Bankura Damodar Railway
| McLeod’s Light Railways | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Locale | West Bengal |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1915-1917 |
| Owner | McLeod’s Light Railways |
| Operator(s) | McLeod’s Light Railways |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 97 km (60 mi) |
| Track gauge | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) |
| Bankura Damodar Railway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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McLeod’s Light Railways (MLR) consisted of following four 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge lines in West Bengal in India. The railways were built and owned by McLeod & Company, which was the subsidiary of a London company of managing agents, McLeod Russell & Co. Ltd. On 1 July 1967, MLR was merged with South Eastern Railway.
Ahmedpur-Katwa Railway connecting Ahmedpur and Katwa in West Bengal was opened to traffic on 29 September 1917. The railway was built in 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge and total length was 53 miles (85 km). In 1966, Indian Railways had taken over the operation of this narrow gauge railway from McLeod & Company.
The 52 kilometers long railway section is under conversion to 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge. The conversion work started in 2013 and is expected to be completed by 2017.
Bankura-Damodar Railway (also called as Bankura Damodar River Railway) connecting Bankura and Rainagar in Bankura and Bardhaman districts in now West Bengal was opened to traffic in sections between 15 December 1916 and 6 June 1917. The railway was built in 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge and total length was 97 kilometres (60 mi). The railway was known as Bankura Damodar Railway, as it used to terminate at Rainagar, which was on banks of Damodar River. People used to take ferries to cross river to go on other side.
The standard locomotive for BDR was a powerful 0-6-4T design but during the first world war some 2-6-2T engines were also obtained from Stafford company of Bagnall, same as was ordered for the Egyptian Delta Light Railways (and hence known as the Delta class). The 1953 additions were also of this type. There were two Sentinel locomotives; one (No.8) is now preserved at the National Rail Museum, New Delhi. A steam loco shed at Bankura served the narrow gauge line.
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Wikipedia