A Miniature Sheet consisting of 2 nos of commemorative postage stamps on 150 years of Railway Workshops : Kanchrapara and Jamalpur :

Issued by India

Issued on Nov 26, 2013

Issued for : Department of Posts is happy to release a set of two Commemorative Postage Stamps on 150 years of these Railway Workshops.

Credits :
Stamp/FDC : Brahm Prakash
Cancellation : Alka Sharma

Type : Miniature Sheet, Mint Condition

Colour : Multi colour

Denomination : 500 & 2000 Paise

Stamps Printed : 0.51 million each (0.1 million for the proponent)

Miniature Sheet : 0.31 million

Printing Process : Wet Offset

Printer : India Security Press, Nashik

About : 

• Railways started in India in 1853. With the widening of the railway network the railway workshops also came into prominence and became an integral part of the railway system.
• Department of Posts is issuing a set of two stamps and a miniature sheet to commemorate 150 years of Railway Workshops of Jamalpur and Kanchrapara.
• Jamalpur Railway Workshop :
  • Established on the 8^th February, 1862, Jamalpur Workshop has enjoyed the distinction of being the largest and the oldest locomotive repair workshop with the most diversified manufacturing activities of the Indian Railways. It has many firsts to its credit such as manufacture of a steam locomotive, a rolling mill among others.
  • With the gradual eclipse of steam traction on Indian Railways, steam locomotive activities, which had peaked to 600 Standard units per month in 1962-63, started declining in the late 60’s and finally the steam activities came to a complete end in August, 1992. The shop kept pace with both, the technology change and technology upgradation on Indian Railways and diversified its activities to the Overhauling and Repair of Diesel Locomotives, Overhauling and Repair of various types of Wagons, Manufacture and Overhauling of Rail mounted Diesel Hydraulic Break Down Cranes of 20T & 140 tonne capacity and Manufacture and Repair of various types of Tower Cars. Jamalpur workshop is also manufacturing various types of wagons for Indian Railways and CONCOR.
  • Considering national and global standards, the workshop obtained its ISO 9001:2000 certification on 28^th May, 2003 which now puts it at par with any other heavy engineering industry in the country dealing with Rolling stock manufacture and POH. To have a good environment and to have control over pollution, the workshop has taken many important steps.
• Kanchrapara Workshop :
  • This workshop was set up by the then Eastern Bengal Railway in the year 1863 at the present Loco Complex site in Kanchrapara.
  • This shop has displayed high level of flexibility by adapting to the changing environment and product-mix from time to time. From serving the Defence Department during World Wars to becoming a base workshop for POH of Electric Loco and EMU stock of Eastern and South Eastern Railways. This workshop also has had the privilege of turning out the first electric locomotive after Periodic Overhauling (POH) in 1965 and the first EMU motor coach was turned out after POH in the very same year.
  • This workshop has been in the forefront of undertaking major developmental works connected to all classes of Rolling Stocks of electric traction. Today it ranks first among Indian Railway Workshops in terms of number of Electric Multiple Unit coaches overhauled and second in terms of number of Electric Locomotives overhauled.
  • The workshop was accredited with ISO-9001:2000 certificate in September, 2005. With upgradation of ISO-9001 certification to the latest 2008 standard recently, the workshop is geared up to meet the ever changing requirements of Indian Railways and serve the nation with high quality output.
• Text : Based on the material furnished by the proponent.

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