The Railways of India; With an Account of Their Rise, Progress, and Construction (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1868 edition. Excerpt: ...for Benares. Thirteen miles before Agra is reached, the main line, bending northward at a junction called Toondlah, follows, vid Allygurh, the left bank of the Jumna to Delhi; where it enters the terminus of the East Indian Railway by a beautiful bridge over the river Jumna, a few miles beyond the junction with the Punjaub and Delhi line, at a place called (xhazee-o-deen-nuggur, or Ghazee-abad. As far as Agra there had been no uncertainty regarding the direction of the railway, but beyond that point there had been a good deal of vacillation. It was at one time intended that the Jumna should be bridged at Agra, and the line brought by the right bank of that river to Delhi, and then, vid Umballa and Ferozepore, to Lahore, crossing the Sutlej at or near Ferozepore. Near this station a series of borings were made by Mr. Le Mesurier, on behalf of the East Indian Railway Company, in 1858 and 1859. Twenty borings were taken, three of them in the channel of the river, and a bed of clay was found to extend nearly across the whole width at an average depth of 13 feet below water; but it was shortly after decided that the East Indian Railway should stop at Delhi, and that the extension from Delhi to Lahore should be entrusted to another company. The idea of a bridge over the Jumna at Agra was however sometime after given up, and it was determined to construct one over the same river at Delhi, and from thence that the railway should follow the course above indicated. Finally, in 1862 and 1863 the Government of India decided that the railway should be traced along the left bank of the Jumna, instead of on the right, as had been intended; and should be taken to THE TERMINUS AT DELHI. 185 Lahore vid Meerut, Seharunpoor, and Umballa, thus leaving Delhi off the...