The Legend of Loe Shilman Railway
Stories from Frontier
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Boasting a height of 1496 ft above sea level, this is Jamrud Railway Station
Sipping Peshawari Qehwa, visiting with a group of friendly khassadars I was here to explore a ghost line
A gravestone in Peshawar sent me here

In Tehkal Christian Cemetery I visited 36 yrs old Edwin Thomas Large, who had died at Shahidmaina in 1907 while employed on 'Loi' Shilman Railway

The line to Landi Kotal had commenced late in mid 1920s
The news of railway activity in Loe Shilman in 1907 was quite intriguing

The prospect of linking Khyber with Afghanistan via railway had always fascinated the British
In 1898 a survey was done for meter guage via Khyber Pass to as far ahead as Landi Kotal
By then rail-head was at Peshawar

In 1904 with rail-head at Jamrud, Capt L.E.Hopkins did another survey aiming a short cut route via Loe Shilman valley
The route did not follow Khyber Pass but deviated north through Kabul river gorge
Now this proposed line did not branch off at Jamrud, so I was at the wrong venue

There was an intermediary station b/w Peshawar and Jamurd, Kacha Garhi
A present day map puts Kacha Gharay near Hayatabad in area called Regi Lalma
The line from Kacha Garhi to Warsak was ready in 1907 and had train service, two trains a day from Peshawar
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*Ajai Banerji abn397*

From Jamrud we retrace our steps to Kacha Gharay (Regi Lalma)
From here a line left Peshawar-Jamrud tracks heading Warsak
With no remains of track we don't have an exact alignment of this route
Beyond Warsak the line was to follow Kabul River and here arose two alternatives

@andrew_grantham has more details
One route departing from Kabul River followed alignment of Loe Shilman Valley upto Shilman Ghakki Pass
The other along the more circuitous route of Kabul River upto the fort at Dakka

(red & orange routes on google earth animation: above)

With the line exposed to tribal attacks it was an expansive undertaking for manpower and resources
Mr Grantham gives us a glimpse of the employment of rifles, cavalry & the blockhouses planned to protect the line
His wonderful blog is available at
http://www.andrewgrantham.co.uk/afghanistan/railways/kabul-river-and-khyber-pass/

1905: construction commenced on "Kabul River" a railway line across challenging Loe Shilman or along equally treacherous Kabul River gorge
1909: changing political dynamics brought it to an abrupt closure. The rails pulled up & girders withdrawn
It never reached Durand Line

Coming back to Jamrud, we did have a consolation prize: A peak across the imposing mountains of Khyber Pass
Snaking across this historic route aspiring to reach the border at Torkham, a railway line was indeed laid by the British
That happened 16 years after Kabul River project

Opened in 1925 upto Landi Kotal and extended to Landi Khana the next year
A 1930 North Western Railway timetable tells us of 7 day service between Peshawar and Landi Kotal of which two days, Mondays and Thursdays trains chugged passed Landi Kotal ....
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*Ajai Banerji abn397*

... and reached Landi Khana, the not so grand railway terminus in the grand Khyber Pass

Like the legend of Loe Shalman, this too, dear reader, is now a tale of the past …