Reference: India Railway Records - RD Sandes
Reference details
Surname Sandes
First Name R D
Date of Birth 23 Apr 1883
System Abbreviation / Railway Company BSR /Bikaner State Rly
Department Loco, Carriage & Wagon
Office in 1926 Offg Loco, Carr & Wagon Supdt
Station Bikaner
Gemini:
His Role: Officiating Superintendent
In 1926, his title was Offg Loco, Carr & Wagon Supdt (Officiating Locomotive, Carriage, and Wagon Superintendent).
"Officiating": This means he was temporarily filling a high-level position, often acting in the role while the permanent officer was on leave or before a formal promotion was finalized.
The Responsibility: He was in charge of the rolling stock. This included the maintenance and operation of the steam engines (Loco), the passenger cars (Carriage), and the freight cars (Wagon).
Importance: This was one of the most senior technical roles on the railway. He would have managed the Lalgarh Workshop in Bikaner, which was established specifically in 1926 to overhaul these vehicles.
The Employer: Bikaner State Railway (BSR)
The Bikaner State Railway was a "Princely State" railway, meaning it was owned by the Maharaja of Bikaner (at the time, the famous Maharaja Ganga Singh) rather than being directly run by the British Raj "State Railways."
A Pivot Year: 1926 was a significant year for the BSR. It had only recently (1924) become an independent system after splitting from the Jodhpur-Bikaner Railway (JBR).
The Network: By 1926, the BSR was a "Class II" railway, operating hundreds of miles of metre-gauge track through the Thar Desert, connecting Bikaner to places like Bhatinda and Hissar.
Life in Bikaner (1926)
Station: Being stationed at Bikaner meant he was at the heart of the desert kingdom.
The Lalgarh Workshop: He likely spent most of his time at the Lalgarh railway colony and workshops. These facilities were the pride of the Maharaja’s modernization efforts.
Status: As a Superintendent, he would have been a high-ranking official in the Bikaner State service, likely living in a large bungalow provided by the railway and enjoying a high social standing within the local European/Anglo-Indian community.