Cleaning during Diwali unearths Railways’ Britishera album
MUMBAI: Routine Diwali cleaning led Central Railway authorities to a hidden historical treasure.
While clearing a drawing room at their headquarters last week, they stumbled upon a collection of rare pictures and newspapers, most of which are from the early 1950s. Some of them even date back to the 1850s, they said.
The photographs depict the construction of the railways all across India and can be traced back to the British era.
As for the city, the book has the earliest, and never seen designs of the suburban railway stations, including those at Byculla, Sion, Kurla and Ghatkopar, drawn up by the engineers during British era.
The intricate and detailed designs are accompanied by descriptions of the events that occurred while the stations were being constructed.
The album includes a picture of a news article dating back to 1854, which showcases the view from Sion hill station, as it was called then, and a rare picture of Tapti bridge, located in Surat.
There are also rare pictures of three-cylinder ‘pacific’ express locomotives, steam engines, trains being tested on Chambal Bridge and car stairs being used by the engineering department.
The pictures give viewers a peek into the massive efforts put in by railway workers, said authorities.
PAST DISCOVERIES
Last year, the Indian Railways unveiled a series of historic books which date back between 1890 and 1920. These books illustrated the story of the Indian Railways.