Watch two trains running back to back a road with no signals in one of the best train actions I have ever witnessed.

#indianrailways #trains #thetrainguy

Train : 52596 Darjeeling Ghum Darjeeling Steam Joyride
Loco : Tindharia Steam Loco #786 "Mountaineer"

Note : Unlike wrongly proclaimed by many people across social media, Ghum IS NOT the highest railway station in the world. Ghum is the highest railway station, currently in India on the Indian Railways network.

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway operates about 6-7 pairs of Joyride Trains between Darjeeling and Ghum. The Joyride Trains are usually 2 consecutive trains, hauled by a Steam and Diesel Engine respectively. The ticket includes a 15-20 minute halt at Batasia Loop, a major tourist attraction of Darjeeling, and a 30-40 minute halt at Ghum to visit the Railway Museum at Ghum. The Museum is yet another famous tourist attraction that shows the history and construction of the DHR by the British. Brand new Vistadome coaches are to be provided for this train in the coming months.

Link : http://dhr.in.net/joy-ride.php

The tickets can also be booked on the ‪@IRCTCOFFICIAL‬ website or mobile app. I had booked a ticket on the Darjeeling - Siliguri passenger but as the train got cancelled due to a landslide, I decided to do the Steam Joyride instead, buying tickets from the counter to cherish the memory.

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the DHR or the Toy Train, is a 2 ft (610 mm) gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal. Built between 1879 and 1881, it is about 88 km (55 mi) long. It climbs from about 100 m (328 ft) above sea level at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 m (7,218 ft) at Darjeeling, using six zig zags and five loops to gain altitude. Six diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled service, with daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum – India's highest railway station – and the steam-hauled Red Panda service from Darjeeling to Kurseong. Steam-enthusiast specials are hauled by vintage British-built B-Class steam locomotives. The railway's headquarters are at Kurseong.

On 5 December 1999, UNESCO declared the DHR a World Heritage Site. Two more railway lines were later added, and the site became known as one of the mountain railways of India.
All the steam locomotives currently in use on the railway are 0-4-0ST B-Class, built by Sharp, Stewart and Company and later the North British Locomotive Company between 1889 and 1925. A total of 34 were built, but by 2005 only 12 were still in use or being repaired by the railway.

In 2002, No. 787 was rebuilt for oil firing on the same principle as that used on Nilgiri Mountain Railway No. 37395. A diesel-powered generator was fitted to operate the oil burner and an electrically-driven feed pump, and a diesel-powered compressor was fitted to power the braking system. The locomotive was also fitted with a feedwater heater. The rebuild dramatically changed its appearance. Trials of the refitted locomotive were disappointing, and it never entered regular service; in early 2011, it was in the Tindharia Works awaiting re-conversion to coal-firing. In early 2019 B787 was restored cosmetically and is now displayed on a plinth outside Siliguri Junction station.

In March 2001, No. 794 was transferred to the Matheran Hill Railway for a "joy train" (a steam-hauled tourist train) on that railway. It entered service there in May 2002.

#darjeeling #irctc #memorieswithrail