Karnataka City Guide
Explore the various destination as you plan to travel in Nilgiri Mountain train.
The Nilgiri mountain railway starts from the town of Mettupalayam and thus begins a journey full of twists and turns, as this narrow gauge train ascends 46 kms, on its way to the hill resort of Ooty.
At a Maximum speed of 33 km per hour, this 'toy train' treks across plains, plantations and forest clad hills. The 16 tunnels and tall girder bridges on the way, along with the breathtaking view, make this toy train journey to Ooty, something not to to be missed
History :
Attempts to construct the first railway line in the Blue Hills began at the end of the 19th century. Swiss genius Arthur Riggenbach was invited to India by the government to build a railway similar to the Swiss-Rigi Mountain, the world's first railway rack line. Following a study tour of rack railway systems in the German Harz Mountains, the builders decided to adopt the technically superior New Abt System which was also compatible with the usual meter gauge railway track system. In 1891, the Governor of Chennai laid the foundation of the Nilgiri railway and the line was officially inaugurated seven years later. By 1908, the line extended up to Ooty (Ooty is also called Udhagamandalam or Ootacamund), although without a rack. Bayer Peacocks were the first engines to haul the train through 16 tunnels and numerous bridges on the route.
Technology :
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).
