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During June, the temperature in New Delhi, India’s capital, is often above 45 degrees C. For most Canadians, this is decidedly unpleasant. My wife and I recently found ourselves in this situation and asked our Indian host, “what can we do to escape the heat?” He answered, “you should visit the city of Shimla in the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains”. It is above 6,800 feet elevation with cool breezes and has the pace of a five star resort. But, best of all, it is reached by a spectacular narrow gauge railway that in India we call a “toy Train”.
Thinking that our host’s national pride might have led to over statement, we conducted our own research. The internet showed that modern Shimla is the capital of Himachal Province in Northern India and was the summer administrative centre of India during the British Colonial era. During the summers of the 19th century, British bureaucrats wore three piece suits and ties, and there was no air conditioning. Consequently they sought to escape the summer heat of India’s central plains )that included New Delhi). Shimla, a small town in the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains was selected as the summer capital.
By 1880 a railway existed to the city of Kalka, several hundred miles north of Delhi. In 1903, a 58 mile narrow gauge railway connected Kalka to Shimla. It was, and still is, one of the most unique railways in the world. The train ascends 4,800 feet to reach Shimla at an elevation of 6,800 feet. Over 70% of the track is curved, many of the curves are very sharp. Top speed is 15 miles per hour and there are lots of 4% grades. There are 103 tunnels, 800 bridges and 20 stations, some of which are scheduled stops. In 1965, when diesels replaced steam engines, train consists increased from three coaches to seven. There are five trains from each terminal daily, powered by 700 horsepower diesel locomotives. (photo)
Weather conditions vary greatly, temperatures range from zero degrees to 45 degrees C, annual rainfall is eight feet and snow falls can exceed two feet. From these facts one can see why the Kalka—Shimla railway was considered the crown jewel of Indian national railways during British Colonial rule. Also, the details reveal, it was and still is an engineering marvel. Little wonder that in 2008 the railway was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Armed with details, we booked first class tickets via the internet on Express #1 departing Kalka at 0600. We met our travel agent at the station around 0530 and gave him our tickets. With a startled look he said, “Please wait here and don’t move!” He promptly disappeared into the scrambling mass of confusion milling about the station platform. There we were, in strange surroundings, our tickets gone, 15 minutes to departure, and no travel agent in sight! Anxiety was rising to a fever pitch.
Suddenly he was there frantically beckoning us to follow him through the throngs to our train car. Looking through the open window of our coach, I could see that all the compartment seats were filling, including those we had reserved. Again he said with exasperation, “Wait here”. With five minutes to go to departure, we were not about to move! Looking through the window again, I could see him ordering a mother and child to vacate our seats. Then to us he said, “You paid for first class seats but the internet agent sold you second class ones. The Indian Railway rule is a second class ticket allows one into a compartment, but not to a specific seat. However, as you paid extra for seat reservations the non reservation person has to vacate”. It all sounded terribly complex, but there were more surprises yet to come!
Just prior to 0600, a conductor standing on the platform outside examined our tickets through the open window. At the same time there was a group of men standing on the platform adjacent to our coach. They appeared disinterested and because they had no tickets, the conductor ignored them. However, the moment that the train started to move the men jumped into our compartment. Not a word was said. The compartment had eleven seats that were already occupied by 15 passengers! The six freeloaders made it 21, and they succeeded in blocking the aisle along with the numerous bags and boxes belonging to the paying passengers. There were no overhead racks. The mother and child, who had been moved to the aisle were sitting on boxes until what appeared to be her husband gave them his seat—chivalry at best!
Almost immediately on departing the station, our train began a gradual ascent out of the ugly garbage littered brown grass landscape of Kalka and entered wooded areas of Himalayan cedar , pine, maple and oak trees. As we climbed higher there were increasingly spectacular views of deep terraced valleys and dry river beds on one side of the train, and steep hills on the other. In addition there were tiny domed Hindu temples scattered along the right of way.
Of the 103 tunnels, the most famous is the abandoned one near Barog station (named after the engineer, Barog). He committed suicide after failing to align the two tunnels that began on opposite sides of a wide hill. Had the ends been properly adjusted, it would have created the longest tunnel in the world at the time.
There are 800 bridges on the line, some 700 of them are constructed of stone arches two and three levels high, resembling Roman aqueducts. (photo page 22 top)
The most enjoyable part of the six hour journey was sitting by the open window savoring the early morning cool breeze, the fragrant smells of the forests and the kaleidoscopic scenery of the Himalayan foothills. These features were enhanced by the meandering pace of the Toy Train in its unrelenting climb to Shimla. Several times the railway paralleled the busy highway where traffic from Kalka reached the summit at Shimla twice as fast as our laboring train.
There were frequent stops at picturesque Gothic styled stations with steep roofs, pointed arches and elaborate stonework. They had exotic names such as Dharampur, (left) Salogra, Taradevi, and Sunnyhill to name just a few. At stations where we stopped, vendors carrying packages of snacks tacked to a six foot pole passed the coach windows in the hope of making a sale. We resisted the temptation of such food remembering the strong warning of our hosts in Delhi.
After six hours of mesmerizing travel through geographical, historical, cultural, religious and environmental aspects of India, Express Train #1 rounded a sharp curve and entered a wide plateau. Shimla was at the far end. There, spread over a steep hillside was our destination city of over a million people. History tell us Shimla’s heyday was during the 19th century when it was the main summer administrative hill station of the British Raj.
Our dream trip ended at a 100 year old station where again we were in the centre of an unruly crowd trying to push past a harassed agent who unsuccessfully tried to check their tickets. As we left the station, I heard someone say’ “Can you believe it, the temperature is just 36 degrees C” now!
The Toy Train trip and subsequent exploration of the Himalayan region of Shimla is an experience of a lifetime. If the opportunity arises, be sure to take it!
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