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Reference Sources for Indian Railways

WP 4-6-2 at Delhi

This page is intended to assist researchers into Indian Railways identify sources of materials. BORHT also has some Indian railway material in our archives.

Railways in India are probably some of the best served British overseas railways in terms of reference sources. There was a large amount of material published during the colonial era and interest since independence has also remained strong. Today there is a large domestic presence of railway enthusiasts. Naturally, modern railway enthusiasts tend to concentrate on the current day, but their websites and journals often run historical articles.

A word of warning about depending on purely online sources of information. Incorrect information published on websites and social media often becomes amplified by repetition on the Internet until it becomes "common knowledge" e.g., various websites have claimed that German and Japanese Electric Multiple Units were supplied to the Great Indian Peninsular Railway for inauguration of Bombay electric suburban service in 1925; in fact, only British units built by Cammell-Laird were used until the 1950's. It is best to confirm claims found on the web against contemporary observations and original documents where possible.

There are a number of general histories of Indian Railways, which are good background reading before diving into detailed subjects. Good places to start include "Engines of Change" by Ian J. Kerr, or "Railways and the Raj" by Christian Wolmar. John Hurd and Ian Kerr's "Indian Railway History" is an entire book dedicated to research sources for Indian railways, but it is primarily aimed at university students looking for socioeconomic research projects. Hugh Wilding's "FIBIS Fact File 4: Research Sources for Indian Railway, 1845-1947" is a useful list of reference sources for research into the personnel of Indian railways during the colonial period.

For researchers who's primary interest is locomotives, it will be essential to acquire copies of Hugh Hughes 4-part series on Indian Locomotives; BORHT often has second-hand copies of these books available for purchase. Hughes' series was completed around 1990, and BORHT's own publication, "A Guide to Diesel and Electric Locomotives of Indian Railways" by J.E. Daboo takes the story up to 1997. Another BORHT publication, "Indian Steam Locomotives in HO Scale" by Glyn Thomas provides modelling information for the most common steam locomotive types. Glyn has also self-published, "Indian Rolling Stock in HO Scale", which is available via BORHT or on eBay.

Please also check the general research page for sources that are common across all British overseas railways. Contemporary journals, such as Loco Mag., Indian Engineering, Railway Gazette, and Railway Magazine are all good sources of information. BORHT's own British Overseas Railway Journal has many Indian articles - see our book sales list to identify references. Hugh Hughes wrote a series of articles on minor Indian railways for Railway Magazine in the 1960's, which were influencial in establishing India as a 'steam tourism' destination.

YG MG 2-8-2

Early Books

Author

Title

Date

Publisher
Addis, A Hints to Young Engineers Employed on Indian Railways 1910 E and FN Spon, London
Aiyar, KV Indian Railways (India of Today, Vol 7) 1924 Oxford University Press, London and 2nd Edition OUP, London and Madras (1925)
Andre, Sir William P Indian Railways 1884 WH Allen and Co, London, 4 editions
Antia, KF Railway Track 1945-1960 New Book Co, Bombay (5 editions)
Berkley, James J Bhore Ghant Incline 1863 Education Society's Press, Bombay
Bayley, Victor Permanent Way Through the Khyber 1934 Jarrods
Bell, Harace, M Inst CE Railway Policy in India 1894 Rivington Percival and Co, London
Bell, Harace, M Inst CE Recent Railway Policy in India 1900 H and F Millard, London
Brunton, John John Brunton's Book (memoirs of a railway engineer) 1939 University Press, Cambridge
Cave, HW The Ceylon Government Railway a Guide Book 1910 Cassell, London
Cole, WH Light Railways at Home and Abroad 1899 London
Darjeeling - Himalayan Railway Co Darjeeling and its Mountain Railway, a Guide and Souvenir 1921 Caledonian Printing Co, Calcutta
Davidson, Edward, Captain RE The Railways of India 1868 E & FN Spon, London
de Villeroi, B History of the North Western Railway 1896 Pub'd Author, Lahore
Gawthorp, WR The Assam Railways and Trading Company Ltd, 1881-1951 1951 Harley Publishing Co, London
Harran, Edward The Ways of Our Light Railways 1910 Calcutta
Huddleston, George History of the East Indian Railway Vol. 1 1906 Thacker Spink and Co, Calcutta
Huddleston, George History of the East Indian Railway Vol. 2 1939 St Stephens, Briston Press, Bristol
Humphries, J and Srinivasan, Kalyan The Construction of Locomotives in India in State Railway Workshops 1940 East Indian Railway Press, Calcutta
Johnson, J Economics of Indian rail Transport 1960 Bombay
Kellie, GHSC, MC RE Notes on Platelaying in India 1923 The Royal Engineers Journal(September 1923): 433-437
Kipling, Rudyard From Sea to Sea, Volume 2 1900 Macmillan, London
Mackay, John Charles Light Railways for the United Kingdon, India and the Colonies 1896 Crosby Lockwood and Son, London
Malik, M Hundred Years of Pakistan Railways 1962 Ministry of Railways and Communications, Karachi
Mawson, Ernest O and Calthrop, Everard Richard Pioneer Irrigation and Light Railways 1904 Crosby Lockwood and Son, London
Mitchell, John William, AM Inst I MITA Wheels of Ind 1934 Thornton Butterworth, London
Nalinaksha, Sanyal Development of Indian Railways 1930 University of Calcutta
Napier, Phillip Raj in Sunset 1961 Arthur H Stockwell
Narayan, Shiv Electric Railways in India 1940 Brij Narayan, Poona
Perera, GF The Ceylon Railway 1925 Ceylon Observer, Colombo
Prasad, Amba Indian Railways a Study in Public Utility Administration 1960 Asia Publishing House, London and Bombay
Ramanadham, Venkata Vemuri Indian Railways Finance 1956 Atma Ram and Sons, Delhi
Sahni, J Indian Railways 1853-1953 1953 Ministry of Railways, Delhi
Sandes, EWC, Lt-Col The Indian Sappers and Miners 1948 Chatham, The Institution of Royal Engineers
Sandes, EWC, Lt-Col The Indian Engineer 1939 - 1947 1956 Kirkee, The Institution of Indian Engineers
Saxena, K Indian Railways 1962 Bombay
Scott Moncrieff, GK, Capt. RE The Frontier Railways of India 1885 Professional Papers of The Corps of Royal Engineers XL: 213-256
Srivastava, SK Transport Development in India 1956 Publishing House, Ghaziabad
Thornton, William Thomas The Relative Advantages of the 5ft 6inch gauge and the Metre gauge for the State Railways of India 1873 Proceedings of the Institute of Civil Engineers
Tivari, Raj Saheb Chandrika Prasada Indian Railways 1913 Times Press, Bombay
Tivari, R Railways in Modern India 1941 Bombay
Thomas, John Line of Communication(ABR during WW2) 1947 Locomotive Publishing Co, London
Trevor, Henry Edward The Law Relating to railways in British India 1891 Reeve and Turner, London
Woodhouse, HL, Captain MC RE Notes on Railway Work in East Africa, 1914-1918
(note: Indian railway equipment was used in East Africa during WW1)		 1923 Royal Engineers Journal(March): 37-46
Varma, BB; Chatterjee, AC; Rau, KM; and Sambamurti, K Report of the Suburban Train (Bombay, Calcutta and Madras) Overcrowding enquiry committee, 1956 1956 Nasik, Government of India Press
The Tourist Guide to all the Principal Stations on the Railways of Northern India 1882 W Newman and Co, Calcutta, 5 editions
View Album of Simla and Kalka Simla Railway 1903 J and H King, Simla
South Indian Railway, Illustrated Guide 1904 South Indian Railway, Trichinopoly
From the Hooghly to the Himalayas 1913 Times Press, Bombay
The Vulcan Locomotive Works, 1830-1930 1930 Locomotive Publishing Co, London
Indian railways Centenary Exhibition, New Delhi 1953 1953 Ministry of Railways, New Delhi
Memorandum on the Manufacture of Locomotives 1956 Tata Locomotive and Engineering Co Ltd
The Ceylon Railways 100 years 1864 - 1964 1964 Colombo: Ceylon Government Railway
Diesel Locomotive Works 1969 DLW, Varnasi
Chittaranjan 1972 CLW, Chittaranjan

General Indian Railway History Books

Author

Title

Date

Publisher

ISBN
Aitken, Bill Exploring Indian Railways 1994 Oxford University Press
Aklekar, Rajendra B Halt Station India: The Dramatic Tale of the Nation's First Rail Lines 2014 Rupa Publications
Arora, Dr AK The History of Bombay Suburban Railways 1985, digital edition 2021 Bronato
Bear, Laura Lines of the Nation: Indian Railway Workers, Bureaucracy and Intimate Historical Self 2007 Columbia University Press
Berridge, PSA Couplings to the Khyber 1969 R Hale
Bet, PC; Hollinsworth B; Moorhouse, G Indien, Ein Kaiserreich Fur die Bahn (German Text) Orell Fussli, Switzerland
Bhandari, RR Jodhpur Railway 1982 Northern Railway
Bhandari, RR Kalka-Simla and Kangra Valley Railways 1983 Northern Railway
Bhandari, RR The Blue Chip Railway 1887-1987 1987 SE Railway
Bhandari, RR Indian Railways: Glorious 150 Years 2005 Govt. of India X 948904 07X
Bhandari, RR Exotic Indian Mountain Railways 1984 Railway Board
Bhandari, RR Western Railway Narrow-Gauge System 1983 Northern Railway
Bhandari, RR Western Railway Metre-Gauge System 1987 Western Railway
Bhandari, RR Western Railways: a Glorious Saga 2008 Western Railway
Cable, Bob Darjeeling Revisited: a Journey on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway 2001 Middleton Press
Cave, Henry W The Book of Ceylon, 3 Volumes 2018/17/01-3 Facsimile Publisher; reprint of 1912 guides (note - full text available on Google Play)
Cave, Henry W The Ceylon Government Railway a Descriptive and Illustrated Guide, 1910 (also know as CEYLON ALONG THE RAIL TRACK: The Ceylon Government Railway) 2018/15 Visidunu. Sri Lanka 2003; reprint of 1910 guide
Charlesworth, David Up the Line to Darjeeling DHRS
Clayton, Ann Martin-Leake, Double VC (note: Martin-Leake was Medical Officer of the BNR from 1904-1912 and 1920-1937. There is also mention that the BNR had an in-house magazine. The book contains a lot about his time on the BNR) 1994 Leo Cooper, Barnsley
De Silva, LS and Rampala, BD History of the Sri Lanka Government Railway: B.D. Rampala felicitation volume (History of engineering in Sri Lanka) 1991 The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka
Das, Pallavi V Colonialism, Development, and the Environment : Railways and Deforestation in British India, 1860-1884 2015 Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Davies, WJK Light Railways, their Rise and Decline 1964 Ian Allan
Ellis, Royston India by Rail 1989 Bradt Publications, Chalfont St Peter
Hilaly, Sarah The Railways of Assam 2007 Pilgrims Publishing
Hurd, John and Kerr, Ian India's Railway History : a Research Handbook [electronic resource] 2012 Brill, Leiden and Boston
Hyatt, D Railways of Sri Lanka 2000 COMRAC 0-9537304-0-9 (check for correction PDFs)
Johnson, Lou World Steam Since 1980 1989 WH Smith, Silver Link Publishing
Kaul, MK Modern Railway Signalling (Principles and Practice) 1983 Bahri Brothers, Delhi
Kerr, I Building the Railways of the Raj, 1850-1900 1995 Oxford University Press 0 19 563444 6
Kerr, Ian J. Engines of Change, the Railroads that made India 2007 Praeger Publishers
Khosla, GS A History of Indian Railways 1988 Ministry of Railways and AH Wheeler and Co, Delhi
Krishnan, VM Govind Nilgiri Mountain Railway: From Lifeline to Oblivion 2012 Star Publications
Kumar, Sudhir and Mehrotra, Shagun Bankruptcy to Billions: How the India Railways Transformed 2009 Oxford University Press
Martin, Terry The Iron Sherpa: v. 1: The Story of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway 1879-2006 2006 Rail Romances 978-1900622103
Mathur, Vinoo N. Indian Railway Buildings 2022 Niyogi Books, New Delhi 978-93-91125-00-4
Mehrotra, Rahul and Dwivedi, Sharada Anchoring a City Line 1899 - 1999 2000 Eminence Designs Pvt. Ltd.
Mukherjee, Hena The early history of the East Indian Railway, 1845-1879 1966 SOAS University of London
Nock, OS Railways of Asia and the Far East 1978 A&C Black 0-7136-1855-8
Parakh, SK et al. Analysis and Design of Tunnel Supports for Tunnels of South Eastern Railway-Rayagada 2001 Rock mechanics and tunnelling techniques, Sept 2001, p.152-157; New Delhi, Central Board of Irrigation and Power
Prasad, Rikita Tracks of Change: Railways and Everyday Life in Colonial India 2015 Cambridge University Press
Ramarao, A Line Clear to India 1998 Ministry of Railways
Rowe, D Trevor Two Feet Between the Tracks 1990 Plateway Press, Brighton
Satow, MG and Desmond, R Railways of the Raj 1980 Scolar Press 0 85967 533 5
Saxena, SC and Arora, S A Textbook of Railway Engineering 1973-1981, 5 editions Dhanpat Rai and Sons, Delhi
Scott Moncrieff, M Canals and Campaigns, An Engineer in India 1877 - 1885 1987 London, The British Association for Cemeteries In South Asia
Searight, Sarah Steaming East: The Hundred-Year Saga of the Struggle to Forge Rail and Steamship Links Between Europe and India 1991 The Bodley Head
Sharma, SN History of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway, Part 1. Vol. 1 1985 Central Railway
Sharma, SN History of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway, Part 2. Vol. 2 1990 Central Railway
Solch, Werner Jules Verne's Express (German text) 1980 Alba, Dusseldorf
Solch, Werner Expresszuge im Vorderen Orient (German text, espress trains of the near East) 1989 Alba, Dusseldorf
Srinivasan, Roopa; Tiwari, Manish; Silas, Sandeep Our Indian Railway : Themes in India's Railway History 2006 Foundation Books, New Delhi
Sweeney, Stuart Financing India's imperial railways, 1875-1914 2011 Pickering & Chatto, London and Brookfield, VT
Taylorson, K A Gricer in India and Pakistan 1972 London
Thakur, DS Railway Track (Practical) 1988 Vernam and Co, Saharnpur
Vaidyanathan, KR 150 Glorious Years of Indian Railways 2003 English Edition Publishers
Vaux, Peter Bengal Engineer 1994 Pentland Press
Westwood, JN Railways of India 1975 David and Charles 0 7153 6295 X
Whitehouse, P and Allen, P Narrow Gauge the World Over 1976 Ian Allan
Wickramanayaka, Rasika Narrow Gauge Railways of Ceylon 2021 Author 978-624-97577-1-4
Wolmar, Christian Railways and the Raj 2017 Atlantic Books, London
Ziel, R and Eagleson, M The Twilight of World Steam 1975 Hamlyn Publishing Group, London
Darjeeling's Wonderful Railway DHRS
Indian Railways Whistling Ahead Story of Growth and Modernization 2015 Indian Railways
The Illustrated Guide to the South Indian Railway 2015 (reprint of 1900 book) Amberley Publishing. The text is also available on Google Play

Indian Locomotive and Rolling Stock History Books

Author

Title

Date

Publisher

ISBN
Bhandari, RR Indian Railways, Locomotives in Steam 1981 Indian Railways / Rail Transport Museum, New Delhi
Charlesworth, David The story of 19B The only DHR ‘B’ Class ever to leave India! DHRS
Churchill, David The Incredible 'B' Class DHRS
Daboo, JE A Guide to the Diesel and Electric Locomotives of Indian Railways 1998 BORHT 1 901613 02 X
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society Darjeeling Wagons Scale Drawings and Photographs for Modellers 2001 DHRS 0-9541602-0-7
Darvill, Simon Industrial Railways and Locomotives of India and South Asia 2013 Industrial Railway Society (be sure to also download his Indices for the book from the IRS website) 190155682-7
Harrison, Maurice A Indian Locomotives of Yesterday, Part 1: Broad-gauge 1972 Town and Country Press 0 904662 993
Hughes, Hugh Indian Locomotives, Part 1 – Broad-gauge 1851-1940 1990 CRC 0 9503469 8 5
Hughes, Hugh Indian Locomotives, Part 2 – Metre-gauge 1872-1940 1992 CRC 0 9503469 9 3
Hughes, Hugh Indian Locomotives, Part 3 – Narrow-gauge 1863-1940 1994 CRC 0 9521655 0 3
Hughes, Hugh Indian Locomotives, Part 4 – 1941-1990 1996 CRC 0 9521655 1 1
Narrow Gauge Railway Society Class A Locomotives of the Barsi Light Railway 2017 NGRS
Reed, Brian Loco Profile 17: Jones Goods and India L 1971 Profile Publications
Reed, Brian Loco Profile 23: Darjeeling Tanks 1972 Profile Publications
Thomas, Glyn Indian Steam Locomotives in HO Scale 2021 BORHT 978 1 901613 04 9
Thomas, Glyn Indian Rolling Stock in HO Scale 2022 Self-published 979 8 218 03652 2

General Locomotive and Rolling Stock History Books with Significant Indian Content

Author

Title

Date

Publisher

ISBN
Baker, AC and Civil, TDA Bagnalls of Stafford 1973 Oakwood Press
Baker, AC and Civil, Allen Bagnall Locomotives: A Pictorial Album of Bagnall Narrow Gauge Locomotives 1990 Trent Valley Publications 0-948131-27-6
Bradley, R. P. Giants of Steam, The Full Story of the North British Locomotive Co. Ltd. 1995 Oxford Publishing Co. 0-86093-505-1
Carling, D Rock 4-8-0 Tender Locomotives 1971 David and Charles 0 7153 5204 0
Civil, Allen and Etherington, Roy The Railway Products of Baguley-Drewry Ltd and its Predecessors 2008 Industrial Railway Society 978 901556 44 1
Court, JH North British Steam Locomotives Built 1857-1956 for Railways Overseas Bradford Barton, Truro
Davies, WJK The Early Years of the Motor Rail and Tram Car Company 1911-1931 2008 Plateway Press 1 871980 58 5
Durrant, AE Garratt Locomotives of the World 1987 Bracken Books 0 7153 7641 1
Gudgin, DSE Vulcan Foundry Locomotives, 1832-1956 1976 Bradford Barton, Truro
Hills and Patrick Beyer, Peacock, Locomotive Builders to the World 1998 Venture Publications 1898432 05 8
Hutchings, John M. Sentinel Locomotives and Sentinel-Cammell Railcars Industrial Railway Society 978 1 912995 02-8
Lowe, James W British Steam Locomotive Builders 1975, 1989 Guild Publishing
Moore, GS Catalogue of Nasmyth Wilson and Co 1981
Neale, Andrew WG Bagnall Ltd, Narrow Gauge Locomotives and Rolling Stock, 1910 1989 (copy of 1910 document) Plateway Press
Redman, Ronald Nelson The Railway Foundry Leeds 1839-1969 1972 Goose and Son Publishers Ltd, Norwich
Redman, Ronald Nelson Hudsell Clarke and Co Ltd Railway Foundry - A Pictorial Album of Narrow Gauge Locomotives 1992 Trent Valley Publications 0-948131-32-2
Ruddock, JG and Pearson, RE Clayton Wagons Ltd. Manufacturers of Railway Carriages and Wagons 1920 to 1930 1989 J Ruddock Ltd 0 904327 06 X
Townsley, DH The Hunslet Engine Works Over a Century and a Half of Locomotive Building 1998 Plateway Press 1 871980 38 0
Brush Bulletin No5 Steam and Electric Locomotives 1974 (copy of 1904 document) Industrial Railway Society, Greenford
Kerr Stuart's Locomotives Ready for Immediate or Prompt Delivery, 1924 1991 (copy of 1924 document) Plateway Press, Brighton

Social History

Author

Title

Date

Publisher

ISBN
Hurd, J and Kerr, I India’s Railway History: a Research Handbook 2012 Oxford University Press 978 90 04 23003 3
Kerr, I Railways in Modern India 2001 Oxford University Press 0 19 567292 5
Kerr, I 27 Down, New Departures in Indian Railway Studies 2007 Oxford Longman 0 19 563444 6
Srinivasan, R; Tiwari, M; Silas, S Our Indian Railway, Themes in India’s Railway History 2006 Cambridge University Press, India 81-7596-330-1

Photo Books

Most of these books concentrate on the late steam era of the 1970's and 1980's.

Author

Title

Date

Publisher

ISBN
Jordan, Peter, edited by Charlesworth, D Darjeeling's Railway in Pictures DHRS
Gammell, CJ Relics of the Raj 1985 GRQ Publications 0-946863-01-6
Haslbeck, G and Wardale, D Steam on 4 Continents Part 3 Asia (Vol 1) 1991 Verlag Haslbeck 3-925314-02-4
Hughes, H Steam In India 1976 Bradford Barton 0 85153 2586
Jordan, P; Paget R; and Charlesworth, D India – No Problem Sahib! 1989 Three Counties Publishing 0-9514916-0-1
Marshall, Lawrence Indian Broad-gauge Steam remembered 2009 Taverner Publications 1 901470 15 6
Marshall, Lawrence Indian Metre-Gauge Steam Remembered 2005 Plateway Press 1 871980 54 2
Marshall, Lawrence Indian Narrow Gauge Steam Remembered 2001 Plateway Press 1 871980 48 8
Moore, Dennis Steam Across India 2012 Blurb.com
Pro, Kemuri Darjeeling and Matheran Steam on 2ft Lines 1969 Nankaru Publishing Bureau
Strickland, Keith Steam Railways Around the World 1991 Alan Sutton Publishing, Stroud
Westwood, JN British Built Steam Locos Overseas 1977 Bradford Barton 0 85153 284 5
Woods, G Indian Steam in the 1970s 2017 Amberley Publishing 978 1 4456 6678 5

Atlases

Author

Title

Date

Publisher

ISBN
Hollingsworth, JB The Atlas of Train Travel 1980 Sidgwick and Jackson, London
Hollingsworth, JB Atlas of the World's Railways 1980 Bison Books, London
Roychoudhury, Samit The Great Indian Railway Atlas 2nd Edition, 2010 Calcutta Art Studio Pvt Ltd, Kolkata, India 81-901457-1-1

Travelogues

Author

Title

Date

Publisher

ISBN
Rajesh, Monisha Around India in 80 Trains 2012 Nicholas Brealey Publishing
Riordan, Peter Strangers in My Sleeper: Rail Journeys and Encounters on the Indian Subcontinent 2006 New Holland
Theroux, Paul The Great Railway Bazaar 1976 Ballantine Books 0395207088

Fiction

Old fiction can appear politically incorrect to modern readers. However, it can be very useful to understand the racial, class, and gender assumptions of the past. Historical details are often observed from real-life and provide interesting colour to balance stright histories.

Author

Title

Date
Bayley, Victor North West Mail 1939
Kipling, Rudyard Plain Tales from the Hills 1888
Kipling, Rudyard Indian Tales Collected in 1953
Masters, John Bhowani Junction 1954

Articles on Academia.edu

Academia.edu is a website where authors can self-publish academic articles. There are quite a few articles on Indian Railways, and they often take an unusual perspective. Best of all, they are available for free download.

Author

Title

Date

Publisher
Asim, Muhammad and Imtiaz, Qanita Pakistan Railways at the Verge of Collapse

2014

International Review of Management and Business Research

Ballabh, Govind

RAIL ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA

2003

 

Bhagat, Gautam KR

 Gauge Policy of the Colonial Government: A Reappraisal

2019

Sage

Gangwar, Rachna

Indian Railways in the Past Twenty Years Issues, Performance and Challenges

2009

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

Heim, Riwan

Colonial Modernities: Building, Dwelling and Architecture in British India and Ceylon

2007

Routledge

Hilaly, Sarah

Railways and Colonialism: The Kachugaon Forest Tramway in Assam

2016

Global Journal of Indian History and  Culture

Hutchings, Mark

INDIAN RAILWAYS MAINTENANCE MANUAL FOR DIESEL LOCOMOTIVES

2013

 

Jain, Parul

 Rail infrastructure in colonial Mumbai : Unveiling Mumbai's DNA

2013

Hilde Heynen

Joshi, Moulshri

Report : Inventory of Industrial Heritage of India

c.2016

 

Krishnan, Aachi

Advent and Expansion of Railways: Indian Experience

2012

 

Le Hoai, Nam

Railway Engineering

2007

Oxford University Press

Li, Brenda

The Train Journey of a Tibetan Pilgrim Monk in India in 1924

2016

 

Maurya, Vidyut Prakash

IHC_MONO RAIL IN INDIA -PSMT A LANDMARK

2017

 

Maurya, Vidyut Prakash

SHAHDARA SAHARANPUR LIGHT RAILWAY – MARTIN’S BIGGEST NARROW GAUGE RAIL NETWORK

2019

 

Mishra, Ankush

Industrial Training Report (Mechanical workshop, North Eastern Railway, Gorakhpur)

2017

 

Pereira, Hugo Silveira

Railways and Economic Development in India and Portugal: The Mormugão and Tua Lines Compared, ca. 1880 to ca. 1930, and Briefly Onwards

2019

Revista Brasileira de História

Pereira, Hugo Silveira

Especulação, Tecnodiplomacia e os caminhos-de-ferro coloniais entre 1857 e 1881

2017

 

Sarkar, Suvobrata

Technological Momentum: Bengal in the Nineteenth Century

2010

Indian Historical Review

Sinh, Nitin

India and its Interior: Ch. 2 of Communication and Colonialism in Eastern India Bihar, 1760s-1880s

 

 

Sinha, Nitin

Entering the black hole: Between ‘mini-England’ and ‘smell-like rotten potato’, the railway-workshop town of Jamalpur, 1860s-1940s’

2012

Routledge

Wolmar, Christian

A railway for India

 

 

Yakthumba, KK

CHAPTER V Impact of Railways in South India

 

 

Academic Journal Articles from JSTOR

There are thousands of journal articles that reference Indian railways. The following list of journal articles was extracted from the JSTOR search engine and was selected for the most relevance to the study of Indian railway history.

Author

Title

Date

Publisher

Andrabi, Tahir and Kuehlwein, Michael

Railways and Price Convergence in British India

2010

The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 70, No. 2 (JUNE 2010), pp. 351-377

Anon

ACCIDENTS ON INDIAN RAILWAYS

1912

Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, Vol. 60, No. 3115 (AUGUST 2, 1912), pp. 877-878

Anon

THE INDIAN RAILWAYS

1908

Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, Vol. 56, No. 2905 (JULY 24, 1908), pp. 842-843

Awasthi, Aruna

RAILWAYS AND CULTURAL HISTORY: A STUDY OF POETIC REPRESENTATIONS

2011

Proceedings of the Indian History Congress
Vol. 72, PART-I (2011), pp. 955-967 (13 pages)
Published By: Indian History Congress

Awasthi, Aruna

ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION: A CASE STUDY OF RAILWAYS AND DEFORESTATION IN INDIA IN THE NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES

1999

Proceedings of the Indian History Congress
Vol. 60, DIAMOND JUBILEE (1999), pp. 572-581 (10 pages)
Published By: Indian History Congress

Awasthi, Aruna

Indian Railways - The Gauge Problem 1853-1990

1990

Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 51 (1990), p. 503

Bandyopadhyay, Madhumita

RECRUITING LABOUR: EXPERIENCE OF BB&CI RAILWAY (1852-1869)

2012

Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 73 (2012), pp. 872-879

 

Bandyopadhyay, Madhumita

 

TECHNOLOGICAL EXPERIMENTS IN BRIDGE MAKING IN BB & CI RAILWAY

2014

Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 75, Platinum Jubilee (2014), pp. 659-667

Benjamin, N

GREAT INDIAN PENINSULA RAILWAY COMPANY AND CHRISTIANITY IN NINETEENTH CENTURY

1999

Proceedings of the Indian History Congress
Vol. 60, DIAMOND JUBILEE (1999), pp. 562-571 (10 pages)
Published By: Indian History Congress

Bhambi, Rita P

GREAT INDIAN PENINSULA RAILWAY COMPANY AND ITS CONTRACTORS (1853-1871)

2012

Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 73 (2012), pp. 880-887

Bogart,Dan and Chaudhary, Latika

Engines of Growth: The Productivity Advance of Indian Railways, 1874–1912

2013

The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 73, No. 2 (JUNE 2013), pp. 339-370

Brunton, J Forrest

INDIAN RAILWAYS

1912

Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, Vol. 60, No. 3107 (JUNE 7, 1912), pp. 727-728

Brunton, J Forrest

INDIAN RAILWAYS

1912

Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, Vol. 60, No. 3114 (JULY 26, 1912), p. 866

Das, Manmath Nath

THE MARQUIS OF DALHOUSIE, A SKETCH OF HIS CHARACTER AND PERSONALITY

1957

Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 20 (1957), pp. 266-274

Headrick, Daniel

A Double-Edged Sword: Communications and Imperial Control in British India

2010

Historical Social Research / Historische Sozialforschung, Vol. 35, No. 1 (131), Global Communication: Telecommunication and Global Flows of Information in the Late 19th and Early 20th Century / Globale Kommunikation: Telekommunikation und globale Informationsflüsse im späten 19. Und frühen 20. Jahrhundert (2010), pp. 51-65

Karsten, Peter

Before Bhopal: Explaining the Infrequency of Railway Accident Victim Compensation, 1889–1931: Karmic Fatalism or Colonial Law and Policy?

2015

The American Journal of Legal History, Vol. 55, No. 4 (DECEMBER 2015), pp. 433-464

Kelway-Bamber,  H

THE CARRIAGE OF COAL BY RAIL IN INDIA

1919

Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, Vol. 67, No. 3454 (JANUARY 31, 1919), pp. 150-164

Kumari, Pushpa

THE IMPACT OF RAILWAYS ON BIHAR'S ECONOMY: (1860-1920)

2010

Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 70 (2009-2010), pp. 724-732

Kumari, Pushpa

DEVELOPMENT OF RAILWAYS IN BIHAR IN SECOND HALF OF THE 19 th CENTURY

2006

Proceedings of the Indian History Congress
Vol. 66 (2005-2006), pp. 1475-1476 (2 pages)
Published By: Indian History Congress

Lehmann, Fritz

EMPIRE AND INDUSTRY : LOCOMOTIVE BUILDING INDUSTRIES IN CANADA AND INDIA, 1850-1939

1979

Proceedings of the Indian History Congress
Vol. 40 (1979), pp. 985-996 (12 pages)
Published By: Indian History Congress

Macpherson, WJ

Investment in Indian Railways, 1845-1875

1955

The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 8, No. 2 (1955), pp. 177-186

McAlpin, Michelle Burge

Railroads, Prices, and Peasant Rationality: India 1860-1900

1974

The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Sep., 1974), pp. 662-684

Mukerji, Amit and Sharma, RC

Acquisition of Land for Railway Construction in the Agra District

1990

Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 51 (1990), pp. 420-425

Priestley, Neville

INDIAN RAILWAYS

1912

Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, Vol. 60, No. 3106 (MAY 31, 1912), pp. 693-708

Raju , P Yanadi

Transport and Communication in Rayalseema (1800-1920)

1990

Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 51 (1990), pp. 561-565

Royal-Dawson, Frederick George

THE NEED FOR AN ALL-INDIA GAUGE POLICY

1922

Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, Vol. 70, No. 3630 (JUNE 16, 1922), pp. 527-547

Saigal, Brij

LORD ELGIN I AND THE INDIAN RAILWAYS

1951

Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 14 (1951), pp. 279-284

Saritha, SR

 

SOUTHERN RAILWAY; A JOURNEY THROUGH THE VALLEY OF DEATH TO PARADISE

 

2014

Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 75, Platinum Jubilee (2014), pp. 668-671

Sweeney, Stuart

Indian Railroading: Floating Railway Companies in the Late Nineteenth Century

2009

The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 62, No. S1, Finance, Investment and Risk (Aug., 2009), pp. 57-79

Thorner, Daniel

Capital Movement and Transportation: Great Britain and the Development of India's Railways

1951

The Journal of Economic History
Vol. 11, No. 4 (Autumn, 1951), pp. 389-402 (14 pages)
Published By: Cambridge University Press

Tiwary, Vijay Kumar

ADVENT OF INDIAN RAILWAYS: ITS EXPANSION IN THE BORDERING DISTRICTS OF NEPAL AND THEIR IMPACT ON INDO- NEPAL TRADE RELATIONS (1846-1947)

2008

Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 69 (2008), pp. 635-643

Indian Railway Study Group

The Indian Railways Study Group was run by Kelvin White in 1991-3. When his work prevented Mr White from continuing and nobody else volunteered to run the Group, it was closed down and its archives deposited with BORHT. See BORHT's index for more details.

For convenience, the data sheets are provided below.

Adminstrative Reports of Indian Railways and Indian Railway Year Books

The annual Administrative Reports of Indian Railways were the colonial equivalent to modern corporate annual reports. They included a wealth of information about railway operations, including traffic statistics and financial results. There are also textual descriptions of various aspects of operations including staff, materials, rolling stock, changes to lines, and accidents.

Depending on the level of detail required, summaries of the Administrative Reports were often published in journals at the time, e.g. Indian Industries and Power. Hurd and Kerr's Indian Railway History book has also tabulated many of the statistics from the Administrative Reports.

Indian Railways Year Books serve the same function as the Administrative Reports for the railways since independence.

Films and Videos

It is worth searching YouTube for relevant Indian Railway videos, although the majority are of current day operations there are some videos converted from film taken in the 1980s.

See also videos produced by BORHT member, Nick Lera; some of these are available to buy from BORHT.

Internet Sites

The Indian Steam Railway Society appears to have become dormant. Their electronic journal featured historical articles and may still be available from some sources.

There are also many Facebook groups around Indian railways, so search Facebook with specific keywords. IRFCA has a very active WhatsApp group as well, although the volume of traffic can be overwelming.

Museums

Indian Railways has been active in setting up museums to house historic artifacts from the railways. Several of these are reported to have document archives, but it has been impossible to confirm their holdings without in person visits.

Notable examples include:

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