges on other great English lines differ
materially from those of the North-Eastem.

Managers of Indian railways will fully
understand from these figures how it is that
English Companies with their constant in-
creases of capital expenditure, in working ex-
penses and in the ratio of expenses to
receipts, and in demands made on them
for reduction of rates, are beginning to
find themselves on the edge of a precipice,
with the greater part at least of the divi-
dends on their ordinary stock in jeopardy.

But they might also say that the discovery
of the value of ton and passenger mileage
returns comes more than a little late, and
that to speak of it as an American practice
implies a curious ignorance that the practice,
was adopted more than 30 years ago, under
the orders of the Government of India, by
all Indian railways, and its results for at
least 25 years have been widely disseminated
in iimumerable copies oi \Ti^\«xi \\sJ&-^^^2fl^

ADOPTION OF RAILWAY STATISTICS, 231

reports, many of which must, at some time
or other, have been in the hands of the bulk
of the Managers and Directors of English
railways, if only because many of them hold
Indian railway stock.

The present seems therefore a suitable
occasion for stating the reasons which led to
the adoption of these returns in India, and
the results which have followed their intro-
duction. I shall confine myself on this sub-
ject to the East Indian Railway, which took
and has kept the lead in the matter from the
first.

In the year 1867, thirteen years after the
opening of the line, the Board of the East
Indian Railway found themselves in a very
serious condition. Their capital expenditure
had long passed all expectations, demands
for fresh and heavy expenditure were reach-
ing them almost by every mail, their working
expenses were high and their traflSc was
disappointingly small It was felt that
something must be done and it was finally
determined to despatch the gentleman who
was then, and still is, their Consulting
Engineer, Mr. as he was then, now Sir
Alexander Rendel, to India to consult with
the Company's officers there generally on the
subject.

I was then Secretary of the Public Works
Department of India, and naturally I saw a
great deal of Mr. Rendel. Of the te^wlfc q>^
bis visit in respect to cap\ta\ elL^evv^\i^^x^>'V

232 HI8T0BT OF THS B. I. RAILWAY.

need say nothing here, except that it was
highly successfm. But by far the more
important result, for, in fact, the usefulness
of the line to India, as well as its financial
success, has been determined by it, was that
our many conversations on the subject led to
this conclusion — ^that nothing of value could
be effected on Indian lines, until their traffics
were stated in ton and passenger mileage.
My own recollections of the details of our
discussions are, from lapse of time, getting
hazy ; but Sir Alexander Bendel tells me
that he well remembers how, when he express-
ed a doubt whether the Companies could be
induced to prepare the necessary statements,
I declared that '^ it could be done and should
be done" and somehow or other done it was
at once. The decision was come to in the
early part of 1868. Of course, it took some
little time to set things in motion ; but very
early in the seventies, Sir Juland Danvers,
then the Government Director of Indian
Railway Companies published, in his Annual
report to the Secretary of State, a note by
Mr. Rendel on the subject ; and in 1874 the
East Indian Railway Board took the matter
up by publishingin their report for the second
half of 1873, the statement (the form of
which will be seen on page 234) then and
long afterwards known as Mr. Rendel's
statement, for the second halves of 1871,
1872 and 1873. This continued to the time
when the Goverinnexv^, oi \Tk^\^ ^0«. ^n^

PBACTICAL RESULTS OF STATISTICS. 233

from Sir Juland Danvers the duty of pre-
paring the annual report on Indian rail-
ways, and developed their statistics into the
perhaps over-elaborate form in which they
are now drawn up. The Board from that
time attached to their half-yearly reports,
and still do so, a copy of so much of the
Government statistics as included the more
simple statement of their earlier reports.

It has, moreover, become the established
practice to place, week by week, before the
official meetings, at which are present the
Agent and Heads of Departments, as well as
the Government Consulting Engineer and
Examiner of Accounts, a statement contain-
ing the principal results of the working, so
that the whole of the officers concerned in
the management of the traffic are kept con-
tinually informed of the progress made, and
immediate attention is directed to any falling
off or improvement in the train and wagon
loads, as well as to the increases and decreases
of the traffic of all descriptions and the
receipts from it.

The practical results of this system, the
influence of which on the Administrative
Staff extends also to the Board of Directors,
to whom these weekly statements are
regularly submitted, may be gathered from
the annexed comparison of the traffic of the
line for the first half of 1872, before the
new statistics had produced mucVv, tV\a\iL^
siill some result, with tViaV, o^ \)cl^ ^^^^

284

HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

half of 1901 — when they had been acted
on for more than thirty years. I take for
the former period what was then known as
the main line. I omit the Jubbulpore line,
the accounts of which were at the time
stated separately, because it was then but
new, and its union with the main line would
lead to unduly unfavourable conclusions. I
convert also rupees from their standard
value in 1872 of Is. 10c?. to their present
price of l^. 4c2. and I take a passenger train
mile in both cases as costing the same as a
goods train mile, and compute the cost per
train mile in the same way as in 1872.
We have then the following : —

PASSENGER TRAFFIC.

let half year,

Isthalf yoar^
1901.

Miles open

1,281

2,136

1. Average receipts from each pas-

senger train per mile

6#. VSd.

i8. S'Sd.

2. Average sum received for carry-

ing a passenger (taking all classes to-

gether) one mile ...
3. Average number in any passenger

*27d.

'223d.

train at any one time

235

257

4. Average cost of running a train

one mile

2s. Sid.

U. lOfd.

5. Average cost of carrying a passen-

ger one mile

•112d.

•088d.

6. Average profit on each passenger

per mile

•158d.

•135d.

7. Average number of passenger
trains running over each mile of line
each way per diem (supposing all trains

to run over the whole line in operation).

2*25

3-91

8. Average number of passengers

pawing over each mile of line both ways

per diem

I \.<»A

, 2.010

MAIN FBATUBBS OF STATISTICS.

GOODS TRAFFIC.

{Including miMrals.)

235

Ist half year.

Uth.^^e.r.

1872.

Bliles open

1,281

2,136

1. Average receipts from each goods
train per mile

78. ea.

Of. id.

2. Averaf^e sum received for carrying

one ton of goods (taking all classes

together) one mile
3. Average load in tons in any goods

•78»d.

•377(i.

tons

train at any one time

113-76

201-5*

4. Average cost of running a train

one mile

28.^.

Is. 10§d.

5. Average cost of carrying a ton of
goods one mile ...

•238d.

'Il2d.

6. Average profit on each ton per

mile ...

•651d.

-265d.

7. Average number of goods trains

running over each mile of line, each

way per diem (supposing all trains to

run over the whole line in operation) ...

3*68

8. Average number of tons passing

over each mile of line both ways per

tons

ftons

diem ...

883-6

2,820

The main features of this comparison
are : —

1. The great increase of the average daily-
number of passengers and tons of goods pass-
ing over each Hne of railway, being for the
former 100 per cent, and for the latter nearly
250 per cent., while the mileage worked has.
increased more than 50 per cent. f8

2. The increased train load of goods^
which has been nearly doubled.

3. The reduced charge for goods, the
average now being considerably 1^%"^. ^Vsmow

one half that of 1872.

236 HIBTORT OF THK K. I. RAILWAY.

4. The reduction of the cost of running
trains, amounting to about one-fourth.

Under the influence of steady attention
to train load we first largely reduced the
mileage cost of carrying a passenger or a
ton of goods. Then, naving reduced our
expenses, we were enabled to reduce our
rates; and then, by reducing our rates, we
increased our traflSc. We also saved in capi-
tal expenditure by reducing the quantity of
rolling and locomotive stocKS, and of station
accommodation of all kinds, &c., &c., that
was needed to meet the requirements of
traffic.

The very diflferent conditions of the two
countries does not admit of any useful com-
parison of the money receipts and charges
between the East Indian and North-Eastern
Railways. As to train loads, however, it
may be remarked that the passenger train
loads, though four times those of the North-
Eastern, are less than on several other Indian
lines. The cause lies in our rates, which
are still too high. In goods, although we
have nearly doubled our train loads since
1872, the goods and mineral train loads
should be greater than they are, and I have
no doubt that a judicious reduction of rates
would lead to an increase in quantities carried
that would be profitable. There are, how-
ever, difficulties in the way of making provi-
sion for any considerable increase to traffic,
whether in paasengex^^ ot ^oo^^, \Xv^\> x^\\^^^

USB OF STATISTICS, 237

any immediate action in this direction im-
practicable.

If it be asked what have ton and passenger
mileage returns to do with all this, the
reply is, that with ton and passenger mile
returns, as well as passenger and goods train
miles, you arrive at once at the average
passenger and goods train loads, and these
are a test of the healthy management of a
line, such as a healthy pulse is to the human
being. Making, of course, due allowances
for variation of circumstances they are
infallible. Low train loads, except under
known or easily ascertainable circumstances

Joint, without doubt, to faulty management,
f uncorrected, they will lead a line to
destruction, for low train loads mean high
train mileage. The working expenses of
a railway are not necessarily proportionate
to the traflSc carried, but to the enbrt made
to carry the traflSc — ^that is mainly to the
train mileage run ; and a needlessly high
train mileage means capital and revenue
wasted in every possible form, and, worse
than this, it means rates and fares beyond
the necessities of the case and consequent
needless burdens on commerce. The public
always pays ultimately for the blunders of
railway management.

We who are connected with India are
free, at any rate to a great extent, from this
reproach, but this is due, in a degree which
possibly will never be fully admSxiW^, \^ ^xsx

238 HISTORY OF THB E. I. KAILWAY.

ton and passenger mileage returns and the
way they have been forced by the adminis-
trations on the attention of the Executives
of Indian railways."

It will be noted that it took nearly thirty
years to increase the loads of goods trains
from 11375 tons to 201*59 tons and that
Oeneral Sir Richard Strachey was not
altogether satisfied with the results. By
1902 the figure had gone up to 20275 tons,
but early m 1903 Sir Alexander Reudel
once more visited India and attended one
of the weekly official meetings at which the
statistics are examined ; he drew special
attention to the subject of train loads and
said that in his opinion the average weight
in a train should be increased to 250 tons.
EflForts were made to bring about the
desired result, and what followed is within the
knowledge of all interested in the subject ;
by the close of 1904, the average weight
had not only been increased to the figure
mentioned by Sir Alexander Rendel, but
had gone beyond it, and has since risen to
over 275 tons.

Statistics not only form the true basis for
economies in working, but have enabled the
East Indian Railway Company to initiate
with confidence a liberal policy in regard to
rates, and to introduce concessions which,
in their absence, would be thought dan-
g'erously near tlie \me x^kere profit ends and

ECONOMY FOLLOWS STATI8TI0S. 239

loss begins. In the case of the East Indian
Railway statistics have proved, not an end
but a means to an end, and for their intro-
duction and application to railway working
in India, if not throughout the world, we
have to thank General Sir Richard Strachey
and Sir Alexander Rendel. As General Sir
Richard Strachey said to the shareholders in
1898, statistics bring it within our reach to
determine " how far the means employed
are actually utilised, and in what direction
waste occurs and where economy is to be
sought for. I have no hesitation in saying
that the unquestionably economical working
of Indian railways generally, is in no smaU
degree due to the system of check thus pro-
vided."

To further assist in raising the standard
of work done, weekly statistics are now pub-
lished shewing, for several sections of the
line, the average load per wagon loaded on
the district, the vehicle mileage, the up and
down engine mileage, the engine hours,
wagon miles per hour, train miles per hour
and other details. This information is in
the hands of the staflF very shortly after
the period to which it pertains, ana is not
only found a most useful record of work done
in each district, but is a basis for discussion
at the meetings of TraflSc oflScers which
are held every few months.

CHAPTER XXVII.

The Jamalpur Workshops.

It has often been asked why it was that
Jamalpur was selected as the site for the
Company's Locomotive Works. Jamalpur
is off the main line, is distant from the
Bengal coal-fields, whence not only its
fuel but its pig iron has to be transported,
and beyond this it has no natural water-
supply.

To have selected such a place as the Head-
Quarters of Locomotive Engineering works
was obviously a blunder ; as great a blunder
perhaps as the construction of the tunnel
near by, a piece of work that was altogether
unnecessary and stands to this day a monu-
ment of the wastefiil expenditure of the time.
The chief reason for the choice seems to
have been that Jamalpur was adjacent to
the town of Monghyr, which had been known
for years as the " Birmingham of the East,"
and it was conceived that a plentiful supply
of skilled mechanics could always be drawn
from that place. The inhabitants of Mon-
ghyr had for centuries been mechanics by
trade, they were of a caste skilled in the
manufacture of ironware, notably of guns,
pistols, spears and other weapons, and were

DECISION TO MOVE TO JAMALPUR. 241

clearly the class of people who would readily
take to mechanical engiiieerinji^ work.

Beyond this it must not be forgotten that,
at the time the selection was made, Jamalpur
was on, what was then intended to be, the
main line of the railway.

Jamalpur was at first only an engine
changing station, though light repairs were
done in the running shed there. The actual
head-quarters of the Locomotive Depart-
ment were at Howrah, but this place, being
near Calcutta, not only possessed great draw-
backs but was too confined to admit of
extensions. There was in fact no room in
Howrah for the workshops of the Locomo-
tive Department, as well as for the Company's
Carriage and Wagon Building works, and
after long and mature consideration it was
decided to remove the former to Jamalpur.
I am indebted to Mr. John Strachan, late
Locomotive Superintendent of the Company,
for the following account of the cause of
the removal : —

" It was not till the early sixties that the late Mr. D. W.
Campbell decided to remove the workshops to Jamalpur,
and this was owing to the drivers and fitters giving trouble.
They were all covenanted men from home who had left
their families there, and as hotels and billiard rooms were
their only amusement, it was no uncommon thing for men to
leave the shops durincf working hours and adjourn to a
hotel, then opposite the railway station, kept by a very
civil old ship steward, uamed Bobby Deans, who could
always give them something to eat, as well as something
to drink and a game of billiards. "

" There were also several other places of amusement in
Howrah and Calcutta to which men cowVd. %o^^\A ^\si<(^\!k.^
these was a place known as Wilson's Coii^i© 'E.ooixi?^

H,EIR Y^

242 HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY,

**One day Mr. Campbell, returning from the weekly
Meeting in the Agent's Office, happened to call at Wilson's
Coffee Room for tiffin, and here he found three of his princi-
pal workshop foremen and two engine drivers enjoying
themselves in rather a boisterous manner. They asked him
to join them in having a peg. What he said in reply has
never been recorded, but the men very quickly retired, and
after that Mr. Campbell never rested until he had the
workshops and Locomotive Offices removed from Howrah to
Jamalpur.''

It is no part of this history to trace the
gradual growth of Jamalpur, from a small
engine-changing station, to what is now
known as the " Crewe of India, " but the
following account, kindly furnished me by
Mr. cS>.\P) M. Nash, of the Locomotive De-
partment, is of undoubted interest, containing
as it does a very clear description of Jamal-
pur and the Company's Works there at the
present time.

"The supervising staflF of the workshops
consists of 26 Foremen and Assistant Fore-
men and about 180 European and East Indian
mechanics ; of the former a large proportion
have been recruited from England direct.
Practically the whole of this staff is housed
in quarters owned by the Company, and
live within easy distance of the workshops.
Other buildings consist of a Church, Roman
Catholic Chapel, Mechanics' Institute, Swim-
ming Bath, Hospital, including a separate
building for infectious diseases, and a School
for the children of European .and East
Indian employes. There is also a Boarding-
house in which 40 EiXxto^^^w ^\A^%.^t» Indian

DESCRIPTION OF JAMALPUR. 243

apprentices are lodged and eared for under
the charge of a resident master and matron.
In addition to this 21 live elsewhere in
the station. It may perhaps not be out of
place, while on this subject, to point out the
importance of this system of training
indentured apprentices. The recruitment of
the subordinate supervising grade has
hitherto been chiefly done by the introduc-
tion of men from England, but it is hoped
that in the future suitable candidates will
have been trained up in the workshops to
take these appointments, and the expense of
importing men will be saved, as well as the
risk of the climate not suiting the men thus
brought out to India for the first time. At
the same time it must be remembered that
an excellent field of employment is thus
afforded for the sons of the Company's
servants.

Jamalpur is the head-quarters of the
East Indian Railway Volunteer Rifles, at
the present time 2,300 strong, and the
Armoury and Head-quarters staff are
in Jamalpur.

The recreation of the men is not forgotten,
and there is a flourishing Gymkhana in
connection with the Mechanics' Institute,
providing cricket, football, tennis, etc.

The workshops at the present time cover
an area of about 100 acres, of which about 20
are roofed over, the whole being fenced in
with a high iron fence. 'Si^t^^w^^^x'^^'^

244 HIBTOKY OF THE K. I. RAILWAY.

Ihey occupied barely half of this space. At
that time 3,122 men were employed com-
pared with 9,428 this year (1906), the wages
in 1890 amounted to Rs. 4,15,093 compared
with Rs. 11,00,000 in 1905. The value
of the outturn is about Rs. 54,00,000 a year
or £360,000 compared with £58,332 in 1890.
The above serves to give some idea of the
vast strides that have been made in the last
few years, and the growth of the Locomotive
Department of the rail way may also be gauged
by the fact that in 1863 the total engine
stock was 247, and at the present time is 952.

The shops are now or will be very shortly
in a position to build locomotives to meet all
the requirements of the line. The work of
building locomotives has been actually going
on for some years, but owing to the amount
of repairs to existing stock that is necessary,
new-engine building has had to be kept
back. Almost all the parts of a locomo-
tive can now be manufactured in the shops,
including all steel castings, and the actual
cost of a locomotive built at Jamalpur is
therefore considerably less than one purchased
and imported. The Jamalpur built engines
have given most satisfactory results.

There are of course larger railway shops
existing in Europe, but few are more self-
contained or better equipped with modern
electrically-driven machinery than these
workshops. The distance from England and
the cost of fre\g\iti aiiA. ^i)cife ^e,^cyHv^%3Qt^\\L^

WORK DONE AT JAMALPUR. 245

delays in complying with indents for
materials, etc., have been successfully over-
come by the liberal and progressive policy
the Company have adopted in developing
Jamalpur. It must not be overlooked that
in addition to actual locomotive work,
the workshops undertake work for the
Engineering, Stores, Collieries and Carriage
and Wagon Departments, ^he whole of the 7^ ^
manufacture of the Denham & Olphert ^^ ^^^
cast-iron sleeper, which is the standard in
use on the line, being made here ; the total
value of the outturn for the Engineering
Department in the half-year ending June
1905 being Rs. 10,77,375. All signalling
and interlocking gear, posts, frames, etc., are
manufactured complete, and this has become
a very large item in the outturn, a more
detailed description of which will be found
below. It may truthfully be said that any
general engineering work can be carried out
in the shops, as occasion demands.

The question of the supply of native
labour is now-a-days a serious one at Jamal-
pur, as the growth of the workshops has
completely outgrown the local supply ; it has
therefore for some time past become neces-
sary to bring in labour daily, from a distance
of 19 miles on one side, 7 miles on another,
as well as from Monghyr, the Civil Station,
6 miles distant. Workmen's trains are run
out to these distances morning and eve\>i\N%
to bring in and take back t\ie ^jotVov^w-

246 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

The water-supply of these large workshops
is from time to time a source of anxiety.
The daily consumption is about 350,000
gallons, and this is drawn from reservoirs in
which rain water is stored, all available
catchment area being " tapped " for the pur-
pose ; the supply therefore is entirely depen-
dent on the rainfall. For a period of two
months or so, on two occasions during the
last few years, due to a short rainfall, the
reservoirs have become completely exhausted,
and water has had to be brought in from
the Ganges, 6 miles distant, in trains, and
the shops thus kept in full work. This is a
most expensive as well as unsatisfactory
undertaking. It would seem that the only
natural source from which a never-failing
supply could be derived is the river Ganges
at Monghyr, which is 6 miles distant.

The following is a list of the shops, with
a brief description of certain of the most
important : —

Steel Foundry. — The institution of a steel-
making plant was due to the late Loco-
motive Superintendent of the Railway,
Mr. A. W. Rendell, and was commenced in
1898. It then consisted of a 7-ton Siemens
Martin open hearth furnace. Since then, at
the suggestion of Mr. Tomyns R. Browne,
the present Locomotive Superintendent, the
furnace has been enlarged to a capacity of
10 tons, and a two-ton Tropenas, converter
plant has been added ?ot ot\^ es^^vCvw?^.

DBSCRIPTION OF WORKSHOPS. 247

Iron Foundry. — This shop is probably one
of the finest of its kind existing, covering as
it does a floor area of nearly 100,000 square
feet. The cupolas are charged from a bank,
on which material is delivered in trucks on
the same level as the charging doors. The
average output of the foundry is 100 tons a
day of finished castings. The pig iron used
is chiefly from the Bengal Iron & Steel
Company of Barakar. There are about
1,800 employes in this shop, of which a
portion are coolie women.

Laboratory. — Close to the Foundries is
situated the Laboratory, equipped with the
necessary apparatus for determining the
quality of metals and other materials, and
their suitability for the purposes for which
they are intended. The existence of the
laboratory, under the supervision of a chemist
and metallurgist, enables the manufacturing
departments to be run on scientific and-up-to
date lines.

Rolling Mill. — This shop was first started
in 1879 and consisted of a 10- inch mill.
Since then it has increased very consider-
ably and now contains, in addition, a 12-inch
and 14-inch mill, 3|^-ton steam hammer, a
fishplate machine, and billet shears. Steam
for driving the rolling mill engines is gene-
rated in boilers fixed on the top of the
furnaces, and heated by the gases from the
furnaces. The mill turns out the various
sectioDs of steel and iron tovxeA^, ^«kxnj^^>

248 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

and angles required in the works, as well as
fishplates. The outturn is about 400 tons
a month.

Erecting and Fitting Shop. — This shop
consists of three bays and a lean-to, each of a
total length of 840 ft., and covering an area
of 149,640 sq. ft. Two bays and the lean-to
are occupied as erecting shops, while the
third bay is used as a fitting shop. Each
erecting shop bay is served with two electric
overhead cranes of 30-ton capacity each, and
the fitting shop with a 10-ton crane of same
design. This shop is probably the finest
erecting shop in existence.

Point Crossing and Signal and Interlocking
Shop. — The work of constructing cross-
ings and signals was first undertaken
at Jamalpur in 1894, and at that time a
small space of the tender shop was sufficient
for its demands. Such was the rapid in-
crease of this branch of work, that it very
shortly necessitated the giving up of the
whole of the tender shop, which had to be
removed elsewhere. Lately another signal
and interlocking shop has had to be added,
and this branch is now equipped with its
own machine tools, all operated by electri-
city, a small smithy with pneumatic hammers,
etc. The output last year comprised 31
complete interlocking frames varying in size
from 4 to 85 levers.

Machine Shops. — The work is divided into
two sections, viz., general machine work, and

JAMALPUR ELBCTRIC SUPPLY. 249

locomotive machine work, each being accom-
modated in separate shops, the general
machine shop covering a space of 49,950
square feet, and the other 51,615. As far
as possible, the machines are grouped to avoid
unnecessary handling of material, and to
ensure a continuous sequence from roughing
to finishing.

The other shops are as follows : —
Brass Foundry, Forge, Smithy, Pattern,
Carpenter, Bolt and Nut, Brass Finishing,
Tin and Coppersmiths', Cold Saw, Chain-
testing, Wheel, Boiler, Millwright, Paint,
and Tender Shop. In addition to which
there is a large Detail Store.

I will conclude this chapter on Jamalpur
by a brief description of the introduction of
electricity into the workshops. The scheme
for driving the workshops by electricity
was first put forward when Mr. A. W.
Rendell was Locomotive Superintendent, and
the electric power house actually com-
menced work in 1901. It then consisted of
three Belliss-Holmes direct-coupled sets, each
of 100 Kilowatt output. The powerhouse
is situated centrally with a view to the most
economic distribution of electric power to
the various workshops. Later expansion
has comprised the addition of a 300-kw.
condensing turbo-generator of the Parson's
type running at 3,000 revolutions per minute.
The power is distributed to the shops from
various service switch paneVa, ^\i\^ ^cs^^^

250 HISTORY OF THB K. I. RAILWAY.

the circuits going to the shops. The elec-
trical energy conveyed to the shops is trans-
formed into mechanical power by means of
electric motors, which are in part arranged
for driving machine tools, placed in conve-
nient groups, and in part disposed for indivi-
dual drives. There are some 25 electrically-
operated cranes, ranging from 2 to 30 tons
in lifting capacity, and the motor equipment
of these, together with the remainder of the
shop driving, comprise an aggregate of some
1,500 H.-P.

Steam at 150lb. pressure per square inch
is furnished to the generators from a battery
of fourteen boilers of the Babcock & Wilcox
type, of which eight are hand and six are
mechanically fired. Natural draught is fur-
nished by two steel chimneys, each 120 feet
high, having a clear diameter of 5 feet 6
inches. These chimneys were built at Jamal-
pur, and erected section by section.

The boundary of the workshops is lighted
by means of arc lamps, worked firom a Thom-
son-Houston series arc light machine, which
in turn is driven by a direct-coupled electric
motor. An electricity supply to the greater
part of the Company's houses and buildings,
including the Mechanics' Institute, is
afforded from the power house. Current
for fans and lights in the buildings is sup-
plied from a ring main, fed at suitable points
by service feeders. The ring main is supplied
automatically at coi\^ta!\\» ^xe^^'oxyt^Vs^ xssaaaaa

JAMALPUR A MODBL MUNICIPALITY. ^51

of a specially-designed Booster. The distri-
buting network consists of bare copper aerial
conductors, carried on steel poles, about 25
feet above ground level. Each house is fiir-
nished virith an electricity meter. The pro-
vision of electric fans and lights adds very
considerably to the comfort and v^relfare
of the occupants of the houses during the
hot weather.

Much might be said concerning the sanita-
tion of the station, suflSce to say it is con-
sidered the model Municipality of Bengal. "

CHAPTER XXVIII.
Outbreak of Plague — Immunity of E. I. R.

FROM SERIOUS ACCIDENTS ^ThE DeLHI

Durbar — Mr. T. Robertson's enquiry
INTO Indian Railway Working — Remo-
val OF Carriage Shops to Lillooah.

In May 1898 plague first appeared in Cal-
cutta, and a great panic among the native
population of the city and suburbs followed.
This panic was not caused so much by a fear
of the disease itself as by a fear of the sani-
tary precautions which it rendered necessary.
The precautions entailed much that was
repugnant to the habits and feelings of the
people of India, and extreme terror fell upon
the lower classes of the native community,
apparently due to exaggerated and absurd
rumours about the nature and stringency of
the precautionary measures to be taken;
rumours originating partly in ignorance and
partly perhaps in malice. Shortly after the
first outbreak in the metropolis, forty thou-
sand terror-stricken persons left Calcutta,
within a few days, by the East Indian Rail-
way alone ; many fled from the city by other
routes. As a result no boatmen, carters
nor coolies were procviTaJcA^, otA ^X* qtcl^ \k\ssA

PLAGUE AND ACCIDKNT. 253

over 1,100 wagons of merchandize stood
under load at Howrah, because of the impossi-
bihty of procuring labour to discharge them.
It speaks well for the loyalty and devotion
to duty of the subordinate Railway Staff that
not a single man left his post, though many
succumbed to the disease, and there were
outside agitators trying their utmost to
provoke a strike. Various means have been
adopted by the Government of India to pre-
vent the spread of plague and to stamp it
out, but so far these have met with little
success. For some years all railway passen-
gers were subjected to medical examination
at different stations on the line, where plague
camps were established, but this system
effected no good and was most unpopular, so
was abandoned. Plague has in fact unfor-
tunately continued in India since 1898 to the
present day, and unhappily there are as yet
no indications of its disappearing.

The East Indian Railway has been remark-
ably immune from accident, but one of the
most extraordinary occurred on the 29th of
June 1902. A mixed train proceeding vid
the loop line was blown over by a tornado
in the vicinity of Rampore H^t Station and
thirteen passengers were killed and fifteen
wounded. That the number was not far
greater, seeing that practically the whole
train was wrecked and that there were some
300 passengers in it; was due to the fact
that the wind brought the engine \)0 %. ^\»xA

254 HISTORY OF THE K. I. RAILWAY.

before the vehicles were overthrown. Strange
to say a very similar accident had occurred
on the East Indian Railway some thirty
years previously and very near the same
place ; in both cases the surrounding country
was an open plain, the lines of the railway
being laid on a slight embankment, about five
feet high, with nothing whatever to break the
force of the wind. Both these accidents
were what is termed " acts of God "; serious
accidents due to negligence or carelessness
on the part of the staff have been rare and
when they have occurred, there has fortu-
nately been but little loss of life. Seeing
that until very recently all points were
worked by menials, there being practically
no interlocking, this speaks well for the
native staff.

In January 1903 a grand Durbar was held
in Delhi in honour of the Coronation of His
Majesty the King-Emperor of India. It
was in November 1901 that the intention to
hold an Imperial Durbar was first publicly
announced, the railway had therefore little
more than a year in which to prepare for the
great accession of traffic it would have to carry
in connection. The Delhi Station had to be
completely remodelled, subsidiary lines and
stations in the vicinity had to be constructed,
the coaching stock, particularly the higher
class, had to be augmented, the staff strength-
ened, their accommodation arranged for, and
many questions o^ di^Xi^S^. \\aA. V^ W worked

THE DBLHl DURBAR. 255

out and settled beforehand. The East
Indian Railway had often felt the strain of a
heavy goods traffic ; on this occasion the
experience was to be of a totally different
character, for though it is true that the rush
of goods to Delhi before the Durbar caused
a block, which there was considerable difficulty
in clearing, the real difficulty was to provide
stock in which to carry the higher class
passengers, all of whom wanted to arrive
and leave at the same time. To give some
idea of the passenger traffic, it may be men-
tioned that in an ordinary month about four
hundred first and second class passengers
are carried by the East Indian Railway
to Delhi; during the Durbar over twelve
thousand had to be conveyed there within a
few days, while the stock available was little
more than sufficient to meet ordinary
requirements. Fortunately a solution of the
problem occurred to Mr. W. A. Dring, the
General Traffic Manager. There were ready
at the time the Durbar was announced, some
bogie frames intended for the construction of
lower class stock, and it was decided to alter
certain of these for temporary use as sleeping
cars, for higher class passengers. This step
saved the situation. Had no additional
stock been arranged for, it would have been
impossible to deal with the traffic; practically
no carriages could be hired from other
railways, all were too busy themselves to
lend any to the East IndiMk, %.Tv'ii\\»^^^'^^

256 HISTORY OF THK K. I. RAILWAY.

the East Indian that the heaviest strain fell.
The Englishman newspaper gauged the
difficulty in a leader published on the 1st
December 1902, and the following extract is
taken from it : —

" The forthcoming Durbar at Delhi will be the biggest
thing of it8 kind that India has ever seen. It will be
attended by His Excellency the Viceroy, H. R. H. the Duke
of Con naught an^ seventeen Governors, Lieutenant-
Governors, Residents and Agents to the Governor-General,
Chief Commissioners and other high British officials, fifty-
four ruling Chiefs invited by His Excellency the Viceroy,
and fifty ruling chiefs invited by Local Governments and
Administrations, in addition to numerous titled native
gentlemen and crowds of European guests and visitors from
all parts of India. Most of the notabilities require special
trains, many of them also require special trains for their
guests and followers, and nearly everyone else wants special
accommodation of some kind or another. Besides this the
traffic in tents, camp equipage, horses and carriage will be
immense, while the large army collected in Delhi and the
vicinity means the transport by railway of vast supplies of
all sorts. The magnitude of the traffic can hardly be
appreciated, and seeing that a large proportion has to be
carried over a lead of many hundred miles, it is not surprising
that the Indian railways are confronted with difficulties
and find it impossible to avoid congestion."

In his Report on the Durbar traffic the
Officiating General Traffic Manager re-
marked : —

" It is hardly necessary to say that the Durbar traffic was
unique and without precedent in Indian Railway working,
for the Durbar of 1877 bears no comparison with it. It
was recognised from the first that we had before us a task
bristling with difficulties, and that the special class of
traffic we would have to deal with would strain our
resources to the utmost."

That all obstacles were overcome in the
end without any s>er\o\x^ \Y\\,ci\i ^\A Nq\!OcL<^\i;fc ^

EFFECT OF THE DUBBAB. 257

single accident of any kind was more attri-
buteble to the personal exertions of the staff
than to any facilities that were, or could
possibly be afforded for the purpose.
Crowding and some delay were inevitable,
and the difficulty of preventing these was
enhanced by the awkward and confined
situation of the Delhi main station, into
which most of the traffic had perforce to be
brought.

One great result of the Durbar was that
the remodelling of Delhi Station, which had
long been contemplated, was materially has-
tened, while many lessons were learnt which
should prove useful on a future occasion of
a similar kind ; but it is evident that Indian
Railways, having ordinarily but a compara-
tively very small upper class traffic to convey,
will never be in a position to meet a great
demand of this nature without difficulty.
Commenting on the Durbar traffic General
Sir Richard Strachey said to the share-
holders : —

" The general effect of the great assemblage at Delhi on
the traffic has been of doubtful advantage, the benefit
derived from the increased receipts of the higher classes of
passengers having been to no small extent counteracted by
necessary increased expenditure in various directions.
It may be frankly admitted that Indian railways are not
adapted to cope with sudden and large demands for in-
creased accommodation for the higher classes of passengers,
and that it is on the third class, which provides nineteen-
twentieths of the numbers carried and four-fifths of the
receipts that the prosperity of this branch of the traffic
depends. I may add that it is for its develoi^m^\i^ vcA
convenience that our attention Bhou\& be tii^^d^^ ^ax^^Xft^^^

BIB W

2S58 HISTORY OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

Towards the close of 1901, Mr. Thomas
Robertson, C.V.O., was deputed by the
Secretary of State for India —

(1) To enquire into and report upon the administration
and working of Indian rail way a, whether controlled by
the State or by Companies, with special reference to the
system under which they should be managed in India in
the future ;

(2) To report upon the feasibility of a systematic plan
of railway development in India, to be worked up to by
the Qovemment over a series of years ;

(3) To advise as to the management and development
of the traffic, the convenience of the public and the im-
provement of the revenue, and

(4) Generally to make such suggestions as he might think
useful for any or all of these purposes* including the exten-
sion of branches and light railways as feeders of the main
line.

Mr. Robertson's report was issued in 1903,
after he had travellea extensively over the
Indian railways and investigated their general
working and administration, and after he had
visited America to study the methods of
railway management there.

Mr. Robertson's general conclusion was
that the "working of the Indian railways
cannot be regarded as at all satisfactory,"
and that root and branch reform was needed ;
" if," he said, " the railways of India are to
render that full and efficient service to the
country of which they are capable, they must
be permitted to be worked more as conmaer-
cial enterprises than they have been in the
past."

Mr. Robertson's report dealt in some detail
with various questions of administration and
working, criticised moxe ^^x\k^\iXaxl^ the

KBPORT OF MR. T. ROBERTSON, C.V.O. 259

Government system of control and recom-
mended its replacement by a Board composed
of specially qualified railway men, who should
be allowed to manage railway affairs entirely
on commercial lines. Mr. Robertson also
made certain suggestions as to the organisa-
tion of departments, salaries of officials and
Home Board control. He compared State
with Company management and advocated '
the transference of all lines to Companies.
He dealt with the question of finance and
commented upon railway working generally,
making several proposals and suggestions,
which will no doubt be given the considera-
tion they deserve by the Board of Control
since appointed by the Government of India.
General Sir Richard Strachey made some in-
teresting remarks on Mr. Robertson's report,
which are here reproduced. Speaking at the
general meeting held in June 1903, he said: —

"It will be of interest to you to know that the Govern-
ment of India has published the report on the working of
Indian railways, specially drawn up by Mr. Robertson,
under the instructions of the Secretary of State, and has
distributed copies to the various Eailway Companies,
apparently with the view of inviting opinion on the
recommendations made in the report. I consequently feel
in a measure bound to refer to it. While recognising that
there is much in the report with which everyone conversant
with the subject is likely to agree, and disclaiming any
disposition to dogmatise on questions of administration,
which no doubt involve many very complicated considera-
tions, I may briefly state my personal conclusion that in
this case, as in many others, it has been easier to point to
defects than to suggest adequate remedies. That in some
directions the system of Government «i^T£i\\i\%\.\^Xlv^\i TSiss:^
be Improved I regard as indispvitabVe. 1 iwW-^' ^QtL<sv« ^'vO«v

260 HIBTORT OF THB E. I. BAILWAT.

the report in describing the existing system of administra-
tion as ' cumbrous machinery, which is apt to impair the
sense of re8ix>n8ibility, crush iDitiative, check progress
and delay business to an extent which would be fatal to any
other commercial enterprise.' Nor have I any difficulty in
iiocepting the view that this is largely due to the fact that
' the administrative head of the department, namely, the
member in charge of the Public Works Portfolio, has never
had any previous training in railway working and manage-
ment.' It might have been added that so far from tne
selection of this member of the (Government being at
present made on a consideration of any special aptitude for
the discharge of his responsible duties, it is unaerstood to

. be determined by some supposed established claim of the
senior members of the Civil Service of the three old
Presidencies of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay to obtain seats
in the Oovernor-GeneraPs Ck>uncil by a system of rotation.'
In one of Lord Bosebery's recent speeches he remarked,
when referring to the government of this country by
Cabinets, * that it works well on the whole is a tribute,
less to the institution itself than to the capacity of our
race to make any conceivable institution succeed.' With
some hesitation as to the character of the results of the
Government control of Indian railways, I think his remarks
will well apply to it also.

At the same time, it appears impossible to deny that,
notwithstanding what I am prepared to call very glaring
defects, the general result of the treatment of railways in
India considering the many serious difficulties that have
been encountered, financial and administrative, has been
remarkable, and the development of the present system of
railways, extending to 26,000 miles, is highly creditable to
those through whose exertions such a large measure of
success has been obtained. I am therefore unable to accept,
as justified by the actual results, the sweeping assertion of
the report, that Hhe present administration and working
of the Indian railways cannot be regarded as at all satis-
factory,' nor that *root and branch reform alone will be
productive of lasting good.' I see no reason for thinking
that thoroughly qualified persons with adequate Indian
experience may not be found to be entrusted with the
management of the Public Works Department in India,
in all its branches, as has been the case in all other branches
of the administration, and in those cases has had the result
of making Indian administration the admiration of all
who have a real knowVedge oi -wha^t it ia^ and the difficulties

it has to overcome.

chairman's views on MR. ROBERTSON'S REPORT. 261

The discussionB that have taken place during the past
year in this country aa to the general character of English
railway management, have not had the effect of showing
satisfactorily any verv remarkable superiority that it may
possess over that of other countries, and this 1 am didposed
to extend to India. I am unable to admit, for instance, that
the management of a railway like the East Indian, which,
mile for mile, carries without difficulty about eight times
the number of passengers carried by the Illinois Central of
the United States of America, and almost the same quan*
tity of goods, and at rates not higher, with a net yearly
profit to the Government, which owns the line, of some-
thing like a million sterling, after paying all charges for
interest, and supplying a contribution of upwards of
£400,000 towards the redemption of the original capital
outlay, can be properly spoken of as calling for root and
branch reform. I am, therefore, unable to see that the
substitution of a body of English railway experts, with no
knowledge of Indian conditions, is at all likely to supply
what is wanted to produce satisfactory management of
Indian railways, or tnat this is not to be obtained from
persons trained in India itself.

I venture to say that the fundamental defects of the
methods of control adopted by the Government of India
arise from the inherent character of its bureaucratic organi-
sation, which leads to a centralised system of intervention,
extending to the smallest details of management, carried
out through officials who are in many cases less competent
to deal with the business in hand than those whose actions
£iiey control. It is, however, hardly possible to avoid the
conclusion that the conditions of the contracts that exist
between the Secretary of State and the Companies entrusted
with the working of railways in India, render some such
general system as that now in existence for the purpose of
authorising expenditure essential, and so far as I am able
to form an opinion, the objectionable friction that has often
arisen in the case of this Company, to which alone my know-
ledge in this matter extends, has been caused by the mis-
chievous tendency of the superior officers of the Government,
to interfere with the discretion of the officers of the Com-
pany, rather than from the initiative of the consulting
engineers, who communicate directly with the Company's
officers, and are naturally animated by the spirit of their
superiors

On this subject I will further only add that I can call to
mind no case in which, in my judgment^ b»a ^Via <^<^N«cck.-
ment control, in recent timea at a\\ ^vwi\.%^ ^iwAxi^^^^^a

262 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

* prevent extravagance in construction, and subsequent
waste in maintenance and working.' On the contrary, in
many cases it has certainly led to results the reverse of this,
by causing the postponement of works the construction of
which might, with great advantage, have been taken up
earlier, and by being distributed over a longer period have
reduced the eventual pressure, financial and executive,
which the growing urgent need of improvements has even-
tually rendered inevitable. Of the parts of the report that
deal with questions of technical railway working, I do not
think that I can usefully say more than that it is impossible
to treat Indian railways as though they were all alike in
their condition, and that to attempt to discuss details of
this description on an occasion such as the present is out of
the question, even if I were competent to offer opinions as
to lines with the condition of which I have no specific
knowledge. "

Since these remarks were made, the Rail-
waj^ Board has been formed and now rules
the destinies of the Kailways in India.

Ill 1900 the work of removing the carriage
and w^agon building shops of the undertaking
from Howrah to Lillooah was commenced.
The move became necessary because of the
cramped accommodation at Howrah, and
because of the entry of the Bengal-Nagpur
Railwaj^ into that terminus ; but while the
move was being effected the work of the
Dejmrtment naturally fell into arrears and
when this happens it takes time to make up
for lost way. Since then the construction
of a new station for the joint use of the
East Indian and Bengal-Nagpur Railways
hjis been started and the portion so far sanc-
tioned by the Government is now well on
its way towards completion.

CHAPTER XXIX.

The East Indian Railway under
Two Chairmen.

It has been said that the East Indian
Railway has only had two Chairmen. As
a matter of fact this is literally true, for the
railway came into existence some years
later than the Company, and though the
Company has had four, the railway has only
had two — Mr. Robert Wi^ram Crawford
was appointed in 1854, immediately after the
first section of the line had been opened for
traffic, and when he died, in 1889, General
Sir Richard Strachey succeeded him.

Mr. Crawford became Chairman of the
Company at a time when, started as an
experimental line, experience of the needs
of the country and of trade requirements had
to be gained by degrees ; there was nothing
to show what the possibilities were. Untu
trains actually began to run there were
doubts whether the natives of India would
travel by rail ; until the railway was car-
ried into the Raneegunge coal-field, Indian
coal was practically unknown. It is true
that before the days of railways, a certain
quantity was brought down the Damoodar
River from Raneegunge to Calcut

264 HISTORY OF THB B. L RAILWAY.

that, even up to the year 1859, the Bengal
Coal Company were still boating coal, because
the railway charges were too costly and
the wagon stock insufficient ; but this could
only have been possible for a few months in
the year, and profitable only when English
coal was very scarce. Yet the fact remains
that for several years after the opening of the
railroad, the Bengal Coal Company found
it necessary to employ a fleet of some 1,500
boats to bring their coal to market. Surely
there could be no better proof than this of the
unpreparedness of the railway to carry the
traffic offering when it first opened, although
it is recorded that in 1855 the railway " had
contracted to convey 100,000 tons of coal
from Raneegunge to Calcutta."

The export of grain and seeds from India to
Europe was, at the time the railway opened,
nominal, and whatever was exported came to
the port by river. A trade in some items,
which are now included among the principal
staples carried, such as potatoes or Kerosme
oil, did not exist ; cotton was the traffic which
was expected to rank first in importance. " I
go," said Lord Dalhousie on his appointment
as Viceroy of India in 1847, "not to make
wars but to send cotton home." India was
behind all countries in which railroads had
been constructed ; Jamaica was the only
place distant from Europe that could be
pointed to as a precedent for the existence
of a railway ; it ^aa a\» aw^ Ta\i^ >2ol^ ^\Jc^

NBED FOB RAILROAD 8T8TBM. 265

place in which a railway existed, that was at
all ou a parallel with India. Had the East
Indian Bailway been completed to Delhi
within ten years of the formation of the
Company in 1845, as indeed it might well
have been, if it had not been for the time lost
in controversy and especially in coming to
a final decision as to the route to be followed,
the Indian Mutmy would have assumed a
very diflferent aspect. As it was it took so
long to settle details that only the short
length to Raneegunge had been constructed
when the Mutiny broke out ; yet even this
short length proved of the greatest advan-
tage to GU)vemment in helping forward
troops and stores to the front.

Fortunately there were some far-seeing
people who realized and insisted that there
was in the construction of railways in India,
even more than their strategic importance,
even more than the primary idea of connec-
ting the seat of the Supreme Government
with the North- West Provinces. There
were those, in short, who had the foresight
and wisdom to see, that the development of
the immense resources of the country could
only be successfully efltected by the introduc-
tion of a railroad system, and to believe with
Lord Macaulay that, " excepting only the in-
ventions of the alphabet and the printing
press, none had done so much for the moral
and intellectual progress of man as thoa^
which abridge aistaBce aiA \tk^\^n^ *^^

266 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

means of communication." There was at
least some truth in what a shareholder in the
East Indian Railway remarked at the first
meeting of the Board : " Railways would do
more towards the civilization of India in
seven years than all the missionaries ^ had
done in 200 years." But on the other hand
there were many who held contrary views,
and in the end the East Indian Railway was
only sanctioned in part as an " experimental "
line.

Among the pioneers of the East Indian
Railway, the names of Mr. Crawford and
Mr. Macdonald Stephenson will always be
remembered. Both of them were associated
with the undertaking from its inception ;
they were among the most prominent of
those by whose exertions railways were
first introduced into India. It was to Mr.
Stephenson that the first steps in the cons-
truction and management of the East Indian
Railway were entrusted, and his connection
continued until 1892, when, owing to ad-
vanced age, he retired. Sir Macdonald
Stephenson died shortly after his services
with the Company were severed, and General
Sir Richard Strachey, in referring to his
death, remarked : " It does not fall to the
lot of many to find their anticipations of
success so fully realized as that achieved by
the great undertaking, to the initiation of
which Sir Macdonald Stephenson's per-
severance and energy ^o\ot^<^^ ciQ\\\,T^\i^'^^\

MR. CRAWFORD AS CHAIRMAN. 267

and .the share he had in that result should
always be remembered by those, who, like
ourselves, are carrying on the work in which
he so long participated."

To Mr. Crawford, however, must be given
the credit for conducting the aflfairs of the
Railway, not only up to the time of its
purchase by Government, but for some nine
years afterwards. Mr. Crawford had many
difficulties to contend with, many obstacles
to overcome, but he met them always with
a sanguine mind and a perfect faith in ul-
timate success. If anything can be urged
against Mr. Crawford, it was perhaps that
he failed to realize, to its fullest extent, the
part the railway should take in developing
traffic. Rather than boldly reduce the coal
tariflf, Mr Crawford seemed to think that
the East Indian Railway collieries could
supply the railroads of India with fuel and
that other collieries would develop of their
own accord ; while a reduction in third class
fares was only introduced after the Govern-
ment insisted on the measure. Still it must
not be forgotten that, in those days, the first
question of a railway man, in regrard to any
item of traffic was " what freight will it bear"
instead of ''at what cost can we carry it,"
and it is only natural that Mr. Crawford
should have approached such problems with
caution, though none knew better than he,
the capabilities of the East Indian Railway
to make a profit out oi y^t^ \o^ ^x^v^ci^^

268 mSTORT OF THB B. I. RAILWAT.

Then again, Mr. Crawford saw the traffic
growing far more rapidly than the facilities
of the railway, and there is Uttle doubt that
he was greatly handicapped by want of funds
for improvements ; the difficulties he had to
contend with were in fact enormous. Almost
at the outset ot his career as Chairman, the
outbreak of the mutiny in India may well
have caused a panic among the shareholders
in London, yet Mr. Crawford allayed their
fears, by making a simple statement of the

Ksition, at a time when his heart must have
en filled with knowledge that might have
made the boldest quail. " The chief loss,"
he said, " will be that arising from the tem-
porary stoppage of the principal portion of
the works, and the consequent delay in their
completion." These words were spoken
within four months of the massacre at
Cawnpore, where the blood of nearly all the
East Indian Railway Engineers, engaged on
the construction of the part of the line
adjacent to that city, had been* shed,* at a
time of upheaval of the whole of India,
and at a time when the Company's afiairs in
this country must have been in a state of
chaos.

Mr. Crawford was Chairman of the Board
of Directors from 1854 to 1889, and during
these 35 years the gross receipts of the
undertaking rose from a nominal sum to over

IN0BBA8E TO MILBAQB OPEN. 269

four and a half crores of rupees in a year.
During the next fourteen years, General Sir
Richard Strachey saw a far more rapid
development ; the earnings rose to over four
crores of rupees in half a year, and to nearly
eight crores in a year.

When General Strachey succeeded Mr.
Crawford as Chairman, the East Indian Kail-
way controlled 1,626 miles. During the
preceding ten years there had practically
been no Edition to the length of line worked ;
want of funds had prevented extensions, if
indeed their importance had been thoroughly
recognised. The imdertaking had, as a
matter of fact, remained in a state of torpor ;
from the time the Chord line was completed,
it had not made any real progress. It is
true that its traffic had continued to grow,
but the growth, viewed in the light of what
followed, had been very gradual, and in
regard to improvements only the most urgent
and pressing needs had been provided for.

During the next fifteen years, the mileage
worked increased to 2,24 Ij miles, while at
their close the Grand Chord line, the
Shikohabad-Farrukabad extension (since
completed), the Ondal-Sainthea Chord, the
Khurja-Hapur branch and Bhagulpur-Bausi
Railway, each in itself a considerable under-
taking, were all under construction. Mr.
Crawford's period of Chairmanship marked
the completion of an idea. General Sir
Richard Strachey's teuxMce Tc^it^^ «s>l

270 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

extension of that idea, an extension, such as
had not entered into the conception of the
originators of the railway.

In the year 1889 when General Strachey
became Chairman of the East Indian Rail-
way, the Government share of the surplus
profits wasRs. 33,25,385, and the Company's
share Rs. 9,44,812. In 1904, the Govern-
ment share amounted to Rs. 1,88,99,860, and
the Company's 'share to Rs. 21,05,027.
The terms of the contract under which the
Company works the railway for the Gov-
ernment have, during the Chairmanship of
General Sir Richard Strachey, been made
far more favourable to Government, still the
dividend to the shareholders, or, as they now
are, the Deferred Annuitants, is greater
than it was in 1889, although, be it remem-
bered, the rate of exchange is lower. In
1889, when General Strachey became Chair-
man, with exchange at more than l-dd. per
rupee, the dividend paid was £5-0-6, per
cent, in 1904 with exchange at l-4d. the
dividend was £6-2-0. per cent. It is
doubtful whether in the world's history an
undertaking of such magnitude as the East
Indian Railway has proved so great a success,
both financially and otherwise. The capital
outlay on the East Indian Railway Company
which was in 1850 three millions sterling, rose
by the end of 1904 to more than thirty-
three and a half millions sterling, and so large
are the additioiva iio\? \>^\w^ \s\^$iL^. \a ^3^^.

DIFFICLLTY IN OBTAINING FUNDS. 271

locomotive and rolling stock, and so great is
the cost of the additions and improvements to
way and works, to stations and buildings, to
the Company's collieries, workshops and so
forth, which are constantly being carried out,
that the half-yearly outlay on capital account
has for some years been about five hundred
thousand pounds. The staff has been greatly
augmented, and the Traffic Department in
particular has recently been reorganized. In
a word, no effort has been spared in making
the East Indian foremost of all railways in
India, while it retains the unique position of
being the cheapest worked line of its size in
the world.

The difficulty of obtaining funds for the
construction of extensions, for additions to
rolling stock, and for the improvement of
facilities generally, has been one of the
greatest with which General Sir Richard
Strachey has had to contend during his
Chairmanship. As he remarked in 1890 :
"The fact that the sum allowed for the coming
year for capital outlay is restricted to three
lakhs, and granted with the admonition that
if possible less is to be spent, is an illustra-
tion of this position. I must be allowed to
say that such a grant for a railway extending
over 1,500 miles and representing a capit^
of about 50 crores of rupees, is hardly more
than illusory. "

It was not until 1897 that the funds avail-
able for capital expenditure ^exe «oSvssv^\j^

272 HI8T0BT OF THB B. I. RAILWAY.

to render anything like active progresb
possible. The Moghalsarai-Gya line, with
the branch to Daltongunge was then under-
taken, as a first instalment of the Grand
Chord. In the succeeding five years there
was an average yearly capital outlay of 157
lakhs of rupees, all of which was devoted to
construction, to additional engines and rolling
stock, and to improvements on the line,
including station buildings, staff quarters,
workshops and other permanent works. But
as before indicated, from 1880 to 1890 the
capital outlay had been nominal, the East
Indian Railway had been allowed to remain
in a condition of torpor. All this had to be
remedied and it was General Sir Richard
Strachey who had to find the remedy.

When General Strachey became Chair-
man, the experimental stage had passed
away, the success of the railway had become
assured. It remained to him to develop
what had been created, to make the progress
of the future worthy of the success of the
past. There are few who will dispute that
his policy in reducing rates, particularly the
coal rates, his great foresight, and unique
knowledge of detail, added to his vast ex-
perience and intimate connection with India,
have in no small measure contributed to the
immense development of traffic which has
taken place in the last few years.

It was of him that his brother wrote :
^' There are, in. iw^ \>^\<$S., l^^ \s\s^ living

GBNL. SIR R. STRACHBY. 273

who have done so much, often in ways un-
known to the outside world, for the improve-
ment of Indian administration. It is to
him that India owes the initiation of that
great pohey of the systematic extension of
railways and canals which has been crowned
with such extraordinary success, which has
increased to an incalculable extent the wealth
of the country, and has profoundly altered
its condition. To him is due the conception
of those measures of financial and adminis-
trative decentralisation which have had
the most far-reaching consequences, and
which were pronounced by Sir Henry Maine
to be by far the greatest and most successful
reforms carried out in India in his time. To
his active support is largely due the initia-
tion of the measures, which have proved
of the highest value, for preventing the
destruction of the Indian forests, and for
their scientific protection and management.
He it was who first organised the great
Department of Public Works, and laid the
foundations of the scientific study of Indian
meteorology. He was the first, many years
ago, to advise that reform of the currency
which has now been carried out and the delay
of which has involved India in incalculable
loss."*

It may not be out of place here to relate
a short story about General Sir Kichard

* " India, its Administration and 'Pxo^Te«&^^'' \r5 '^x^ ^^Jwa.
Strachey.

H, SIR V^

274 HISTORY OF THE B. I. RAILWAY.

Strachey. When he took to Lord Lawrence
for signature, the great despatch on the
policy of the Government borrowing largely
for reproductive public works, of which of
course he had written every word himself.
Lord Lawrence put his " L " to the foot of
it, and as he laid down his pen looked at
General Strachey with a grin and said
" They will think me very clever. " So,
indeed, would many be thought who could
sign, as their own, despatches written by the
hand of the Chairman of the East Indian
Railway.

These remarks would be very incomplete
without a word of reference to one, who has
been intimately associated with the under-
taking for the past fifty years, and still
retains his close connection with all its
affairs ; one who may indeed be regarded as
the doyen of the Railway Company and the
right-hand man of both its Chairmen ; I refer
to Sir Alexander Rendel, the Company's
Consulting Engineer.

Part only of Sir Alexander Rendel's
work is referred to in this volume, it would
form a history in itself to detail it in full,
but if asked to point to the most important
measure introduced by him (in conjunction
with General Strachey, years before he be-
came Chairman of the East Indian Railway),
I would mention railway statistics. Un-
doubtedly these were initiated by him and
afterwards became a tclo^^) n^wsJ^^ ^obAfc

THE STAFF IN INDIA. 275

to the proper conduct of railways and the
chief basis for economies in working.

Just one word more. It is the administra-
tive and executive staff in India who have
to bear the heat and burden of the day, and
the Board of Directors have never had cause
to regret the confidence they have invariably
placed in the loyal support and co-operation
of the workers in India. From the humble
porter to the Agent of the Company, every
servant of the railway has a task to fulfil ;
each day brings its round of toil, a difficulty
to be overcome, possibly a danger to be facecL
The part taken by its employes in this coun-
try, in furthering the success of the great
undertaking cannot be minimised, and Doth
Chairmen have been among the first to
recognise this. Long may it be so, for such
recognition is as well deserved now as it was
in the early days, when the Government of
India lost no opportunity of eulogising the
work done by the servants of the Company,
though similar work done now is often re-
garded as a matter of course.

APPENDIX A.

List of Agents or Chairmen of Board of Agency.

Names,

Mr. B. Macdonald Stephenson
„ Edward Palmer
„ Cecil Stephenson ...

Sir Bradford Leslie, e.ci.b.

Mr. D. W. Campbell, o.i.B.

Col. R. Gardiner, r.b. . . .

Mr. James Douglas

Term of Service,

1853—1857

. 1857—1873

. 1873—1875

1876—1887

, 1887—1891

1891—1899

1899— ...

Secretaries to Agent.

Names,
Mr. Cecil Stephenson . . .
„ T. Lovelock
„ W.H.Russell
„ P. Wagstaflf
„ H.Wood

Chief Engineers.

Names,
Mr. G. TurnbuU
„ S. Power
„*G. Sibley
„ Sir B. Leslie, K.C.I.B....
„ C. H. Denham
„ F. E. Robertson, c.i.e.
„ E. H. Stone
„ C. F. Findlay
„ R. S. Highet

Term of Semioe*

1858—1865
1866—1872
1872—1878
1878—1900
1900— ...

Term of Sertrioe,
1850—1863
1863-1868
1862—1876
1876—1882
1882—1889
1889—1897
1897—1903
1903—1903
1903— ...

• From 1862 to 1868 he was Ohiei l^iiftm«QT^ \Jvvw ^^^-hvbrr^^
with head-qu&rtera at Allahabad.

278 appendix.

Chibf Auditors.

Names. Term of Service.

Mr. Rob Roberts ... ... 1863—1877

„ R. C.S.Mackenzie... ... 1877—1892

„ J.Douglas ... ... 1893—1899

„ T. Bashford ... ... 1899— ...

Genbral Traffic Managers.

Names, Term of Service,

Mr. F. Cox ... ... 1858-1859

„ J. C. Batchelor* ... ... 1860—1879

„ N. St. L. Carter ... ... 1879—1891

„ J. M. Rutherford ... ... 1891—1897

„ W. A. Dring ... ... 1897—...

* Mr. Batchelor took charge of the entire line from Ist Janu-
ary 1886. Before this Mr. B. P. W. Smvth was Traffic Manager,
Allahabad, and Mr. Batchelor was Traffic Manager, Howrah.

Locomotive Supbrintbndents.

Names. Term of Service.

Mr. J. Hodgson ... ... 1855—1857

„ Lingard Stokes ... ... 1857—1863

„ D.W.Campbell ... ... 1863—1887

„ J. Strachan ... ... 1887—1890

„ A. W. Rendell ... ... 1890—1901

„ T.R.Browne ... ... 1901—...

Mr. P. D. NichoU was Locomotive Superintendent, Upper
Provinces, with head-quarters at AUahabad, before Mr. D. W.
Campbell.

Carriage and Wagon Superintendents.

Names. Term of Service.

Mr. R. W. Pearce ... ... 1862—1889

„ Richard Pearce ... ... 1889—1898

„ T.R.Brown ... ... 1899—1901

„ H. K. Bamber,M,v.o. .,- V^ViV— ...

APPBNDIX. 279

CoLLiBRY Superintendents.

Names, . Term of Service.

Mr. J. F. Cockburn (Resdt. Engr.) ... 1859—1871

„ T. E. Dunn ... .... 1871—1876

„ I. J. Whitty ... ... 1876—1879

„ R. H. Abbatt ... ... 1879—1880

„ W. G.Olpherts ... ... 1880—1881

„ Dr. W. Saise ... ... 1881—1905

„ T. H. Ward ... ... 1905— ...

In 1863 the mining operations in the Giridih colliery havine
been suspended, all establishment was reduced to tiiat required
to guara the property, till a suitable branch railway was
established.

Chief Medical Officers.

Names. Term oj Service.

Mr. R. G. Griffith ... ... 1893—1902

„ J. S. Brooke ... ... 1902— ...

Heads of Store Department.

Names. Term of Service.
Mr. T. P. Campbell (General Store-
keeper) ... ... 1858—1860

„ D.Murray (Do.) 1860—1862
A. C. Bell (Principal Store-keeper) 1863—1864
„ G. H. W. Conroy (Chief Store-
keeper) ... ... 1864—1883

* J. Gates (Controller of Stores) . . . 1883—1898

]' W. Humphries Do. .,. 1898—1902

,. T.A.White Do 1903— ...

* From 18B6 the designation was changed to Controller of
Stores.

APPENDIX B.

The following is a copy of the Inscription on the
Memorial Tablet in Cawnpore Church : —

TO THE MEMORY OF THE ENGINEERS

IN THE SERVICE OF THE EAST

INDIAN RAILWAY COMPANY,

WHO DIED, AND WERE KILLED, IN THE GREAT
INSURRECTION OP 1867.

John Hodgson, Locomotive Superintendent, died
AT Allahabad, June 21st.

R. N. Mantell, District Engineer, died at
Allahabad, June 30th.

A. M. M. Miller, Resident Engineer, killed
at Cawnpore, June 27th.

A. C. Heberdbn, Resident Engineer, killed at
Cawnpore, June 27th.

W. DiGGES LaTouche, Assistant Engineer, killed
AT Cawnpore, June 27th.

Robert Hanna, Assistant Engineer, killed at
Cawnpore, June 27th.

J. C. Bayne, Assistant Engineer, killed at
Cawnpore, June 27th.

Thomas Byrne, Assistant Engineer, died at
Calcutta, iv^\n.

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