Kalka-Shimla Railway

that may be the Darjeeling rail which has road parallel to it and there is no such portion of significant length where rail and road are side by side on Shimla-Kalka route.

Is the train in this movie same

Kalka-Shimla Rail Track
The brain that made it possible
Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 8
The coveted “world heritage site” status to the 104-year-old Shimla-Kalka rail track is a tribute to Bhalkoo, an illiterate genius who played a vital role in translating the dream project of the British into a reality. It will also put the hill state on the world heritage map and help boost tourism.

The engineer marvel called the “toy train” could not have become a realty but for Bhalkoo, a man of extraordinary engineering acumen who came to the rescue of British engineers every time the project hit a roadblock. The British came close to abandoning the project on several occasions, but Bhalkoo, who claimed that the trace of the rail track had been revealed to him by his “devta” (deity), put them on the “right” track.

However, his contribution went virtually unnoticed and he remained an unsung hero all these years. Some recognition came only during the centenary celebrations organised to mark the 100 years of the rail track on November 9, 2003. Subsequently, his bust was installed at Chail, close to his village, Jhajja.

It was also announced that a railway museum will be set up in his memory, but the project has not come up so far.

A celibate, Bhalkoo had little interest in the materialistic world. The people believed that he was blessed with supernatural powers that transformed him into “Baba Bhalkoo” over a period of time.

His shabby looks and unclean habits not withstanding, even the British respected him. The manner in which he pinpointed the exact sites for boring tunnels or constructing bridges with a long staff that he always carried with him, they also started believing that he possessed supernatural powers. His matted hair provided shelter to lice, which he used to feed by pouring flour and sugar over his head. He claimed his “devta” communicated with him through the lice.

British engineers had full faith in his engineering capabilities. They had issued numerous certificates to him. He was not only associated with the construction of the Kalka-Shimla rail track but was also instrumental in laying out the alignment of the Hindustan-Tibet road while serving in the hills road division.

He would be remembered for his role in laying the toughest and the most expensive projects of its times, involving construction of 107 tunnels, numerous lofty arched viaducts, over 800 small and big bridges and continuous succession of as many as 919 reverse curves. The 95.4-km narrow-gauge track climbs to 7,000 ft at Shimla from 2,200 ft at Kalka passing through valleys and spurs, flanking mountains. It became operational on November 9, 1903. At present, it has 102 tunnels, the rest having caved in over the years.

The contract for the construction was awarded to the Delhi-Umbala Company in 1898 at an estimated cost of Rs 86,78,500.

However, the cost doubled during the execution of the project and it was finally purchased by the state in 1906 for Rs 1,71,07,748.