It was in the 1980s that I as a teenager visited the hills of Ooty or Ootacamund in the Northwest corner of the state of Tamilnadu, with my parents. The train station was and is called Udagamandalam. So you guessed it -there is a railroad that one can take to get to the summit at just over 2,400 feet above sea level.
The train and the railway now are part of a UNESCO World Heritage site designation which ensures a lot of visitors and therefore revenue to contribute to the otherwise bankrupt rail system owned and operated by Indian Rail. Technically it is labeled the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and operates in a jurisdiction called Southern Rail.
It is the only rack rail in India and last night I stumbled on a British documentary about the origins and ongoing operations of this magnificent journey in time. The rack is essentially a flat gear that engages with a cog in the locomotive as it climbs up and slides downhill allowing extra traction on a steep grade.
With a total length of just over 50 km it takes a few hours to get from the sweltering plains below in Mettupalayam to the cooler air of the Nilgiri Mountains. The memories are of a fog filled morning and waking and walking along the rail tracks breathing in crisp mountain air.
I do not know to what extent this is possible today but it appears the railway is very much operational. Imagined and built by the British Raj at the time over a 100 years ago this was a getaway destination then and likely still is.
The hills provide a suitable climate for tea growing and Nilgiri tea (which I remember fondly) has a taste all its own - like the other hill region known for its brew - Darjeeling in North India.
The train and the railway now are part of a UNESCO World Heritage site designation which ensures a lot of visitors and therefore revenue to contribute to the otherwise bankrupt rail system owned and operated by Indian Rail. Technically it is labeled the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and operates in a jurisdiction called Southern Rail.
It is the only rack rail in India and last night I stumbled on a British documentary about the origins and ongoing operations of this magnificent journey in time. The rack is essentially a flat gear that engages with a cog in the locomotive as it climbs up and slides downhill allowing extra traction on a steep grade.
With a total length of just over 50 km it takes a few hours to get from the sweltering plains below in Mettupalayam to the cooler air of the Nilgiri Mountains. The memories are of a fog filled morning and waking and walking along the rail tracks breathing in crisp mountain air.
I do not know to what extent this is possible today but it appears the railway is very much operational. Imagined and built by the British Raj at the time over a 100 years ago this was a getaway destination then and likely still is.
The hills provide a suitable climate for tea growing and Nilgiri tea (which I remember fondly) has a taste all its own - like the other hill region known for its brew - Darjeeling in North India.
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