Indian Hill Trains: India

The Indian Hill trains, or Toy Trains, are a legacy of the British Raj in India, the Darjeeling Himalayn Railway being the most famous.The British in India during the Empire Raj in the 19 century wanted to escape the heat of the Indian lowlands so they built a series of narrow gauge railways which ascending into the foothills of the cooler Himalayas. The stops or towns became known as hill stations. Today you can still ride the little trains or "toy trains"into the Himalayas.

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

The Darjeeling railway was opened n 1880 and is magnificent feat of enginering, its has been declared a UNESCO world heritage site.. For 51 miles the little train ascends from Sliguri at 398ft through Darjeeling at 6812 ft to Ghoom at 7407ft. Inless than 50 miles it rises 7000ft with short steep gradients of 1:23. A 700ft bridge crosses the Mahanuddy river as t tumbles down from the Himalayas. A steep ascent at Sookna means a spiral tunel cut into the hillside haad to be constructed to ascend 871 ft. in the four and three-quarter miles from Sookna to Rungtong station . Of course tea is associated with Darjeeling and the train was used to transport tea down from the plantations.

Kangra valley Railway

The Kangra valley Railway runs between Dhaula Dhar and the Shivalik foothills in the state of Himachal Pradesh One train the ,The Kangra Queen, runs between Pathankot and Palampur and takes 4 hrs & 25 minutes with two stoppages at Jwalamukhi and Kangra. There are many other local trains on the same route with more stoppages. Over the 100 miles there 971 bridges.

Kalka Shimla Railway

Shimla, "Queen of the Hills" ,was made the summer capital of India in 1864 by the British. In 1903 a narrow gauge railway was built, 59.44 miles long and passing through 107 tunnels to take the British to the cooler Himalayas. SHimla is at 2205m s and is surrounded by pine,rhododendron and oak forests. The city has architectural relcs from the raj but more modern day hill resorts have been developed.

Nilgiri Mountain Railway

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) is 46 Km long and connects Mettupalayam (1069 ft) to Ooty (7228 ft). It was finally completed in 1903The train contends with gradients of 1:12 by having a rack and pinnion system.Ooty was one of the favourite hill stations of the British and those in Southern India. It was reminded English men abroad of home and mant built their homes here. Thet also built a botanical garden built before the railway.Peach trees,tea terrace and pine cover the surrounding hills.

Matheran Light Railway

The Matheran Light Railway in Maharashtra runs for 12.5 miles through the forests of the Western Ghat Hills (max elevation 1200m,4000ft) 90km from Mumbai. Matheran(800m,2625ft) is the smallest hill station in India The railway does not run up to the Himalayas like other hill trains. It is often affected by flooding so check it is open before travelling. It is also a car free city and has been designated a UNESCO site.