Hi friends!
If you wish to travel to Shimla, India’s most famous and beautiful destination in Himachal Pradesh then I would suggest you to have a thrilling experience of toy trains on one of the UNESCO heritage routes in India. From Kalka-Shimla railway, the base town of Kalka to the hilltop of Shimla, a narrow gauge railway carries you through 103 tunnels and one of the longest tunnels to Shimla.
The train stopped at the Barog Station.
The Barog station is the eighth of the route’s 20 picturesque stops. It lies in Solan district and 1,531 metres (5,023 ft) above the sea level. The station was also named after Colonel Barog who built the famous longest tunnel Barog tunnel.
The beautiful fountain greets you at the station.
The nice feeling and welcome from a beautiful fountain and garden forces you practically to get out of the train and take a look. The clean and stylist design and planning of the station mesmerizes you.
The Station Master cabins and a signage board showing availability of the wheelchair for specially-abled passengers.
The neatly looking admin (sub-station master)and control cabins give a surprisingly approachable feeling by fresh looking blue and white colors. Availability of a wheelchair for specially-abled passengers gives it plus points.
The train stopped for a brief time and left for Shimla but the station and the enchanting surroundings stayed in our memory forever!
The famous Barog tunnel.
You arrive at Barog station just after your train exits the route’s longest tunnel, known as the Barog tunnel or tunnel #33.
There is mystery and belief that the tunnel is haunted. (We didn’t know this till we reached the station! Otherwise… I know what you’re thinking…yes, scary thoughts. 
)
The story goes like this: Col. Barog started construction of this tunnel in 1898. But actually failed to build this tunnel in-lined, he was held responsible and fired from the job and also fined. He was depressed and humiliated and finally shot himself while having the walk. The locals say that his spirit, believed to be harmless; still appears sometime at the tunnel. The station was named in the memory of him.
Hot and tempting veg patties and tea/coffee waiting for your service.
Truly soothing and enchanted!!
We planned to take this toy train one way and then hire a private cab from Shimla to carry us the rest of the way and drop us off in Kalka. (Note: Because they charged extra for vehicles from out of state, this helped us save a considerable amount of money and time as well. 
) We had booked our return rail journey to New Delhi and then a flight back to Pune from there. I would highly advise everyone to take part in it. This was the most memorable experience we will cherish for the rest of our lives.
To summarise the post, as I previously stated, below is a brief overview of India’s UNESCO Heritage toy trains:
There are three routes marked as the UNESCO heritage train routes:
- The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway: Functioning since 1881, this was the first and still regarded as the exceptionally scenic mountain train routes in India. It stretched to about 88 km (55 mi) long. Startng from New Jaipaiguri to Darjeeling, it climbs around 7000 ft to reach Darjeeling in al most seven hours. The views and zig-zag turns and the entire routes is breathtakingly beautiful.
- The Nilgiri Mountain Railway: This is a metre gauge railway built by the British in 1908 to connect the ground level of the Nilgiri Mountains in Tamil Nadu, India, to the famous hill station of Ootty (local name is Udhagamandalam). It was first suggested in 1854, but only became operational in 1908 after overcoming numerous challenges. After travelling 46 kilometres (29 miles) uphills, the route takes about 5 hours to reach the hilltop. UNESCCO declared it as heritage routes in July 2005.
- The Kalka Shimla Railway: A narrow gauge railway route was built between 1898 to 1903 between Kalka and Shimla (was earlier and the local still pronounced as Simla, ), then a summer capital of India for the Birtish. The total distance of 96 km and the travelling time is of approximately 5 hours. UNESCO delcared it a heritage route in July 2008. The train climbs the total height of 1,419 metres (4,656 ft) from kalka.
If anyone remember the movies shot here or along the route of Kalka - Shimla, then please do share. Well, I remember a song from Jab We Met, a bollywood movie shot inside the travelling train. 
I am adding this post in a challenge posts for world environmental day 2023 by @Smita_Patil . #WorldEnviroenmentDay2023 #SpeakForNature
Cheers!
, thanks for sharing with us.
