RIP -- GIP wares

The Central Railway wiped out one of the few remaining
relics of the British-formed Great Indian Peninsula
Railway (GIPR) Company last week by uprooting the last
working section of a century-old bull-headed railway
track near Kurla railway station of Central Railway in
Mumbai division as a part of its technical upgradation
program.

The section of the track, which was on the original
network of GIPR lines in Mumbai, was ripped up last
week as a part of preparations to install alternate
current traction and new track technology, which led
the authorities to immensely change track layouts in
the area.

The GIPR was the India's first railway company.

The section of the track, which lay between the “Up
Through” (Fast trains to the erstwhile Victoria
Terminus, also called the fourth track) and the “Down”
line of the harbour branch, was till recently used by
electric multiple units which were parked at the
sidings diesel locomotive shed at Kurla.

The track comprised bull-headed rails resting on
original double-grip chairs with letters G.I.P.R
inscribed on them with the year 1911. A few other
chairs had subsequent dates of 1912, 13. The oldest
year being 1911 and the latest being 1913 among them.

The track had been based on the wooden sleepers and
also consisted of a rail joint with cast iron plates
with inscriptions G.I.P.R. A section of the track went
into a shed which was used to store over-head
equipment maintenance wagons and also had a pit. The
shed was demolished in early January.

The authorities have ripped up the bull-headed rails
ruthlessly splitting up most of the double-grip chairs
and breaking up the hinges on which they rested. A
heap of the remains of the track can be found lying
near the “Up Through” track near Kurla station. (Poles
15/5 and 15/6). 

A lot of pics of the uprooted rails, the original
chairs with the original inscriptions, the remains of
the track bed will be up on the Indian Railways
Heritage Support Group’s Yahoo page in the photos
section by Thursday. The pics are ready and just need
to be uploaded. Send a mail to
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=====
Permanent postal address:

Rajendra Aklekar
140-4752, Nehru Nagar, Kurla east
Mumbai. Maharashtra. India.
PIN: 400 024
Tel: (91-022) 565 3078, 522 9671

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