Toy Train to the Clouds, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway by Major Paul Whittle

Paul introduced himself and his involvement with the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) currently as Vice-Chair of the DHR Society.  He explained the reasons for having the hill stations during the period of the British Raj in India, why and how they built the DHR and the other hill railways, the route taken and the reasons for the gauge.

The DHR is one of seven hill railways built to enable the British to escape to the cooler countryside during the hottest periods of the year.  Three, including the DHR, currently have UNESCO World Heritage status.  Transporting people, equipment and everything else to the hill stations was originally by bullock-cart, a slow, tedious and difficult process so it made sense to build railways although the nature of the terrain meant that a narrower gauge was a more practical option than the broader gauge elsewhere in India.  The route is approximately 55 miles long, climbs 7000 feet with many twists and turns, and took about 2 years to build.  It also opened up the local economy particularly the tea trade.  During World War II, thousands of troops travelled up to Darjeeling for rest and recuperation as well.

By the late 1980s, the railway was in very poor condition with plans for closure and selling off but many protested both locally and internationally and it became a World Heritage Site (WHS) mainly because of the engineering and economic aspects amongst other reasons.  Although most trains are now diesel hauled, the best time to see steam in action is on the shuttle service between Ghum and Darjeeling during the height of the tourist season.  Keeping the route open is quite a challenge in such a fragile landscape, particularly in the monsoon season, and one photographic example showed where the road had collapsed alongside the railway.  Three years later the road has still not been restored although the railway line was quickly re-instated.

The DHR Society (DHRS) was founded in 1997 and produces books and arranges tours through Darjeeling Tours Limited which has good links with Indian Railways.  It also provides community support through the schools awareness programme for local children which includes activities and a day on the railway.  An achievement in 2016 was restoring old freight vans and persuading the DHR to run a freight charter – the first for many years.

There are links too between the Ffestiniog Railway illustrated by a photograph of DHR Indian Railway staff visiting Porth Madoc; sharing the aspect of customer care that is a basic part of heritage railway operation in the UK.  There is also engineering support with a small group going out from the UK to the works at Tindhara to help teach basic maintenance and maintaining standards.  The now late Adrian Shooter led a team in October to report on key things that need to be sorted out on the DHR.  It is not really a toy train but serious engineering.

There is a varied assortment of carriages including a restored General Manager’s saloon and an inspection saloon and some have air conditioning although that is not much needed at the top of the line.  The more recently introduced vista dome coaches have also proved very popular.  There are about 500 staff with secure well paid jobs, accommodation and other benefits and a comment was made about overstaffing.

We were then taken on a photographic journey up the line from New Jalpaiguri noting the broad gauge platform at the original terminus at Siliguri where a new purpose for the building is being considered.  There were three gauges here originally – broad gauge, metre gauge and narrow gauge although the meter gauge has now gone as India tries to standardise the gauge system.

The level section ends at Sukna where it is easy to take photographs with the road running adjacent to the track, one such picture showing the small locomotive with driver, fireman, and coal breaker on the top to break up the big lumps.  There were also two on the front to keep adhesion and provide sanding.  It is a very reliable service as the track continues to climb, along the edge of the road, rarely separated, with a good safety record.  Then we come to the workshops at Tindhara where the top of a hill was bulldozed flat to provide sufficient level space; followed by zig zags and loops.  At Kurseong the tea estates – there are 80 or so around Darjeeling - come right up to the line and the track then follows along the middle of the road through the town, with a siding for the station.  There can be traffic chaos as this is a busy road/rail junction and the trains run very close to the shops!  Finally arriving at Darjeeling itself with wonderful views of the mountains, we were shown how the track layout was changed to ease the gradient on this section.

There are currently a number of problems to be resolved such as poor quality coal and a lack of steam oil for steam operations, and overweight carriages because of the addition of extra equipment like air conditioning.  If a locomotive can only haul 2 carriages instead of 3, then there are serious revenue implications.  Track problems need attention and staff need to have proper uniforms.  A number of recommendations have been made and responses are now awaited.

Having WHS status requires a proper management plan so a draft of a Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan (CCMP) was drawn up in 2007 and much has been done.  However, and somewhat understandably, Indian Railways do not like to be told what to do.  They are generally very good at running railways but do not have the same experience with heritage railways and, while some change is unavoidable, it needs to be controlled.  UNESCO probably needs to do more but is underfunded and inadequately staffed, and the DHRS has no real power.  It is hard to get funding for non-essentials and Indian Railways are reluctant to let the DHRS help.  However, they are very proud of their railway.

Questions and answers included railway families, bell ringing in the English church; was WHS requested or did UNESCO ask (both); will the railway remain complete at the bottom; low tech repairs and solutions; are compromises between WHS status and practicality possible or likely; if India wishes other hill railways to be listed in future, a CCMP will need to be signed off first; journey times.

The vote of thanks was given by Andy Davies who highlighted that this is a railway that we have all heard of but few have visited.  This evening was an incentive to do so.