Matheran Hill Railway
The Matheran Hill Railway is a narrow-gauge heritage railway in Maharashtra, India, which is administered by the Central Railway. It covers a distance of, cutting a swathe through forest and connecting Neral to Matheran in the Western Ghats. The MHR is on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
History
The Neral–Matheran Light Railway was built between 1901 and 1907 by Abdul Hussein Adamjee Peerbhoy and financed by his father, Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy, at a cost of Rupees 16,00,000. Adamjee Peerbhoy visited Matheran often, and wanted to build a railway to make it easier to get there. Hussain's plans for the Matheran Hill Railway were formulated in 1900, and construction began in 1904. The consulting engineer was Everard Calthrop. The line was open to traffic by 1907. Its tracks were originally rails, but were upgraded to rails. The ruling gradient is 1:20, with tight curves, and speed is limited to.The railway was closed because of flood damage in 2005 and was not expected to reopen before April 2007. However, the first run on the repaired railway was on 5 March 2007. The line observed its centenary on 15 April of that year. Service had been suspended during the monsoon season because of the danger of landslides. During the 2012 monsoon season, Central Railway tested the railway's air brakes and, after approval from the Commission of Railway Safety, ran the train during the monsoon for the first time. CR planned to shorten the monsoon service suspension to 15 July – 1 October.
In November 2012, CR added a special coach to trains operating on the line. The saloons have sofas and LCD screens showing images from outside the train. The saloons had been available only to railway officers.
Operator
The MHR and its assets, including the stations, line, and vehicles, belong to the government of India and are entrusted to the Ministry of Railways. Central Railway handles day-to-day maintenance and management, and several programs, divisions, and departments of Indian Railways are responsible for repairs.Rolling stock
Steam locomotives
Consulting engineer Everard Calthrop designed a 0-6-0T, with Klien-Lindner axles for a flexible wheelbase, and four were supplied by Orenstein & Koppel. They ran from the railway's opening in 1907 until 1982, when they were replaced by diesel engines. By 1983, all steam locomotives were phased out. A B-class locomotive from the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was transferred to the Neral–Matheran line in 2001 to test the feasibility of steam excursions. It was sent to the Golden Rock workshops for conversion to oil firing in 2013, and returned to Neral soon afterwards.| MHR No. | ISR No. | Builder | Builder No. | Date | Location |
| 1 | 738 | O & K | 1766 | 1905 | Neral |
| 2 | 739 | O & K | 2342 | 1907 | Delhi |
| 3 | 740 | O & K | 2343 | 1907 | South Tynedale Railway |
| 4 | 741 | O & K | 1767 | 1905 | Matheran |
| 794 | Baldwin | 44914 | 1917 | Neral |
Diesel locomotives
Because of the line's sharp curves, only short-wheelbase four-wheel diesel units can be used; Class NDM1 and NDM6 locomotives are in use. Class NDM1 has two powered units, articulated with a central cab and initially developed by German builder Arn Jung. The non-articulated Class NDM6 was manufactured by the Bangalore builders SAN.| ISR No. | Class | Builder | Builder No. | Date | Status | Notes |
| 400 | NDM-1 | Indian Railways, Parel Works, Mumbai | 2016 | Delivered from Parel January 2016 | In Neral shed awaiting commissioning, 1 April 2016 | |
| 500 | NDM-1 | Jung | 12108 | 1956 | Withdrawn | Originally No. 700 from Kalka-Shimla Railway |
| 501 | NDM-1 | Jung | 12109 | 1956; rebuilt at Parel 2002 | In service | Originally No. 750 |
| 502 | NDM-1 | Jung | 12110 | 1956 | Dismantled for repairs at Neral 1 April 2016 | Originally No. 751 |
| 503 | NDM-1 | Jung | 12111 | 1956 | Withdrawn | Originally No. 752 |
| 504 | NDM-1 | Jung | 12105 | 1956 | Withdrawn | Originally No. 701 from Kalka-Shimla Railway |
| 505 | NDM-1 | Jung | 12107 | 1956 | Withdrawn | Originally No. 703 from Kalka-Shimla Railway |
| 506 | NDM-1 | Jung | 12106 | 1956 | Withdrawn | Originally No. 702 from Kalka-Shimla Railway |
| 550 | NDM-1A | Indian Railways, Parel Works, Mumbai | 2006 | In service | On Aman Lodge shuttle 7/3/15 | |
| 551 | NDM-1A | Indian Railways, Parel Works, Mumbai | 2006 | In service | On Aman Lodge shuttle 7/3/15 | |
| 600 | NDM6 | SAN | 559 | 1997 | In service | Repairs at Neral 1 April 2016 |
| 603 | NDM6 | SAN | 568 | 1998 | In service | Recorded on 7 March 2015 on Aman Lodge shuttle |