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Matheran Hill Railway
The Matheran Hill Railway (MHR) is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow-gauge heritage railway in Maharashtra, India, which is administered by the Central Railway zone. It covers a distance of 21 km (13 mi), connecting Neral to Matheran in the Western Ghats. The MHR is on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The Neral–Matheran Light Railway was built between 1901 and 1907 by Abdul Hussein Adamjee Peerbhoy and financed by his father, Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy, at a cost of Rupees 16,00,000. Adamjee Peerbhoy visited Matheran often, and wanted to build a railway to make it easier to get there. Hussain's plans for the Matheran Hill Railway were formulated in 1900, and construction began in 1904. The consulting engineer was Everard Calthrop. The line was open to traffic by 1907. Its tracks were originally 30 lb/yd (14.9 kg/m) rails, but were upgraded to 42 lb/yd (20.8 kg/m) rails. The ruling gradient is 1:20 (five percent), with tight curves, and speed is limited to 12 km/h (7.5 mph).
When the railway was opened, the rolling stock consisted of just two locomotives, fifteen First Class, two Third Class coaches, two luggage vans with postal accommodation, twelve open goods wagons, along with two saloons that were in verge of completion at GIPR's Parel Locomotive Workshops. One Locomotive was taken from the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway as well.
Around 1907, only one locomotive would run on the railway at a time. The service had two trains each way per day.
The railway was closed because of flood damage in 2005 and was not expected to reopen before April 2007. However, the first run on the repaired railway was on 5 March 2007. The line observed its centenary on 15 April of that year. Service had been suspended during the monsoon season (from June to October) because of the danger of landslides. During the 2012 monsoon season, Central Railway (CR) tested the railway's air brakes and, after approval from the Commission of Railway Safety, ran the train during the monsoon for the first time. CR planned to shorten the monsoon service suspension to 15 July – 1 October.
In November 2012, CR added a special coach (known as a saloon) to trains operating on the line. The saloons have sofas and LCD screens showing images from outside the train. The saloons had been available only to railway officers.
The MHR and its assets, including the stations, line, and vehicles, belong to the Government of India and are entrusted to the Ministry of Railways. Central Railway handles day-to-day maintenance and management, and several programs, divisions, and departments of Indian Railways are responsible for repairs.
Consulting engineer Everard Calthrop designed the MLR Class 0-6-0Ts with Klien-Lindner axles to give a flexible wheelbase and four were supplied by Orenstein & Koppel. They ran from the railway's opening in 1907 until 1982, when they were replaced by diesel engines. By 1983, all steam locomotives were phased out. A B-class locomotive (#794) from the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was transferred to the Neral–Matheran line in 2001 to test the feasibility of steam excursions. It was sent to the Golden Rock workshops for conversion to oil firing in 2013, and returned to Neral soon afterwards. Rail enthusiasts can once again enjoy and witness the 'steam-engine' on the Neral-Matheran toy train route. The steam engine will be fired either by electric power or hydrogen. Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw informed that an electric and hydrogen propelled engine will be given the appearance of the old steam engine.
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Matheran Hill Railway
The Matheran Hill Railway (MHR) is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow-gauge heritage railway in Maharashtra, India, which is administered by the Central Railway zone. It covers a distance of 21 km (13 mi), connecting Neral to Matheran in the Western Ghats. The MHR is on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The Neral–Matheran Light Railway was built between 1901 and 1907 by Abdul Hussein Adamjee Peerbhoy and financed by his father, Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy, at a cost of Rupees 16,00,000. Adamjee Peerbhoy visited Matheran often, and wanted to build a railway to make it easier to get there. Hussain's plans for the Matheran Hill Railway were formulated in 1900, and construction began in 1904. The consulting engineer was Everard Calthrop. The line was open to traffic by 1907. Its tracks were originally 30 lb/yd (14.9 kg/m) rails, but were upgraded to 42 lb/yd (20.8 kg/m) rails. The ruling gradient is 1:20 (five percent), with tight curves, and speed is limited to 12 km/h (7.5 mph).
When the railway was opened, the rolling stock consisted of just two locomotives, fifteen First Class, two Third Class coaches, two luggage vans with postal accommodation, twelve open goods wagons, along with two saloons that were in verge of completion at GIPR's Parel Locomotive Workshops. One Locomotive was taken from the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway as well.
Around 1907, only one locomotive would run on the railway at a time. The service had two trains each way per day.
The railway was closed because of flood damage in 2005 and was not expected to reopen before April 2007. However, the first run on the repaired railway was on 5 March 2007. The line observed its centenary on 15 April of that year. Service had been suspended during the monsoon season (from June to October) because of the danger of landslides. During the 2012 monsoon season, Central Railway (CR) tested the railway's air brakes and, after approval from the Commission of Railway Safety, ran the train during the monsoon for the first time. CR planned to shorten the monsoon service suspension to 15 July – 1 October.
In November 2012, CR added a special coach (known as a saloon) to trains operating on the line. The saloons have sofas and LCD screens showing images from outside the train. The saloons had been available only to railway officers.
The MHR and its assets, including the stations, line, and vehicles, belong to the Government of India and are entrusted to the Ministry of Railways. Central Railway handles day-to-day maintenance and management, and several programs, divisions, and departments of Indian Railways are responsible for repairs.
Consulting engineer Everard Calthrop designed the MLR Class 0-6-0Ts with Klien-Lindner axles to give a flexible wheelbase and four were supplied by Orenstein & Koppel. They ran from the railway's opening in 1907 until 1982, when they were replaced by diesel engines. By 1983, all steam locomotives were phased out. A B-class locomotive (#794) from the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was transferred to the Neral–Matheran line in 2001 to test the feasibility of steam excursions. It was sent to the Golden Rock workshops for conversion to oil firing in 2013, and returned to Neral soon afterwards. Rail enthusiasts can once again enjoy and witness the 'steam-engine' on the Neral-Matheran toy train route. The steam engine will be fired either by electric power or hydrogen. Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw informed that an electric and hydrogen propelled engine will be given the appearance of the old steam engine.
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