Heritage rail engine takes trial run on Shimla-Kalka track

anu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 2

The trial run of the 114-year-old heritage KC 520 steam locomotive engine was held on the Shimla-Kalka UNESCO World Heritage railway track on a 44-km stretch from Shimla to Kaithlighat today.

“It was a routine trial for internal check as the engine has been standing for the past 10 months. The engine, along with two coaches, started from Shimla around 11:15 am,” said Station Superintendent Prince Sethi, adding that the heritage engine KC 520, built by the North British Locomotive Company for Rs 30,000, was commissioned in 1906 and was used to drive trains till 1970 before it was replaced by diesel engines.

The steam engine was taken out of service in 1971 and repaired and rehabilitated in 2001. Since then, the engine has been used for joyrides and comes on the track on a few occasions on tourist demand. The engine weighs 41 tonnes and can pull double its weight.

Meanwhile, the occupancy of the special train with seven coaches (182 seats), including two first class coaches and three chair cars and two general coaches, started in view of the festival season on October 21, has increased to 30-50 per cent and is likely to increase during Diwali.

On October 21, there were only three passengers but on Sunday (November 1) the number rose to 147 (81 passengers came from Kalka and 56 boarded the train from Shimla), sources said.

Hoteliers are upbeat as the 96-km-long Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge Toy Train is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that connects the Indian plains to the ‘Queen of Hills’, Shimla. The special train will run till November 30.

Built in 1903, this toy train ride is one of India’s most incredible feats of engineering covering a staggering 102 tunnels, 864 bridges and 919 stunning curves. Spanning some 60 miles, the Kalka-Shimla Toy Train is said to be one of the most scenic railway journeys in India.