Shimla Train

The official summer residence of Viceroy built in 1888. At present houses the Institute of Advanced studies. Likely to be restored to the Archeological society of India in the near future. The English , had almost carved this building out of wood -pine ,cedar and all the locally available wood.

As was the practice of the then English raj, they always found temperate and salubrious climate in nearby hill stations. In the south , they trudged up to Kodaikanal and Nilgiris whilst in the North, they found bliss in Himalayas.

The little town of Shimla proved ideal for the Europeans. They built a mountain train up to Shimla through 107 tunnels (the longest being 1107 meters from one end to the other,near Barog ). Incidentally , this narrow gauge train differs from the other mountain train in the south - Nilgiris Train.

Both trains were built by the Swiss ,more than 100 years ago. Nilgiris train uses a rack type of rail in the center of the normal tracks,whereas the Shimla 'Toy train " uses a normal ,but extra track to bear the additional stress in the curves,criss-crossing between the regular tracks.

Travel in this ageing marvel :( the steam engine has been replaced with a diesel ,but the carriages bear ample testimony to the rich past) and savour the romantic ride 6 hours long from Kalka to Shimla.

Kalka ,a quaint town at the base of Himalayas ( about 303 km from Old Delhi) forms the other end for this romantic journey.

The Journey will Continue....