Darjeeling Himalayan

1889 · B Class Narrow Gauge · Work 40 of 1,871

Darjeeling Himalayan, 1889, B Class Narrow Gauge

A tiny two-foot gauge B class locomotive on the Darjeeling line, crew riding on the front platform, tea terraces below and the Himalayan snow peaks far above.

What it was used for
The narrow-gauge line from Siliguri to Darjeeling, some 2,000 metres of climb on a 610-millimetre gauge. A World Heritage Site since 1999 and still working.
What was new
The line answers the height not with racks but with loops and reversing stations — the machine stays simple and the alignment carries the burden of the solution.