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!