Alexandra Bridge’, constructed near the town of Wazirabad, carried the Punjab Northern State Railway(PNSR) over the River Chenab. The bridge was 9,300 feet(2830mtr) long and 100 feet (30mtr) deep. The first brick was laid on the 1 Nov 1871; and the structure was formally opened by his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales on 27 Jan 1876, and the first section, viz., from Lahore to Jhelum, 103 miles(165km), was opened for traffic [1].The ‘Alexandra Bridge’ was designed to the metre gauge(MG) and the first train metre gauge train passed over the bridge on the 23 Dec 1875 and ran to Gujrat(Goojrat) on the new line just constructed [2]The Punjab Northern State Railway(PNSR) , together with the associated 3 bridges, was the first attempt of railway construction under the newly formed Public Works Department - Railway Branch.The bridges were :-‘Alexandra Bridge’ over the River ChenabJhelum Bridge, over the River JhelumRavi Bridge(Ravee Bridge), over the River Ravi(Ravee)Spelling NoteEarlier town names are used in some records and shown it italics :-Wazirabad (WuzerabadGujrat(Goojrat)Peshawar(Peshawur)Also mentioned is:-River Chenab (ancient Ascesines)ContentsGauge QuestionIn January 1871 the orders of the Government of India were issued to adopt the metre or 3 feet 3⅜ inches gauge (MG) on all new railway constructions [3]. The girders for the bridges were ordered for metre-gauge weights only [4]The background to this decision, and the later decision to revert to the 5 feet 6 inches broad gauge(BG), is fully detailed in a separate page ‘The Gauge Question’.Preliminary Works on the PNSRThe following is from IOR/V/24/3590 Punjab Northern State Railway - 1878-79 Administration Report on the Construction  [5]1864-69: Route proposals and surveys for the route of the Punjab Northern State Railway(PNSR) ; project approved in Oct 1869 [6]1869-70: The question of gauge was left open, and only a partial design could be made. During the six months that remained of the year, considerable progress was, however, made in the works [7]1870: the surveys and river training works of the large rivers Ravvee, Chenab and Jhelum were also well advanced[8]1871: January orders given to adopt MG and immediate effect was given to these orders[9]1871-72: The designs for the three bridges were settled . The Ravee, 33 spans of 90 feet clear giving 97½ feet between centres of piers with girders and lattice, carrying the rails above; the Jhelum, of similar design of 50 spans; the Chenab, of 64 spans of 142 feet between centres of piers, warren girders carrying the rails below. The foundations of the Chenab and Ravee were to be of three similar wells 126. diameter, whilst at the Jhelum the up and down stream wells were to be 10 diameter. During this year more than 100 wells were put in hand, and a quantity of materials were prepared for the bridges [10]Construction of the Alexandra BridgeThe following is based on the “Minutes of Proceedings of Institution of Civil Engineers, 1878 - The Alexandra Bridge, Punjab Northern State Railway by Henry Lambert and reproduced by kind permission of the Institution of Civil Engineers, London.Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers; Volume 54 Issue 1878. The first page of this article is available from the ICE websiteLocation and Practical Considerations: “The Chenab rises in the Himalayas and reaches Wuzerabad after a course of about 700 miles (1100km), its course for the greater part is through a plain, composed mainly of silt carried down from the high lands of fine sand, and the banks are mostly undefined. During the winter the river is contained in a main channel about 500 yards wide and 10 to 15 feet deep., By the middle of April, floods from the melting of the snow on the Himalayas set in, and increase in volume up to the middle of June, when the monsoon commences and lasts until the middle of September. Vast floods during this time pour down into the plains, sweeping away the river banks, destroying villages, and scouring out the shifting s

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