Nilgiri Mountain Railway
Hill Trains in Tamilnadu India

Travel Destinations of India » Hill Trains in India » Nilgiri Mountain Railway

Hill Train in Nilgiri Tamil Nadu India - The Nilgiri Mountain Railway offers complete information on Nilgiri hill railways, Nilgiri hill trains, and some other related information onNilgiri hill railways.

Nilgiri Mountain Railway

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) is a 46 Km long 1000 mm gauge railway connecting Mettupalayam (1069 ft) to Ooty (7228 ft). Its first section upto Coonoor was completed in 1899 by the Nilgiri Railway Company and was extended to Ooty in 1903. In those days it served as a popular getaway from the sweltering heat of the plains for the British in India. Even today it is a popular hill resort attracting hoards of tourists.

Nilgiri Mountail Railway is the steepest one in Asia ( the steepest gradient is about 1in12). In combination with this gradient there are curves as sharp as 18 degrees! To overcome this incline it uses a unique ABT(Alternate Biting System) commonly known as `rack and pinion' rail system and curiously the name of the inventor is also Michael Abt! In this system, between
the two conventional rails, there are two rack bars, out of step with each other, on which the pinions of the locos & coaches 'climb' in a similar manner as a person climbing a ladder using his feet alternately.Against the convention of the engine leading the train on level lines, here the engine is pushing the train from behind when ascending and is in front stopping it from running amuck when going downhill. The main incline between Mettupalayam to Coonoor is a continuous gradient where the rack system is used. After Coonoor until Ooty the gradient is relatively eased (this section is now worked by YDM4 diesel locos).

Steam locomotives have been the motive power here since the inception of the line in 1899. Presently all traffic on the rack section is in the able hands of eight X class locomotives built by SLM of Switzerland.These are compound locomotives having four cylinders instead of the conventional two. The main cylinders use high-pressure steam and drive the wheels of the loco whereas the smaller cylinders using low-pressure steam drive the rack system. The youngest X class loco is over 50 years old and the oldest is 80 years old against the average of 25 years working life of a steam loco.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More Hill Resorts in India

» Hill Resorts in Almora » Hill Resorts in Bhimtal » Hill Resorts in Coorg » Hill Resorts in Darjeeling » Hill Resorts in Gulmarg » Hill Resorts in Kasauli » Hill Resorts in Khandala » Hill Resorts in Kufri » Hill Resorts in Lonavala » Hill Resorts in Manali » Hill Resorts in Mount Abu » Hill Resorts in Mussoorie » Hill Resorts in Ooty » Hill Resorts in Shimla	» Hill Resorts in Dalhousie » Hill Resorts in Dharamsala » Hill Resorts in Kalimpong » Hill Resorts in Kausani » Hill Resorts in Kodaikanal » Hill Resorts in Ladakh » Hill Resorts in Mahabaleshwar » Hill Resorts in Munnar » Hill Resorts in Nainital » Hill Resorts in Pachmarhi » Hill Resorts in Ranikhet » Hill Resorts in Srinagar

Travel Agents & Tour Operators in India offers online booking for hill stations hotel at discounted rates. We also provide reservations and information of all luxury resorts in hill stations, five star hotels in hill destination, luxury hotels of hill stations in india, hill stations tours,india hill stations travel india, india hill resorts, hill resorts india, hill stations of india,indian hill station,hill station in india,hill station tour india,hill station travel india,holiday in hill stations,hill station vacation in india,hill resorts in india,hill stations tour package,hill station travel package,hill tours india,india hill tour,india hill tour package,shimla,manali,hill travel india,dharamsala,india travel,india tour operators. We also provide other travel services like package tours, car and taxi rental in hill stations to make your trip a wonderful dream come true.

Tour Booking Form

Nilgiri Mountain Railway Hill Trains in Tamilnadu India

Nilgiri Mountain Railway
Hill Trains in Tamilnadu India