Hello friends, hope you all are doing well. I want to share with you all an interesting place located in my hometown. Tamil Nadu the state where I was born is known for its rich cultural heritage and traditions and when we take India as a country it is also well known for its Unity in Diversity. In a place where there is diversity in everything starting from the relief to the people India as a country stays strong maintaining brotherhood, love and peace among every citizen in the country. It's time for you all to get ready to feel the beauty of a train journey that you can't forget throughout your life. It may be hard to believe but it is true. This train is recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Site under a category called Indian Mountain Railway. Bearing such a proud this centuries old train still make its way up and down the hills of Nilgiris which is called as the Queen of Hill stations. This is the reason why I kept the title for my article as "The Ride Of The Queen".
The NMR which is an acronym for Nilgiri Mountain Railway was started during the British rule in India during the year 1854. Before the railway construction began Nilgiris was inacessible for common travellers. The people had to travel in horse back or in dollies to reach Conoor or Ooty. The train has a cute nickname as the "Nilgiris Toy Train" as it looks like an antique toy train. Unlike its name the Nilgiri Toy Train does a great job in connecting a main hill station in Tamil Nadu called as Ooty more formally as Udagamandalam which is located at an altitude of 2600 metres above sea level with the lower most part of Nilgiris. Constructing this classic mountain rail pathway in a tricky terrain was a difficult job during the 19th century. Despite all the hardships a plan was proposed to construct a railway line from mettupalayam to the Nilgiri hills during the year 1854. It took almost another forty five years for the construction work to get completed and the first train started its travel in the year 1899. The engine required to pull the train through a steep mountain was developed by the Swiss Locomotive Works and was brought to India. The engine and its wooden coaches painted in blue and cream colour gives the train its own beauty. There are just twelve engines of this class existing in the whole world. This train is not a bullet train and it is really slow covering a distance of 46kilometres between Udagamandalam and the foothills of Nilgiris in four hours and thirty minutes. The train stops in five stations between Mettupalayam and conoor. The station names are Kallar, Adderley, Hill grove, Runnymede, Kateri. There were also five stations between ooty and conoor once but at present there are only four. The fifth station was closed recently. The four stations are Wellington, Aruvankadul, Ketti, Lovedale. For safety reasons the train travels very slowly not more than 10 kilometres an hour and it is the slowest moving train in India. It was built in the 19th century with track having 208 curves and 13 tunnels. The train leaves Mettupalayam in the morning and reaches Ooty only at noon.
Rice is the staple food of south India and therefore there is nothing uncommon about the 7kilometre stretch of rice fields between kallar and mettupalayam. This is followed by a hard rocky terrain for another 21 kilometres. The railway track also passes through 26 viaducts, it twists and blends through 13 tunnels. After making a steep climb the train reaches conoor which is a little hill station popularly known for its tea estates. From conoor the track moves uphill till you reach the last station in route. The fern hill station which is closed currently is the highest railway point. If you are a photo maniac you must keep your camera ready before a short distance from Ooty as you can get some beautiful pictures of viaducts between kallar and Adderley. This train journey will definitely change the opinions of people who hate train journey. The slow moving train over the tall bridges, green hills and pleasant tea estates will make you fall in love with it. The sound made by this steam engine can be heard even miles away and therefore you will have to sing along with the train sound.
The right way to begin your holidays in the hills is to start your journey with this lovely toy train. The slow journey keeps on reminding you that you are on a vacation far away from stress, tension, work load, study, exams etc. You can have an amazing view of nature as the train moves through green hills, tea estates and lovely rivers. You can see some lovely waterfalls at a distance with its sounds clearly audible. The train holds tight to the mountains before it starts to turn and then it breathes out a heavy steam puffing its way uphill. In the very beginning I mentioned about the steepness the train climbs and it is really great for decades of year old train to climb to such a height. From Mettupalayam to Kallar the journey is not steep and the path is smooth. After the train departs from kallar the train begins to climb uphill. It is a metre gauge line and still the train uses rack and pinion system to climb the steep paths. If you get a window seat on the train then you can be very sure that you wouldn't miss anything on the way.
The rack and pinion system is unique for the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. A special tooth racked rail is mounted on the sleepers between the parallel rails. The train has cog wheels fitted in it which mesh with the rack rail. From conoor to Ooty the train runs in a non rack system. Generally the engine is at the front of the train in a normal railway line but in Nilgiri Railway Line the engine is at the back during its climb up hill. This is for providing extra power for the coaches and pushing it up. When the train descends down the engine is at the front ensuring the gradual descent of the train.
Currently the steam powered swiss locomotive engines is replaced by a bio-diesel engine which is new and can hold 850 litres of bio diesel and 2250 litres of furnace oil. The new engine with a capacity of 97 tonnes can travel at a speed of 30 kilometres per hour on a flat surface and during ascend it can travel at 15 kilometres per hour.
The Nilgiri Mountain Railway has been shown in various tamil and hindi movies. There are even documentary movies made by the world famous BBC as a part of three series movie. It received a price given by the UK Royal Television Society in 2010.
You must travel at least once in your lifetime in this amazing train. This can give you loads of happiness, a touch with the nature and also some unforgettable memories of lifetime. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is a ride that everyone must travel if you visit India. Thanks for reading it patiently and till I write my next article keep smiling and cheers :) :) Please feel free to mention if you have any comments or suggestions.!
