Hill Cart Road, emanates a reluctant chugging sound every morning, and when you wait to find out ,you will discover something emerging out of the dense white mist looking something like - out of a little boy's Christmas stocking - well, you guessed it right- it's the Toy Train. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is lovingly called as the Toy Train. It is a 2 ft gauge railway from Siliguri to Darjeeling. The Toy Train is one of the most important means of conveyance along the steep inclines of the Himalayan region. The travellers visiting Darjeeling are awed by the railway line which is an engineering feat and one of the wonders of the world. Three tiny compartments , the middle with curtains and ornate ceilings- for the first class travellers- and a tiny steam engine are what constitute Darjeeling's toy train.

History - Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is over hundred years old. Franklin Prestage, Agent of the Eastern Bengal Railway, decided that the Hill Cart Road , the only link between Siliguri in the plains and Darjeeling at 6,812 feet, was not enough to cope with increasing traffic and therefore proposed a two-feet gauge railway as an alternative in the year 1881. Thus, started a project that was to involve building a railway line and as a result came up the Toy Train.

A Delightful Treat

The scenic beauty which one gets to admire along the rail line is certainly a joy forever. The railway track twists in and out of ravines from the Sal trees to the tall cotton trees. One can enjoy the great sight of fig trees, oak, chestnut trees, the birch, the maple tree and the orchids.

Year Of Kudos

Indian Railways on the behalf of the Government Of India drafted an application for the inclusion of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in the World Heritage list and submitted it to UNESCO in the mid of 1988. Later at the end of November 1999 it was successful in securing the status of a World Heritage Site.

Peppery Bulletin

• The Toy Train till today is powered by a steam engine.
• The Toy Train has 14 locomotives and 44 coaches.
• In 2005, UNESCO added the Nilgiri Mountain Railway as an extension to the original site.
• Only one DHR steam locomotive has been taken out of India, this is 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.
• Out of the 50 steam locomotives only a dozen of them are in working order today.
• It is the second railway in the world to be selected as a world heritage site.
• The toy train is still fully operational.
• A photographic Profile of 1962-1998 is a book written on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.
• Director Wes Anderson has announced that he will once again be rejoining Owen Wilson to co-direct a movie entitled "The Darjeeling Limited". The movie will follow three brothers, (Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Jason Schwartzman), as they travel throughout India aboard the Darjeeling Railway.