Mountain Railways of India
This site includes three mountain railways which are still in operation today.
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was the first, and is still the most outstanding, example of a hill passenger railway. Opened in 1881, its design applies bold and ingenious engineering solutions to the problem of establishing an effective rail link across a mountainous terrain of great beauty. Established
in 1881, it is the world’s first passenger train to be hauled up by a tiny steam engine in a slow zigzag climb uphill to an elevation of 2134 mtr. The 87.5 km long narrow gauge (0.60 mtr) section of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has no tunnel en route. The train offers the joy -riders a grand panorama of the Himalayan snow peaks including the majestic Mt Kanchenjunga (8598 mtr), world’s third highest.
The construction of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, a 46-km long metre-gauge single-track railway in Tamil Nadu State was first proposed in 1854, but due to the difficulty of the mountainous location the work only started in 1891 and was completed in 1908. This railway is widely regarded as a marvel of engineering. The train itself is a charming blue and cream with wooden coaches and large windows. It is hauled up hills by stream engines, designed and built by the Swiss Locomotive Works. Twelve of such locomotive engines survive even today.
The Kalka Shimla Railway, a 96-km long, single track working rail link built in the mid-19th century to provide a service to the highland town of Shimla is emblematic of the technical and material efforts to disenclave mountain populations through the railway. The line was inaugurated by the British Viceroy, Lord Curzon in November 1903, covering the distance of 96 km from Kalka through the curving tracks, up to Shimla hills- the summer capital of colonial India. The toy train passes through 102 tunnels (originally 103), 969 bridges, 919 curves and 20 railway stations in its entire journey. The Guinness Book on 'Rail Facts and Feats' included Kalka-Shimla Railway as the greatest narrow gauge engineering achievement in India. |
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