ISRS Newsletter Archive

ISRS Quarterly Newsletter No. 001, Spring 2000

Table of Contents

Foreword

I am pleased to know about the formation of the 'Indian Steam Railway Society'. I am also happy to note that the newly formed Society is bringing out the first issue of its Newsletter. This Society and its Newsletter should provide sufficient impetus in the preservation of the glorious steam heritage of the Indian Railway System and promote Steam Heritage Tourism, a new tourism segment, which is already popular in many countries overseas.

I hope that this Newsletter will emerge as a popular journal and would be of great value to Steam Railway enthusiasts and tourists interested in Steam Heritage Tourism.

I wish the Society all success in their endeavour.

M.P. BEZBARUAH (Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India)

Editorial

The formation of ISRS has came as a shot in the arm for the campaign by steam enthusiasts within and outside the railway establishment for retaining steam traction on lR, on selected sections, for tourism and heritage preservation purposes. As the name suggests, the focused area of work of the new. society will be preservation of steam traction. Various chapters of ISRS will look into other aspects of railway heritage preservation namely FNRM will be involved in the general heritage presdrvation activities at the NRM and the RDSO chapter will be involved in the preservation of various old drawing, documents and plans of the steam age.

The nomination of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway as a UNESCO’s World Heritage Site and the resurrection of HGS 26761 by Howrah Division of Eastern Railway were the most welcome news in the year 1999. We congratulate and thank all individuals involved in these Herculean tasks of resurrecting the 80 year old steam locomotive and of filing the application with UNESCO and ensuring that the DHR gets the recognition that it fully deserves. A similar campaign is now required to knock the wind out of the absurd proposal of electrification of Nilgiri Mountain Railway!

All payments made towards the society including membership fee, advertisement booking etc. are now to be sent in form of a crossed Cheque/Demand Draft payable at Delhi in the name of ‘Indian Steam Railway Society’ and not in the name of any office bearer by name or designation.

With profound regret, we have to announce the untimely demise of J.E. Daboo, author of BORHT’s ‘Guide to IR Diesels and Electrics’, on 1st January 2000. At the time of his death, Mr. Daboo was working on some articles on IR and a second revised and updated version of his earlier book.

HARSH VARDHAN
February 2000

About Indian Steam Railway Society (ISRS)

Indian Steam Railway Society (ISRS) was formed on October 23rd, 1999 when a group of like-minded people met and discussed the present scenario and future possibilities regarding the preservation of Indian Steam. Subsequently a formal non-profit Society was drafted and it was registered with the Registrar of Societies, Delhi under Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860.

The President of the Society is R C Sethi, who retired as GM of IR. Mark Tully is the Vice-president, P J Singh is the Secretary and C Ruthnaswamy is the Jt. Secretary. Abhimanyu Shaunik is the Treasurer and Harsh Vardhan is the Editor of the Newsletter of the Society. Other members of the managing committee are Ashwani Lohani, Ravindra Gupta and Arun Mohan.

The main purpose of the new Society is to form a common platform for the Indian Steam Railway Enthusiasts to exchange views and further their knowledge on the subject of Indian Steam Railway. The Society will also represent with the Indian Railway Board for more and more tourist special trains hauled by steam locomotives in near future.

The managing Committee has also proposed formation of several chapters of the new Society in the various railway zones as well as production and research units of IR like CLW, OF, DLW and RDSO etc. Friends of the National Rail Museum (FNRM), an existing two year old support group, associated with assisting the preservation activities at the National Rail Museum (NRM) has been incorporated as the first chapter of the ISRS.

ISRS members will initially meet at least once every month. No particular day and venue has been fixed for this meeting presently. Details of the meeting place and time can be obtained from P J Singh (6943565) or C Ruthnaswamy (6139323). All the members are welcome to attend.

The annual membership fee of the Society is Rs. 100 per head for those residing in India. Annual membership for those residing outside India is US $5 (alternately Rs. 200). All Yearly memberships are offered for a calender year only and expire in December of that year. Life membership fee for Indian Residents is Rs. 1000 per head and US $50 (alternately Rs. 2000) for those residing outside India. The Institutional membership fee is Rs. 5000/- per annum. All members of ISRS will automatically qualify to take part in the various activities of the ISRS chapters and there will be no separate membership for the chapters of the ISRS. The executive committee has also decided to absorb the present life members of FNRM as life members of ISRS. Individual concerned members are also being intimated separately about this change.

Further details about the society and the membership forms can be obtained by writing to the Secretary, ISRS, A-576, Santa Vihar, New Delhi - 110 044. Contributions for the Newsletter marked to the Editor may also be sent to the above address.

Steam Update

YG LOCOMOTIVES FOR ROYAL ORIENT EXPRESS YG 3724 which was seen hauling the RO last April has been condemned at Rewari Shed due to a frame failure. In January 2000, another ex-Wankaner YG loco 4252 was seen along with 3438 at the helm of affairs of RO. The worrisome news however is that 4252 was not in great condition and the train had to be assisted from the rear by a diesel locomotive. 3415 is under maintenance and likely to return in February and 4252 will be then kept on stand-by duties.

WANKANER This last regular steam shed in India trudged its way into the Y2K year. Latest reports reaching us however suggest that two diesel rail buses have arrived at Wankaner and likely to be operational shortly. It was also envisaged that 26th January would be the last working day for steam here. These reports however could not be confirmed at the time of going to the press.

LOCOS SOLD TO USA YPs 2257 and 2805, were overhauled by Loco workshop, Ajmer and were trial run on Morvi - Wankaner line in December 99. The locos are now ready for despatch to US, which will be their new home.

WP LOCOMOTIVES WP 7015 and 7161 arrived at NRM from Saharanpur on their own steam on 16/11/99, where they will be stored pending a decision about their future running. Western Railway subsequently requested WP 7161 for a special run on the occasion of celebration of 100 years of Churchgate HO. The extensive celebrations planned at the beginning of the year however fizzled out.

The locomotive is presently stored at the Bandra Marshalling Yard loco shed and latest reports reaching us suggest that the loco may not be run at all as was decided earlier since the authorities in charge have developed cold feet!

DARJEELING HIMALAYAN RAILWAY We are proud to announce that on the 2nd Dec. 1999 Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has become the 22nd World Heritage Site of India and the 2nd Railway site in the world to achieve World Heritage status.

The three NDM6 diesel locomotives arrived at New Jalpaiguri in early December. After extensive trial runs on the NJP — Sukna plain section, the first two-coach diesel hauled train made its way to Darjeeling on the Christmas eve. The subsequent status of steam on DHR is not very clear. It was however confirmed that the Kurseong — Darjeeling school train as well as Darjeeling — Ghoom excursion special train are still on steam and will remain so in future.

NILGIRI MOUNTAIN RAILWAY NMR continues to be 100% steam on the rack section between Mettupalaiyam and Coonoor. Three X class locomotives are being totally rebuilt at Golden Rock workshops. NMR now offers private rail excursion tours on this line where you can actually book the entire train for a private party. It is called Heritage Steam Chariot - Steam engine train sight-seeing and picnic tour. Ooty to Runnymede & Back covering the following stations-Ooty, Lovedale, Ketti, Aruvankadu, Wellington, Coonoor and Runnymede.

Rates - 1. Maharaja coach - Rs. 500/- per head (only 12 seats) and 2. Special Coach - Rs. 200/- per head

Tour rates include soft drinks, lunch tea & snacks. Concession for school students and bulk bookings is also available.

TIMINGS
Dep. Ooty 10.00 am
Arr. Ooty 17:00 pm

Contact for details:
1. Heritage Steam Chariot Counter, Sangeetha Travel Agency, Marketing Division, Railway Station, Ooty Phone 44266
2. Tourist Offce, Govt. of Tamil Nadu Charing Cross, Ooty, Phone 43977

Mr. Natarajan, a die-hard steam railway enthusiast is the moving force behind this venture. You can also email Mr. Natarajan at the following address. Please mention Attn : Mr. Natarajan” in the subject line. bsganesh @ vsnl.com

Also visit their webpage- http://www.nilgiris-online.com/heritagesteam/

Incidentally this is also the only steam working into Ooty now. All scheduled steam hauled runs by SR are from Mettupalaiyam to Connoor only and further haulage upto Ooty is by a diesel locomotive.

WP/P 7200 AT NRM This first prototype WP built by Baldwin Locomotive Works, USA arrived in India in 1947. It was in active service till the mid-eighties when it was ear marked for preservation at the Delhi Museum. Recently it was felt that since this is the most important preserved WP locomotive, it should be kept in working order. Through the efforts of the museum staff and volunteers from FN RM, the locoo was steamed up on four occasions and it was found that it is suitable for mainline special runs. However before that it will have to be overhauled in one of the workshops and go through a tube change, which have corroded heavily in the past 15 years of inactivity.

Steam runs again

Among the mechanical contrivances introduced during the modern scientific age, perhaps nothing has caught the imagination of the common people so much as the steam locomotive, sometimes referred to as the ‘Iron Horse”. There is still a fascination in the spectacle of a steam locomotive pulling a train, emitting its steam and smoke high into the air with a rhythmic exhaust sound.

HGS 26761, a steam locomotive manufactured in the year 1920 by W.M. Beardmore Company England has been revived by the Howrah Division of the Eastern railway recently and hauled a tourist train between Howrah and Bandel, a distance of approximately 40 kms on the 19th of September 1999. This is the 2nd major initiative on the Indian Railways to revive steam traction for tourist purposes, the first being the launch of the Fairy Queen, the oldest working steam engine in the World.

Commissioned in 1922 this Locomotive which initially worked on he Oudh and Rohilkhund Railway (0 & RR) & was subsequently transferred to the Eastern railway where it was based for maintenance in the Madhupur Locomotive shed in Bihar and worked trains in the Asansol Division. This Locomotive continued in active service till ‘ 1985 and once again ruled the tracks after 14 years on the 19th of September, 1999.

This Heavy Goods Superheated (HGS) class of tender Locomotive has a total weight of 103 tonnes and in its heydays could achieve a maximum speed of 56 kmph. This Locomotive has a wheel arrangement of 2-8-0 and has a length over buffers of 18.387 metres. The maximum tractive effort is 15457 kgs and the valve gear is Walschaert’s.

On the 19th September 1999 this locomotive hauled a train consisting of two first class coaches, an AC chair car and an AC lounge Car. The train left Howrah at around 1000 hrs for Bandel and returned at around 1800 hrs. During this inaugural run the train carried Senior officials of Railways, Ministry of Tourism, West Bengal Tourism, Members of the Media, steam enthusiasts and others.

Down by the station

Capper Quarry, Chas Road Halt, Chink Hill, Churchgate. What do these names have in common? They are all stations randomly culled from one column of an Indian railways Timetable. India has over 7,000 stations that range from tiny rural halts that lack a platform to main line terminuses that issue thousands of platform tickets every day.

Like its original rolling stock, India imported early station architecture, running drill and furniture from the United Kingdom. If your look closely enough almost every station will yield antique items of fascinating historical interest. This is because the private companies had to compete for passengers and impressive quality works were required to give off the air of success and security to the public.

The private companies effectively stamped their house style on a region just as they painted their locomotives in distinctive livery. Aping them, several Maharajas opted for their own state railway, so that India potentially is the richest nation in the world for the variety of its railway works, icons and memorabilia.

The private companies effectively stamped their house style on a region just as they painted their locomotives in distinctive livery. Aping them, several Maharajas opted for their own state railway, so that India potentially is the richest nation in the world for the variety of its railway works, icons and memorabilia.

The private companies effectively stamped their house style on a region just as they painted their locomotives in distinctive livery. Aping them, several Maharajas opted for their own state railway, so that India potentially is the richest nation in the world for the variety of its railway works, icons and memorabilia.

You can see Fairy Queen stabled at Delhi Cantonment during the winter when she hauls the tourist train to Alwar. ‘Cantt’ of course is pure IR usage, for there are no cantonments in Britain. This indicates how the railway system, though fathered by George Stephenson, was totally indigenised for Indian needs by generations of pragmatic workmen. It is the Indian touches to the railway scene, marvelously original and often inspired, that need to be saved from oblivion.

At last the Railway authorities are considering appointing (as in other countries) Heritage Inspectors who will earmark items that deserve a place in transport history. Surely a station like Chhatrapti Shivaji Terminus qualified as a national monument. Nowhere in the world is there such an imposing cathedral to the steam age. It is much more than a place for passenger comings and goings. It is a focus of pride and a symbol that railwaymen — like Shivaji before them — helped forge India’s national unity.

Railway stations occupy a magical place in our imagination. They are more democratic and friendly than airports and possess more flavour and character than bus stands, and the emotions they release are usually without stress. If India’s greatest weakness is its inability to harness individualism, its greater strength is in the handling of collective situations with aplomb.

The railway family alone comprises a million and a half workers, not to mention the countless thousands of casual additions who help swell the platform population.

Till fairly recently railway timetables included hieroglyphics that prepared the traveller for what to expect of any forthcoming station. The letter ‘V meant vegetarian restaurant while a capital ‘B’ signified (if your train was not running too late) breakfast. Importantly the literary traveller was the small ‘bk’ which declared a platform bookstall, more often than not under the Wheeler banner in the north and Higginbotham in the south. To show how the railways pampered their clients the old timetables also carried ‘QS’ for “quiet siding to enable passengers to detrain at daybreak.

Royals like Scindia and Baroda welcomed the railway age and allowed the iron horse to come right up to their palace doors. In Saurashtra the princely railway stations could be as stylish (and zany) as the rulers’ palaces. Mysore’s stately pile easily outclasses (Old) Delhi’s station, the latter appearing like a crusader’s castle after Walt Disney was through with the blueprint, in contrast to the dignified aura achieved by the Wodeyar station. Perhaps because the Maharaja of Patiala had blotted his copy book with the British (and was externed from Shimla), we find his station at Patiala surprisingly uncompetitive and low-key, almost rustic in the plan but solid entrance hall. However, the platforms inside reveal royal style with the beautiful barrelled canopy supported by artistically contrived wrought iron pillars. Above, in an original touch of creativity, old railway tracks have been fashioned into circles to give eye-catching supports.

While the main line stations were built to impress, the tiny way-side halts performs the humbler duty of guaranteeing passenger survival. One of the smallest I have seen is called Gunda Road Junction on the South Central. It sits in a jungle south of the Tungabadra dam and marks the bifurcation of two branch lines out of Hospet. There is no platform and the two ‘up’ and ‘down’ daily passenger trains (of three battered coaches) halt on a tight curve before a raised box of levers. So much for the railway inputs.

On a small hillock between the parting lines stood a man with a kettle and next to him his wife with a jar signifying the eating arrangements. For fifty paisa the man would pour a minuscule amount of tea into a stainless steel thimble. For twenty-five paise more, breakfast would be served. The lady opened her jar and produced one wrapped toffee bearing the legend ‘Nutri Bite.’ The transactions were done solemnly to clientele of (ticketless) wood collectors. Since I wanted to explore both branch lines I went back next morning and the couple’s faces lighted up as I ascended their mound. They thought I had found their breakfast so irresistible I had come back for morel In one sense I had. The daily untroubled ritual of this most minor of junctions enabled me to understand why the railway station has been described as “one of the last refuges of human happiness.”

Some of the most beautiful station architecture in the world lies abandoned on the now disused narrow gauge line north of Bangalore built by the Mysore Durbar. At Chikballapur (still in use) the station master Basha Sabi (who has been here since 1970) has pinned on his office wall the following motto, which sums up the satisfactory morale of the station staff :

BILL AITKEN

The journey

On your way from Howrah to Tribeni, there are a number of spots of tourist, historical and religious importance. The first important spot is Belur. The head quarters of Ramkrishna Mission established by Swami Vivekananda, is located here. Nearby, on the opposite bank of the river, famous Dakshineswar Temple continues to beckon thousands of dewotees every day.

Then comes Srirampur, a seat of Missionary activities during the period from 1793 to 1834. The names of Dr. William Carey and his colleagues Marshman and Ward will forever be remembered in the early history of development of Bengali literature. Srirampur college has a library and museum containing relics of the Srirampur Missionaries and their activities.

Very near to this place is Mahesh, famous for the Hindu festival, Rath Yatra.

After some stations your pass through Chandannagar, a beautifully laid out town on the bank of the river Hooghly. It was once a French Colony. The churches, the convent and residence of the French Administrator along the Strand are exquisite buildings left behind by the French. Chandannagar is also famous for Jagaddhatri Puja.

Next station is Chuchura, headquarter town of the Hooghly District. This was a Dutch settlement. Among the remains of the bygone days are three barracks, a church, a cemetery and the Fort Gustavus.

Next comes Hooghly where the famous Imambara established by Haji Mohammed Mohsin is located.

Then we reach Bandel, an important railway junction station of Eastern Railway. Points of attraction at Bandel are the relics of Portuguese settlements here — the Church and the Monastery. Built around 1660, Bandel Church is one of the oldest Christian Churches in West Bengal.

Then we reach Bandel, an important railway junction station of Eastern Railway. Points of attraction at Bandel are the relics of Portuguese settlements here — the Church and the Monastery. Built around 1660, Bandel Church is one of the oldest Christian Churches in West Bengal.

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

The Present Scenario and Thoughts For The Future
by RR BHANDARI

The Present Scenario

The author of this article visited Darjeeling Himalaya Railway (DHR) in March 1999, met the people who maintain and operate the system and the managers who manage it in its present situation. The author also had a long chat with the Divisional Railway Manager, Katihar, the division wherein DHR is located. The Katihar division provided a monograph ‘World Heritage: Darjeeling Himalayan Railway; A Challenge to restore, maintain and upgrade services, keeping the heritage values intact’, and a photo album. These monographs were distributed during a seminar presentation by Mr. A.K. Mukhopadhyay, Divisional Railway Manager, Katihar. Most of the material of this section is from these monographs and other data collected during author’s recent visit of DHR.

Features

Stations, their distance from Siliguri and altitude from mean sea level in ft.

Station	Distance (km) from Siliguri	Height
New Jalpaiguri	(-) 7.42	480 ft
Siliguri Town	(-) 2.43	500 ft
Siliguri Junction	0.00	510 ft
Sukna	10.06	533 ft
Rongtong	17.70	1,404 ft
Tindharia	29.77	2,822 ft
Gayabari	36.20	3,516 ft
Mahanadi	42.08	4,120 ft
Kurseong	49.08	4,864 ft
Tung	56.92	5,656 ft
Sonada	64.97	6,552 ft
Ghum	74.03	7,408 ft
Darjeeling	80.06	6,812 ft

System

System Description

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway attained peak operational capacity in 1947 just before nationalisation. It had then 45 Locomotives, 1439 passenger coaches and 606 wagons. Gradually the stock was condemned and auctioned. No replacement was made because of declining and unprofitable operation.

The goods traffic has been withdrawn from 1992-93. All wagons withdrawn from service were condemned and auctioned for sale.

System Operation

Between Darjeeling and Sukna, the trains run as per provision of “Main Line System” which is a combination of “Following Train and Pilot Guard System”. Between Sukna and New Jalpaiguri trains run on “Absolute Block System”.

Approximately running time is as follows:- New Jalpaiguri -- Kurseong = 5 hours. Kurseong -- Darjeeling = 31/2 hrs.

The time-table provides for two trains each way from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling and 1 train each way from Kurseong to Darjeeling. Usually one train from New Jalpaiguri and another from Kurseong are operated. During tourist season, tourist specials are run from Darjeeling to Ghum and back are the main source of DHR’s meagre earning.

Staff Employed on DHR

Excluding the Printing Press (which employes 276 persons) at Kurseong, a total of 886 persons are on rolls of DHR. The major concentration is at Tindharia Workshop (146); Tindharia Open Line mechanical staff (326); Inspector of Works, Tindharia (60); Permanent Way Staff at Kurseong (210); and Medical Staff at Tindharia (53).

Track Details

Expenditure during 1997-98 (Rs. in million)

i) For maintenance and operation of mechanical assets = 28.15
ii) For salary of civil engineering staff = 13.81

Contractual work of civil engineering varied considerable from year to year. Expenditure on other departments is comparatively low. Perhaps it may be safe to assume that overall expenses for operating and maintianing DHR now will be in the range of Rs. 50 millions.

Earnings

Earnings stationwise on a monthly average basis, based on 1997-98 figures.

Station	No. of passengers	Earnings in Rs. Thousands
Sukna	285	3.7
Rongtong	20	0.1
Tindharia	7250	9.0
Gayabari	15	0.1
Mahanadi	3	--
Kurseong	10848	1458.9
Tung	183	4.0
Sonada	526	17.6
Ghum	2421	117.4
Darjeeling	52304	8634.6

Most of the earnings at Kurseong and Darjeeling are from passengers buying long distance journey tickets (other than on DHR) as substantial quota is available here.

An analysis of earnings on DHR for the year 1997-98 brings out interesting results. During 1996-97, a total of 19620 passengers performed journey originating from Darjeeling by regular DHR trains and contributed Rs. 143,114 i.e. a passenger paying Rs. 7/- per journey from Darjeeling. In the same year 2117 tourists performed a short excursion tour from Darjeeling to Ghum and back and contributed Rs. 171,442 i.e. a passenger paying Rs. 85/- per round trip journey. Most of the earnings are from these tourist specials.

However, the statistics brings out the fact that the total earnings of DHR is less than half a million, while the expenditure is about 50 million, i.e., for each rupee to be earned, DHR spends over Rs. 100!

The statistics also bring out that on an average about 50 persons perform their journey in a day. That is to say that a bus-load of passengers are carried by the mammoth organisation of DHR employing about 900 employees.

Land use by DHR

DHR is a tramway using a part of the old cart way now a State highway with 177 level crossings. At most places DHR runs side by side of the roadway, however its path cannot be used by road-vehicles like in Calcutta. At most places DHR occupies a fourth of the common path. The other three fourth of path carry most (99%) of the traffic. Thus DHR is a very poor user of the important asset of the hill road.

Thoughts for the future

Dr. Robert Lee along with Mr. Rajesh Agarwal, Director, National Rail Museum, New Delhi made an inspection visit to Darjeeling Hill section on 7/8.1.1999 and travelled in DH section by Toy Train. The proposal for considering Darjeeling Hill Railway section and Toy Train as a World Heritage site through the aegis of International Council for Monument and Sites (ICOMOS), an organ of UNESCO, was in process for over one year, through various stages of inspection, documentations etc. Dr. Robert Lee came as a representative of UNESCO and ICOMOS, for the final inspection and then sent his report to ICOMOS. This report was then considered by the ICOMOS Board during their Board meeting in March ‘99. After it was cleared in the ICOMOS Board meeting this went to UNESCO for final consideration. Finally on 02.12.1999 DHR went on to become UNESCO’s World Heritage Site.

The future of DHR thus appears to be bright to a group of people.

Let us take respite and think on these two statements

(a) DHR spends 100 times its revenue for moving just a bus-load of traffic. This is trifle compared to the total traffic on the cart-road.

(b) DHR uses 25% of the hill-road for carrying less than 1% of the traffic. This hill-road is even otherwise very narrow at most places.

And now a few questions and their suggested answers.

Q. Who are the customers of DHR?
Ans. A bus-load of passengers who travel on DHR for short journeys and a group of tourists who are ready to pay good money for a short excursion trip between Darjeeling and Ghum.

Q. Who are benefited by continuing DHR in its present shape?
Ans. The employees of DHR and the contractors of various works and a group of rail enthusiasts who will prefer DHR to survive for their old memories.

Q. Who subsidises the huge losses of DHR?
Ans. Indian Railways. Because of its mammoth size, an expenditure of Rs. 50 million and a manpower of about 900 form an insignificant part.

Q. Who are adversely affected by continuing DHR?
Ans. The commoner of the Darjeeling-New Jalpaiguri region. The cart-way is a narrow one and its use is further reduced by DHR track. At one time, the hill council was up in arms against DHR, somehow they have been influenced by ‘world heritage’ syndrome and are tolerating a blatant misuse of the most important of their resource i.e., the cart-road.

Q. Should we allow DHR to die?
Ans. No and surely no. But should we allow the carcass of DHR to haunt the lives of commoners of the hill area who have no voice, for there can be better alternatives.

Q. Should DHR be preserved?
Ans. Yes and certainly yes. But not in its present shape. This will raise some more issues and they are discussed in the subsequent paras.

Indian Railways have five ‘Mountain’ or ‘Hill Railways’. A ‘Hill’ Railway is a system, wherein a hill station is connected by a rail line. The five hill railways are

These five mountain railways are peculiar in their own rights.

Pure economic considerations will suggest that there is no necessity of continuing DHR. The problem, therefore, takes another angle and that is ‘Heritage’. Can we afford to waste such a large number of resources in the garb of preserving heritage? The question comes back what needs to be preserved and what needs to be discarded. My career at Railway Museum and experience in subsequent years, taught me that things of speciality only need to be preserved, and other things which are of little significance should be discarded by proper weeding. The same thing needs to be done for DHR i.e., preserve three things, for which it is famous i.e., the loops, the ‘Z’ stations and ‘B’ class locomotives. A sample of these three can be preserved and the entire section of DHR can thus be closed for making the hill road fully available for road traffic. The people of Darjeeling area will be immensely grateful if DHR track is removed from most of the cart way. A proper preservation can thus be organised and managed at a much lesser cost.

The author proposes that

(The views expressed in the article do not reflect the perception of the society. We do however intend to encourage a debate on the subject and will be publishing a follow up on the above views in the next issue. This will highlight the importance of preserving DHR a such and not as scattered tit-bits. Readers who may like to contribute can send their thoughts to the editor)

--------------

Acknowledgment for various News : Ashwani Lohani, Bharat Vohra, Chinmay Goswami, David Wood, Dileep Prakash, I S Anand, Joydeep Dutta, Terry Martin, Viraf Mulla. WP picture for cover logo provided by Raymond Marsh.

In This Section

• Newsletter - Summer/Autumn 2000
• Newsletter - Winter 2000
• Newsletter - Spring 2001
• Newsletter - Summer 2001
• Newsletter - Winter 2001

Indian Steam Pages

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