Train At A Railway Platform British India, 1914 Photo
This is a 1914 British India era photo of a Railway platform and train. The scene is from somewhere in Northern India Railway Station. The compartments and stations were in pathetic condition in those days. Even toilet facilities were not available on the trains for at least 50 years after the British introduced the first passenger train in India in 1853.
See my post- Antique Print First Passenger Train From Bombay to Thane 1853. In this photograph, the Railway station does not seem to have a proper platform or even roofing. Although the conveniences may have been poor, it was the only sure solution for long-distance overland travel at that time. Both the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR) and Bombay Baroda & Central India Railways (B.B & C.I) were adding newer lines rapidly every year.
So much so the whole of India was getting crisscrossed with railway lines. Making it easier for passengers to reach remote destinations which was not possible some years before. Buses did not function till the 1920-30s, that too it ran only for limited distances once it first started plying. See my post- Railway Life Train Journey Across India – Old Photo 1929. Read more- How Trains Ran In British Era.
Did you know- the earlier trains as shown in this photograph had no light after dark. It was the candles brought by the passengers that provided the lights inside the compartments.
From the collection- Antique Photo GIPR Steam Locomotive Bombay., Print Of Madras Central Station., Vintage Postcard Birds-Eye-View of Benares / Varanasi., Vintage 1924 Map Of Bombay City., Vintage Raja Ravi Varma “Laxmi” Oleograph
