‘B’-LINE TO THE SKIES
From dusty plain to snow-capped mountains… by British ‘B’ Class. Welcome to Darjeeling.
How you too can experience the magic of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
Hazy coal smoke drifts through the open sides of the corrugated iron shed. Under this slight protection crews work round their antiquated machines. Outside, life is noisy, hooting, and largely ignoring what goes on here. Inside, quiet method goes on, just as it has for over 130 years. The Sharp Stewart ‘B’ Class engines are brewing up for another day’s work. We are 55 miles of clattering, curving, climbing travel away from the plains of Northern India. This is Darjeeling, Queen of Hills, where town and railway cling to slopes within sight of the world’s highest mountain range. South Africa, Burma, Cuba… all those steam railways have gone. So even has the best of China. The world’s steam era is - finally - all but over. That the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway survives is part of what makes it so special. But only part, because from the very beginning this mountain-clambering 2ft-gauge marvel was one of the planet’s most remarkable railways. Where it climbs - and it climbs a lot - it does so at up to around 1-in-19. There are spirals where the trains coil round on themselves, and zigzag reverses where the track sidesteps up the landscape; places where trains stop for a drink, with names that translate into things like ‘mad torrent’; careworn tin stations complete with staff; jungle, and plains; and views of some of the most magnificent snow-capped mountains anywhere on Earth. Above all, it has the bright blue ‘B’ Class; noisy, tough, plucky Glaswegians that have been here long since the Brits drank tea, then wafted out. That somewhere quite so special has outlived nearly all the other great steam destinations is truly a gift.
This is not a trip that takes in half of India. It’s focused, targeted and designed to squeeze the most - and the best - from the railway
That we should want to go there is obvious. Yet these days you can’t get the best out of the DHR simply by turning up. That’s because diesels appeared 17 years ago and now control the only regular through-trains from the main line junction at New Jalpaiguri (‘NJP’) to Darjeeling. The only daily steam is on the well-filled ‘Joy Trains’ that run over the short four-mile section between Darjeeling and Ghum, calling at the Gurkha monument at Batasia; some steam runs less frequently elsewhere - but bits of the line now barely see any ‘B’ Class action at all.
Expert guidance
So if you want to do the whole thing - and wring the most out of this remarkable line - you need planning and organisation. Which is why we’ve enrolled an expert: someone who knows every squeezed-in spiral, every reverse, every spot where the train inches past shop fronts and cars. Meet Pete Jordan, or ‘Fuzz’ to his mates - when you see his thick head of hair you’ll know why. ‘Fuzz’ was on honeymoon when he first turned up at Darjeeling, on New Year’s Eve 1979. He left the next day, but since then has been back around 40 times - and from 1999 onwards he’s been the man behind Darjeeling Tours. If you want someone who knows this little corner of India, ‘Fuzz’ is your man. That’s why we’ve asked him to create a bespoke tour for Steam Railway. This is not a trip that takes in half of India. It’s focused, targeted and designed to squeeze the most and the best - from the railway. Of course, if you prefer to chill out with a G&T while everyone else is chasing Sharp Stewarts up hillsides, that’s up to you; the Taj Mahal, Delhi… they are optional extras at the end of the tour. For while the vast Indian subcontinent has many amazing sights, we’re there for just the one. From the plains where the DHR clatters over the broad gauge on the flat, through Siliguri’s bazaar where people part for the train to pass; the
thick forests near Rangtong; gloriously named ‘Agony Point’ with its 44ft minimum curve; and views of the snow-topped Himalayas; every bit of this UNESCO World Heritage railway is special. That’s why we’re concentrating on it, and it alone. We’ll make sure we take a good look at regular workings but much, much, more than just that. With through-trains now diesel-hauled, and the shed on the ‘bottom’ section sited at Siliguri, very few steam-hauled trains cover the bit between there and NJP. We will. We’ll gain access to the delightful original terminus at Siliguri Town, and go behind the gates of Tindharia Works home of the ‘Bs’ and so wonderfully, precariously balanced on the side of the hills. We’ll put on a special goods charter with wagons that have only just been returned to use after a quarter-century - and we’ll chase that train with lineside transport to the key spots. As for passenger specials, we plan to run steam-hauled trains over every mile of the route - and again, for those who prefer looking through a lens rather than a carriage window, linesiding will be laid on. When do we go? When do we plan to go? In winter, which is the best time for pictures (the climate in Darjeeling itself is generally cool and can reach freezing, the plains are hotter) - but also sufficiently clear of the monsoon season that any repairs should hopefully have been undertaken before we arrive. So, we’re leaving the UK at the end of January 2018, just under a year from now, with the action focused on early February. For westerners, travel in India is not always the most comfortable - but we’ll stay in the Cindrella hotel in Siliguri, and in Darjeeling at the historic Windamere, home to the DHR Club and with views of Kanchenjunga mountain. Travel is from various UK airports via Dubai - so we can fly into Kolkata (Calcutta). We then choose either to arrive at the DHR after an internal flight... or by maximising the railway experience, on the overnight ‘Darjeeling Mail’. “The engines are still here doing what they were built to do,” says ‘Fuzz’, summarising part of what makes the DHR such a remarkable survivor. “The people are amazingly friendly, and if you enjoy narrow gauge steam working hard, you can ride alongside it in a bus on the little road, or on the train, and just drool over it. “Most of it is still a time capsule.” That’s what this is all about. A time capsule where 19thcentury British-built engines are still hard at work; a place that has avoided the closures and modernisation that swept steam lines away across the planet - and does it among some of the best scenery anywhere; a railway that fully deserves its World Heritage Listing by UNESCO, granted in 1999. If you didn’t ‘do’ South Africa; if you never made it onto our tours to China’s spectacular Jingpeng, this is your chance not to miss out again. For these cheeky, snorting saddletanks are still here. Still in action, still working daily on the line they were built for, still running through some of the most incredible scenery anywhere on earth. Will you join us for the adventure?