The Western Railway

April 18, 1953 ACC at the Centenary Exhibition The Western Railway EATURING a reinforced con crete arch bridge motif, the HE Western Railway, which F according to the then policy of rais design of the ACC stall provides a came into being on the 5th T ing of foreign capital under a system splendid example of the versatility November, 1951, consists of the old of guaranteed return. In fifty years of concrete as a building material. B B & C I Railway (small metre of development, the present shape The daring cantilever projections gauge lengths of which were subse and extent of the Broad Gauge por and the pierced concrete panelling quently transferred to the Northern tion of the Western Railway came are outstanding among the novel and North-Eastern Railways), the into being. A still later develop features of the stall. Saurashtra, Jaipur and Rajasthan ment of the Broad Gauge line was (Udaipur) Railways, the 16-mile the electrification of the Bombay The valuable contribution made section Marwar Junction to Phulad Suburban Section of about 40 route by the Cement Industry in the de of the Jodhpur Railway, and the miles. velopment of our Railway system is Narrow Gauge Cutch State line The Metre Gauge portion of the vividly depicted through a series of (72 miles), together with the re Western Railway had its beginning photographic panels showing the cently constructed and opened in the 7o's when the section Delhi- various uses of cement for railway Deesa-Gandhidham Section con Rewari, including Farukhanagar structures ranging from large span necting with the projected port of Salt Branch, was constructed, which bridges, city terminal stations to Kandla in Cutch. was followed in quick succession by signal posts and gradient signs. Of The history of the constituent the linking up of the Sambar Salt particular interest are pictures of the railways which now form the West branch, Alwar, Jaipur, Ajmer, etc, newly constructed Baroda and ern Railway dates back to nearly to Delhi and Agra, almost on the Surat stations and the Assam Rail bundled years, '.The Government alignment of old Camel Caravan Link prestressed concrete bridges. of India, the .Indian Rulers or routes for ' Salt ' of the Great The exhibits comprise many in States and private enterprise, all Moghul days. About forty years of teresting working models, prominent have had shares in the origin and continuous development resulted in among them being one of an ACC development of these railways. The the Metre Gauge System of the Cement factory. The working model nucleus of what is today the West former B B & C I Railway; this of a Readymixed Concrete Plant is ern Railway, was started in i860, was the old Rajputana Malwa Rail another interesting exhibit. This with small length of Broad Gauge way, originally a Government Rail method of supply of cement ensures Railway lines on either side of Surat way and leased to the B B & C I ton trolled concrete of the proper constructed through the agency of Railway Company and incorporated quality and minimises supervision the B B & C I Railway Company, in the B B & C I Railway in 1885. expenses on the job. The ACC in- 459 April 18, 1953 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY tend, introducing concrete in such on the Vaitarna Dam Project in mes financed by the ACC and car ready mixed form in the city of Bombay State. ried out by their service organisa Bombay for the benefit of the pri A wall panel depicts the econo tion, The Concrete Association of vate builder. mic uses of cement concrete in the India, at various centres and is of Other models show the methods development of our villages. This special interest in the context of the adopted for the handling of cement section shows photographs of some various Community Projects now in bulk and batching of concrete of the 25 village improvement sche- under way all over the country. 460 .

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