Driver's Eye View (India) - Kalka to Shimla Railway - Part 3 – Salogra to Shoghi – 4K

Once again I am grateful to the train crew for allowing me to mount cameras on their railcar so that we can all enjoy the views normally only available to the driver and second man. In Part 3 we are treated to more breath taking views as we climb ever higher through the Himalayan foothills, passing through a succession of long tunnels and over some of the railway's most impressive gallery arch viaducts including bridge 541 close to Kanoh station, constructed in 1898, bridge 541 is still the highest gallery arch bridge on Indian railways. The tiny Village of Kanoh has no road connection to the outside world and is heavily reliant on the railway for both employment and transport. The 2 ft 6 in (762mm) 96.6 km long narrow-gauge Kalka to Shimla Railway is located in North India, the route climbs steadily from Kalka where the line shares a station with Indian Railways broad gauge trains, the narrow gauge line to Shimla offers breath taking views of the mountains and the villages clinging precariously to the steep slopes. The line was constructed between 1898 to 1903 under the direction of Herbert Septimus Harington to connect Shimla, the summer capital of India during the British Raj, with the rest of the Indian rail system. On 8th July 2008, UNESCO recognised the special importance of the Kalka–Shimla Railway by including it in the mountain railways of India World Heritage Site along with the the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. Construction of the railway using a gauge of 2 ft (610mm) was started by the privately funded Delhi-Ambala-Kalka Railway Company following the signing of a contract between the secretary of state and the company on 29th June 1898. The contract originally specified that the line would be constructed without any financial aid or guarantee from the government, although the government provided the land free of charge. The estimated cost of 8,678,500 rupees doubled by the time the line was opened. Chief Engineer Herbert Septimus Harington project managed the construction undertaken by Chief Contractor Sujan Singh Hadaliwale. The British military had concerns about the choice of two feet for the KSR's rail gauge and following a meeting that recognised the concerns of the military, a decision was reached recommending that narrow gauge hill railways and strategic light railways should have a common gauge of 2' 6". As a consequence the DUKR's (Delhi Ambala, formerly Umballa, Kalka Railway) contract was revised in 1901 to incorporate the change to 2 ft 6 in (762mm). One of my travelling companions on this tour was “Richard Wallace” author of the book “Hill Railways of the Indian Subcontinent” published by the Crowood Press. Richard's knowledge of the Hill Railways along with a copy of his book at hand added a welcome extra dimension to our tour with fascinating snippets of information and history about the railways we were experiencing. To learn more about Richard's book, please click on this link - https://www.crowood.com/products/hill-railways-of-the-indian-subcontinent-by-richard-wallace 01:05 - Salogra - 1,509 meters (4,951 ft) above sea level 14:49 - Kandaghat - 1,425 meters above sea level 30:37 - Bridge 541 32:59 - Kanoh - 1,647 m (5,404 ft) 49:08 – Kathleeghat - 1,701 m (5,581 ft) 01:02:00 - Shoghi - 1,832 m (6,010 ft) This video was filmed from Railcar No.3 Map at 00:29 - Google Earth Map at 0:40 - OpenRailwayMap.org This trip was part of a tour “Railways of the Raj” organised by “The Railway Touring Company” - https://www.railwaytouring.net/ in conjunction with Travel Pals (India) Pvt Ltd For more information, please click on this link - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalka%E2%80%93Shimla_Railway To watch Part 1, please click on this link - https://youtu.be/_OAFRgVNgws To watch Part 2, please click on this link - https://youtu.be/tgroPBN0Tcs This video was filmed on 24th November 2024