The Toy Train:Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

History of DHR Toy Train 

• While the tea gardens had placed Darjeeling prominently on the map of world economy, the romantic saga of toy train deeply touched the heart of people all over the world. And this story dates back to the 1800s. By 1870s, Darjeeling had already become a well known hill station and a health resort. 

• India was then under the British colonial rule. Many Englishmen and their families, mostly from Kolkata would flock towards Darjeeling on vacations. As a result the traffic started increasing heavily in this part of the country. After all it was a beautiful scenic place with great weather. 

• Initially for several years, it used to be a long tedious journey from Kolkata that took well over two weeks to reach Darjeeling. One needed to take 219 miles steam engine hauled train journey up to Sahibgunj. The train was run privately by the Eastern Bengal Railways (EBR). 

• From here one needed to cross over the Ganges river by a steamer, then take a bullock cart up to a point for another river crossing, and then again a bullock cart all the way up to Siliguri for over 100 miles. From Siliguri, the visitors had to once again take a bullock cart or a horse carriage (Tonga) to reach Darjeeling hill town which itself took about two days. 

• Subsequently, the privately owned EBR extended the lines from Calcutta up to Damukdia located at the southern bank of Ganges (Padma) river. Damukdia is now part of Bangladesh. This broad gauge line had a stretch of 119 miles. From Damukdia, one had to cross over the Ganges to Sara Ghat at the opposite bank. However the EBR refused to lay the lines from Sara Ghat all the way up to Siliguri.

• So the Government owned Northern Bengal Railways (NBR) had to lay 210 miles of railway lines on the opposite bank and finally completed the remaining stretch in 1878. From that time onwards the journey up to Siliguri could be completed in less than 24 hours, but the ascend to Darjeeling still remained a huge problem. Neither EBR nor NBR wanted to take on the steep hills of Darjeeling.

• NOTE: A steel railway bridge known as Hardinge Bridge (also known as Sara Ghat Bridge) was constructed later in 1912 at Sara across the Ganges. This railway bridge was named after Lord Hardinge who was then the Viceroy of India. Trains started operating over the bridge in 1915 and eliminated the ferry crossing, thus further reducing the travel time significantly. 

• The genesis of the Toy Train in Darjeeling started when Franklin Prestage, an agent of the Eastern Bengal Railways first visited Darjeeling in 1878. He felt the real need of a railway that would connect Siliguri with Darjeeling hill station. 

• Franklin submitted a proposal to the Government for a privately run train to the hills that would run on a 2-foot wide track (now known as narrow gauge) mostly in parallel to the Hill Cart Road. His proposal mentioned many advantages, the main one being without the railway connection, the travel cost was so high that rice in the hills would cost about 2.5 times more than the plains. 

• The proposal was actively supported by the Lieutenant Governor of West Bengal (Sir Ashley Eden) and was readily accepted by the government. Next year in 1879, the government allowed the formation of the private company Darjeeling Steam Tramway Company to privately own and run the steam engine hauled trains to Darjeeling. 

• The railway and track construction work began in the same year. However the name of the company was changed to Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) Company two years later (i.e. in 1881). It was an extremely difficult job to lay the lines along such steep gradients of the hills.

• Those days, there was no other examples to draw upon. The sharpest curve along the track has a radius of 69 feet, and the average gradient (slope) is 1:29. Some great innovative ideas eventually resulted in great engineering marvels of all times and solved many problems. I'll come to that in a short while

• The trains later became known as toy trains as the loco engines and the coaches were far smaller than normal broad gauge trains. But there was no such thing as toy railway construction. It was like any other proper railway project, but much more complex because of the terrain. The narrow gauge line did restrict the weight and size of the engines. The steel tracks weighed some 18.6kgs per yard and were laid on wooden sleepers.

• By March 1880, the first stretch of 31kms between Siliguri Town and Tindharia was completed. By August 1880, the next 21kms stretch up to Kurseong was done. By February 1881, Sonada which is 15kms away was also linked. 

• And by April 1881, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway reached Ghoom further 10kms away and at an altitude of 7,407 ft which still remains as the highest railway point in the whole of Asia. And on 4th July, 1881 the last stretch of 6kms too was completed and the toy train rolled into Darjeeling with great pride, a major milestone was finally achieved. 

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is a magnificent marvel. Here are some interesting facts you may not know.

Don't Tell Us You Don't Know These Facts About The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

• It is the very first hill railway in India, and one of the first ones in the world (the Semmering Railway, constructed between 1848 and 1854, was the first). Established since 1881, the 'toy train' is operating and retaining most of its original features and values until today. HolidayIQ Traveller Deepansh Chaturvedi from Noida shares, “The train is unfamiliar to us it looks like a Harry potter movie's train. It's a beautiful train inside and outside. Journey is awesome it seems to be a endless journey of nature and I must say it is a paisa vasool journey. If you like photography must take camera with you to capture natural things and at least go one time in your life.”

• It is the first in heritage monument in India to be given the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in November 1999. The toy train on the Darjeeling Himalayan section is not merely a source of delight for the adolescent and old, it additionally represents the engineering skills of the highest order. This 83 km-long section connecting Darjeeling with the railhead at Siliguri is of great importance. HolidayIQ Traveller Mehdi Sweinstiger shares, “Every one of us have a childhood dream and memories of a train trip. Darjeeling toy train takes you to that Nostalgia. It's slow and old steam/ diesel engine noise brings out the child-smile back into your face. The hills, the chilled climate and the aroma of the Darjeeling tea make you go to your dreams when you travel in one of those toy trains. Must do when you plan to visit Darjeeling, specially if going with family.”

• The Darjeeling-Himalayan railway extends from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling, which is a distance of 87.48 km.he construction was commenced by Franklin Prestage in 1879 and consummated up to Tindharia in March 1880. By the year end, it was constructed up to Kurseong and the line reached Darjeeling in July 1881. HolidayIQ Traveller A S from Hyderabad shares, “After Shimla this was the second best experience of Toy Train. The only difference between the two trains is that here the train moves very close to the shops it passes by, as it crosses the city. You get a great glimpse of Kanchenjunga. You can even book tickets on IRCTC.”

• There are 14 stations including New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling with an average inter distance of 6 to 7 km. Except between Siliguri and Sukna where the distance is over 10 km. HolidayIQ Traveller Naresh Panchal from Delhi shares, “The most memorable journey, one of the oldest surviving gifts that British people gave to India. In fact the whole railway system that still runs all through the country, for which we must thank and feel obliged to their visionaries. We see the same original engines, and the passenger coaches on the very same original rail tracks laid down during the British times. A never forgettable, exciting and historical experience, providing the excellence of engineering and the engineers of that time.”