UNESCO has just accorded the 96-km Kalka Shimla Railway that operates a toy train on narrow gauge from Kalka, Haryana to Shimla main station, Himachal Pradesh with World Heritage Site status.
Kalka Shimla line is the the third Indian mountain railway to be awarded world heritage status by UNESCO. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (recognised in 1999) and the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (recognised in 2005) already belong to this special family.
Now for some quirky facts about our mountain beauties:
~The Kalka Shimla Railway ascends through its 96km, from 2,051 ft to 6,811 ft. It therefore offers gorgeous scenery of mountains, gorges, ravines, valleys and forests.
~Built at the cost of Rs 1.71 crore, the line opened in November 9, 1903.
Photograph: The first steam locos to pull the passenger trains upto Shimla on this lane were manufactured by the famous Manchester firm Sharp Stewart. Today they run on diesel.
Also read: A smile on war-battered faces
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