EARLY HISTORY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DARJEELING HIMALAYAN RAILWAYS
By Sandip C. Jain

Ever since Mr. J.W.Grant , Commercial Resident in Malda, set his foot in Darjeeling in the cold February afternoon of 1829, becoming the first European to ever do so in this Land of the Thunderbolts, Darjeeling had always found favors with the ruling Government of the then British Empire. Not only was it lavished with funds for the development and the welfare of the town it was also maintained as a showpiece in an effort to further massage the egos of the east India Co. One out of the many reasons for the largeness thrown towards Darjeeling was that it wanted to project Darjeeling as a model under the colonial rule. Darjeeling and its smaller neighbors like Kurseong and Kalimpong too hence benefited from the generosity of the British Rulers.
The British Government of that day, in an effort to provide a sanctuary for its Officers from the scorching heat of the Indian Plains, steadily promoted and developed the area as a hill station. Gradual progress in the tourism related infrastructure in the area, soon saw it becoming the Queen amongst all the Hill Stations in India.
Like all Queens, Darjeeling too needed a jewel in her crown befitting a Queen; Darjeeling Himalayan Railways was the jewel that was so far lacking in her crown.
The idea for a railway link between Siliguri and Darjeeling was first mooted in the year 1870 by Mr. Franklin Prestage, who was at that time the Sole agent of the Eastern Bengal Railway Co. He proposed to build the rail line along the old Hill Cart Road which was used by the Tonga Service and which was later destroyed due to landslides. He placed a detailed scheme for the laying of this Railway Line in the year 1878 before the then Lt. Governor Sir. Ashley Eden. The Lt. Governor appointed a high power committee to study the proposal who reported the feasibility and advantages of the proposed Railway.
The Committee reported that Rs. 1.5 lakhs were required annually for the upkeep of the existent Hill Cart Road connecting Darjeeling to Siliguri and the building the tramway would help defray this cost. In later years after DHR came into service, this assessment held true and it was found that the Government was indeed saving a lot of money on this front thus lessening the burden on the taxpayers.
In the year 1879, the proposed scheme by Franklin Prestage was accepted and construction work started on a war footing. My March 1880, the line was opened upto Tindharia and by the end of the year upto Kurseong. In July 1881, the train first rolled into Darjeeling town. On the 15th of September 1881, the original name given to the Railway “Darjeeling Steam Tramway Co.” was changed to a more dignified appellation of “The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.” In the same year, M/S Gillanders Aubuthnot & Co. were appointed as the first booking and handling agents of the DHR.
The first engines that were used were ones, which were capable of drawing only a load of 7 tons. It was later upgraded to a more powerful one which could pull a load of 35 tons. The engine first used could pull its carriages at an average speed of 11km per hour while the engine that was later introduced could travel at an average speed of 18 Km per hour. The DHR ran on a 24 inch gauge, each wheel being just 19 .5 inches in diameter.
The fortunes of the DHR increased fast and its fame spread far and wide not just because of the simply breathtaking terrain that it passed through with the mighty Kanchenjunga providing a dramatic backdrop but more so because of the scientific marvel that it still is. The building of the Toy train line upto Darjeeling and then upto Teesta, was an engineering feet unmatched in the Hills, even till date. Initially though, the passenger carriages that were used were real basic nature with small four wheeled trolleys that had canvas coverings. Two wooden benches served as seats. Later years saw them being replaced by standard Railway Carriages measuring 26 feet 6 inches long and modern facilities.
In 1914, the first workshop in the Hills was opened at Tindharia, where all the Rolling stock were built with the exception of the wheels which were imported from a manufacturing unit in Manchester, United Kingdom. The first engine used were the standard of that time with four coupled wheels and weighing 14 tons with cylinders being 11 inches bore and 14 inches trake. A Garnatte, or eight wheeled articulated engine weighing 28 tons were later used. The steel rails were of an exceptionally high quality weighing 41.25 lbs per yard. The popularity of the DHR increased by each passing year and as per figures available for the year ending 31st March 1920, the Railway carried 2,63,083 passengers and 61,704 tons of goods in that particular year.
On the 15th of May 1915, the Teesta Valley Line of the DHR was started with the idea of connecting Sikkim and Kalimpong by Railway to the rest of the country. The line started in Siliguri and ran upto Geilkhola (about 4 km from Teesta) with further plans to take the line upto either Gangtok or some other village near Gangtok.
The old PWD road, which ran along the roaring Teesta River, was used to construct the Rail line. This old road, which had been washed away in various places by the great landslip of 1899, was repaired and the Rail line was laid on it. The Teesta Valley Line was mainly used to transport Wool imported from Tibet and oranges from Sikkim . As per data available, upto 20 tons of oranges were transported from Sikkim during the peak orange growing season.
The Indian Railways formally took over the management of the DHR on 20th October 1948 after Independence. In the land slides that took place in the year 1950, the Rail line was washed away and the cost of repair of the line were deemed too heavy for the newly formed Indian Railway to meet.
Thus was ended the dream of DHR to connect Gangtok and Kalimpong to the rest of the country by Rail liners and this dream was effectively run over for ever.