Matheran Hill Railway

The Matheran Hill Railway (MHR) is a narrow-gauge heritage railway in Maharashtra, India, which is administered by the Central Railway zone. It covers a distance of , connecting Neral to Matheran in the Western Ghats. The MHR is on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

History The Neral–Matheran Light Railway was built between 1901 and 1907 by Abdul Hussein Adamjee Peerbhoy and financed by his father, Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy, at a cost of Rupees 16,00,000.See inscription at Commons image. Adamjee Peerbhoy visited Matheran often, and wanted to build a railway to make it easier to get there. Hussain's plans for the Matheran Hill Railway were formulated in 1900, and construction began in 1904. The consulting engineer was Everard Calthrop. The line was open to traffic by 1907. Its tracks were originally rails, but were upgraded to rails. The ruling gradient is 1:20 (five percent), with tight curves, and speed is limited to .

When the railway was opened, the rolling stock consisted of just two locomotives, fifteen First Class, two Third Class coaches, two luggage vans with postal accommodation, twelve open goods wagons, along with two saloons that were in verge of completion at GIPR's Parel Locomotive Workshops. One Locomotive was taken from the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway as well.

Around 1907, only one locomotive would run on the railway at a time. The service had two trains each way per day.

The railway was closed because of flood damage in 2005 and was not expected to reopen before April 2007.Why you still can’t take the toy train to Matheran However, the first run on the repaired railway was on 5 March 2007. The line observed its centenary on 15 April of that year. Service had been suspended during the monsoon season (from June to October) because of the danger of landslides. During the 2012 monsoon season, Central Railway (CR) tested the railway's air brakes and, after approval from the Commission of Railway Safety, ran the train during the monsoon for the first time. CR planned to shorten the monsoon service suspension to 15 July – 1 October.

In November 2012, CR added a special coach (known as a saloon) to trains operating on the line. The saloons have sofas and LCD screens showing images from outside the train. The saloons had been available only to railway officers.

Operator The MHR and its assets, including the stations, line, and vehicles, belong to the Government of India and are entrusted to the Ministry of Railways. Central Railway handles day-to-day maintenance and management, and several programs, divisions, and departments of Indian Railways are responsible for repairs.

Rolling stock

Steam locomotives

Consulting engineer Everard Calthrop designed the MLR Class s with Klien-Lindner axles to give a flexible wheelbase and four were supplied by Orenstein & Koppel. They ran from the railway's opening in 1907 until 1982, when they were replaced by diesel engines. By 1983, all steam locomotives were phased out. A B-class locomotive (#794) from the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was transferred to the Neral–Matheran line in 2001 to test the feasibility of steam excursions. It was sent to the Golden Rock workshops for conversion to oil firing in 2013, and returned to Neral soon afterwards. Rail enthusiasts can once again enjoy and witness the 'steam-engine' on the Neral-Matheran toy train route. The steam engine will be fired either by electric power or hydrogen. Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw informed that an electric and hydrogen propelled engine will be given the appearance of the old steam engine.

Locomotive no. 738 is plinthed at the southern end of Neral Toy Train station, in a small garden. It was the engine in which Sir Abdul Hussein Adamjee Peerbhoy traveled, when he visited Germany to order the original four locomotives. (according to a plaque on the locomotive). No. 739 is preserved in the National Rail Museum, New Delhi, while No. 740 is currently under overhaul by the Darnall Locomotive and Railway Heritage Trust. No.741 is plinthed at Matheran Railway Station.

MHR No.BuilderBuilder No.FromLocation738 O & K17661905Neral739 O & K23421907Delhi740 O & K23431907Darnall Locomotive and Railway Heritage Trust741 O & K17671905Matheran794 Baldwin449141917Neral

Diesel locomotives

Because of the line's sharp curves, only short-wheelbase four-wheel diesel units can be used; Class NDM1 and NDM6 locomotives are in use. Class NDM1 has two powered units, articulated with a central cab and initially developed by German builder Arnold Jung Lokomotivfabrik. The non-articulated Class NDM6 was manufactured by the Bangalore builders SAN.

ISR No.ClassBuilderBuilder No.DateStatusNotes400NDM-1Indian Railways, Parel Works, Mumbai2016 Delivered from Parel January 2016 In Neral shed awaiting commissioning, 1 April 2016500NDM-1Jung121081956WithdrawnOriginally No. 700 from Kalka-Shimla Railway 501NDM-1Jung121091956; rebuilt at Parel 2002In serviceOriginally No. 750502NDM-1Jung121101956Dismantled for repairs at Neral 1 April 2016Originally No. 751503NDM-1Jung121111956WithdrawnOriginally No. 752504NDM-1Jung121051956WithdrawnOriginally No. 701 from Kalka-Shimla Railway 505NDM-1Jung121071956WithdrawnOriginally No. 703 from Kalka-Shimla Railway506NDM-1Jung121061956WithdrawnOriginally No. 702 from Kalka-Shimla Railway 550NDM-1AIndian Railways, Parel Works, Mumbai2006In service On Aman Lodge shuttle 7/3/15551NDM-1AIndian Railways, Parel Works, Mumbai2006In service On Aman Lodge shuttle 7/3/15600NDM6SAN5591997In serviceRepairs at Neral 1 April 2016603NDM6SAN5681998In serviceRecorded on 7 March 2015 on Aman Lodge shuttle

Route Neral, the starting point, is near Mumbai. The narrow-gauge line runs parallel to the broad-gauge line west of Hardal Hill before turning east to ascend towards Matheran. The rail and road meet near Jumapatti, and meet again after a brief separation at Bhekra Khud. After a short level stretch, there is a sharp ascent just before Mount Barry. A large horseshoe embankment was built to avoid a reversing station here. The line runs for a mile or so northwards around this before turning to take the One-Kiss Tunnel through the embankment. Two more zig-zags through deep cuttings remain before Panorama Point is reached, and then the line bends back to Simpson's Tank and ends at Matheran. It takes about two hours and 20 minutes to complete the journey, although CR plans to reduce this to one hour 30 minutes.

Stations Neral: The junction to switch lines. Jumapatti Water Pipe: Used for filling Steam Locomotives Aman Lodge: Named after a nearby Lodge : The Hill Terminus

Timetable

Up services Train No. Departure Origin Arrival Destination 52153 8:45 Aman Lodge 9:03 Matheran 52103 8:50 Neral 11:30 Matheran 52155 9:35 Aman Lodge 9:53 Matheran 52105 10:25 Neral 13:05 Matheran Special 1† 10:30 Aman Lodge 10:48 Matheran 52157 12:00 Aman Lodge 12:18 Matheran Special 3† 13:35 Aman Lodge 13:53 Matheran 52159 14:25 Aman Lodge 14:43 Matheran 52161 15:40 Aman Lodge 15:58 Matheran 52163 17:45 Aman Lodge 18:03 Matheran † - Available only on Sat-Sun

Down services Train No. Departure Origin Arrival Destination 52154 8:20 Matheran 8:38 Aman Lodge 52156 9:10 Matheran 9:28 Aman Lodge Special 2† 10:05 Matheran 10:23 Aman Lodge 52158 11:35 Matheran 11:53 Aman Lodge Special 4† 13:10 Matheran 13:28 Aman Lodge 52160 14:00 Matheran 14:18 Aman Lodge 52104 14:45 Matheran 17:30 Neral 52162 15:15 Matheran 15:33 Aman Lodge 52106 16:00 Matheran 18:40 Neral 52164 17:20 Matheran 17:38 Aman Lodge † - Available only on Sat-Sun

Matheran Hill Railway

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