Pathankot – Jogindernagar Railway | |||
 Kangra Toy Train, where the passengers spend most of the time going through tunnels, the Kangra toy train- linking Pathankot and Joginder Nagar gently meanders through a maze of hills and valleys, offering the travellers enchantingly scenic views. The work on this line started in 1926. Three years later this, 163 km long route was opened to traffic. The entire route commands glorious views of nature and unveils myriad facets of history, art and culture. The grand spectacle of Kangra Valley begins unfolding after the train enters the foothills. Hillocks rise on both sides and as the train moves over the meandering streams, the Dhauladhar begin to gain in prominence. Emerging through Daulatpur tunnel and past the ruins of the old Kangra fort, one is surprised by the change in the landscape. The Dhauladhar rises up 13,000 feet from the valley floor. The wide Kangra Valley, with its well-watered terraces, is simply superb. As the train inches on, the passengers adore the open countryside and the shining white peaks. An unmistakable pine scent fills the air and the track is suddenly fringed on both sides by the tea gardens of the Palampur region. The stretch between Baijnath and Joginder Nagar is the steepest. Here the train moves at a snail's pace till it reaches the highest point on the track at Ahju. Not far from here are the popular para-gliding and hang-gliding sites of Bir and Billing. As the train approaches Joginder Nagar, the White Mountains, gradually begin fading away. | |||
UNESCO's World Heritage Committee inscribed DHR as a World Heritage Site on 5th December 1999 stating the following reasons: An outstanding example of the influence of an innovative transportation system on social & economic development of a multi-cultural region, which was to serve as a model for similar developments in many parts of the world. ( C(ii) ) "The DHR is the first, and still the most outstanding, example of a hill passenger railway. Opened in 1881, it applied bold and ingenious engineering solutions to the problem of establishing an effective rail link across a mountainous terrain of great beauty. It is still fully operational and retains most of its original features intact.
Tourist Destination with Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
Through the Roof of the World
One of the most amazing engineering feats of the world, even more amazing about the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is that it is fully operational even a century after it was built
"It is the most enjoyable day I have spent on earth."
- Mark Twain, after a trip on DHR in 1896
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) connects the plains of West Bengal at New Jalpaiguri with the hill station of Darjeeling. On the way, it passes the most breathtaking scenery and climbs to a height of 7400 feet at Ghum (the highest station in India and the second highest in the world), from where glimpses of the magnificent Mt. Kanchenjunga are visible on clear days. It is at Siliguri that the DHR begins its remarkable journey to Darjeeling. The summit at Ghoom, 47 miles from Siliguri, has an altitude of 7,407 feet. As the line had to rise over 7,000 feet in less than 50 miles, steep gradients and sharp curves were un-avoidable. The fact that it was decided to work the line by adhesionon the narrow gauge of two feet restricted the weight of the trains, but there is nothing of a "toy railway" about the construction of the line or about the amount of passenger and goods traffic that it carries. Steel rails weighing 41 lb. per yard were laid on wooden sleepers. For the first seven miles from Siliguri station the gradient was easy, the ascent to Sookna station (533 ft.) being at 1 in 281. Soon after Rungtong station the line turns nearly south onto a long spur where another spiral is encountered. This spiral begins just before the fourteenth mile-post, and is one of the most complicated and interesting pieces of engineering on the railway. From Rungtong the line has to ascend to Tindharia station (2,822 ft.) in less than eight miles, the average gradient for this section being a little over 1 in 28. To overcome a sudden rise of 137 ft., there is practically a double loop, the outstanding feature of which is a sharp curvature introduced to fit the alignment to the situation. This second loop is a fine feat of engineering. Soon after Rungtong station the line turns nearly south onto a long spur where another spiral is encountered. It is one of the most complicated and interesting pieces of engineering on the railway. From Rungtong the line has to ascend to Tindharia station (2,822 ft.) in less than eight miles, the average gradient for this section being a little over 1 in 28. To overcome a sudden rise of 137 ft. There is practically a double loop, the outstanding feature of which is a sharp curvature introduced to fit the alignment to the situation. This second loop is a fine feat of engineering
Fine views are afforded of the valley below, the Bhutan Range to the east, and the adjacent hills and valleys. At the eighteenth mile the terrain presented such difficulties that a spiral is impracticable, therefore a reverse is adopted so that by means of the reverse or zigzag a total vertical lift of 98 ft. is accomplished. Tindharia station is where the company workshops are located. A stream called the "Mad Torrent" marks the half-way distance to Darjeeling. Near Mahanuddy station is a waterfall with a drop of 150 ft., which is the source of the Mahanuddy River. and the train proceeds westwards towards Kurseong station, at an altitude of 4,864 ft. After leaving Kurseong the grade stiffens slightly to 1 in 31 to Toong station, a distance of about five miles. After Toong the gradient increases to a little over 1 in 29 for the five miles to Sonada, 6,552 ft. above the sea and forty-one miles from Siliguri. Then comes the easiest section of the mountain climb, about six miles long, to Ghoom, the summit, which is 7,407 ft. above sea-level, and forty-seven miles from Siliguri. The gradient eases to about 1 in 37, and the line passes through magnificent forests. It is now only about four miles to Darjeeling, the altitude of which is 6812 ft; but on this section the steepest short gradient is found, the descent being made at an average of 1 in 31,. At last when one reaches Darjeeling after thirteen and a half hours of journey, it�s like an experience of a lifetime.
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