The charm of mountain railways and their picture-perfect buildings
A look at the the delightful railway architecture of the hills
By Heritage Directorate, Indian Railways
Vinoo N Mathur
Kangra Valley RailwayHeritage Directorate, Indian Railways
The contribution of the Indian Railways in the rich architectural heritage of the country has been significant.
The different styles of these railway buildings can be divided into four major time periods and categories. Read more about the other styles of Indian Railway architecture here :
Monuments of Modern India: The first half century of railways architecture
Monuments of Modern India: When European and Indian influences merged at railway stations
The Indian Railways, in the mountains, maintain some delightful and very popular gabled buildings and structures. There are some beautiful half-timbered station buildings and a rest house on the Kangra Valley Railway, a rest house at Shimla and picturesque stations like Ghum on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.
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A look at the magnificent views from the beautiful and popular Crow Borough Officers Rest House, Shimla. The rest house is maintained by the Kalka Shimla Railway.
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Bank Officers Guest House, Shimla, maintained by the Kalka Shimla Railway is another example of the alluring mountain structures of the railways.
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Take a walk around the picturesque Ghum Station, of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. Situated at an altitude of 2,258 metres, it is the highest railway station in India. The station is also the premises of the Ghum Museum, which houses many locomotives that once ran on the DHR.
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Old-world charm of the Rongtong station, another stop on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.
Oak Grove SchoolHeritage Directorate, Indian Railways
Oak Grove School, opened in 1888, also has a beautiful structure with gabled roofs. Built for railway children at Mussoorie by the East Indian Railway, it has a number of charming buildings. This is the entrance to the Junior School built in 1912.
Bilaspur StationHeritage Directorate, Indian Railways
The architectural style of the mountain railway structures also found popularity in the plains. Old station building in Bilaspur, Chattisgarh, is one such example.
The station incorporates the use of Dutch Gables which provides a decorative face to the gable. The verge boards, finials and windows are also unique. The platform sheds that were added later hide the beauty of its design.
Gabled roofs were, in fact, popular all over the railway system, for even in Saurashtra area, Junagarh, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar stations were originally built in this style.
Coonoor nestles among Nilgiris' forests and Tea GardensHeritage Directorate, Indian Railways
There are other pretty gabled buildings on all mountain railways like Coonoor on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and Barog on the Kalka-Shimla Railway.
Barog Railway Station (2018-03-25)Kalka Shimla Railway
The very pretty gabled roofed buildings of the Barog railway station, Kalka Shimla Railway.
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Take a walk aroung the picture perfect Barog railway station.
Coonoor station (2018-06-04)Nilgiri Mountain Railways
Even after all these years, these decorative railway buildings are just as beautiful, and hold as much charm as they did back then.
Read more about the other styles of Indian Railway architecture here :
Monuments of Modern India: The first half century of railways architecture
Monuments of Modern India: When European and Indian influences merged at railway stations
