Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway (GBSR) or Gaikwad Baroda State Railway was a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

railway line owned by the

Princely State of Baroda Baroda State was a state in present-day Gujarat, ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty of the Maratha Confederacy from its formation in 1721 until its accession to the newly formed Dominion of India in 1949. With the city of Baroda (Vadodara) as its c ...

, which was ruled by the

Gaekwar The Gaekwads of Baroda (also spelled as Gaikwads, Guicowars, Gaekwars) (IAST: ''Gāyakavāḍa'') are a Hindu Maratha dynasty origin of the former Maratha Empire and its subsequent Princely States. A dynasty belonging to this clan ruled the prin ...

dynasty.

History

Bullocks hauled train on 2 feet 6 inches wide 3 lbs rail to connect Dabhoi with Miagam

The railway track has the distinction of being the first narrow-gauge line to be laid in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, and also the first railway to be owned by any

Princely State A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. In 1862, Maharaja

Khanderao Gaekwad Shrimant Maharaja Sir Khanderao II Gaekwad, Sena Khas Khel Shamsher Bahadur, GCSI (1828–1870) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1856 to 1870.Indian States: A Biographical, Historical, and Administrative Survey by Arnold Wright - 1922 - P ...

, the Maharaja of Baroda, inaugurated of a railway line from

Dabhoi Dabhoi is a town and a municipality in the Vadodara district in the state of Gujarat, India. History Dabhoi was historically known as Darbhavati, Darbikagrama, Darbhavatipura, and Dabhohi. It is first mentioned in the sixth century astrono ...

Miyagam Karjan is a city and a municipality in Vadodara district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Karjan is known for Shri Shankheshwar Parshwanath Jain Tirth at Anastu and Sumeru Navkar Jain Tirth - The Golden Temple. Demographics As of the 2001 India ...

. Oxen were used to haul the train, although in 1863, Nielson & Co. built a locomotive to be operated on the line from Dabhoi to Miyagram, as the 6.5 km/m rails were not suited for the regular use of an engine. Later, during the rule of

Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III Sayajirao Gaekwad III (born Shrimant Gopalrao Gaekwad; 11 March 1863 – 6 February 1939) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal Gae ...

, the railway's network was further expanded. In 1873, the Dabhoi-Miyagam line (the first line) was re-laid with stronger rails to allow locomotives to be used, rather than oxen. However, locomotives were not regularly used on the line until 1880. During the Maharaja's reign, railway network extended to Goyagate, Chandod,

Bodeli Bodeli is a town and taluka in Chhota Udaipur district in the eastern part of the state of Gujarat, India. History Bodeli became a taluka on 26 January 2013 along with the new district of Chhota Udaipur. It was part of the Vadodara distric ...

and Samalaya Jn with Dabhoi as its focal point. In 1949, the GBSR was merged with the

Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway The Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway (reporting mark BB&CI) was a company incorporated in 1855 to undertake the task of constructing railway lines between Bombay to the erstwhile Baroda State, that became the present-day Baroda (Vadoda ...

which was subsequently merged in 1951 with other adjacent zones to form Western Railway. The narrow-gauge line is currently under conversion to broad gauge.

Rolling stock

In 1936, the company owned 66 locomotives, 3 railcars, 483 coaches and 1674 goods wagons.

Classification

It was labeled as a Class II railway according to Indian Railway Classification System of 1926.

History

Rolling stock

Classification

See also

References

Further reading