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• published: 08 Sep 2014
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Nilgiris Mountain Railway [Wikipedia] The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is a single track, 46 kilometers (29 mi) long metre gauge single line. Coonoor was initially the final hill station on the line in June 1899 but this was extended up to Fernhill in September 1908 and up to Udagmandalam by October 15, 1908. It now connects the town of Mettupalayam with the hill station of Udagamandalam (Ootacamund), in the Nilgiri hills, popularly known as the 'Blue Mountains' of Southern India. Both towns are in the state of Tamil Nadu. The only rack railway in India, it uses the alternate biting system (Abt) commonly termed as 'rack and pinion' rail system and is operated with special steam locomotives. This system is described in Sir Gulford L. Molesworth’s report of 1886, which says: Two distinct functions – 1st that of traction by adhesion as in an ordinary loco; 2nd that of traction by pinions acting on the track bars. The brakes are four in number – two handbrakes, acting by friction; and two acting by preventing the free escape of air from cylinder and thus using compressed air in retarding the progress of the engine. The former are used for shunting whilst the later for descending steep gradients. One of the handbrakes acts on the tyres of the wheels in the ordinary manner and the second acts on grooved surfaces of the pinion axle, but can be used in those places where the rack is laid. The trains that run on this line cover a distance of 46 kilometers (29 mi), travel through 208 curves, 16 tunnels, and 250 bridges. The uphill journey takes around 290 minutes (4.8 hours), and the downhill journey takes 215 minutes (3.6 hours). The Nilgiri Mountain Railway was inscribed as World Heritage Site by UNESCO in July 2005. The unique feature of this line, which is still fully operational, is its oldest and the steepest ‘rack and pinion technology’. As it now operates, the line has a metre gauge section for 7.2 kilometers (4.5 mi) up to the foothill station of Kallar from where the rack rail system begins and runs hugging the hills, passing through tunnels, 12 in number with the longest tunnel measuring 97 meters (318 ft), for 7.2 kilometers (4.5 mi) up the hills at a gradient of 1:12.5 up to Coonoor.Steam locomotives are used in this section. Beyond Coonoor, up to the last station at Ooty or Oottacamund, the track has a ruling gradient of 1:23. Wg Cdr JP adds : The two Badagas who were very closely involved in the construction and maintenance of the unique Nilgiri Mountain Railways from Mettupalayam to Ooty are Rao Bahadur Hubbathalai J.Bellie Gowder and his son Rao Bahadur Ari Gowder? HJ Bellie Gowder was conferred with the titles Rao Sahib and RAO BAHADUR for carrying out the excellent but challenging contract work of building this unique railway system in inhospitable forest area that also involved in cutting tunnels through rocky hills as well as building many bridges with sheer guts. He employed human power to lift the racks & rails and remove the rocks and boulders. Many of his workers were BADAGAS who addressed Bellie Gowder as BELLIE MAISTRY. Ari Gowder was also honoured with the title Rao Bahadur and was given the railway contracts after his father, from 1935 till his death in1971. for more info visit :- www.badaga.co