Kalka-Shimla Railway

All you want to know about Kalka-Shimla Railway

Mountain Railways of India*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Shivalik Deluxe Express in Taradevi Station
Shivalik Deluxe Express in Taradevi Station
State Party Flag of India India
Type Cultural
Criteria ii, iv
Reference 944
Region** Asia-Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription 1999  (23rd Session)
Extensions 2005; 2008
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
** Region as classified by UNESCO.

The Kalka-Shimla Railway is a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge railway in North-West India travelling along a mostly mountainous route from Kalka to Shimla. It is known for breathtaking views of the hills and surrounding villages, and for having the greatest incline over its 96km stretch.

Contents

History

Shimla was discovered by the British shortly after the first Anglo-Gurkha war, and is located at 7116 feet in the foothills of the Himalayas. By the 1830s, Shimla had already developed as a major base for the British.[citation needed] It became the summer capital of British India in 1864, and was also the headquarters of the British army in India. Prior to construction of the railway communication with the outside world was via villiage cart.[1]

The railway was constructed by the Delhi-Umbala-Kalka Railway Company commencing in 1898.[1] The estimated cost of Rs 86,78,500, however, the cost doubled during execution of the project.[citation needed] The 96.54 km (60 mi) line was opened for traffic November 9, 1903.[1] Because of the high capital and maintenance cost, coupled with peculiar working conditions, the Kalka-Shimla Railway was allowed to charge fares that were higher than the prevailing tariffs on other lines. However, even this was not good enough to sustain the company and the Government had to purchase it on January 1, 1906 for Rs 1,71,07,748.

Ordinary local train halts at the Solan Station
Ordinary local train halts at the Solan Station

In mid-August 2007, the government of Himachal Pradesh declared the railway a heritage property in preparation for its review in September.[2]

For about a week starting on September 11, 2007, an expert team from UNESCO was on a visit to the railway to review and inspect the railway for possible selection as a World Heritage Site. On July 7th 2008, the Kalka-Shimla Railway was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. [3] This has made it the fourth railway property in India to be decalerd so. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai have already been declared as world heritage properties.[4]

Route

The Kalka-Shimla Railway was built to connect Shimla, the summer capital of India during the British Raj, with the Indian rail system. Now, Shimla is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh and Kalka is a town in the Panchkula district of Haryana. Spectacular scenery along the whole route, and the marvels of its construction, keeps the traveler on this line spell bound. On leaving Kalka, 656 meters (2,152 ft) above sea level, the railway enters the foothills and immediately commences its climb.

Kalka Railway Station
Kalka Railway Station


Stations

The route offers a panoramic feast of the picturesque Himalayas from the shivalik foot hills at Kalka to several important points such as Dharampur, Solan, Kandaghat, Taradevi, Barog, Salogra, Summerhill and Shimla at an altitude of 2,076 meters (6,811 ft).

Engineering

A typical passenger train on one of the line's big bridges
A typical passenger train on one of the line's big bridges

The Kalka Shimla Railway runs through 103 tunnels (one is not in use; so only 102 in service). The longest tunnel is at Barog, and is named after the engineer in charge of construction. Mr Barog committed suicide after making a mistake in laying the alignment. His tunnel was abandoned, and a second tunnel was constructed one kilometre away under the supervision the Chief Engineer, H.S. Harrington. Harrington had the assistance of Bhalku, a man from Jhaja, near Chail, who possessed natural engineering skills and is believed to have helped the British engineers bore other tunnels on the railway. Bhalku is regarded as a local saint, and apparently received a gold medal for his role in construction of the railway. The tunnel is 1143 metres long and for a long time was the second longest tunnel on the Indian Railways. It is a straight tunnel, passing through fissured sandstone.[5]

The line has 864 bridges, one of which is a 18.29 metre (60 ft) plate girder span and steel truss. The others are viaducts with multi-arched galleries like the ancient Roman aqueducts. Bridge No. 493, historically known as the "Arch Gallery", situated between Kandaghat and Kanoh stations, is an arch bridge in three stages, constructed with stone masonry. Bridge No. 226; between Sonwara and Dharampur is an arch gallery bridge having 5 tier galleries of multiple spans, constructed with stone masonry and bridging a deep valley surrounded by high peaks.

The railway has a ruling gradient of 1 in 33 or 3%. It has 919 curves, the sharpest being 48 degrees (a radius of 37.47 m or 122.93 feet). Climbing from 656 meters (2,152 ft), the line terminates at an elevation of 2,076 meters (6,811 ft) at Shimla. The line originally used 42lb/yd rail but this was later relaid to 60lb/yd rail.[1]

Locomotives

The first locomotives to arrive were two class "B" 0-4-0ST from the famous Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. These were built as 2 ft (610 mm) gauge engines, but were converted to 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge in 1901. They were not large enough for the job, and were sold on in 1908. They were followed by 10 engines with a 0-4-2T wheel arrangement of a slightly larger design, introduced in 1902. These locos weighed 21.5 tons (21.85 tonnes), and had 30" (762 mm) driving wheels, and 12"x16" (304.8 mm x 406.4 mm) cylinders. They were later classified into the "B" class by the North Western State Railways. All these locos were constructed by the British firm of Sharp Stewart.[6]

Larger locomotives were introduced in the form of an 2-6-2T, of which 30 were built with slight variations between 1904 and 1910. Built by the Hunslet and the North British Locomotive Company, these locomotives were about 35 tons (35.56 tonnes), with 30" (762 mm) drivers and 14"x16" (355.6 mm x 406.4 mm) cylinders. These locomotives, later classed K and K2 by the North Western State Railways, subsequently handled the bulk of the railways traffic during the steam era. A pair of Kitson-Meyer 2-6-2+2-6-2 articulated locomotives, classed TD, were supplied in 1928. They quickly fell into disfavour, as it often took all day for enough freight to be assembled to justify operating a goods train hauled by one of these locos. Shippers looking for a faster service started to turn to road transport. These 68 ton (69.09 tonnes) locomotives were soon transferred to the Kangra Valley Railway, and subsequently ended up converted to 1,000 mm (3 ft 3⅜ in) gauge in Pakistan.[6]

Rolling Stock

The railway opened using conventional four-wheel and bogie coaches. The tare weight of these coaches meant that only four of the bogie coaches could be hauled upgrade by the 2-6-2T locomotives. In an effort to increase loadings in 1908 the entire coaching stock was rebuilt as bogie coaches 33' long by 7' wide, using steel frames and bodies. To further save weight the roofs were constructed using aluminium. Savings in weight meant the locomotives could now haul six of the larger coaches, significantly expanding capacity. This was an early example of the use of steel in construction of coaches to reduce the coaches tare.[1]

Goods rolling stock was constructed on a common pressed steel underframe, 30' long and 7' wide. Both open and covered wagons were provided, the open wagons having a capacity of 19 tons and the covered wagons 17.5 tons. [1]

Trains

  • Shivalik Deluxe Express
  • Himalayan Queen
  • Rail Car
  • Other Local trains

Railcars

Rail cars. which looked like buses on the rail, were used to transport upper class travellers. The fare for these cars was almost double of the first class ticket. The travel time by these rail cars was less than three hours from Kalka to Simla where as trains used to take between Six to Seven hours to complete this journey.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Engineer" journal article, circa 1915, reprinted in Narrow Gauge & Industrial Railway Modelling Review, no. 75, July 2008
  2. ^ "HP declares Kalka-Shimla railway as 'heritage' property", The Hindu (2007-08-13). Retrieved on 2007-08-13. 
  3. ^ "Kalka-Shimla Railway makes it to Unesco’s World Heritage list", The Hindu Business Line (2008-07-09). Retrieved on 2008-07-10. 
  4. ^ http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_print.asp?id=494079
  5. ^ Singh, Jagmeet. "Man behind Barog tunnel lies forgotten". Windows. The Tribune of India. Retrieved on 2008-09-01.
  6. ^ a b Hughes, Hugh 1994 Indian Locomotives Pt. 3, Narrow Gauge 1863-1940. Continental Railway Circle.

External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalka-Shimla_Railway"

No comments have been added.



Your name:

City:

Country:

Your comments:

Security check *
(Please enter the number into adjoining box)

 

  • Ads

           
eXTReMe Tracker