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Building a Railway Carriage Against Time

An interesting record achieved upon the Great Indian Peninsula Railway in building a carriage in forty working hours

ROLLING STOCK - 11

WORKMEN AND MATERIALS assembled on the Monday morning.

NOW and again a railway company, or a private organisation supplying necessaries for the railway, indulges in what may be described as a strenuous race against the clock in the performance of some particular undertaking. We have had a locomotive built in ten hours, a timber trestle 1 miles long run up in six weeks, and a steel bridge erected in a few hours or days, according to its dimensions. Such record-breaking achievements are only possible when the organisation of the particular concern is perfect, with men of the highest skill, and who appreciate the opportunity to let themselves go! At the same time, however, the countries in which such records can be put up are somewhat limited, being restricted for the most part to the leading railways and concerns of Great Britain, and the United States, and Canada.

But occasionally the comparatively unskilled workmen, to whom the word “hustle” is unknown, and who, as a rule, cannot be induced to let himself go, is able to set up a performance which, if completed by highly-skilled men, would be regarded as distinctly meritorious. This fact was demonstrated very conclusively in the carriage-building works of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, at Parel, Bombay, the organisation of which has been raised to an extremely high standard.

One day the operating department of this big railway found that it wanted urgently a standard 62-feet trailer coach for service with a small tank engine. The discovery was made somewhat late, so, to meet the situation, a “rush order” was given. When this was received by Mr. Arthur M. Bell, M.I.M.E., the carriage and wagon superintendent, he resolved to treat it as an urgent requirement, and considered that it offered him a unique opportunity to test the organisation of his workshops and the capacity of his workmen.

THE RESULT OF THE SECOND DAY’S WORK.

The superintendent was merely given the general indication of the type of vehicle required, and its projected service. The drawings first had to be prepared, and these were carried out at express speed. The requisition called for a two four-wheeled bogie coach with a steel underframe 60 feet long, giving the car an over-all length of 62 feet, by 9 feet 6 inches wide. Accommodation was to be provided for 6 first-class and 48 second-class passengers. In addition, there was to be a private compartment for 12 women, a luggage room, and guard’s compartment.

While the drawings were under way, the orders for the necessary material were handed out to the different departments. The whole of the woodwork was prepared from the raw material, some 600 cubic feet of timber having to be cut, planed, and machined, to furnish 92 windows and shutters respectively, 19 doors, in addition to compartment partitions, roof-frames, roofing, walls, seat frames, and a hundred and one other details. All the material for this vehicle came from some part of the British Empire. British steel formed the underframe; the framing of the body was fashioned from Burmah teak; while Australian wood sufficed for the greater part of the remaining woodwork.

By the end of 26 days everything was ready for actual erection. Every detail required was marshalled in the erecting yard, and all was left ready on the Saturday for commencing the task of building against time at 8.30 on the following Monday morning. The scope of the enterprise was explained to the workmen, and they entered into the spirit of the test of their skill and organisation with keen zest. No overtime whatever was to be permitted; the men were to labour only during the usual eight-hour day.

At 8 o’clock on the Monday morning the men were assembled in the yard to receive their orders. There were 88 in all, under 8 foremen or “maistries”, with Mr. Bell himself supervising the undertaking in general. When the half-hour struck, the natives buckled into their task merrily. Although the working space necessarily was somewhat cramped, the division of the labour was so perfect that each gang was able to undertake its special duty without fouling or interrupting any other. Some of the gangs started upon the framing, others took the floor in hand, while further gangs attacked the ends and sides. When work was knocked off at 4.30 in the afternoon the back of the job had been broken, and everything augured for a highly creditable performance.

THE COACH AND THE WORKMEN who built it in 40 working hours.

The pace put up on the first day was maintained during the Tuesday. While gangs were hard at work on the actual body and framing, other bodies of workmen were engaged upon numerous other details. A crew of 66 carpenters, under 3 foremen, set about the construction of the doors, windows, shutters, seats, etc, while 9 other men concentrated their energies upon the upholstery, blinds and other internal embellishments. By the end of the day the underframe was in position, the whole of the framework of the superstructure, including the roof, was completed, and the ends and sides had been placed.

During the Wednesday the whole of the woodwork was finished, while the steelwork was likewise completed. Hard on the heels of the carpenters came the painters, and during the Wednesday afternoon the vehicle received its first, or priming, coat of paint.

On the morning of the fourth day the coach received its final coat of paint, lettering, numbering and varnish. The electrical staff also completed the electric-light fittings, the vacuum brake was installed and adjusted, while all door handles, window catches, and other furniture were set in place. When the men ceased work for the day at the usual hour the coach was completed, and was ready for service, subject to the official inspection. This was carried out at 8 o’clock on the Saturday morning by the agent and deputy-agent, and then the coach was run out of the yard and handed over for service.

Thus the coach had been put through within a month of the receipt of the order by Mr. Bell. Actual erection had occupied only 40 hours. Although the work was “rushed”, there was no undue speeding-up of the men, and the performance, rightly admitted to be a smart one, reflected considerable credit upon the efficiency of the Parel works and the completeness of Mr. Bell’s organisation, while, at the same time, it afforded a very graphic illustration of what can be done with local labour under competent British supervision and instruction.

A CORRIDOR TRAIN ON THE SUBURBAN SERVICE of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway.

You can read more on “Modern Transport in India”, and “The Railway Invasion of India - 1” and “Rolling Stock Construction” on this website.