G Scale Trains - Model Trains hobbyist

The Konkan is a strip of land, about 47 miles [75 km] at its widest, on the west coast of India, between the Arabian Sea and the Sahyadri mountain range. Extending south from Mumbai, India’s commercial center, to the major port of Mangalore, the Konkan has much to offer in trade. For centuries the coastal ports handled this trade, within India and with other countries. But sea travel was hazardous—especially during the monsoon season, when rivers were also unnavigable—and road and rail routes went way inland to circumvent many natural obstacles. The people of the region longed for direct land access down the coast to transport goods, especially perishables, quickly to big markets. What was the solution?

The Konkan Railway was the biggest railway project in the subcontinent in the 20th century. What was involved? Building 472 miles [760 km] of track with embankments up to 82 feet [25 m] high and cuttings 92 feet [28 m] deep. Constructing more than 2,000 bridges, including the 210-foot-high [64 m] Panval Nadi viaduct, the tallest in Asia, which spans a 1,640-foot-wide [500 m] valley, and the 1.3-mile-long [2.065 km] Sharavati River bridge. Penetrating the mountain ranges to give the track an alignment that was as straight as possible by excavating 92 tunnels, 6 of them being more than two miles [3.2 km] long. In fact, India’s longest tunnel to date is one of these, the four-mile-long [6.5 km] Karbude tunnel.

The problems were immense—torrential rains, landslides, and mudslides, as well as tunneling through solid rock and, even more difficult, lithomargic soft soil, described as being like toothpaste. All these natural obstacles had to be overcome by engineering skill and technology. Centrifugal- and jet-fan ventilation in the tunnels, along with other safety features, were in themselves massive undertakings. Land had to be acquired from more than 42,000 different landowners, a colossal legal exercise.

However, on January 26, 1998, after a construction time of just seven years—a record for such a huge project—the first train on the Konkan Railway was flagged off. The journey from Mumbai to Mangalore was 700 miles [1,127 km] shorter than the former circuitous route, and travel time was reduced by 26 hours. The Konkan Railway opened up to train travelers new vistas of magnificent scenery, to tourists exciting new places to explore, and to millions of people an improved economy.

The Fairy Queen

The oldest working steam locomotive in the world is the Fairy Queen. Built in Leeds, England, in 1855, by the engineering firm of Kitson, Thompson and Hewitson, it pulled mail trains from Howrah station, near Calcutta, to Raniganj in Bengal. Taken out of service in 1909, it was kept in the National Rail Museum, New Delhi, delighting train buffs. To celebrate India’s 50 years of independence, this old faithful was brought out of retirement. Since 1997, the Fairy Queen Express has been chugging along, carrying tourists the 89 miles [143 km] from Delhi to Alwar, in Rajasthan.