• Editorial
• Branch Line to Farukh Nagar by John Lacey
• New books on Indian Railways
• In lure of the Himalayan train, a review of Halfway to Heaven (Terry Martin), by Dr Joydeep Dutta

The Indian Steam Railway Society (ISRS) celebrated its first anniversary on October 23rd, 2000. It has been a year full of anxiety, optimism and ambition on part of this steam enthusiast fraternity keen on preserving as much railway heritage as possible and spread this message all over. At this juncture the managing committee and the members are equally confident that ISRS will be able to achieve the goals it has set for itself in the years to come.

Clearly the ISRS has been noticed and appreciated very well in the first year of its launch and that it is now seen `in vogue' to discuss steam preservation in any railway forum may be seen as the sign of things to come. The ball was set rolling with the resurrection of Fairy Queen, a four year old `resurrected from dead' story that has now assumed epic proportions. Ashwani Lohani, the persona behind this concept to completion fairytale is a founder-member of ISRS and has been actively advocating steam preservation all along and even today, when he is not associated with the railway museum or the railways directly in his current assignment as Director, Ministry of Tourism, on deputation. The next major step in this direction was taken by the Howrah division of Eastern Railways, where under the leadership and guidance of Jayanta Ghosh, Divisional Railway Manager, the HGS 26761 locomotive which had been mothballed for nearly fifteen years was returned to steam. Recently, the locomotive made a special chartered trip from Howrah to Barrackpore for the visiting Darjeeling Himalayan Railway enthusiasts from as far as Austria, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Mr. B.M.S. Bisht, a life member of ISRS was till recently posted as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) of the upcoming East Coast Railway zonal headquarters at Bhubaneswar. During his tenure, he was deeply involved in studying the possibility of revival of narrow gauge steam on the scenic Rupsa-Baripada section of this railway. He was also very keen to resurrect the P class broad gauge Beyer Garratt locomotive lying at the Kharagpur workshop. Work has already been initiated to study the possibility of bringing these two projects to fruition. On September 1, 2000, Mr. Bisht took charge as the General Manager of the Northeast Frontier Railway. Unlike some of his counterparts, Mr. Bisht holds a firm belief that this zone has tremendous opportunities, especially in the field of tourism. He has taken special interest in the improvement of services of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, which undoubtedly stands out like a colossus amidst the symbols of Indian Railway Heritage. Mr. Bisht has also initiated the revival of a few other steam locomotives, which have been lying condemned, for running heritage steam specials.

The revival of steam on the Matheran Railway is now at an advanced stage and when last heard the locomotives had already reached Parel locomotive workshop for testing and onward transit to Matheran. Also being studied are the proposals for revival of special steam services on the Kalka-Simla and Kangra Valley narrow gauge railways. It is encouraging to note that apart from the railway establishment, even the private sector and individuals are making noteworthy efforts to preserve and revive steam locomotives.

By no means this is to say that everything has been achieved! In spite of the above Herculean efforts, we still get sporadic news of heritage destruction and locomotive scrapping from all nooks and corners of the country. One such news is the perceived threat to the Tweed (Dubs, 1873) locomotive, the oldest surviving metre gauge locomotive in the country and a Guinness Book record holder for being the oldest revenue-earning locomotive in commercial service until the Fairy Queen was bestowed this honour in 1997. The Saraya Sugar Mill at Sardarnagar, Gorakhpur, who are the present owners of this locomotive have come under a threat of permanent closure and so the future of this locomotive is uncertain. It is one of ISRS's endeavours to establish a network of enthusiasts from all over the country who can provide timely local information so that history is not condemned!

The ISRS printed a set of five general purpose Greeting Cards in November, 2000, with a view to spreading the message of ISRS across to the masses. Everyone appreciated these cards depicting Indian steam in full glory. And without making any special efforts in marketing and distribution, we are pleased to report that by the end of year we had exhausted almost 85% of the total print run.We thank everyone involved in making a success of this project especially Dileep Prakash, Mani Shaunik, and Pradeep Dasgupta.

ISRS held a two-day presentation titled Indian Steam Splendour on the fourth and fifth of December at the India Habitat Centre at New Delhi. On the first day RC Sethi and Mark Tully kept the audience mesmerised with their railway experiences while Dileep Prakash put up a superb slide show on the Darjeeling and Nilgiri steam railways. The second day began with a talk on preservation of heritage by Ashwani Lohani, and later Harsh Vardhan presented slides depicting the variety of Indian steam. However the day belonged to Mukul Manglik whose film Veiled in Vapour never fails to stir up adulation and nostalgia amongst the audience, no matter how many times you may have seen it before. The film depicts life on a steam footplate and the camaraderie of steam crews in all its glory. The Habitat Centre also simultaneously hosted an exhibition of black and white pictures on steam by Dileep Prakash.These were so well received by the visitors that the IHC decided to extend the exhibition to a week from the four days initially planned. Keep it up Dileep, our own 0 Winston Link! We thank everyone involved in making the presentation a comprehensive success.

With this issue we have come to the end of the year 2000 and the annual membership holders of ISRS are being reminded to renew their subscriptions as soon as possible.

HARSH VARDHAN

By John Lacey

I recently had the opportunity of attending, for the first time, a meeting of the ISRS. It was a day full of interest, not the least for me was the pleasure of meeting fellow members whose names alone were known to me prior to this get-together.

The plan was to travel in a MG Conference Car attached to the 10.30 Passenger from Delhi Sarai Rohilla to Farukh Nagar on Sunday 12th November. Forewarned the previous day hy Harsh Vardhan I was not surprised to find neither Conference Car nor fellow members at Delhi S. R. However, there was one passenger who stood out from the others, could he be a member? Indeed, it was Mr. S K Kashyap. The remainder of the group joined the train at Delhi Cantt. Station, and thanks to the hospitality of the guard, the party was accommodated in the Luggage section of his van, and the train of 6 bogies hauled by YDM4 6254 sped through the Delhi suburbs. The guard was indeed a kind and hospitable gentleman, for while this was not the first occasion I have travelled as an unbooked parcel, it was the first on which the guard telegraphed ahead to have the group served tea and biscuits on arrival at Garhi Harsaru Junction.

There was another example of his consideration here. The branch line starter was cleared, the driver whistled to depart, but the guard held the departure back so that we could obtain a crossing shot with the Chetak Express exchanging tokens at speed. It was a stunning sight indeed even though there was no gleaming YP steam locomotive at its head.

In contrast to the speedy passenger along the main line, the train travelled at 20km/hr along the historic branch line to Farukh Nagar. This line was opened in 1873 as a branch from Asia's first MG main line to serve the salt pans. The branch is a pleasant undulating line and halts were made, rural style, at level crossings en route. The lower speed made conversation easier, and many and varied were the topics broached.

At the terminus some members went in search of his historical relics (old rails), inspected the abandoned steam engine shed, or rode the loco while running around. The hospitable crew provided draughts of fresh milk while the teenaged son of Munish Sen applied his lessons about the whistle code.

Then the return journey to Garhi Harsaru was made. This train was empty, and the majority of members decided that now there was an opportunity too grand to resist to ride on the roof. This was taken up with alacrity.

All too soon the journey was over for the train terminates at Garhi Harsaru Jn., where a van was waiting to return the party to Delhi. But the day's interest was not yet over. Trains were signailed on both MG and BG lines heading south, and there was also smoke visible in the distance. Soon a YDM-4 appeared on a heavy load, with over 50 passengers on every roof and milk cans hanging from every window. This arrival was quite a sight but the picture was completed by a fast moving WDM-4 overtaking on the BG, smoke trail flying.

And now for some serious stuff, and perhaps the reason why I, as an outsider, was asked to write this report?

What did this outing have to do with steam, or the aims of the ISRS? Well, apart from the difficulty the Committee has in organising any outing with steam, centered in a part of the country which has no active steam (excepting Fairy Queen and Royal Orient), there has been a proposal to run a regular tourist steam train operating along the line to the Bird Sanctuary at Sultanpur. So this was an opportunity to travel the route and consider the prospect at first hand.

Part of the appeal of the line to Farukh Nagar, it seems to me, is that the line is a rural branch line, bucolic in its charm yet so close to this major metropolis. Are the two compatible? Will the necessary changes to make the line a tourist drawcard kill its charm? Or will it not appear due to its dusty indeed, decrepit, infrastructure? What will be the target market?

There are no easy answers to these questions.

However, the most original response I had to this day's outing -- apart from my disappointment at the lack of rescission motions and nullings of dissent from the chair -- was how similar this outing must have been to the early meetings of the Australian Railway Historical Society which was founded in 1933. There, a small group of people met to pass on news, discuss developments, relate recent observations and in short to share their interests in railways. Here in Delhi, more than 75 years later, much the same was taking place. There are differences of course, and Delhi already has that great Railway Museum so full of potential. But I sense the same enthusiasm; who knows what the ISRS will come to achieve?

My point is that the whole railway preservation movement in Australia where there are now preserved railways operations including a weekly main line steam hauled express, in every state and territory, developed from the meetings of six men with similar interests in 1933.

In six an atavistic number? The reason I ask is that I know that the Friends of the NRM, predecessors of the ISRS, began with six members. I wish the ISRS all the best.

(The author was a Director of the NSW Rail Transport Museum in Australia for a number of years in the 1980s.)

Two new books on Indian Railways by authors already well known for their works on the subject are under various stages of publication. These are:

1) BRANCH LINE TO ETERNITY by Bill Aitken: In a style unique to him, Bill has described his travels on the branch lines of southern and south-central railways in this book. Some of these branch lines have since closed or have been converted to broad-gauge. Bill has dedicated this book to YG 3573, the last steam locomotive to be built in the country but now sadly untraceable! He has also rued the fact that there is no accountability in IR officialdom for preserving railway heritage. Towards the end he says that he has already done his share and it is now the time for the future generation to carry on the crusade. I am sure he is not serious! The book is being published by Penguin as a paperback and will run to approximately 230 pages. The price has not been finalised yet but it will be on the order of Rs. 290. It is currently under processing and is likely to hit the stands by the month-end.

2) INDIAN NARROW GAUGE STEAM REMEMBERED by L.G. Marshall. In the world of Indian Steam, Laurie Marshall needs no introduction. He has been travelling to India since 1976 (25 visits!) and has been photographing and recording all things steam. Considering that most of the narrow gauge lines have not only been dieselised but that many have succumbed to the unigauge programme or have since closed, this book is not just nostalgia but essentially a record of the railway history as well. The book is proposed to be published by the middle of 2001. It will have about 250 pages with an equal number of pictures (about 200 b/w and rest in colour) plus accompanying text and notes regarding the nine zonal railways. The book will cover Indian Railways narrow gauge, industrial narrow gauge, sugar railways (on NG) and private narrow gauge railways. The retail price of this book is expected to be about GBP 25 to 27.50. Laurie, a member of ISRS, has kindly offered to supply signed copies for ISRS members in India at about GBP 18. This however does not include postage and if there is request for a sufficient number of copies, we may be able to work out a cost-effective mode for bulk shipment. Those inclined to take advantage of this offer may write to us expressing interest to purchase the book if made available through the society.

3) STEAM IN BLACK AND WHITE: Keith Strickland does not belong to the era when black and white was the only way to go. However even in the world dominated by colours, he like many others feels that black and white is still the best medium to depict steam. He has been highly successful in not only capturing the mood of steam at various locations but also the surroundings that it encompasses. He has published two books in the past namely Steam Railways Around the World and Steam Through Five Continents. These cover steam action in a wide variety of places such as India, Nepal, Pakistan, China, Turkey, Zimbabwe and many more locations in Europe, North and South America.

Allan Sutton Publishing originally published these books in 1991 and 1994. Wrens Park Publishing has since reprinted both these books. Each book costs GBP 6.99 + postage and the reprinted copies, can be bought from the publisher directly. They can be reached at Wrens Park Publishing, W J Williams & Son Books Ltd., Barton under Needwood, Staffordshire DE13 8BA England (telephone +44 1283.712948, fax +44 1283.716807 e-mail info@williams-books.co.uk. Keith is now working on his third book, which is presently only in the planning stages. Watch this space for more details in due course.

Review by Dr Joydeep Dutta

I was asked to write a review of a book called Halfway to Heaven by Terry Martin and I must confess that initially I thought nothing of this job! But as soon as I started to piece it together I literally found myself engulfed by an encyclopedia on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. Terry Martin has indeed done a mind-boggling amount of research to come up with this comprehensive work on the past, present and future of this magnificent little railway. It is however ironic in some sense that a nineteenth century railway had its first comprehensive study published at the beginning of the 21st century! The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is by no means an ordinary railway. It takes a whole lot of dynamic imagination to think of a small steam train on a 2ft-gauge track chugging up the mountains from the plains at 500ft to a staggering height of 7407ft before descending nearly 600ft to Darjeeling. Such a climb is assisted by wonderful engineering achievements whether it is in the form of the civil engineering feats or the motive power exploits. Terry Martin has not only just accurately chronicled the past and present of the Himalayan train but has made it very lively. He carries the reader beautifully along the way and makes him feel as if he is also a part of the whole drama as it unfolds.

The book begins with the coming of the railways to India and then quickly moves over to the building of the Siliguri-Kurseong and Darjeeling Tramway in Chapter 2. The study accompanies wonderful early drawings portraying the survey of the line. It must really be a painstaking job to find out the most relevant items regarding the building of the railway from nearly 118 years old newspapers. A delightful and rare photograph that appears on the page 31 of the book is that of the old Mahananda river wooden bridge and a class 1 side tank passing over it with a train. One of the important points about this railway that many ignore but Terry Martin chose to dwell upon is the discussion of the railways around Siliguri. The earlier works on this railway conveniently ignored the Siliguri area and quickly jumped into the hills beyond Sukna. Terry has reversed the scenario by proving what an interesting area of railway study Siliguri can be. I still remember as a child the excitement of seeing the relics of the old DHR tracks cutting through the Hill Cart road in Siliguri even though I was born a little too late to see any train running on them! This book even carries a rare photograph of the B class in front of the Kurseong Medical Stores on the Hill Cart Road.

The DHR eventually gave in to road competition but it is interesting to know that the competition from the bus was sparked off by the DHR directors refusing the free passes for the proprietor and the architect of the Everest Hotel in Darjeeling. May be the two passes might have made quite a difference!

The Chapter 5 called "The Spectre of Competition" in this book is a gem in the sense that it brings out the fight that DHR gave to road competition and side by side bringing out the lively folklore associated with the Himalayan train. The story of the "Witch of Ghoom" and the songs sung by the school children as they return home for the vacations enriches and enlivens the spirit of the Himalayan train. Just to keep the excitement here is one of the many:

Here is some more:

Anyone who has done his schooling in Darjeeling or has experienced the Himalayan train must have had his pulse racing while reading the above lines.

In my opinion amongst all the chapters in this book, Chapters 9 and 10 seem to be the jewel in the crown. I think these two chapters give the most comprehensive study of DHR locomotives and rolling stock ever published. Chapter 9 brings the mighty B class saddle tanks to life and puts them in the centrestage of the DHR drama and once again proves that the B class is really the signature of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. This small yet mighty locomotive still holds its sway over the railway as well as the railway fans even as more than a century has elapsed since they were first introduced. It was thought the recently introduced diesel locomotive would create `the magic of the modern and the new', but in my opinion it does not even remotely match the abilities of the 112-year-old B class design. The story of the unique Garratt and the Streamliner locomotives make a wonderful reading. It is amusing to learn that the Baby Sivok locomotive, which I had been seeing plinthed outside the Siliguri Junction station since my childhood is possibly a 1911 Orenstein and Koppel, Berlin make and not from 1881 as the plate fixed to it suggested!

Going through Chapter 9 carefully reveals how careless and unsympathetic Indian Railways have been to its engineering heritage and history. For example one of the most interesting local engineering achievements was the building of the three saddle tanks at Tindharia works, albeit from the spare parts received with the other lot of imported locomotives. No. 41 among these three was named Tindharia and still survives as 795 now homed at New Jalpaiguri though I am sure that everybody there is blissfully unaware of this fact and the name Tindharia is of course no longer to be seen by the cabside.

The last chapter of the book describes the train operating principles on the DHR and provides certain interesting old time tables (It was only a five hour trip by the mail in the 1940s!). The Appendix of the book is also interesting in its own right with the data on Annual Returns of the railway company and there are amazing drawings of the DHR locomotives and rolling stock, both past and present. Other treasures of this book includes a wealth of fascinating photographs (one of these depicting the tragic scene after a land slide in Ghum in 1889), drawings of station layouts, photographs of old tickets, the Viceroy's speeches, and a lot more. As a reviewer I should not be telling the whole story but I strongly recommend this book to be in the shelves of all Indian Railways and Narrow Gauge Railway enthusiasts.