Toy Train, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India
In the mid-nineteenth century Darjeeling was established as a Hill Station, primarily for recuperation of the British soldiers who were stationed in the very testing Calcutta area. A railway was constructed between Calcutta and New Jalpaiguri, leaving a testing 2 week bullock-cart trip through the Himalayan foothills to Darjeeling. Soon enough the Army came up with the engineering challenge of building a narrow-gauge [2 foot] railway line from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling.
We took the 2 hour return journey between Darjeeling and Ghum. The line rises 600feet between Darjeeling and Ghum; it has a maximum incline of 1:20; it also has many tight corners, with the tightest having a 59feet radius.
The steam locos in operation are "B" class 0-4-0 units, each more than 100 years old, and each carrying their own coal and water supplies. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) has World Heritage status.
Here is a short video of the Toy Train:
We took the 2 hour return journey between Darjeeling and Ghum. The line rises 600feet between Darjeeling and Ghum; it has a maximum incline of 1:20; it also has many tight corners, with the tightest having a 59feet radius.
The steam locos in operation are "B" class 0-4-0 units, each more than 100 years old, and each carrying their own coal and water supplies. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) has World Heritage status.
Here is a short video of the Toy Train:
And, here is a slideshow:
