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Construction
of
Lansdowne
bridge
sukkur
1885
to
1889
The
Royal
Commonwealth
Society
Library
is
delighted
to
have
acquired
at
auction
a
stunning
presentation
album
commemorating
the
opening
on
25
March
1889
of
the
Lansdowne
Bridge,
which
spans
the
Indus
River
between
Sukkur
and
Rohri
in
the
Sindh
province
of
Pakistan
(Y30244A).
It
is
signed
by
the
engineer
who
superintended
the
construction,
Frederick
Ewart
Robertson
(1847-1912).
After
articling
with
a
British
railway
engineer,
Robertson
joined
the
Indian
Public
Works
Department
in
1868,
working
on
the
North
Western
State
Railway.
He
went
on
to
an
extremely
successful
career,
serving
as
Chief
Engineer
of
the
East
Indian
Railway,
President
of
the
Egyptian
Railway
Board
and
on
the
British
Council
of
the
Institute
of
Civil
Engineers.During
the
British
colonial
era,
the
North
Western
Railway
had
been
extended
to
Sukkur
by
1879,
but
relied
upon
a
steam
ferry
to
cross
the
Indus
to
Rohri,
which
was
limited,
slow
and
unwieldy.
A
crossing
was
considered
essential
to
link
Lahore
with
the
major
port
of
Karachi
on
the
Arabian
Sea,
and
the
section
where
the
Indus
is
divided
by
the
island
of
Bukkur
was
chosen
as
the
most
advantageous.
Bridging
the
smaller
Sukkur
channel
was
straightforward,
since
its
rocky
bottom
provided
a
solid
foundation
for
masonry
piers,
but
spanning
the
wider
Rohri
channel
was
a
more
challenging
task,
since
its
silty
bottom
would
not
allow
pillars
to
be
employed.Between
1872
and
1882
various
designs
were
considered,
before
one
by
the
British
civil
engineer
Sir
Alexander
Meadows
Rendel
(1829–1918)
was
accepted.
Rendel
had
been
appointed
consulting
engineer
to
the
East
Indian
Railway
during
the
late
1850s.
His
work
in
India
was
distinguished
by
other
major
bridging
projects,
including
the
Upper
Son
Bridge
of
Patna,
the
Alexandra
Bridge
over
the
Chenab,
the
Hardinge
Bridge
over
the
Ganges,
and
the
Empress
Bridge
over
the
Sutlej.
Rendel’s
design
for
Lansdowne
Bridge
featured
two
anchored
cantilevers,
each
310
feet
long,
carrying
a
suspended
span
of
200
feet
in
the
middle.
The
girder
contract
was
awarded
to
Westwood,
Baillie
&
Co.
of
London,
who
assembled
the
170
feet
tall
cantilevers
in
their
yard,
amazing
spectators,
before
shipping
the
parts
to
India.
When
completed
in
1889,
the
Lansdowne
Bridge
became
the
longest
rigid
girder
bridge
span
in
the
world.
Sadly
six
workers
died
during
construction:
four
from
falls
and
two
from
equipment
falling
upon
them.
In
monetary
terms,
the
total
cost
was
roughly
2.7
million
rupees.Every
stage
of
this
arduous
engineering
project
is
thoroughly
documented
in
the
album’s
65
photographs,
beginning
with
the
bridging
of
the
Sukkur
channel
in
1885
(Y30244A/2-6),
and
concluding
with
a
two-part
panorama
of
the
completed
Lansdowne
Bridge
(Y30244A/64-65).
The
bridge
was
formally
opened
by
Lord
Reay,
the
Governor
of
Bombay,
who
deputised
for
the
Viceroy,
Lord
Lansdowne,
after
whom
the
bridge
was
named.
Reay
unlocked
an
ornamental
padlock,
designed
by
J.
L.
Kipling,
Principal
of
the
Mayo
School
of
Art
(and
father
of
the
famous
writer
Rudyard
Kipling),
releasing
the
iron
gates
which
restricted
access
to
the
bridge.
In
Y30244A/63,
Reay
can
be
seen
holding
the
padlock
while
Robertson
holds
the
key.
Robertson’s
second
in
command
M.S.N.
Hecquet
also
appears
in
the
photo.
It
should
be
possible
to
identify
other
members
of
the
construction
team
in
the
album,
such
as
Overseer
A.D.
Hecquet,
Sub-Overseer
Faiz
Mahomed
and
assistant
engineers
P.
Duncan,
R.
Egerton
and
J.
Adam.
Robertson
was
created
a
Companion
of
the
Indian
Empire
in
recognition
of
the
monumental
task
of
completing
the
bridge,
and
eventually
went
into
partnership
with
Rendel
in
1898.
The
Lansdowne
Bridge
still
functions,
although
rail
traffic
was
transferred
to
the
great
steel
Ayub
arch
bridge,
built
alongside
it
between
1960
and
1962,
so
close
in
fact,
that
from
a
distance,
the
two
appear
as
one
structure.
An
image
from
another
RCS
collection
records
the
final
stages
of
its
construction
and
it
was
opened
by
Pakistan’s
President
Muhammad
Ayub
Khan
on
6
May
1962.
The