A journey by the Darjeeling toy train is truly an exhilarating experience. Though the 83 km stretch is covered in about eight hrs but the experience is beyond description. Captivated by the ethereal beauty of the Kanchenjunga, Franklin Prestage, the agent of the Eastern Bengal Railway formulated the plan for Darjeeling Railway in 1878. Construction of the railway line up to Darjeeling was completed by July 1881 and the earliest locomotive came from Atlas Works in Manchester. The Darjeeling Steam Tramway Company, which was formed later, became the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Company in September 1881.

The earliest passenger vehicles had canvas roofs and wooden benches. There was a first class carriage for six passengers, a second-class carriage for eight and third class open trolleys with side and end curtains for a load of 16 passengers each. The zigzag railway linking Siliguri in north Bengal with Darjeeling is a marvel of miniature rail engineering and girdles streams and tea gardens on the way to Sukana where the ascent begins. By the time it reaches Chunbhati and crosses the loop, it has climbed up to 672.9 m. The method applied in constructing this line had been first adopted by an Austrian, Chega, who helped the engineers in obviating the necessity to bore tunnels, by artificially lengthening the line by means of looping it.

The train strikes the first spiral or loop followed by the second in proximity of the 20-kilometer post. It is an amazing engineering feat, practically a double loop, for the rise from Rungtong to Tindharia. The third loop is around 22 kilometers away and lends an enchanting peep into the valley below with the Bhutan range in the east, the Teesta River and its Tiger Island in the southeast. The sensational point of the fourth spiral, the Agony Point, is reached outside the Tindharia station. The tiny engine puts in its best effort while hauling one up more than 1,463 m to Kurseong. Smiling Bhutia and Lepcha women with babies strapped across the back, heavy silver trinkets oxidized by the air, costumes bright as a peacock's tail, all add to the charm of the journey. Past the wayside haunts of Tung Chutlinkpur, and Jorebunglow, one arrives at Ghoom, 2,257.65 m above sea level, which is Asia's highest railway station. Darjeeling, the destination comes after six kilometers ride downhill from here.

By 1878 a railway had been completed from Calcutta (now Kolkata) to Siliguri, almost to the base of the Himalayas, and a Tonga service took travellers thence up the hill portion of the journey. But the ascent by Tongas soon led to dissatisfaction with this means of transit, and the idea for inception of the laying of a steam tramway along the road from Siliguri to Darjeeling arose. The tonga service on the cart road alluded above served travellers and traders for ten years, but when the obvious disavantages of such a means of communication led to proposals for the laying of a steam tramway from Siliguri to Darjeeling, Mr. Franklin Prestage (at that time Agent of the Eastern Bengal Railway Company) approached the Government of Bengal in 1878 with a detailed scheme. Sir Ashley Eden, the Lieutenant-Governor, appointed a Committee to examine the project, and this Committee reported that the construction of a steam tramway was feasible and would be great advantage, both to the Government and the public. The cart road had indeed suffered heavily from slips during each rainy season and inconvenience and lengthy interruption to communications had resulted. The upkeep of the road moreover, cost the Government about one and a half lakhs of rupees anually, and it was hoped that the tramway would be able to help to defray this cost.

Mr. Prestage's scheme was gladly accepted in 1879, and the construction of the tramway was commenced and pushed on with great rapidity. By March 1880 the line had been opened to Tindharia, and Lord Lytton, the first Viceroy to visit Darjeeling, was conveyed so far by the Company. Before the end of that year the line was complete to Kurseong, and in July 1881 it was opened for traffic right through to Darjeeling. The name of the Company was then changed to the more dignified appellation of the "Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Company". Messrs. Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co., one of the leading and oldest firms in Calcutta, was appointed agents of the Company from its inception. In the first instance the alignment of the railway followed that of the cart road throughout, but it soon became apparent that some of the grades on the road were very much steeper than the locomotives could manage without great waste of power. Therefore a ruling gradient of 1 to 25 had been aimed at by the engineers of the Company though in places a gradient of 1 to 20 still exits, hence we find that the railway at times leaves the road altogether and at other times attains a different alignment by means of "Loops" and "Reverses". Here it may be stated that in the "loop" the railway track circles round and passes over itself by a bridge, thereby quickly attaining a higher elevation and an immediately better alignment. In the "reverse" the same object is obtained by running the track back diagonally up the hill-side for a short distance, and then again resuming an alignment parallel to the original alignment but higher up the side of the mountain.

The engine originally employed was very small even for a two-foot track, and was only capable of drawing a load of about 7 tons. But later on it was improved to the standard type which was able to draw a load of 35 tons up the improved track.The original passenger vehicle was a small four-wheeled trolley with canvas roof and two wooden benches for seats, but some years later bogie railway stock was introduced. New workshops were opened at Tindharia in 1914, and all rolling-stock built in the workshops with the exception of the wheels which are imported.

A Wonder Of The Rail Tracks

The Darjeeling Himalayan railway is a marvel of sorts in what one would call non-engineering. It uses neither rack mechanism nor cable as other mountain railways do, but moves only on adhesion. It was the genius and vision of Franklin Prestage, which conceived of such a mechanism and executed it to perfection. During its 87.48-kms journey from Siliguri to Darjeeling, the toy train as it is aptly and affectionately referred to, loops gracefully around those recalcitrant humps, much like a spiral and chugs its way up to Ghum, its highest point at 7,407 feet. It seems to be gentle persuasion all the way. The only other mountain railway in the world that reaches a higher altitude is in the Andes where Cusco station is located at 14,000 feet, but the mechanism used there is different.

Connecting People

Innovative engineering is only one facet of the inimitable DHR. Perhaps, no other railway system in the world is as ineluctably interwoven with the lives of the peoples it serves. DHR has been part of the Darjeeling landscape for over a hundred years and is central to the hill economy of the region. The railway was instrumental in attracting people from neighbouring Sikkim, Nepal, West Bengal and even as far away as Tibet, making Kurseong, a wayside town, a true entrepot of eclectic cultures.

Earlier & Present Routes

Before the DHR was built, travellers used ponies, which used to take several days through the meandering hill cart road. Now quaint little stations with even quainter names dot the route- Tindharia, Sukna, Rangtong, Chunbati and Ghum. The journey is as leisurely, but not at all strenuous unlike a pony ride. Each stretch offers a unique panorama.

The Sukna Tindharia stretch of the foothills traverses through the Singalela range where the train takes its first loop. The Terai forest unfolds near Rangtong. Here a visitor can experience his first reversing zigzag. Then it takes its next loop at Chunbati gaining height and voila! One can have a magnificent view of the Mahanandi valley on the right. At Tindharia, the train halts long enough get your legs streached, stroll and tuck into a snack with a steaming cup of tea before resuming the journey towards agony point- the aptly named loop just after Tindharia, which churns the contents of your stomach.

Soon the train heads for another reverse, the last one at 3,400 feet just after Gayabari station where monkeys seem to be absorbed in their conference. All it takes is a cone of peanuts to distract their concentration and abruptly terminate the solemn congregation. As the train winds its way, a massive scar on the hillside comes into view. Tourists will learn that it is Pagla Jhora or mad torrent, which in its fury washes away road and track, houses and shops every few years cutting off Darjeeling for days during the monsoons. The Mahanandi station gives one a glimpse of the source of the river. After Eagles Crag, tourists are treated to a spectacular vista of the West Bengal plains – if one is lucky that is.

The Tea Garden Landscapes

After Kurseong, it’s tea garden all the way. Margaret’s Hope, stretches for miles in front of the onlooker and one can marvel at the deftness with which the hill women pick the tealeaves and drop it into the massive baskets on their backs. Their movements seem choreographed to perfection. But they have time to pause and flash a smile at the visitors passing by.

Ghum – The Land Of Misty Sceneries

After pausing at Tung station for water, the train climbs to Sonada station built in the 1880s. From here, one heads for the clouds – Ghum, enveloped eternally in a mist. As one nears Ghum, its colourful monastery comes into view. After ghum, the train runs up along a small ridge to reach the most spectacular engineering feat on the line-the Batasia Loop – with a breath-taking view of the Kanchenjunga as a backdrop. At Batasia, there is a memorial to the Gorkhas. After its laborious climb, the train takes its last drink of water before teetering precariously on the hillside to reach its final destination, the Darjeeling station.

The Description

According to Mark Twain, a trip on the DHR “is the most enjoyable day I have spent on the earth”. Few will disagree with him. Darjeeling becomes the toy train and the toy train, Darjeeling. In fact, the verdant slopes appear more as a backdrop to the ubiquitous toy train. Without it, the Darjeeling landscape would appear bereft. The steamy hiss of the engine, the strident whistle and the clatter of the carriages as the toy train winds its way up the hill blend seamlessly with the cacophony of hill traffic especially because the railway and the hill road chase each other all the way from Siliguri to Darjeeling. At times the narrow gauge railway track and the road seem to move in tandem, a picture of perfect harmony. Many times – in fact 150 times in the entire stretch – they cross each other. Every now and then they play hide and seek like two feuding lovers. But they are never too far way from each other at any point.

Rail Meeting Reel

Those people who are on the wrong side of 40 might perhaps remember the film Aradhana in which, Rajesh Khanna travelling in a jeep, woos Sharmila Tagore travelling in the Toy Tain to the accompaniment of a haunting melody. Avant Garde as ever, Hindi filmdom recognised the romantic potential of the Darjeeling railway long before even the railways themselves woke up to it.

A World Heritage Site

The wake up call came and recently UNESCO declared DHR as a World Heritage Site. The world heritage site status puts DHR in the same exalted league as the hermitage in St. Petersburg, our very own Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi, Hampi in South India and other such man-made marvels. A heritage site is one that is worthy of preservation and a legacy that is worth bequeathing to posterity. After simmering in the Austrian Alps, DHR is the second railway system in the world to be accorded the World Heritage status.

Bringing Darjeeling On Tourist Map

Earlier, the very same DHR had put Darjeeling on the world tea map. If the exquisitely flavoured premium Darjeling tea is sipped in the fashionable salons of Paris today, then it is DHR that has played a small role in making this happen. In its earlier avatars of open carriages, it had ferried tea from the misty slopes to the railheads on the plains to be transshipped to faraway destinations. There is an enchanting sepia tinted photograph of the DHR ferrying wooden tea chests down the hill in the Chum museum, which has just opened. It houses other exquisite DHR memorabilia such as the signaling lanterns in use since the 19th century, whistles, plaques and badges and some priceless old photographs.

Journey On The DHR

A ride on the DHR is not for the hurried and hassled traveller who is impatient to reach his destination. It’s for those who believe the journey is the destination. Much like a toy train strung together from match-boxes, the DHR balances on two-feet tracks moving at a maximum speed of 15-km an hour. It takes all of nine hours to reach Darjeeling from Siliguri and at quite a reasonable sum.

Imaginatively named coaches such as Shivalik, Kanchenjunga, etc with wide windows offer picture postcard views of Rhododendron slopes. Kanchenjunga in all her snowy glory, beckons you tantalisingly from every turn the train takes. In fact, there are so many turn and twists in the track that it seems as though the train is turning its head to check up on its rear from time to time. The train passes through bazaars so close that tourists can virtually lean out and help themselves to the merchandise in the shops. It hugs the hillsides, giving one a glimpse into the day-to-day lives of the hill people. It seems to be a constant wonder for the locals who stop in their tracks to watch it go by just as their parents and grandparents must have done it in their time. Even as traffic on the narrow hill roads gets snarled from time to time, the DHR gets right of way as it passes regally through the townships.

The officials hope that the World Heritage status will attract fun seekers and adventure lovers to Darjeeling. DHR might soon replace tea as the mascot of this lovely hill station. In fact, a trip to Darjeeling would be worth the effort just for the train ride. The DHR is a celebration, no less.