﻿296 
  OLDHAM: 
  GREAT 
  EARTHQUAKE 
  OF 
  1897. 
  

  

  From 
  Badarpur 
  to 
  Akhaura 
  I 
  went 
  along 
  the 
  line 
  by 
  trolly 
  and 
  ballast 
  

   train 
  with 
  an 
  inspection 
  party, 
  the 
  following 
  being 
  the 
  chief 
  points 
  I 
  noticed 
  

   during 
  our 
  rapid 
  journey, 
  when 
  we 
  travelled 
  over 
  128 
  miles 
  of 
  line 
  in 
  three 
  

   days. 
  The 
  damage 
  is 
  almost 
  entirely 
  confined 
  to 
  where 
  the 
  railway 
  runs 
  

   over 
  the 
  flat 
  bhil 
  country, 
  and 
  where 
  the 
  deposits 
  are 
  quite 
  recent, 
  but 
  wherever 
  

   the 
  line 
  runs 
  through 
  the 
  low 
  hills 
  of. 
  harder 
  and 
  more 
  consolidated 
  tertiary 
  

   beds, 
  there 
  is 
  little 
  or 
  no 
  damage, 
  and 
  especially 
  in 
  these 
  places 
  we 
  were 
  able 
  to 
  

   travel 
  by 
  ballast-train 
  for 
  several 
  miles 
  at 
  a 
  time. 
  When 
  crossing 
  the 
  flat 
  

   alluvial 
  country, 
  the 
  embankment 
  was 
  in 
  very 
  numerous 
  places 
  broken 
  down, 
  

   and 
  although 
  it 
  was 
  nearly 
  all 
  repaired 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  I 
  went 
  over 
  it, 
  there 
  were 
  still 
  

   many 
  very 
  bad 
  places 
  where 
  the 
  line 
  had 
  sunk 
  several 
  feet, 
  this 
  sinking 
  being, 
  as 
  a 
  

   rule, 
  caused 
  by 
  longitudinal 
  cracking 
  due 
  to 
  transverse, 
  or 
  obliquely 
  trans- 
  

   verse, 
  waves 
  and 
  outward 
  movement 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  the 
  road 
  from 
  Maimansingh 
  

   to 
  Muktagachha. 
  In 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  places 
  where 
  the 
  surrounding 
  country 
  is 
  very 
  

   marshy, 
  as 
  at 
  mile 
  213 
  between 
  Dakshinbagh 
  and 
  Kalaura, 
  where 
  the 
  direction 
  

   of 
  the 
  alignment 
  is 
  S 
  30 
  W, 
  and 
  also 
  at 
  a 
  place 
  just 
  south 
  of 
  Daragaon, 
  

   the 
  embankment 
  has 
  sunk 
  into 
  the 
  disturbed 
  ground 
  below, 
  and 
  has 
  caused 
  

   a 
  rising 
  of 
  the 
  ground, 
  or 
  has 
  come 
  up 
  itself 
  at 
  some 
  little 
  distance 
  from 
  the 
  

   lines 
  at 
  the 
  sides, 
  forming 
  long, 
  low 
  ridges 
  in 
  the 
  first 
  case 
  and 
  filing 
  up 
  the 
  

   borrow 
  pits 
  in 
  the 
  other. 
  

  

  The 
  bridges 
  are 
  nearly 
  all 
  in 
  the 
  flat 
  alluvial 
  country, 
  and 
  most 
  of 
  them 
  are 
  

   more 
  or 
  less 
  damaged. 
  The 
  following 
  is 
  usually 
  the 
  nature 
  of 
  the 
  damage 
  done 
  to 
  

   a 
  bridge 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  The 
  abutment 
  walls 
  are 
  cracked 
  or 
  broken 
  and 
  have 
  come 
  to, 
  shortening 
  the 
  

   span. 
  This 
  is 
  the 
  case 
  when 
  any 
  of 
  the 
  shock 
  acts 
  longitudinally 
  to 
  the 
  embank- 
  

   ment, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  caused 
  in 
  a 
  similar 
  manner 
  to 
  the 
  cracking 
  of 
  river 
  banks, 
  as 
  

   described 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Oldham 
  in 
  Memoirs 
  of 
  the 
  Geological 
  Survey 
  of 
  India, 
  Volume 
  

   XIX, 
  the 
  first 
  semiphase 
  of 
  the 
  wave 
  on 
  the 
  side 
  from 
  which 
  the 
  earthquake 
  

   is 
  advancing 
  and 
  the 
  second 
  semiphase 
  on 
  the 
  other 
  side 
  tending 
  to 
  throw 
  the 
  two 
  

   abutment 
  walls 
  together 
  ; 
  this 
  coming 
  to 
  of 
  the 
  abutment 
  walls 
  is 
  often 
  quite 
  

   considerable, 
  and 
  in 
  spans 
  of 
  20 
  feet 
  it 
  is 
  sometimes 
  as 
  much 
  as 
  a 
  foot. 
  Accom- 
  

   panying 
  this 
  movement, 
  we 
  in 
  almost 
  every 
  case 
  see 
  that, 
  on 
  one 
  or 
  both 
  sides 
  of 
  

   the 
  bridge, 
  the 
  embankment 
  has 
  sunk 
  several 
  feet. 
  Where 
  the 
  bridges 
  have 
  wing- 
  

   walls 
  to 
  the 
  abutment, 
  this 
  forward 
  movement 
  has 
  cracked 
  and 
  considerably 
  

   damaged 
  them, 
  but 
  where, 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  smaller 
  bridges, 
  there 
  

   are 
  straight 
  return 
  walls, 
  the 
  pressure 
  has 
  acted 
  along 
  the 
  length 
  of 
  the 
  walls 
  and 
  

   net 
  across 
  them, 
  and 
  so 
  the 
  bridges 
  have 
  mostly 
  escaped 
  with 
  little 
  or 
  no 
  damage. 
  

   The 
  coming 
  to 
  of 
  the 
  abutments 
  and 
  consequent 
  shortening 
  of 
  the 
  span 
  has 
  either 
  

   resulted 
  in 
  the 
  buckling 
  up 
  of 
  the 
  girders 
  in 
  the 
  centre, 
  or 
  the 
  girders 
  have 
  pushed 
  

   back 
  on 
  and 
  broken 
  off 
  the 
  balance 
  walls 
  of 
  the 
  abutments. 
  In 
  a 
  few 
  cases 
  the 
  

   piers 
  of 
  the 
  bridges 
  have 
  been 
  tilted 
  over 
  to 
  the 
  side, 
  but 
  in 
  most 
  cases 
  only 
  

   inwards. 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  are 
  a 
  few 
  notes 
  on 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  bridges 
  which 
  were 
  damaged 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  Madhob 
  Cherra 
  Bridge, 
  mile 
  217. 
  — 
  The 
  end 
  abutment 
  walls 
  have 
  sunk 
  into 
  

   the 
  ground 
  and 
  have 
  been 
  tilted 
  inwards 
  and 
  twisted 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  face 
  of 
  one 
  has 
  

   a 
  bearing 
  of 
  E 
  33 
  S 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  E 
  16 
  S 
  the 
  direction 
  of 
  the 
  line 
  

   ( 
  296 
  ) 
  

  

  