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Riding the Toy Trains of India
There is something about riding a "toy train" that brings out the child in everyone. The expression refers to the smaller gauge railways built by the British Raj a century ago and still working industriously in some parts of India today. Take the Himalayan Queen, which descends down the Himalayan foothills from the old British hill station of Shimla in northern India. The Queen rides on a single track of 2-ft 6-in gauge, descending down from the clouds in Shimla.
On its five-hour, 96-kilometre descent, the train winds its way along at a sedate 22km/h pace through an astounding 102 tunnels – some up to 3,000 ft in length - and an equally amazing 864 bridges, making it one of the most picturesque train trips on the entire planet.
The railway has is steep and the track boasts 919 curves, the sharpest being 48 degrees, which means the front end of the snake-like train can be seen from the back as it enters many of the tunnels. The Guinness Book of World Records claims the Himalayan Queen run offers the steepest descent in altitude of any train ride in the world. More than two-thirds of the track is curved.
As the train descends from the clouds it enters into a forest of deodar, pine, ficus, oak and maple, with the pungent odour of pine hanging heavy in the air and endless vistas of lush green misty mountains. Built in 1898 at an expense of 86 million rupees in order to carry the British colonial government from the sweltering city of Calcutta up to its summer home in the refreshing mist, the cost of construction doubled by the end of the project.
The entire system was finally purchased by the Indian government in 1906 for over a billion rupees, opened for passenger traffic in 1903 and, except for occasional mudslides in the monsoon season that wipe out the track, has been functioning regularly ever since. In September of 2007, an expert team from UNESCO visited the railway to review it for selection as a World Heritage Site.
Fares on the toy train are most reasonable, and food can be purchased from station vendors along the route, although messy eaters will find that dry cleaning services to remove hot curry sauces are not readily available. Plan ahead and bring a picnic lunch instead, and don’t forget your camera. Larger-sized North Americans will discover the "toy" designation also refers to the size of the seats. Arrive early, grab a window seat, and expect to share it with fellow travellers also keen on a dramatic descent from the hills.
- Photos & text by Michael McCarthy©
