The International Conference on Land Transportation, Locomotive Heritage and Road Culture - 2017http://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/187132024-03-29T08:11:11Z2024-03-29T08:11:11ZA glance at roadscape of principal roads from Colombo to provincial towns in the mid nineteenth century Sri LankaManatunga, A.http://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/188292018-06-01T08:58:59Z2017-01-01T00:00:00ZA glance at roadscape of principal roads from Colombo to provincial towns in the mid nineteenth century Sri Lanka
Manatunga, A.
The present study is a cursory survey on the roadscape of principal roads which have linked Colombo with provincial towns in the mid nineteenth century. There were seven principal roads from Colombo, the Capital City of Sri Lanka to provincial towns in and around the island. Some of these roads were passable by wheeled vehicles, but some of them were bridle paths which were used by horse riders and packed bull transporters. All these roads were leveled and remained as graveled roads and most of them developed as metaled roads used by mortar vehicles, at least partially, by the end of the century. Bridges were very rare over rivers and streams in these roads; hence, fords and ferries were used to cross water courses during this period. Toll stations were found usually in some of these places. Rest houses, postal stations, forts and garrisons were found in some places. Some roadside villages were transformed as bazars and townships and some places were newly developed as urban centers. Among these principal roads, the road which was known as ‘Round the island road’ linked all coastal towns with Colombo and were used by Portuguese and the Dutch who occupied the maritime provinces, prior to British. Starting from Colombo towards north, it goes to Jaffna in the North, Trincomalee and Baticaloa in the East and Hambantota, Matara and Galle in the South reaching Colombo, passing altogether 770 miles. Abandoning the traditional road from Colombo to Kandy via Hanwella and Attapitiya, a new road was constructed by British in 1821, via Mahara and Ambepussa to Kandy. This 72 miles road was the first road constructed in Sri Lanka during the British period and the present Colombo-Kandy road is a development of this road, with a few minor deviations. Apart from this road, three more roads were considered as alternative principal roads to Kandy from Colombo. One of them was the road, 84 miles via Kurunegala. Another road was 94 miles via Yatiyantota, Ginigathhena and Gampola to Kandy. The road which meets the main Kandy road at 45th mile stone, coming via Ruvanwella and Ballapana from Colombo which is 82 miles long was the third alternative road. Road to Badulla via Rathnapura and Balangoda which is 135 miles was a principal road of the mid nineteenth century. The road across the country to Trincomalee via Kurunegala and Dambulla which is 159 miles was considered only second to Colombo–Kandy main road in importance, by British during this period. A search on colonial records, photographs and remaining physical remnants will be the sources of this research which is asking for more advanced research on the subject.
2017-01-01T00:00:00ZTraversing through the 18th Century Colombo-Kandy TrailParanavitana, K.D.http://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/188282018-06-01T08:55:30Z2017-01-01T00:00:00ZTraversing through the 18th Century Colombo-Kandy Trail
Paranavitana, K.D.
Colombo was linked with Kandy by a land route in the 18th century as the Kandyan and the Dutch authorities needed each other for mutual existence. The entire Colombo-Kandy route can be divided into two main sectors, firstly from Colombo to Sitavaka and secondly from Sitavaka to Kandy. The first sector ran through the Kelany Valley. Depending on the type of journey, the resting place was decided either at Hanwella or at Sitavaka. If the Governor leaves on an inspection tour, it was Hanwella and for an embassy with its retinue leaving for Kandy it was Sitavaka. The objective of the present paper is to examine this route through archival sources.
2017-01-01T00:00:00ZConservation and preservation of locomotive heritage in Sri LankaAbeysinghe, A.http://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/188272018-06-01T08:52:27Z2017-01-01T00:00:00ZConservation and preservation of locomotive heritage in Sri Lanka
Abeysinghe, A.
Travel and tourism is a large income generator in Sri Lanka. As such, train travel plays a significant role in promoting tourism, rendering tourists local and overseas an exceptional travelling experience as well as a multi-faceted cultural exchange. In Sri Lanka the railways network covers the scenic hill country with exceptional views of verdant hills, pristine beaches and secluded countryside. The railway network in Sri Lanka was constructed on the legendary route in the 19th century. The Viceroy Special which is a vintage steam train built to resemble trains of yesteryear is a locomotive heritage rendering travelers a unique experience of train travel, especially the hill country train ride which is considered as one of the best journeys in the world. But there are many challenges facing the conservation and preservation of locomotive heritage. As the constant movement of the railway engines and carriages will wear out original parts and will have to be replaced leading to destruction of valuable historical and technological nature of the locomotives, there should be better solutions to conserve them. Thus, there should be proper pragmatic solutions to conserve such locomotive heritages without altering the ancient outlook of the engines and carriages or else the ancient nature of such locomotives will be destroyed. In this paper, I will be looking at pragmatic solutions to conserve and preserve locomotive heritage in Sri Lanka considered a valuable heritage of the past.
2017-01-01T00:00:00ZRoad network in Jaffna peninsula During the early 20th centuryVettivelautham, P.http://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/188262018-06-01T08:49:14Z2017-01-01T00:00:00ZRoad network in Jaffna peninsula During the early 20th century
Vettivelautham, P.
Reaching to a place or migrating to place to place is very common feature in the human life. The passage for human needs had caused gradually to find the route system in the past. The culture and civilizations were developed and they had been brought from one place to another because of the well-organized route systems in both the sea and the land. The kings and merchants who emerged through the ages had used the well-designed main roads for their political and commercial activities. The Europeans in the first and the Asians in the next were discovered the sea routes to expand their colonial activities and naval power. The international silk route was the land route through which Europe and Asians countries were connected during the medieval period. Sri Lanka also had experienced for these activities in the past. European colonial activities over Sri Lanka were ultimately caused for the modern route network by which upcountry and the low lands were connected and the Jaffna peninsula also was brought under these route network systems during the colonial period. In this research an attempt has been made to expose the salient features of the route network in the Jaffna peninsula during the early 19th Century A.D.
2017-01-01T00:00:00Z