When the Bombay-Ahmedabad Line First opened

 28th November, 1864. This was the day, when the First train ran between Grant Rd and Ahmedabad along the erstwhile Bombay Baroda, and Central India Railway (BB&CIR)'s Bombay-Ahmedabad Line. BB&CIR was the precursor to today's Western Railway. The beginning of this line was an important milestone, since now Cotton from Gujarat could finally reach the port of Bombay swiftly by rail, what the early lines were strongly envisaged for.

The First Official Commercial Passenger Train in Asia was run by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR) between Bombay's Bori Bundur Station, to Tannah (Thane) on 16th April, 1853. The Celebrations were grand. There was a sort of celebration at Bori Bunder, the station was decorated and several invitees were invited. A public Holiday was declared in Bombay that Saturday, which is a testimony to the enthusiasm about the event. The train set out with all the dignitaries and passengers, and on the route, people crowded along the line, some even climbing trees, walls, and others watching from Bungalows and temples. At Tannah, the line was crowded for more than a mile (1.6 km) and the crowd had to kept in control by the Ghat police. The Journey was completed in about 55 minutes. Near the Tannah station, a large tent was erected, under which a tiffin was held. The invitees enjoyed their food, and speeches were also given, by important officials related to the rail line. 

The GIPR was incorporated by the British Law back in 1849, and began operating its line 4 years later. The BB&CIR on the other hand, was itself incorporated in 1855, and an agreement was made with the East India Company (EIC) to just construct a line from Surat to Baroda and Ahmedabad. The contract from Utran to Bombay was only signed four years later, in 1859. And work on this began only in 1860. So, its quite clear that BB&CI got quite a late start. Yet, it was on its way to transform Bombay in its own way, later even becoming more technologically advanced than its rival, the GIPR.

The first train on the BB&CI line ran on the Amroli-Ankleshwar section on 10th February, 1860. The line was then pushed to Ahmedabad. 

The Extension to Bombay wasn't easy. The GIPR had its beginnings in Bombay itself, from where it then expanded gradually. BB&CI on the other hand had begun in Gujarat, quite far from Bombay. The route passed over rivers, notably the Tapti, and the two Bassein Creeks. These were to be bridged. Further problems arose about the route from Grant Rd to Colaba. An Extension to Colaba was already decided upon  and sanctioned in 1861.The question was about what route to take. One proposal by the Railway Chairman suggested a line that moved through crowded regions, necessitating expensive land purchases. The Municipality Chairman and the Commissioner of Police highlighted this plans's impracticality. This whole matter had debates of its own, which occurred as late as 1863. The debates culminated with the final decision to instead reclaiming a portion of the Backbay, a large seaface extending from the Malabar Hill to Colaba. This proposal was eventually accepted, which later paved way for an extension to Colaba, a cotton hub.

But these were still future issues, and a terminus at Grant Rd, although couldn't cater to the population residing in the south that well, it could still fare well enough for the time being. It would now temporarily serve as a terminus. The station had platforms as wide as that of GIPR's Bori Bunder Terminus, and its accommodations were more extensive as well. The end of 1864 was nearing, and the line was finally ready to host its first passenger train.

It was morning on Monday, 28th November,1864 that the first train ran on this section. The Celebrations were not as grand as that at Bori Bunder 11 years ago, but nevertheless, the line itself was an accomplishment to reckon with. A bottle of Wine was smashed on the engine by the Traffic Manager, and as The Times of India reported in its issue of the following day,

                'a feeble cheer was raised at the moment, but it was quickly drowned by the whistle and the pant of the iron horse,as he snorted for his race.' 

~The Times of India, 29th November 1864

The inaugural train was composed of a total of 30 carriages, consisting of First, Second, and Third classes, with most being of the Second and Third Class. Interestingly, even then the First class was scarcely filled, in contrast to the well filled Second and Third classes. The departure station was well filled with natives of every rank, and some Europeans. The report in The Times of India then marveled at the accommodations at the Grant Rd station, followed by the novel coach design in some Third Class coaches of the BB&CI Railway.

This is an interesting topic of its own. Just imagine, that the coaches that were supposed to provide the bare minimum level of comfort to the lowest paying passengers, was quite surprisingly, a double Decker accommodation! Yes, Double Decker coaches back in in 1863. These were built at Amroli in present day Gujarat, and had a capacity of 120 passengers; 70 in the lower section, and 50 in the upper. There was a double row of seats on the upper section, with some space left behind. It was in this space, that the passengers could lie down for some rest. These were supposed to add a bit to the the comfort of the passengers whose comfort had been neglected till then. Check out this link for a diagram of the aforementioned coaches- https://www.alamy.com/indian-3rd-class-coach-image65393572.html

The new coaches!
(A sketch by me!)

How was the Journey to be for a traveler aboard that train? Quite a long one actually. The BB&CI advertised its rail timetable in some local newspapers like The Bombay Gazette, and The Times of India. I'll provide a link to one in the end of this post as always. 

The total journey from Bombay to Ahmedabad would span 306 miles (492.45 km), much greater than GIPR's original 21 mi (34 km) line. On the Down line, the Train would depart from Grant Rd at 7:00 a.m on the first day, reaching Bassein Rd (Vasai Rd) by 8:52. Surat would be reached by 5:10 p.m. on the same day. Here, you would stop till the next morning accommodated in a refreshment room or a travel Bungalow, if you were willing to go further. The Journey would then continue the next day with departure from Surat at 7:10 a.m. Unclesur (most likely Ankleshwar) would be reached by 8:47 p.m. and here you would de-board. Now you would take a ferry to cross the Nerbudda (Narmada) river, reaching on the other side at Broach (Bharuch). The Train there would depart at 10:42 a.m, chugging its way to reach Baroda (Vadodhara) at 1:24 p.m, and finally Ahmedabad at 5:00 p.m. on the Second Day of Travel.

On the Up Line, The train would depart Ahmedabad at 7:00 a.m, reaching Baroda by 10:46 a.m., and Broach by 1:28 p.m.. The next train would depart at 3:18 p.m. from Unclesur, reaching Surat by 5:00 p.m. One more half day would be spent at Surat, the train departing on the Second Day at 7:20 a.m. Bassein Rd would be reached at 3:43 p.m, and finally Grant Rd at 5:30 p.m. that day.

Since there was this gap in the Journey at Surat, where you'd have to spend 14 hrs alone, there was a rule that Ordinary tickets issued on either side of the station were valid till the evening of the day following that when the ticket was issued. That is, since Surat was sort of this point of discontinuity, the ticket you would buy on the first day, would be valid only till the evening of the second day.

One more catch was at Unclesur, where you had the Narmada River being an obstacle. A ferry was provided by the railway, which you had to take to cover the remaining part of your journey. The charges for the ferry were higher for the First class, than the Third. The Fares were as follows- 

There were further options for First and Second Class passengers for travel from each side of the ferry (perhaps to the stations). Special tickets for this purpose were to be bought at the stations only, since no cash payments would be accepted on either side of the river. Palkhees or Shigrams were available at a rate of Rs.2 /passenger. Horses could be conveyed across the river at Rs.2 per horse. Carriages too were available at additional charges of, Four Wheeled ones at Rs.3/carriage, Two Wheeled vehicles at  Rs.2/Vehicle, and Palanquins at  Rs.1 each.

Further, a special Parcel service was also provided.

Such were the humble beginnings of the Bombay-Ahmedabad Line. The railway line has come a long way since then. Now there are A.C Double Deckers along this route, certainly quite a development. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Line, though unrelated, would be another such development. But the fact is, it was this very line, that laid the foundations for all that lay ahead. It was this line that first connected the two important cities of modern India, and along with the GIPR, helped built the Bombay, and the Western Coast from the city to Ahmedabad, as we know today!

Bibliography and some links 

• A Century of Suburban Service: Westrail News, 1961- For a brief history of Bombay and the BB&CIR-

• The Promised link to the Published Timetable in The Bombay Gazette 30th November 1864 -  Search 'Down Train' in the pdf to find.

• Anchoring a City Line: Eminence Designs Pvt Ltd, 2000- Chapter 1 and 2

Thanks For the Scroll!

When the First Trial Train went to Tannah

 Many of you know the First Train Run of 16 April 1853. It was that date when the first commercial train service started between Bombay and Tannah, and also in India. It is said to be the start of rail passenger transport in India. That Thursday, 400 Passengers journeyed from Bombay's Bori Bunder to Tannah (Thane) in the 14 carriage train  in 57 Minutes. This is well known. However, did you know that a similar trip had been done the previous year, that too in an even shorter time, and with a single engine? 

This Trial Train trip was undertaken on Thursday 18th November 1852. It was quite a humble one, of course nowhere near the grand celebrations of April 1853. The Journey was planned to take place from Bombay, to a bit ahead of Tannah station, at the Parseek (Parsik point). The passengers were to be the officials of GIP Railway (the engineers and directors), along with their friends. And the journey was to be a sort of inspection special, in which the officials were to inspect the line, that was due to open in six months. 

How was the train to be? Well the engines and carriages and other rolling stock that were to operate on the line, (along with six European engine drivers) had just arrived 2 months ago aboard the ship Charles, and were in the process of being commissioned for use. Hence, trucks were to be fitted temporarily. As for the engines, some sources say Bombay's first shunting locomotive Lord Falkland got this honour, while others argue of some other loco. 

The passengers were invited opposite to the Boree Bunder at the noon of Thursday, November 18, and their tour iternary was to be like this-

After departing from Bombay, the party would reach their destination of Parsick Point at around 1 p.m. The party was to have their tiffin in the Tunnel at the point, and after observing the wonderful scenery around, and would return back to Bombay at around the time of sunset, as reported by the Allen's Indian Mail of 1852.

Soon after 12 o' clock, left the train its departing point, and began the its inspection special journey. The occupants included Major Swanston, Captain Crawford, and also notably Sri. Jagannath Shankarseth, (the well known merchant and philanthropist) among others. The entire journey, and hence the route, was vividly described in an issue of Bombay Times and the Journal of Commerce (today's Times of India).

Soon after it left, it passed under the Mazagaon Viaduct, which offered an excellent view of the line and the train from both sides. This was located near the Suddur Adalat, and the Mazagaon Police Station. This part was crowded with people, at the time the train proceeded with the 's' shaped double curve till Byculla. It then reached there, and passed beside the bishop's house, crossing a road, before passing under the still unfinished Byculla viaduct. It was near this area, that the old Byculla station was situated. It then soon passed the flats near the erstwhile race course near Byculla. 

After this, the train passed beside Phipps' Oart, highlighted by the report as 'curious', for it was the land on which the locomotive of the train, Lord Falkland was first stationed, after being pulled from the docks by around 200 coolies. The engine's shunting duties began from here, and natives numbering hundreds would gather around the erstwhile toddy farm, to witness the operations. Interpolating old maps with new, the location of this gravel bank can be traced to have been located roughly between Byculla and Chinchpokli stations, west of the line. Unsurprisingly enough, old maps of the city, show and label this plot of land specifically. 

The Train then went ahead on a straight track, navigated a short curve, before again heading on a straight track toward Sion. At this location, it passed under a public road, and a hill, on top of which was a Marathi fort, and alongside a Portuguese church. The report says that the Mahim Branch of the GIPR was connected to the to the main line here. The Mahim Branch was a diversion from the main line, consisting of a single line, in contrast with the double of the main line. It would head towards the old Mahim station, that was apparently located close to the 'Mandvi' (Custom house), i.e. close to the Mahim Fort. Trains from Bori Bunder station took 40 mins to reach the station, the only intermediate being Byculla. The section was later relinquished, and later when the western BB&CI railway began operations in Bombay, it constructed a new Mahim station on its line. For more info, read the history section of this- Mahim Rly Station-Wikipedia (history section originally written by me!) The report speculated, that with the advent of rail travel, the then unimportant fishing village would soon turn into a port of importance.

Ahead of this was the Sion marsh, also where the Sion Causeway, (build by Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy) was situated. Overcoming the marshy land was quite a challenge. A hill at Sion had to be quarried, and the material, along with a mattress of overlaid Mangrove bushes was used to make a stable base for the tracks to be laid on. After crossing the former obstacle. The railway then bent eastwards, and passed through salt pans. It had now entered the island of Salsette. It passed through a half a mile long cutting, a region where the hill had been partly dug off, to allow the line to pass through. 

The train stopped over here to fill its engine with water. It then proceeded forward, at covered nine miles in 18 minutes with an average speed of 30 mph, and at a moment, 50 mph. 

The railway then headed toward Tannah, and it ran nearly parallel to the Tannah river. When it finally entered the village, it navigated a curve, to head toward the Tannah Creek viaducts. To conquer the salt water creek, two bridges were constructed, one small, one large. The separation was, due to the presence of a long, rocky island. The construction of this was, however, challenged by the strong rush of water during monsoon, and created considerate delays. The shorter viaduct had arches of moderate spans, with the creek being shallow in that portion. The larger viaduct on the other side, was in a way unique. The bridge had a 84 ft (25.6 m) iron section in the between, to allow ships to pass underneath.

The Shorter Tannah Viaduct.

The Longer Tannah Viaduct. Note the Iron span

Credit of both images: DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University

Links on the titles of the images.

After crossing the creek, the train went on a route that took it around the foot of the Parseek Hill, a route that is used by some local trains even now. The hill needed two tunnels to be broken in, and these were named Tunnel no.1 and 2. The first tunnel was located near the Parsick point; the destination of the train. The progress on the first tunnel was quite slow, and the rock was solid. The other tunnel's progress was even slower. The Bombay Times of 29 September 1852 (the predecessor of The Times of India) reported that at that time, 'the first lengths' were being bricked, the bricks used being considered 'very good' by the contractor. And it was expected that both tunnels would be broken through eventually.

The task of completing this section was assigned to the contractors George Whythes and William Jackson, covering the portion from Tannah Viaduct to the Tunnel no.2. It was let out in April 1851, expected to be completed by December 1853. And the Parsi contractor Jamsetjee Dorabjee Naegamwala was assigned the portion from Tunnel No.2 all the way to Callian, forming the Contract no. 3. This was let out in May 1852, expected to be completed by April 1854.

The train was expected to reach the Parseek point at 1 p.m, about an hour after its departure from Bombay as reported by The Allen's Indian mail of 1852 (pg.708). It completed its journey in 45 mins. After the train halted at its destination, the passengers walked their way for some distance, later occupying covered trucks pulled by horses, to get to the tunnel. The tunnel, as mentioned before was still in process of completion two months ago, and was not fit yet to be crossed by foot. A tiffin was held at the far end of the tunnel, and about sixty persons sat down. They had their tiffin. The whole tour was finally at its halfway mark. They then spent some time at the site, and re boarded the horse drawn trucks, to complete the latter half, to reach back their original departure point in Bombay, something they were to accomplish, by sunset.

This was indeed an interesting journey. Six months before the official trip to Tannah in 53', some passengers already traveled by the Bombay rail network, (albeit with a very unofficial train) that too much farther than the later journey. They enjoyed the marvelous scenery of the route that took them from near the Bombay's Fort, all the way near the hills at Tannah. Depicts just the fact rightly, that diving into details, and searching for more, is surely rewarding!

Some sources if you wish to read the entire story yourself!

• The First Running of a Rail Locomotive A wonderful compilation of several sources, to bring out the story of Bombay's first rail locomotive 'Lord Falkland'
• Allen's Indian Mail, 1852 Search 'Great Indian Peninsula Railway' inside, to get several articles on the line in its final stages of construction. See pg 708 (according to the book, not the pdf) for the short mention of this trip.
• Rajendra Aklekar's Halt Station India, 'The Story of an Experimental Line' A excellently written section of a wonderful book, detailing how the GIPR line from Bombay to Tannah started from concept to construction. The 'Experimental Line' was the official term used to refer to the 21 mile line initially, when it was approved.
• Thane Railway Station's history section and Great Indian Peninsula Railway's Beginnings in Bombay section on Wikipedia. 

Thanks for the read! 

A Trip to Titwala by rail!

 Titwala is a small town near Kalyan, known especially for its Ganpati Mandir. The region is close to mountains, and its environment quite peaceful. To reach there by rail from my place, one has to either take the Central Line, by changing at Dadar, or first travel to Vasai, take a MEMU to Kopar, then change to CR to cover the remaining distance to Titwala, located beyond Kalyan, much ahead of Thane.

My parents promised to take me on a rail trip, wherever I wanted to go to, the day after my birthday, which was on Saturday this year. I couldn't keep myself in, and was of course very excited. I was unable to make a single choice. So my mother suggested we go visit Titwala, a place I had last visited. I agreed, since it would mean an opportunity to travel along the GIPR line, while going to a place close to the Ghats..both of which appealed to me immensely. Further, I wanted to check out the region between Thane station, and Mumbra, for it had traces of the oldest passenger railway line in the country. The famous Tannah Creek rail bridges, and apparently an old tunnel lying near the site where the GIP railway officials and their friends had a tiffin during an inspection special trial train from Bombay to Parsik point. Want some idea about what I'm talking? Just see this screenshot from my Google maps account of this place-

The Thane Parsik rail stretch... The Pins are the locations I sought for to see on person.
Credit:Google Maps

We finally decided on a long but interesting route. We would travel to Andheri by Metro line 2, change at Andheri to Metro Line 1 to Ghatkopar, and finally catch a local to Titwala.

The schedule was delayed by quite some time, and our plans came to fruition about a month later, on August 16th, which was a holiday for me. Planning for such a long trip meant several time buffers were to be provided; and was to plan all of this. I put large margins for delay into my plan, noting the timings of metros and local all the way from the first to last, spread over a time interval of 27 mins.

Turned out even this 'worst case scenario' prepared time table was not heeded to, and we left quite late, eventually reaching Ghatkopar at around 9:43, rather than my 25 min margin prediction of 9:20. We were indeed very late. added to this was the time it took to book tickets from an ATVM among the crowd. That too exhausted around 15 mins. I was finally standing on the station platform at 10:00.

I quickly went on a relic hunt at the station, but to my disappointed, spotted ornamental pillars(like those at Sion) on all the the other platforms but mine. Well, I wasn't left in sadness forever, for soon an came a train from my left (i.e. in the down line direction) and there it was- hauled by the multi current WCAM loco, the iconic DECCAN QUEEN! I quickly began recording.

Well, after a bit of wait, eventually arrived a local to Titwala. And we soon boarded it. It was going to indeed be a fun ride.

At the beginning everything was quite dull, until some time later, when a rail yard appeared. We had passed through Vikhroli, Kanjur Marg, Bhandup (an original stop from the first line of 1853), Nahur, Mulund, and finally what I had waited for..Thane! By then I had received a window seat, and was now very excited. We were to pass over the Tannah Creek bridges, two bridges small and large built for the line to navigate the salt-water Tannah Creek. This section was opened in 1854. The bridge lying in the centre is the original Tannah Creek bridge, while those right and left were constructed much recently, to increase line capacity.

I simply couldn't afford missing such an experience, and began recording. The thing is, the old bridge is so closely 'encroached' on both sides by the new bridges, that it is even hard to spot where this gem is. To add to it, while I was recording, two trains, an express, and a local came into view to make matters worse.Only on further analysis of my recording could I determine that my local was moving just beside the old bridge! It was displeasing to say the least. The small Tannah is indeed quite a small bridge, and soon our local was over the long island that Bombay Times mentioned in its report of the route in 1852, which divided the bridge into to viaducts. After crossing the island, even the large bridge had the same issue. Simply indiscernible from 'the modern environment'. I crossed the creeks without spotting the bridges that paved way for crossing from here. (As you'd read later, I was eventually able to spot the bridge on my return journey).

After crossing the creeks, the line divides into two. The one going left is the original route, that exists since 1854. It heads further to the stations of  Kalwa and Mumbra. The one moving right on the other hand, goes ahead to divide into two again. One heads straight towards the historic Parsik Tunnel, while the other bends sharply south, to become the Trans Harbour corridor. Our local went through the former route, something I was dearly excited about. 

The train then passed through Kalwa, and headed towards the foot of the Parsik Hill. When we were at a close proximity to the hill, there came a short tunnel. We soon passed through, and curved around the historic hill, just a bit far from the Ulhas river. Then came the part I was waiting to see, and wanted to see in person, since more than a month. A tunnel, which on google maps looks rather normal, on seeing in person looks ancient, and on scrolling through historic resources, looks significant and historic as none! 

This tunnel, seems to be an original tunnel of this original route, and just happens to match the measurements of a second tunnel, and its distance from Tannah station considerably well to that in old documents. I erroneously thought it to be the 103 yd long Tunnel no.1 near the Parsik point, in which the the officers of the GIPR Railway, along with their friends had had their tiffin inside, when they journeyed till here in a trial run inspection special along the line from Bombay, on 18th November 1852. That honour went to the aforementioned first tunnel. Yet this tunnel is of significance, since its end marked the beginning of the Contract No.3, the extension of the line from Parsik Hill to Callian, assigned to contractor Jamsetjee Naegamwala in May 1852, and opened on 1 May 1854.

The tunnel soon ended (or so I thought) and there came light through the opening at the top. I quickly pointed by camera towards the back, in an attempt to capture the opening on the other side of the tunnel, when soon the light paved way for the dark, and I realized the tunnel wasn't actually over. Well, you know, the ending I thought it was, was actually pretty circular, and hence quite convincing. But the end came soon after.

The much sought after tunnel (excuse my finger)

A bit closer.

The ending I thought it was...

The Actual ending.

The train soon entered Mumbra station, and then navigated another curve. We passed over another water body, and it was there that the Parsik Tunnel route, that went straight toward the hill soon rather than curves our route took to clear the obstacle the Parsik Hill was, met back with us soon after exiting the tunnel.

After this? The route that followed ahead was extremely pleasing, and beautiful. The tracks for a quite some distance went beside the Ulhas river, one that was so wide at this place, that it almost looked like a lake. After this, everything seemed more or less the same, till we reached the junction of Kalyan.

The line to Tannah was already in the process of extension to Kalyan (or Callian as it was then spelled) when the former began services. This section opened about an year after the Bombay-Tannah line opened, on 1st May 1854. A journey was undertaken from Bori Bunder to the Creek Grounds near Callian that day, and that too was like a thing to celebrate back then. Though this time the train reportedly left at around 5 p.m., reached the destination at around 6 p.m., left back at about 9 p.m., returning back late night at 11 p.m.!

More info and videos to be added soon!

My Railway Art and Craft!

 While learning about how our our railways came to existence, I made many drawings, and coach models on the way. I'll post all I've made, over here. More will be added soon!

Today, on 22nd of June 2023, I completed a drawing of the the First Electric Local of India, that ran between VT and Kurla on 3rd Feb 1925. This was quite a long project, partly because I took a lot of breaks, owing to school life. The photograph, was of the first electric local, on the Sandhrust Rd. elevated station, just before entering it. While the Local moves on the elevated tracks, the main line track move from below. One can see a bridge faraway nearly at the base of which, the elevated rail bridge touches the ground. On the right of the picture are the old Chawls.

The First Electric Local

Today, on 17th March 2024, I completed my blueprint like sketch of the first double decker coaches as used by the BB&CI Railway in 1864. These were Third Class coaches, and were aimed at providing some comfort to the traveler class often ignored.

1863 Double Decker Coaches

More to be added soon!

A Journey to Victoria Terminus (that turned into a relic hunt)

 This is a sort of a predecessor to the previous post, here I detail my journey to the iconic CSMT (erstwhile VT), which turned out to be quite a relic hunting exercise for me!

The Intriguing Journey

We finally arranged for a trip to CSMT from my home station of Borivali. Since we had to change trains due to the lack of direct connectivity, an idea struck my mind. What if we change at Bandra, and take a Harbour line Local?  I looked at the schedule, and found that if this were to be done, there would have to be a long waiting period at Bandra, owing to difference in train timings. But even this would be a bonus, since I would get to spend time at the 1869 built, and 1888 rebuilt Bandra station. Further, I knew from the book 'Halt Station India' by Mr. Rajendra Aklekar, that the pillars of the station were made of six double headed rails (tracks) dating back to 1888, bound together. 

We left for Bandra in the morning, and reached by 9:30. The first thing that fell into my sight was the beautiful station building. Next, I quickly searched for the pillars. And indeed there were six double headed rails bound together. 

The Pillars at Bandra Stn.,
 holding the roof.

On observing this, I couldn't find any readable inscriptions. Luckily, I found a bunch just nearby, this time with much more readable inscriptions-                                                              

Inscriptions on the rails.

          Inscriptions on the rails.

The inscriptions are still not quite readable, but at least they read 'BB.CI', mentioning the erstwhile BB&CI railway that constructed today's Western Line. From there, we went to Platform 7, where we had to board our CST Local. It was on the footbridge, that I had a look of the magnificent station building.                                                                                    

The Bandra Station building

We then moved to the aforementioned platform, boarded the local, and set off towards CSMT. A while after departing from Bandra, we diverged from the Western Line, to enter the Harbour Branch. We passed through several old bridges and stations. While finding the images of these for the post, I found something amazing. At first glance, the structure below seems to be a normal stone bridge, given a white paint. But with a closer look, one finds an inscription saying 'October 1908' carved in the middle.                                                                 

The Bridge

The inscription in the middle,
I found accidentally while zooming in.

The interesting part was when we were travelling on the section between King's Circle station, and Vadala Rd, when the already elevated line gradually moved higher and higher, before descending at Vadala. For an idea, see the picture below-                                              

How High the line goes

                    How High the line goes

After a while, we reached Reay Rd. This was an important station, being the orignal terminus when the Harbour Line opened back on 12 December 1910. I was especially excited for this, since the orignal structure of the station survives till date. I was unwilling to miss a thing, and promptly started recording. And of-course a Local poked its way in the video, when the stone wall part came.                                                                                         

 We then finally reached Wadi Bunder, and got a bird's eye view of the Central Railway carshed there. From far could be seen the Hancock bridge, built in 1879, rebuilt in 1923, or a hundred years ago. I recorded this scene, and amidst that, mistook the Hancock bridge for the Carnac Bridge. (I muted the video, cause my brother messed with the audio)         

               

Interestingly enough, at the start of the clip, you can spot the new Deccan Queen rakes inside the Wadi Bunder Carshed, following which are many more coaches of various types (all of them being either the Utkrisht or the LHB Rajdhani rakes) I zoomed into the Hancock bridge, after which the train entered the Rail electrification era- Sandhrust Rd station. After that, I was just on a hunt for the Famous Carnac Bridge; having forgotten that the bridge had been demolished back in last year. 

From there we went forward, eventually entering the Terminus of CSMT. The train went through a curve, and entered the UNESCO designated station. I really felt a sense of pride, entering the heritage station, the same way commuters did 135 years ago.

 The moment the train halted at its terminus, I saw an AC Local right beside our platform-A sign of innovation, among its origins. I had been to the station, back after an entire year. This station, I had first visited on 2nd October 2018, Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti. I had traveled all the way here with my aunt, just to view this ancient masterpiece. And I was back here.

I then marched ahead with pride, watching my favourite station's features. There was the roof, the pillars, near me, and the station's side walls, with their stained glass type windows afar. The next thing I spotted was the still-functioning clock. Of course I took pictures. I started recording a video of the hands moving, and since I did not want to miss the movement of the clock hands, started this much before. If you pay close attention (pls excuse my shaky hands), you will see the hand moving, and then oscillating here and there, before finally taking rest at 10:30.

While in a hurry to leave, I quickly captured a picture of the stained glass windows, the quality of which does not look good, due to the zoom quality of my phone. But trust me, it looked magnificent with the light shining through the coloured glass patterns.

Next I visited the nearby booking office. To say at the least, it was glorious. 

The glorious Ticket Office chamber

And along with these glories, were unique sculptures on every pillar.

A Lion sculpture on one of the pillars

On the Western wall was a weird insignia of some sort, but as my mother pointed out, it actually read 'GIPR' the railway company that built the lines and this building, written in a creative manner.

   

Try to figure out the letters yourself. then of course, we went outside the building, and in front of us, was the icon of the Construction, the central part.And the resolution of this just happens to be good.

In this image, you can see the centerpiece clock, and the empty spot of the original statue of Queen Victoria, that stood below the clock. Besides these are the numerous design windows and at the top, the 'Crown of the station' (of course, I gave this name). At the top of the crown, is the Lady of Progress, holding a train wheel in one hand, and a lamp in the other, symbolizing the progress railways brought to the land and the sides of the crown, are sculptures of various animals. Just beside, was the Municipal Corporation building, just too beautiful to be left out here.

The BMC Headquarter building

Then we basically head towards the P.D.Mello Road, to reach Gallery adjacent to CSMT Platform 18. On the way, I took some more images. I would like to end this post with them.

Ticket Office Entrance West Side

CSMT Front Side

CSMT from Eastern Side

The 'Crown' from behind

Stained Glass Windows on the insides

Thank You for the Scroll!

- The Rail History Guy

A Visit to the CSMT Heritage Gallery

 Rail Heritage is quite a dwindling topic. Not many are interested, or know about how the railways with which they travel, and are connected with, began in the first place. However, taking a look at this topic, provides an interesting look of the city we reside in, and the railways we commute with. 

Mumbai's railways still possess those ancient artifacts from its old days. These include bells, pillars, footbridges, cabins, platforms, station buildings, rail crossings, etc of the stations, and even the road bridges built over them, to replace older rail crossings. These are however being lost day by day. Last Year, the 1868 built Carnac bridge too was razed after being deemed unsafe by a report by IIT. In 2020, a railway bridge (known as the Amrutanjan Bridge due an advertisement of the company put on bridge post independence) of the old Reversing Station in the Bhor Ghat was demolished, owing to accidents in the area caused due to the curve the vehicles had to navigate to pass under the bridge's pillars. I remember getting emotional on watching the demolition video, having passed under it by road several times on my way to Pune. 

Some of these artifacts have to be demolished for safety reasons, but still one can certainly find innovative ideas to preserve the glory of the same. For instance, at the ends of the Carnac bridge, were inscriptions, recording the name of the bridge in English, Devanagari and Gujarati, along with one corner stating the date of opening as 1868. These blocks were thankfully shifted to an open air heritage gallery, located in the area between CSMT platform no.18 and the P.D.Mellow Road, remaining the last remains of this iconic bridge. 

Excuse the blur of the image below. I was just so excited to be supposedly visiting to the site of the Bori Bunder station, that I did not even pause to take a clear image.

Carnac Bridge from CSMT pf no.18.
(photo taken in 2022)

A Visit to this place second time!

This open air gallery cum garden was opened on a World Heritage day one year. The gully houses several rail artifacts, like Old Locomotives, Coaches, Cranes, and other apparatus. Also worth mention are of course the stone blocks of the Carnac Bridge. I visited this place for the first time in 2019, in my fifth grade, and was amazed by the artifacts and their form. Curiously, the gallery has undergone a change, and the pictures I took back then turned out to be useful for comparison with the changes recently done to the gallery.

I was eagerly waiting to give another visit to this place again. Hence on 8th April, I pleaded to my parents to take me to this location again. I was wishing to have a visit on 16th of April 2023, since the day marked the 170th anniversary of the First train in Bombay, that ran just some distance away from this gallery on 16th April 1853. However reasons meant that the plan kept on being postponed, and it was not until 5th of May, that the wish came into fruition. 

If you wish to read the Journey experience, where I mentioned several artifacts I spotted, Visit the following post!

The Heritage Garden.

After the Journey to CSMT, we had to take a sort of a long distance route, since we didn't want to enter a express station with a local ticket. We traveled to the P.D Mello Road, from where we reached the entrance. I took a final dramatic pause behind the footpath wall, before finally seeing the place I last visited 4 years ago. The place, as already knew, had changed quite a it. A steam Locomotive on the eastern side had been removed, and a Rail Bus was added to the 'collection'. The first thing I was excited to see, was India's first Electric Freight Locomotive series loco, the EF-1:

1) EF-1

The name EF-1 refers to (Electric Freight-1). These Locomotives were introduced in 1928, as freight locos to be powered by Electric Traction, for the first time in India. They were named Sir Leslie Wilson, honoring the then Governor of Bombay. They were built by Swiss Locomotive Works, with electrical equipment from  Metropolitan Vickers, England. Only two of these survive, one being in the National Rail Museum in New Delhi, and the other one being here at CSMT. Both of these were stationed at Wadi Bunder Car shed. Apart from pulling Goods trains, they were also used on the Bhor Ghat incline, to push trains. Post Independence,its designation was changed to WCG-1 (standing for Broad Gauge, DC Traction Goods-1) .Interestingly, they were referred to as Khekada by their staff. 

The one at the Heritage Gully, was the serial no. 20067 as per Indian Railway designation. This locomotive has received paintwork in the past 4 years. Having a photo of the Loco 4 years ago and now, I could sense the difference. The former looked dull, while the latter looks much better. You can see it yourself, below-

Before

And After

This time I wanted to really have a look into its inside. Back in my 5th Grade, I was completely reluctant to enter the previously exhibited steam locomotive, thinking it might be forbidden. Since then the steam locomotive has been shifted to somewhere else. Hence, this time I was determined to have a look inside, having seen the condition of the interior from an image taken by someone else of the present state of the driving cabin. 

I would like to mention, that it is not recommended to do so, as I found out later, while filming the insides of a rail inspection wagon there, when a watchman scolded me mildly, saying you aren't supposed to go inside. But I think seeing the condition of these from inside was worth it. The Cabin was dusty, the floor plates of the narrow corridor inside the loco to access the other cabins were in a shaky condition. It was there that I found out, that these exhibits weren't taken care of on the insides.

The Electrical

The meters

Controls, and a dusty dashboard.

The cabin was very dusty. As a strong supporter of rail heritage, I firmly decided to clean it. I asked for a rough cloth, having none I used a cloth bag. I gave the dashboard, and the walls, a through wipe, when my works led me to an interesting plate. The plate, dust laden had inscriptions reading something faintly, like Metropolitan Vickers, (the company that had provided the electricals). On giving a thorough wipe, it became much more readable.

The Plate with Inscriptions.

Again I would like to say, it is not recommended to go inside. I was scolded later. It isn't allowed probably because anyone going inside, might damage the loco interiors. When I entered, there was, on the back wall of the cabin, a "Love Heart with names" a common example of vandalism. Hence You shouldn't go inside.

But the thing I would like to highlight, is the condition of the interiors. It's not good. If anything struck me the most on entering, was the poor condition inside. The railways certainly took care, and painted the exteriors. Even if it isn't visible, they should be restored, either by railway workers themselves, or by assigning some person to do so (which I would certainly like to be). These aren't just some random relics things found in scrapyards, even those are treasures; these are important pieces of historical events, linking to the origins of our railways.

While inside, I decided to make a video of the interiors, as it was, I thought, a unique experience. The video below is an edited one, the original having a lot of orientation changes. Again excuse the light adjustment quality of my device)

More Information to be added soon!