Unlocking a treasure trove of archives, the Railways has brought on display over 200 rare black and white and sepia-toned images in an exquisite collection titled '160 Years of Indian Railways: An exhibition of selected photographs from the Indian Railways' that opened up for view recently at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.
"Railways have been so intrinsic to people's lives in India. And, through this exhibition we wanted to bring its inception and history closer to people's mind which may be getting lost in the annals of time," says Director, Information and Publicity, Indian Railways, Seema Sharma.
So, pictures of a late 19th century image of Gothic Victoria Terminus (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) in then Bombay, one of Frontier Mail with its front decked up with British flags, royal guests being received at a makeshift station built in Delhi during the 1911 Durbar, as well as a rare old photo of Ranchi, Bilaspur and Colaba stations built in Victorian style, among others, are on view.
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One photograph captures a narrow gauge train (Dabhoi to Miyagam) of 1863 which has bullocks pulling it instead of an engine.
The collection is divided into several themes like -- 'Station Architecture', 'Locomotives and Trains', 'Personalities', 'Carriages and Wagons', 'Men at Work' among others.
"The 'Station Architecture' has a special segment as many stations today look completely different compared to what their look was back in those years. The Ranchi station has changed a lot and the two pictures displayed here show the rare heritage look of the building in the colonial days," says Seema.