AngDesh - History & Developement of Ang Pradesh / ang Desh (present Bhagalpur), Its Language Angika, Art & Culture, Literature, Tourism and other aspects.

The Railway age in Eastern India started on August 15, 1854, exactly ninety-three years before Independence. A locomotive, carriage and wagon workshop was set up in Howrah to put to commission imported rolling stock of EIR and also to render economic repairs to them. The railways spread very fast, perhaps faster than the anticipation of EIR. Within a short span of eight years, it became necessary to shift the site of shop, as there was hardly any scope for expansion at Howrah.

Jamalpur Workshop

The British chose Jamalpur as the new site of this workshop due to ready availability of skilled workers who were descendants of acclaimed gun makers and fabricators of weapons of steel for the Nawabs of Bengal and Orissa. Jamalpur is also geographically well located, on the western side of a hill range while the Ganges flow 7 KMs north of it.

The workshop has a number of FIRSTS to its credit, a few of which are: -

The FIRST to manufacture a steam locomotive and a locomotive boiler- 216 of which were manufactured between 1899 and 1923.

The FIRST to have set up a rolling mill not only on the railways, but probably in the country in 1870.

The FIRST to establish a railway foundry in the year 1863.

The FIRST to manufacture a rail crane in the country with indigenous know-how in 1961.

The FIRST to manufacture high capacity electrical lifting jacks and ticket printing, ticket chopping, ticket slitting and ticket counting machines.

The FIRST and the only railway workshop to manufacture electrical arc furnaces of ½ tonne in 1961 for production of steel castings.

This is the only workshop in the country manufacturing 140 T  ART cranes for Railways to-day.

The gradual eclipse of steam traction on Indian Railways, steam locomotive activities, which had peaked at 600 Standard units per month in 1962-63, started declining in the late 60’s and finally the steam activities came to a complete end in August ’92. The closure of steam activities was to some extent overcome with the switching over to the repair of Diesel Locomotives, repair of unloadable wagons and manufacture of Diesel Hydraulic B.D. Cranes and Tower Cars.

Jamalpur Workshop has the proud privilege of being the only railway workshop , where broad gauge cranes for railway's use are manufactured. This is the only railway workshop where large, microprocessor controlled 140-Ton capacity break down cranes for Indian Railways are manufactured indigenously with very little import content.

This workshop has completed over 140 years of glorious performance and dedicated service to the Nation. Ironically it stands alone in the Industrial desert of the northern part of Bihar in general and in Munger District in particular.

This is the only workshop in Indian Railways to have been equipped with its own 5 MVA power house.

The first to manufacture a steam locomotive
(The first one, CA 764 'Lady Curzon', was produced in 1899.) at a cost of Rs. 33,000/- which served for 33 years. The manufacture of Steam locomotive was stopped in the year 1923 .

Jamalpur Workshop built 216 locomotives and locomotive boilers – between 1899 and 1923.

The first to have set up a rolling mill not only on the railways, but probably in the country in 1870.(now closed)The first to establish a railway foundry in the year 1893.

The first to build a rail- travelling crane in India with indigenous know-how in 1961.

The first to manufacture high capacity synchronised electrically operated lifting jacks popularly known as "Jamalpur jacks" in 1962 and ticket printing, ticket chopping, ticket slitting and ticket counting machines.

The first and the only railway workshop to manufacture electrical arc furnaces of ½ tonne capacity in 1961 for production of steel casting
'The Express' - the sister of 'Fairy Queen' built 1855.

Amunition valley - Jamalpur

Railway Colonies in India by John Alton Price

First locomotive on East Indian Railway

When quite a child in India I had gathered, from the odd word I happened to overhear, or the odd attitude one observed when the subject of Railways was mentioned there seemed to be an antipathy towards 'those Railway people'.

Forest Camp Jamalpur, Bihar

This rather upset me and I thought the attitude was somewhat curious, not to say unfair. I found out as I grew older and a bit more knowledgeable that the Railway people were considered a bit 'Racy' and not quite up to the mark or shall we say a bit common. In much later days I was to discover for myself that these opinions were positively unfair and rather, or downright ignorant. I had in my 'growing up' days had very little contact with railway people in India, except for the occasional meeting through rail travel.

Railway Siding in Jamalpur

Sunday walk - hills near Jamalpur

During my service in the Military I was to be Posted to a quite important Railway Station called Jamalpur, in Bihar. It was early May 1942 and our Unit was transported to a wooded area to set up Camp.

Railway line past No 2 sub-depot

I was to discover that Jamalpur had the third largest Railway Workshop in the World (or so I was told) and was responsible for the training of Railway Engineers who came to the Workshops after they had passed out of their particular schools of academia. Consequently most male members of the town were Railway Engineers of one kind or another, However high or low in status I found them most agreeable. I was never able to have a guided tour of the workshops but I'm sure the inner workings of the railway would have been interesting. In the front of the Workshop buildings, on a three foot high pedestal was placed a Locomotive which happened to be the first Engine to ride the rails of The East Indian Railways. I have a photo of the beautiful machine.

Our Tent in the forest