The administrative headquarters of the Central Railway known as Victoria Terminus Station building was constructed in 1888 by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. The chief engineer of the Railway was Mr. Wilsom Bell, MICE, and the bulding was constructed under the guidance of Mr. F.W. Stevens, consulting architect. The building which took 10 years to complete, is in late Italian Medieval Gothic style, and is named Victoria Terminus in celebration of Queen's Golden Jubilee on June 20, 1887.Architecture in Indian Gothic is essentially a structural style, and is mainly in low relief sculpture. Tis on the facade of the Victoria Terminus Station building, has been brought out in numerous bass-reliefs and some statuary.

The mass and the general proportioning of the bulding, have received wrld-wide appreciation, and well-proportioned, ornamental arches and spires and domes, give it the dignity of a cathedral. The crowning point of the whole building is the central amin dome carying at its apex, a colossal 16'-6" high figure od a lady pointing a flaming torch upwards i her right-hand, and a spoked wheel low in the left-hand, symbolizing "Progress".

This dome has been reported to be the first octagonal ribbed masonry doem that was adapted to an Italian Gothic style building. It is taken most logically from a square plan at the base, and has been dveloped ingeniously after the finest transitions of the upper corners of the square of the dome, into an octagonal base for the dome, before the octagonal tower carrying the dome, emerges from the main mass of the building. The construction of the interior of the dome is entirely open, and exposed to view from the ground floor, and the dome-well which carries the main staircase, has been artistically decorated. On the facade are also large has bass-reliefs of 10 Directors of the old Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company two of whom were Sir Jamsedji Jijibhoy and Sir Jagannath Shankarseth.

Old records show that most of the bass-reliefs and some of the statuary was xecuted by Indian Craftsmen, and students of the Bombay School of Arts, from models supplied and designed by an Indian teacher. Only the statues denoting "Progress", "Engineering & Science", "Shipping & Commerce" and "Agriculture" were sculptured in England out of Indian Porbunder sand-stoen. The enterance gates to Victoria Terminus carry two main gate columns, which are crowned, one with a Lion (representing the United KIngdom) and the other with a Tiger (representing India), both sculptured in Porbunder sand-stone. Victoria Terminus Station building has been considred one of the finest station building of he world, and architecturally one of the most splendid and magnificent late Italian Medieval Gothic edifices existing.

In 1969 the statue of Progress was damaged due to lighening, but the Central Railway authorities with the help of Prof. V.V. Manjrekar of J.J. Scool of Arts successfully retored it.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India