• Home
  • Tours
    • Best of Colorado 2021 >
      • Best of Colorado 2021 Detailed Itinerary
    • Eastern Australia 2021 >
      • Eastern Australia 2021 Detailed Itinerary
    • Hidden Textiles of Northern India 2021 >
      • Hidden Textiles 2021 Detailed Itinerary
    • Darjeeling Mail 2021 >
      • Darjeeling Mail 2021 Detailed Itinerary
    • Indian Magic 2022 >
      • Indian Magic 2022 Detailed Itinerary
    • Kangra Valley Railway 2022 >
      • Kangra Valley 2022 Detailed Itinerary
    • Book >
      • Book Online
      • Booking Information
      • Information for Travellers >
        • More Information for Travellers
      • Terms and Conditions >
        • Privacy Policy >
          • GDPR
      • Insurance
      • Packing List
      • Emergency Contact Form
      • Immunisations
  • About Us
    • About the DHR >
      • DHR Route and Locos
      • DHR Map of the Line
  • Contact
Darjeeling Tours Limited
  • Home
  • Tours
    • Best of Colorado 2021 >
      • Best of Colorado 2021 Detailed Itinerary
    • Eastern Australia 2021 >
      • Eastern Australia 2021 Detailed Itinerary
    • Hidden Textiles of Northern India 2021 >
      • Hidden Textiles 2021 Detailed Itinerary
    • Darjeeling Mail 2021 >
      • Darjeeling Mail 2021 Detailed Itinerary
    • Indian Magic 2022 >
      • Indian Magic 2022 Detailed Itinerary
    • Kangra Valley Railway 2022 >
      • Kangra Valley 2022 Detailed Itinerary
    • Book >
      • Book Online
      • Booking Information
      • Information for Travellers >
        • More Information for Travellers
      • Terms and Conditions >
        • Privacy Policy >
          • GDPR
      • Insurance
      • Packing List
      • Emergency Contact Form
      • Immunisations
  • About Us
    • About the DHR >
      • DHR Route and Locos
      • DHR Map of the Line
  • Contact

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway - Route and Locomotives

Map of the Route
New Jalpaiguri - the railway was extended to the south in 1964 to  meet the new Broad gauge to Assam. Where the two met, New Jalpaiguri was created.

Siliguri Town - original southern terminus of the line.

Siliguri Junction - became a major station only when a new  metre-gauge line was built to Assam in the early 1950s

Sukna - this station marks the change in the landscape from the flat plains to the wooded lower slopes of the mountains. The gradient of the railway changes dramatically.

Loop No.1 was in the woods above Sukna. It was removed after flood damage in 1991. The site is now lost in the forest.

Rangtong - A short distance above Rangtong there is a water tank. This was a  better position for the tank than in the station, both in terms of water supply and distance between other water tanks.

When Loop 2 was removed in 1942, again following flood damage, a new  reverse, No.1, was added, creating the longest reverse run.

Loop No.3 is at Chunbatti. This is now the lowest loop.

Reverses No.2 & 3 are between Chunbatti and Tindharia.

Tindharia - this is a major station on the line as below the station is the  workshops. There is also an office for the engineers and a large  locomotive shed, all on a separate site. Immediately above the station are three sidings; these were used to  inspect the carriage while the locomotive was changed, before the train  continued towards Darjeeling. Agony Point is the name given to loop No.4. It comes from the shape  of the loop which comes to an apex which is the tightest curve on the  line.

Gayabari - Reverse No.6 is the last reverse on the climb.

Mahanadi

Kurseong
 - There is a shed here and a few sidings adjacent to the  main line, but the station proper is a dead end. Up trains must reverse  out of the station (across a busy road junction) before they can  continue on their climb. It is said that the station was built this way  so that the train could enter a secure yard and stay there while the  passengers left the train for refreshments. Above Kurseong station, the railway runs through the bazaar. Trains  skirt the front of shops and market stalls on this busy stretch of road.

Tung

Dilaram

Sonada

Rangbul

Jor Bungalow

Ghum
 - Summit of the line and highest station in India. Now includes a museum on the first floor of the station building with larger  exhibits in the old goods yard.

Batasia Loop

Darjeeling
 - The furthest reach of the line was to Darjeeling Bazaar, a goods-only line and now lost under the road surface and small buildings.

DHR Locomotives
All the steam locomotives currently in use on the  railway are of the 'B' Class, a design built  between 1889 and 1925. A total of 34 were built but by 2005 only 12  remained on the railway and in use (or under repair).

No.787 has been rebuilt with oil firing. This was originally  installed to work on the same principle as that used on Nilgiri Mountain Railway No.37395. To operate the oil burner and an electrically driven feed pump, a  diesel-powered generator was fitted and to power the braking system, a  diesel-powered compressor was fitted. Additionally the locomotive was  fitted with a feedwater heater. The overall result was a  dramatic change in the appearance of the locomotive.

In March 2001, No.794 was transferred to the Matheran Hill Railway to allow a 'Joy  Train' (Steam-hauled tourist train) to be operated on that railway. It did  not, however, enter service there until May 2002.

Only one DHR steam locomotive has been taken out of India, No.778  (originally No.19). After many years out of use in an American museum,  it was sold to an enthusiast in the UK and restored to working order. It is now based on a private railway in Oxfordshire but has run on the Ffestiniog Railway.

Two diesel locomotives are in use, Nos.604 & 605. They are both members of the NDM6  class. Both were originally intended for use on the Matheran Hill  Railway and are identical to the four locomotives actually delivered  there.

In 1910 the railway purchased the third Garratt locomotive built, a D class 0-4-0+0-4-0.

Information Courtesy of Wikipedia

Call us on +44 (0) 208 249 8943 - we love to chat about our holidays!

  • Home
  • Tours
    • Best of Colorado 2021 >
      • Best of Colorado 2021 Detailed Itinerary
    • Eastern Australia 2021 >
      • Eastern Australia 2021 Detailed Itinerary
    • Hidden Textiles of Northern India 2021 >
      • Hidden Textiles 2021 Detailed Itinerary
    • Darjeeling Mail 2021 >
      • Darjeeling Mail 2021 Detailed Itinerary
    • Indian Magic 2022 >
      • Indian Magic 2022 Detailed Itinerary
    • Kangra Valley Railway 2022 >
      • Kangra Valley 2022 Detailed Itinerary
    • Book >
      • Book Online
      • Booking Information
      • Information for Travellers >
        • More Information for Travellers
      • Terms and Conditions >
        • Privacy Policy >
          • GDPR
      • Insurance
      • Packing List
      • Emergency Contact Form
      • Immunisations
  • About Us
    • About the DHR >
      • DHR Route and Locos
      • DHR Map of the Line
  • Contact