Described
as one of the most authentic Mountain Railways in the
world, the Kalka-Shimla Railway started taking passengers
on 09th Nov. 1903. Inaugurated by British Viceroy, Lord
Curzon. It is said to have been planned & sketched way back
in 1847.
The 96 Kms journey takes 6 hours on narrow gauge line
and runs through 102 tunnels, 969 arched bridges, 919 bends
& 20 railway stations, which look "just like in the
movies", small, interesting & very picture perfect. Some
of these stations are: Dharampur, Barog & Solan.
The
Toy trains cross the longest tunnel at Barog in 3 minutes.
Besides the Barog tunnel. This station is named after Engineer
Barog who sacrificed his life here. Just 1 km. off the station,
lies a forlorn tunnel and the grave of this Engineer, who
tried to construct this tunnel but failed to align both
sides. The wastage of a huge amount of public money forced
him to embrace death.
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Had
the tunnel been aligned properly, it would have been the longest
railway tunnel in the world and would have not been running
through Solan and Salogra. Other 3 big tunnels on this route
are Koti - 2,276 feet, Taradevi - 1,615 feet and Tunnel no.
103 - 1,135 feet. Toy Train options on this line are: Shivalik
Queen Tourist Coach, Deluxe Rail Motor Car, Shivalik Deluxe
Express & Shivalik Palace Tourist Coach.
With the 700 HP B-B type diesel engines, the train run energetically
taking up the hazards of adverse weather conditions - temperatures
ranging from 0 to 45°C, heavy snowfall -average recording
2 feet during winters, and the annual rainfall of 200-250
cms. The train acquires up a moderate average speed of 25-30
km throughout its journey presenting its travelers the luxury
of the picturesque valley. It is often joked that one can
run with theses to trains, as the speed is quite less. When
you are staying in Kasauli, you can visit the Dharampur station.
You could even take a train ride to Solan. |