Toy Train Shimla Toy Train Travel Information Kalka Shimla Railway

Toy Train Shimla - Journey in a toy train is something else which no word can helpful to express the joy. Kalka Shimla Railway runs toy train between capital of Himachal Pradesh Shimla to Kalka of Chandigarh. The Kalka to Shimla railway is a 2 ft 6 inch or 762 mm narrow gauge railway in North India which traverses a mostly mountainous route from Kalka to Shimla. It is known for dramatic views of the hills and surrounding villages.

The railway was built under the direction of Herbert Septimus Harington between 1898 and 1903 to connect Shimla, the summer capital of India during the British Raj, with the rest of the Indian rail system. Its early locomotives were manufactured by Sharp, Stewart and Company. Larger locomotives were introduced, which were manufactured by the Hunslet Engine Company. Diesel and diesel-hydraulic locomotives began operation in 1955 and 1970, respectively. On 8 July 2008, UNESCO added the Kalka–Shimla railway to the mountain railways of India World Heritage Site.

Toy Train Shimla History

Shimla (then spelt Simla), which was settled by the British shortly after the first Anglo-Gurkha war, is located at 7,116 feet (2,169 m) in the foothills of the Himalayas. The idea of connecting Shimla by rail was first raised by a correspondent to the Delhi gazette in November 1847. Shimla became the summer capital of British India in 1864, and was the headquarters of the Indian army.

This meant that twice a year it was necessary to transfer the entire government between Calcutta and Shimla by horse and ox drawn carts. In 1891 the 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad-gauge Delhi–Kalka line opened, which made the construction of a branch line up to Shimla feasible. The earliest survey was made in 1884 followed by another survey in 1885. Based on these two surveys, a project report was submitted in 1887 to the government of British India. Fresh surveys were made in 1892, and 1893 which lead to four alternate schemes being suggested - two adhesion lines 67.25 mi (108.23 km) and 69.75 mi (112.25 km) long and two rack lines. Fresh surveys were again made in 1895 from Kalka to Solan with a view to determine whether a 1 in 12 rack or 1 in 25 adhesion line should be chosen. After much debate an adhesion line was chosen in preference to a rack system.

Construction of the Kalka–Shimla railway on 2 ft (610 mm) narrow-gauge tracks was begun by the privately funded Delhi-Ambala-Kalka Railway Company following the signing of a contract between the secretary of state and the company on 29 June 1898. The contract specified that the line would be built without any financial aid or guarantee from the government. The government however provided the land free of charge to the company. The estimated cost of 8,678,500 rupees doubled by the time the line was opened. The Chief Engineer of the project was H.S. Herlington.