Friends of the Rail Forum

Actually a whole lot. India is probaly unique in the world due to the fact that so many different gauges are in current operation.....

Firstly there is......

1. Broad Gauge (5'6") - about 42,000 kms
Found all over the country - all major passenger and freight routes are now broad gauge. This is the widest gauge in regular use anywhere in the world. The decision to use a gauge wider than the one in use in Great Britain was made with an eye towards economies in freight movement, and also to ensure train stability.

Then secondly......

2. Meter Gauge (1m) - About 17,000 km
This is still found in a lot of places. This gauge was chosen by Lord Mayo (then Viceroy of India) based on calculations to allow 4 persons to sit comfortably abreast — it would have been 3'3" except that there was then a push to move to the metric system and so the gauge became 1m.

Thirdly, narrow guauge as well...... in a couple of widths!! About 3700 route km

3. Gauge (2'6")
The rationale for the narrower gauges was economy in building the lines — they could be laid much faster than broad gauge lines and in more difficult terrain. It was envisioned that narrow gauge lines would act as feeder lines to the broad gauge and meter gauge lines, but many became important railway routes in their own right.

4. Narrow Gauge (2')
A few places in India have the even narrower 2–foot gauge.

And there are still more Gauges...!

5. 4" gauge in Bengal
6. A 3'6" gauge has been used in some places.
7. A 3' gauge (used by the Tata Iron & Steel Co).
8. A 2'2" gauge used by Bnegal coal
9. A 1'6" gauge system, also in Bengal
10. A 15" gauge (Correct!) again used by the Tata.
11. A 600mm (60cm) gauge was in use in the Forestry division.
12. A 610mm gauge was also reported.

Variety is the spice of life!

And it is said that the reason East Africa is metre gauge instead of 3'6" is so that they could make use of secondhand indian locos and other equipment...

And, John, that is true!

At University one of my majors was African History, and I put my research effort into the Uganda Railway! This was one of the things I remeber coming up!

In storage in the UK I've got the official history of the Uganda Railway, called "Permanent Way". A very interesting book. I also have volume 2, which is about the railway in Tanganyika. Plus some of the more popular books such as "The Lunatic Express" and "The Man-eaters of Tsavo", as well as a couple of Kevin Patience's books on East African steam (these two are with me in Pretoria) and Mohamed Amin's "Railway Across the Equator".

John, you have a fine collection of all the classics there!

Lunatic Express is a brilliant book - if you have the hard copy it is worth a little, as are copies of the Permanent Way.

I had a first edition of Patterson's book - now lost!

Mohamed Amin's "Railway Across the Equator" - I am not familiar with this - is it a recent book? I am also not familair with Kevin Patience's books - on the rolling stock aspect?

Mohamed Amin, who sadly died in the Ethiopian Airline hijack and subsequent crash in the Comoros Islands, produced an excellent coffee table book full of photos, mostly of the modern railways. It was published in 1986. He was a world famous photographer and his pictures are first class, although he didn't specialise in railways.

Kevin Patience has two books, "Steam in East Africa - a pictorial history of the railways in East Africa 1893-1976" and "Steam Twilight - the last years of steam on Kenya Railways", published in 1976 and 1996 respectively. Lots of lovely pictures and some detailed information.

Alas, my copies of "The Lunatic Express" and "The Man-eaters of Tsavo" are just modern paperback versions. My copy of "Permanent Way" Vol 1 is a paperback reprint, but I have an original hardback copy of Vol 2. I believe I found the latter in a little bookshop on Mama Ngina Street many years ago. Amazing what one could find in Nairobi ten of fifteen years ago. I also have a railway lamp and a numberplate from a Tribal Class - the latter has been in storage in UK for so many years that I can't remember what number it is!