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Kalka Shimla
Railway
The Kalka-Shimla Railway built to connect, the summer
capital of India in 1903 at an altitude of 2076 meters
offers a panoramic feast to experience the grandeur of
the picturesque Himalayas from the shivalik foot hills
at Kalka to several important points such as Dharampur,
Solan, Kandaghat, Taradevi, Barog, Salogra, Summerhill,
Shimla and beyond up to the silvery snow line near the
towering peaks.
On June 29, 1898, a contract was signed between the
secretary of state and the Delhi-Ambala-Kalka railway
company for construction and working of a two feet gauge
line from Kalka to Shimla. As per the contract, the rail
line was to be built without any pecuniary aid or
guarantee from the government. The land was, however,
provided free of charge.
The military authorities were skeptic about the narrower
gauge of two feet chosen for Kalka-Shimla Railway. They
recommended a standard two feet by six inches gauge for
mountain and light strategic railways. The government of
India yielded to the military requirements and on
November 15, 1901, the contract with DUK was revised and
two feet by six inches gauge was adopted for
Kalka-Shimla Railway. This meant change of gauge for a
portion of the line built in the year 1901.
In the beginning, the line was laid with 41-1/4 lb flat
footed steel rails 21 feet long on steel bearing Paltes
and Deodar timber sleepers, nine to a rail. The tack was
stone ballasted throughout and fenced only along the
Kalka camping ground and through the outskirts of the
town of Kalka.
The line measuring 59.44 miles from Kalka to Shimla was
opened for traffic on November 9, 1903. Because of
peculiar working conditions-high capital cost coupled
with high maintenance cost-Kalka Shimla railway was
allowed to charge higher rates and fare compared to the
then prevailing rates for other lines in the plains. By
1904, a total of Rs. 1,65,25,000 was spent by DUK and it
was a serious financial crisis. On representation of the
company, the secretary of state decided to purchase the
line, the purchase was affected from January 1, 1906.
An interesting feature of the Kalka-Shimla Railway is
the almost complete absence of Girder bridges. Multi
arched galleries like ancient roman aqueducts being the
commonest means of carrying the line over the ravines
between the hill spurs. There is only on 60 feet plate
girder span in a Pinewood near the old engineer bungalow
at Dharampur and a steel trestle via duct, which
replaced a stone gallery in 1935 in the 869 bridges
representing about 3 percent of the line. The entire
section has been built with steep gradient through the
Shivalik ranges.
Another special feature of the Kalka-Shimla Railway is
that as many as 27 cutovers serve as different gradient
crossings. There are 20 intermediate stations, and all
have crossing facilities. The line also has about 107
tunnels, which, besides representing the engineering
feat, also generate a lot of interest in the travellers.
During summer months, passenger traffic is heavy whereas
in winter months, potato traffic keeps the line busy.
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