A joyride — yesterday and today

Sarika Sharma

Three women peek out of the train’s window. Anticipation of the unknown and a hint of shyness engulf the frame. Everything around is calm and beautiful. It was so then — it is so now. For the last 100 years, this calm and beauty has been drawing thousands of visitors for a joyride on the Kalka-Shimla heritage train. A recent exhibition in Shimla brought alive the history as it unfolded on and along the railway track.

The exhibition, which was organised by the heritage cell of the Northern Railways, Ambala Division, brought together earliest of photographs, maps and equipment and tools. Rajesh Kumar, chief office superintendent, says that 80 photographs were on display. While most of these were clicked by the various official photographers of the Railways, some were donated by Chandigarh-based Panjab Digital Library. The PDL also contributed with a number of photographs and maps, the oldest dated 1910. The maps take one back to the earliest of rail networks, including places such as Peshawar, Balochistan, Rangoon and Burma.

“The Kalka-Shimla railway station was built in 1903. In 2008, the train earned the Unesco heritage status. The idea of putting up this exhibition was to bring people close to their heritage; to bring them close to the beauty of the area that lies between Kalka and Shimla,” says Rajesh Kumar.

The oldest photo on display was a 1916 picture of a rail motor car. A photo, dated 1918, showed three locomotive sheds in Shimla. There was a 1956 photograph of a steam engine parked at the Shimla railway station. An entire section was dedicated to the bridges along the track. They number a whopping 900!

Rajesh tells that while earlier there were just arch gallery bridges on the track and none with girders, the first conversion happened in 1935. We have a few photographs from 1962 that show the conversion of Shoghi bridge number 642. The photos had been kept safe by engineer AD Sehgal, who was in-charge of the conversion in 1962. Some photographs came from the heritage office, Ambala Division, headed by Sandeep Kulharia.

Besides photographs and maps, several interesting artefacts were exhibited too. These included a hand-operated lever, that was used from 1905 to 1993 for changing the routes; a brass bell (1903 to 1968) that was placed on top of the main gate of Narrow Gauge Northern Railway Mechanical workshop, Kalka. The bell would alert the workers about their duty hours when there were no hooters.

Other interesting artefacts included a ticket-punching machine, hand-painted crockery from Crow Brough Rest House, Shimla, and brass and copper utensils from Carriage and Wagon depot, Kalka, and other electrical appliances. All items are part of the Baba Bhalku Rail Museum in Shimla, named after the legendary local who is believed to have guided the British as they constructed the railway track. A trip back in time, the exhibition was an ode to him and a celebration of both the engineering marvel and the Himalayan splendour.