Early history of Darjeeling Himalayan Railways

Early history and the development of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railways

When JW Grant, Commercial Resident in Malda, set his foot in Darjeeling on a cold February afternoon in 1829, he became the first European ever to do so in this Land of the Thunderbolts, Darjeeling had always found favour with the ruling British. Not only was it lavished with funds for its development and welfare, the town was also maintained as a showpiece in an effort to further massage the egos of the East India Co.  One out of the many reasons for the largesse shown towards Darjeeling was the British wanted to project the place as a model under their colonial rule. Darjeeling and its smaller neighbours Kurseong and Kalimpong hence also benefited from the generosity of the British rulers.

 

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, in 1921

The British Government of that day, in an effort to provide a sanctuary to its officers from the scorching heat of the Indian plains, steadily promoted and developed the area as a hill station. Gradual progress in tourism related infrastructure of the area soon saw Darjeeling becoming the Queen amongst all the Hill Stations in India.

Like all Queens, Darjeeling too needed a jewel on her crown befitting a monarch and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railways was the jewel that was so far lacking.

The idea of a railway link between Siliguri and Darjeeling was first mooted in the year 1870 by Franklin Prestage, who at that time was the Sole agent of the Eastern Bengal Railway Co. He proposed to build the rail line along the old Hill Cart Road being used by the Tonga Service and which was later destroyed by landslides. He placed a detailed scheme for laying the Railway Line in the year 1878 before then Lt. Governor Sir. Ashley Eden. The Lt. Governor appointed a high power committee to study the proposal who reported the feasibility and advantages of the proposed railway.

The Committee reported that Rs1.5 lakh would be required annually for the upkeep of the existent Hill Cart Road connecting Darjeeling to Siliguri and building the train route would help defray this cost. In later years after DHR came into service, this assessment held true and it was found that the Government was indeed saving a lot of money on this front, thus lessening the burden on taxpayers.

In the year 1879, the proposed scheme by Franklin Prestage was accepted and construction work started on a war footing. By March 1880, a line was opened up to Tindharay and by the end of the year up to Kurseong. In July 1881, the DHR first rolled into Darjeeling town. On September 15, 1881, the original name given to the railway - Darjeeling Steam Tramway Co - was changed to a more dignified appellation - The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. In the same year, M/s Gillanders Aubuthnot & Co was appointed as the first booking and handling agents of the DHR.

The first engines that were used were those capable of drawing a load of up to 7 tonnes. They were later upgraded to more powerful ones that could pull a load of up to 35 tonnes. The engine first used could pull carriages at an average speed of 11km per hour while the engine that was later introduced could travel at an average speed of 18km per hour. The DHR ran on a 24 inch gauge, with each wheel measuring just 19.5 inches in diameter.

The fortunes of the DHR increased quickly and its fame spread far and wide not just because of the simply breathtaking terrain that it passed through with the mighty Kanchenjunga remaining a dramatic backdrop, but more so because of the scientific marvel that it still is. The building of the toy train line up to Darjeeling and then up to Teesta was an engineering feat that has remained unmatched in the Hills even till date.

Initially though, the passenger carriages that were used were of real basic nature with small four-wheeled trolleys that had canvas coverings. Two wooden benches served as seats. Later years saw them being replaced by standard railway carriages measuring 26 feet 6 inches long and offering modern facilities.

In 1914, the first workshop in the Hills was opened at Tindharay where all the rolling stock was built with the exception of the wheels which were imported from a manufacturing unit in Manchester, the UK. The first engine used was the standard of that time with four coupled wheels weighing 14 tonnes and with cylinders measuring 11 inches bore and 14 inches trake. A Garnatte, or eight wheeled articulated engine weighing 28 tonnes was used later. The steel rails were of an exceptionally high quality weighing 41.25 lbs per yard. The popularity of the DHR increased with each passing year and as per figures available for the year ending March 31, 1920, the railway carried 2,63,083 passengers and 61,704 tonnes of goods that particular year.

On May 15, 1915, the Teesta Valley Line of the DHR was started with the idea of connecting Sikkim and Kalimpong to the rest of the country. The line started in Siliguri and ran up to Geilkhola (about 4km from Teesta) with further plans to take the line up to either Gangtok or some other place near it.

The old PWD road that ran along the roaring Teesta River was used to construct the rail line. This old road, which had been washed away in various places by the great landslip of 1899, was repaired and the rail line laid on it. The Teesta Valley Line was mainly used to transport wool imported from Tibet and oranges from Sikkim. As per data available, up to 20 tonnes of oranges were transported from Sikkim during the peak orange growing season.

The Indian Railways formally took over the management of the DHR on October 20, 1948 post Independence. The landslides that occurred in the year 1950 washed away the rail line and the cost of repairing it was deemed too heavy for the newly formed Indian Railway to meet.

Thus ended the dream of the DHR to connect Gangtok and Kalimpong with the rest of the country by rail line and this dream was effectively terminated forever. (The author is the Editor of Himalayan Times, Kalimpong)

Author: 

Sandip C. Jain

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