LILLOOAH WORKSHOPS DID A GREAT JOB

by D. K Whitworth
The author's antecedents are not known.

(This article is reproduced from East Indian Railway Magazine, 1945).

  Stalwarts of E. I. R. 's Carriage and Wagon shops at Lillooah have slipped out of the drab khaki of war time and into the colourful garb of peace: but most colourful of all is the story of Lillooah workmen's war effort

           In the year 1938, long before Dunkirk and Pearl Harbour, the C. & W. shops at Lillooah had little else of importance to attend to than the maintenance of a steady flow of vehicles for passenger and goods service over the 4,000 mile track of her Railway. Work then, though far from being slack, was not heavy a fact which may have been due to the keenness displayed by the workers in whatever jobs they were set.

           Early each morning punctual to the hour, workmen ' s trains deposited their heavy loads of humanity which, in passing through the gates, would display a colourful variety of costumes surmounted by an equally colourful variety of head-dress. In an incredibly short space of time, these crowds would disappear, the gates would close, and dense black clouds of smoke from chimney-tops would signal the commencement of yet another day of work.

           With the siren at 4-30 in the afternoon, work would cease and the men perhaps not quite as clean and colourful as before, would troop out and board their respective home-bound trains. A perfectly peaceful everyday routine

Then came 1939, Hitler decided it was time his "Master Race" ruled the Empire. Mussolini wanted a hand in the game too. Two years later Hirohito followed suit and the world was plunged into dismal chaos. And through the bitter years of bloodshed, suffering and tears d1at were to come, who would have dreamed that Lillooah -a mere speck on the universe was to play so vital and glorious a part in the achievement of final Victory.


No lack of Volunteers
           In 1942, India was first faced with the problem of defending her soil from the invader. In Lillooah, volunteers were called upon to form a Defence Unit, and the alacrity with which men responded to the call may only be described as Superb. In a very short time, the 47th W/S Group, D of I.Rlys. , was formed and though the majority of the recruits when joining had never before had any military experience, their very keenness to learn was sufficient criterion to believe that every man could be relied upon in the face of an emergency.
           And so, time went by. Military discipline was slowly but effectively drilled into the men. The colourful costume and head-dress of pre-war days gave way to drab khaki and the forage-cap. Lazy slouching steps became brisk, firm treads, arms once out-flung in careless abandon now swung smartly in unison. The once unruly mob of workers now became a well-disciplined army of soldiers, an army to be confidently depended upon to stand by their work and machines no matter what the cost.  Which was precisely the case.
          In the shops both men and machines worked at feverish speed to keep the wheels turning. More wagons were required for supplies! More carriages were urged for troops! And with the passing of days. an ever-increasing demand for even more and more vehicles had to be coped with. Overtime hours were worked. Extra hands were employed. additional shift- workings were resorted to and year by year a total a1l-out war effort was steadily maintained. No matter what the requirements, whether for the transport of men and materia1, guns and supplies, Lillooah was always ready to answer the call.
 

              With Japanese bases, but a few flying hours away, serious air raid precautions also had to be considered. Here too volunteers were whole-heartedly to the form. Blast walls sprang up overnight, shelters filled every available comer and water-troughs lay scattered at numerous vantage points. Fire practices and stirrup-pump drills were constant until cent percent efficiency was attained. A word of praise to Fire master Captain Harry James would not be out of place here. Due to his untiring and ceaseless efforts, the fire-fighters of Lillooah were second to none in the whole area.


Ambulances, Tanks, Tent-pegs

        Lillooah's war time activities however did not end with her all-out effort to supply adequate railroad means of transport. The building of other vehicular bodies was undertaken, and hundreds upon hundreds of ambulances, water-cars, tanks and lorries passed incessantly out of the gates.

Other minor jobs of major wartime importance were heavy orders for "dahs" and tent pegs. These were accurately complied with and rushed away for service to distant theatres of war.
        And so we find Lillooah, untraceable on any map, to have shared not inconsiderably in the defeating of the Axis Powers. The trains she built convoyed troops and supplies to almost every part of India ; the wagons carried guns, machines and ammunition; the ambulances and water-cars she built did valuable front-line service; and her tanks went into action against the enemy. The "dahs" of Lillooah cut their way to Victory through the jungles of Burma, and her tent pegs, if ever the occasion arose, were guarantee to withstand the fury of the fiercest desert gales of el Alamien. Truly a wartime record to be intensely proud of.
 

              But now peace has come to the world once again. The colourful costumes of pre-war days are taking the place of wartime khaki and colourful variety of head-dress replacing the forage-cap but there can never be anything as colourful as the story of Lillooah's punch during the war.  

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