Nilgiris Mountain Railway is 100 Years Old

On October 15, 2008, the Nilgiris Mountain Railway (NMR) completes 100 years. This mountain Toy Train has one of UNESCO’s world heritage statuses. Ooty is famous for its film locations; Mani Ratnam has had Shah Rukh Khan and troupe dancing atop this train in the film Uyere in Tamil and Dil Se in Hindi.

Actually the NMR is more than 100 years old. It is the 18km portion from Coonoor to Udhagamandalam (Ooty) that became operational in 1908 thanks to the British and European Engineers.

The 46 km NMR is a marvel of engineering. It starts from the plains at 330 MSL from a station called Mettupalayam in Kovai District. After running fast for about 8 kms on level land it starts it’s ascent from Kallar Station through some of the wildest and beautiful rain-forest mountain terrains in the world to climb 2200 MSL at Ooty – the Queen of Hills. Yes, in 1899, long before today’s amusement park rides, the NMR was designed to climb an average 24 degree ascent.

To quote from a Southern Railway site:
“The sharpest curve on the section is 17.5 degrees. There are about 208 curves on the section, out of which 180 curves are 10 to 17.5, degrees. 76 numbers of curve lubricators have been provided on the sharp curves.
There are 250 bridges on the section, out of which 32 are major ones and 15 are road over/under bridges. The total lineal waterway works out to 31 .63 meters per km. The longest bridge is Bridge No.25 at Km.9/1 1-12 of 3 x 18.29 and 12 x 3.66 girder spans. There are 16 tunnels between Kallar and Ooty, all of which are in excellent condition. Most of the tunnels are un-lined.”
Building railway tracks and running trains on mountains is very different from normal railway system. In those days a new system had to be designed by the British called Rack and Pinion. To this day the NMR uses the same system from Kallar to Coonoor at a speed of 13 KMPH for some 20 Kms.
Each of the 12 Stations is unique and beautiful like the pictures you see on a Post Card. They have names like Adderly, Hillgrove, Runnyemede, Aruvankadu, Kateri Road, Ketti, and Lovdale. They serve refreshments too. There are stones near the railway tracks that talks about the history of the NMR and incidents associated with it.
To quote a South Indian Railway spokesman in 1935, “Those engineers must have been lovers of nature when they decided on the alignment. Aside from the question of utility, the wee train as it winds its upward way, passes through a panorama of diversified scenery unrivalled anywhere; pausing frequently to refresh itself at stations, terra-cotta coloured and flecked with green, tucked snugly away amid the eternal quietude of these hills. Over deep ravines, lofty escarpments tower overhead, and the water of some mountain river hurling into beautiful cascades on its downward gambols: changing to scenes of peaceful rural simplicity. As the train tops the edge of the plateau and pursues its journey, stern crags fade into gently undulating hummocks, dotted with scattered villages; patches of cultivation fringed by tall and slender Eucalyptus trees, with perchance, a faint cool mountain breeze soughing their lofty, tufted crowns, tuning in playful caprice, the bluish-silvery tinted leaves.'
The bridgework, the stone piers, abutments and arches are as imposing as they were built a hundred years ago, stone was abundantly used and the stonework was of excellent quality.”
For memorabilia hunters there are plenty. Photographs taken in the 1890s by M/s Boesinger and there is Station Master Roster at the Station Master Room at Ooty Station.
It is a 4 hour journey from Mettupalyam to Coonoor, with trains leaving the ground station around 7 am. Coaches provide a 360 degree view, with friendly and chatty train attendants.