The Cochin State Forest Tramway was a

cable railway Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a he ...

line that ran from the

Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, which also includes the erstwhile Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, is a protected area lying in Palakkad district and Thrissur district of Kerala state, South India. The Wildlife Sanctuary, which had an area of wa ...

in Palakkad District to the town of

Chalakudy Chalakudy is a municipal town situated on the banks of Chalakudy River in Thrissur district of the Kerala state in India. It is the headquarters of Chalakudy taluk. It is the base camp for travellers to Athirappilly Falls and Vazhachal Falls. ...

in Thrissur District in India. Operating from 1907 to 1963, it served the State of Cochin and brought prosperity by enabling the transport of

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters ( pan ...

and

rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated ...

from the forest into town. These goods could then be exported abroad.

History

Inception

The idea of a forest tramway was put forward by J.C. Kolhoff, first Conservator of Forests of the city of

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

, and was implemented by V. Alwar Chetty, a forest officer on special duty. British officers Haldwell and Floukes performed the initial survey and route. R.E. Haffield was the first tramway engineer who cleared the forests and laid down the lines. The tramway was built during the rule of Rama Varma XV,

Maharaja of Cochin The Kingdom of Cochin, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It commenced at the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until 1949, when monarchy w ...

(1895 to 1914). Sir

Oliver Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill Arthur Oliver Villiers Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill (19 February 1869 – 7 July 1935) was a British peer, rower, and civil servant. He served as Governor of Madras from October 1900 to February 1906, and as acting Viceroy of India from April t ...

, the

Governor of Madras This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947. English Agents In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized b ...

, inaugurated its construction on October 3, 1905. The tramway began operating in 1907. On June 26, 1907, the

passed the Cochin Forest Tramway Act, which provided for the protection and management of the tramway.

Tram routes

The tramway was divided into three sections: the first started from

and ended at Anapantham, covering a length of 21 miles; the second ran from Kavalai to Pothupara, covering six miles; and the third ran from Komalapara to Chinnar, covering 22.5 miles. The total length of tramway was 49.5 miles (79.5 km).

Machinery

used to house the tramway workshop and timber yard. The section had two locomotives to pull the trucks and saloons. The locomotives, rolling stock and machinery for the tramway were supplied by Orenstein and Koppel of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. P&W MacLennan of the U.K. supplied the bridges and culverts. K.R. Menon was the last tramway engineer. The tramway system had double lines and worked on rollers and cables. Empty wagons were rolled up while loaded wagons were pushed down along the other rails.Edward Harran
"The Cochin Forest Railway.'' In: ''Scientific American," 26 February 1910, p. 184-185.
Retrieved 10 September 2020.

Demise

In 1926, the special finance committee recommended the abolition of the tramway, but was rejected by the Government in 1928. Another special committee was set up in 1950 under the chairmanship of the Chief Conservator of Forests, which recommended discontinuing of the tramway. In 1953, another commission was appointed but given the report that tramway should be revived at any cost. Finally in 1963, after serving 56 years and making modern

Cochin Port Cochin Port or Kochi Port is a major port on the Arabian Sea – Laccadive Sea – Indian Ocean sea-route in the city of Kochi and is one of the largest ports in India. It is also the first transshipment port in India. The port lies on t ...

a present-day commercial harbour and

City, the economic hub, the Cochin State Forest Tramway was abolished on the basis of a special finance committee report. The staff was absorbed in various departments of Government.

Legacy

The tramway was an engineering wonder in that period for

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...

. The money was used for building ports, bridges, roads, colleges, schools, etc.

, a major port on the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

–

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

sea-route, was constructed by the earnings from the tramway.

Willingdon Island Willingdon Island is the largest artificial island in India, which forms part of the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala. Much of the present Willingdon Island was claimed from the Lake of Kochi, filling in dredged soil around a previously ...

, which was created during construction of

, was also bankrolled by tramway revenues. Rama Varma XV of Cochin.JPG, Rama Varma XV was the brain behind the idea of Cochin State Forest Tramway Cochin State Forest Tramway - Incline 02.jpg, A section of the Tramway without locomotives Cochin State Forest Tramway - Incline.jpg, Steep incline section of the Tram Kochi City-sizzling port-W.ISLAND, that's created by Lord Bristow.jpg,

, the cherry in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

's growth, was constructed from the earnings of the tramway

References

External links

* * {{Railways in Southern India Tram transport in India Metre gauge railways in India Defunct railway companies of India Transport in Palakkad district Transport in Thrissur History of Thrissur district Kingdom of Cochin Railway companies established in 1907 Railway companies disestablished in 1963 1963 disestablishments in India Indian companies established in 1907