By Kumar Mangwani

An essay on the Darjelling Himalayan Railway which completed 127 years of operation on the 4th July 2008.

If you are an addict, in imprecise terms, then perhaps the memory of a trip back in time when the steam engines thundered the belly of India will cheer up your spirits. The black and white Colonial era left behind their impressions upon this land, and one of the most spectacular of those goodies, was the steam engine slicing through the parched brown lands, little children along the tracks waving impatiently. That they were waving goodbye to an era, if metaphorically, it dawned upon much later in time.

Darjelling, circa 2008, was that literal trip back in time. And right where we were, on that wooden bench befitting the station, a little mass of the blue steam engine pulled into view maneuvering a bend. Its sweet whistle as it strained along the tracks, white puffs of smoke emanating thickly from its vent, did give my spirits the elevated high. As it swayed onto the platform, the crew got down to its business, checking the bolts, the cranks, pouring oil, and all other odds defining last-minute-inspection. The tourists pre-booked for the joy ride, mused at the tiny blue and cream compartments. Children sneaked towards the engine and wondered dropped-jaw at this fable of steam like a missing chapter out of their childhood memories come alive.

This was the one of the newer engines built around 1920, numbered 804; ‘QueenoftheHills’, a name pinched from the Hill Station itself, as Darjelling is lovingly dubbed. The engine was compact but mighty enough to drag 35 tons along the tracks, whereas the original ones built in 1881 could just boast of 7 tons drag-load. Across the road, the 802 ‘Victor’ was resting in the loco-shed being tanked up with coal carted in wicker baskets. The coolies made trip after trip, hauling black fuel into its furnace, while the archaic engine kept idling and sneezing out little bursts of white smoke through its 19 inch wheels.

The legend of the train’s arrival dates back to the British days, and their affinity for tea, which made them line up the 83 km tracks from Siliguri to Darjelling. Till the late 1800, tea was transported by horse drawn carts down the snaking and tortuous ‘Hill cart’ road to Siliguri, which was the nearest railhead then. Franklin Prestage, of Eastern Bengal Railway Company and Sir Ashley Eden, the lieutenant-Governor proposed the laying of the line. With the Government, spending a princely lac and a half annually, for the upkeep of the cart road due to rain damage, gladly accepting the proposal, work started in 1879. Completed in stages, first up to Tindharia, Kurseong and finally the entire line to Darjelling opened for traffic on 4th July 1881. The earliest locomotive came swanked with wooden benches and canvas canopies built in Manchester, England.

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