Toy story

This July, Matheran Light Railway's fate as a World Heritage Site will be decided at the 34th session of the World Heritage Committee. Exactly 103 years after the first steam-propelled toy train chugged out of Neral, Fiona Fernandez and Bipin Kokate hopped on for a voyage to India's tiniest hill station

It doesn't take very much for 30 year-olds to turn into five year-olds. The sight of a toy train is stimulus enough. The sun had barely airbrushed the March sky but Neral railway station had already warmed up to an impending picnic.

Trigger-happy tourists would've shamed the Japs while cooing honeymooners found unimaginable spots to pose for shutterbugs. Amidst this amusing charade, our toy train was being assembled, bogie-wise all six of them.

Only On Horseback

Discovered by Hugh Poyntz Malet in 1850, then Collector of Thane, Matheran lies 2,700 feet above sea level. There are roughly 25 points, with about 35 miles of road and pathway on the hilltop.
u00a0
Matheran is India's only hill station with a complete ban on vehicles. Horses, ponies and hand pulled rickshaws are the only means of transport.

Walking is a good idea to reach its charming attractions like Echo Point, Panorama Point, Louisa Point, One Tree Hill, Lord Point, Monkey Point, Porcupine Point and Charlotte Lake, which supplies water to Matheran.

Well, clearly some lovelorn soul in the Railways felt 35 seconds is all it takes to get cosy and named this blink-and-you miss tunnel, One Kiss Tunnel.

u00a0
It is en route Jumma Patti and Water Pipe stations, and is the lone tunnel along the MLR. Heartwarming to note that the folks who designed the signage had a sense of humour.

Finally, the crowning glory, the steam engine majestically rolled out of the car shed, dressed in its colonial splendour.

An ear-piercing whistle alerted the travelling circus to get on board. We were offu00e2u0080u00a6 to the wooded, green top of Matheran.

History, On Track

The Matheran Light Railway was thrown open to the public on March 22, 1907. The nearly 21-km route stretches from Neral to Matheran, which lies at an elevation of 803 metres.

Part of the Mountain Railways of India, Matheran Light Railway (MLR) became the preferred getaway for Mumbai's British population, especially.

To quote from the 1935 edition of the Times of India Directory, "Matheran is a hill station and sanitarium, about 2,500 feet above sea level and is a favourite resort during the hot season and after the rains.
u00a0
Visitors to Matheran are conveyed up the hill from Neral by the Matheran Steam Tramway... The climate is salubrious."

Railway Rollercoaster

Clearly little had changed. It was the middle-of-exam season. Yet the toy train was choc-a-bloc. As our blue-and-yellow coloured locomotive moved labouriously on the two-foot, single-track, narrow gauge track, we marvelled at this engineering feat (see box), truly worthy of a spot on the World Heritage Site list.
u00a0
The might of the Sahyadris, with thickly wooded ridges and rocky promontories jutting into mid-air over 2,000 feet below made for fantastic window viewing as the sun shadow-played on the topography.

The stations along the way Jumma Patti and Water Pipe were mere formalities, except to allow for train crossings from the opposite direction. Refreshing nimbu-pani breaks from stalls at these stations came as welcome relief as temperatures soared.
u00a0
Along the way, cormorants, hawks and mynas played hide-and-seek with the winding railroad. The train crisscrossed swathes of dry, deciduous forest, as golden-hued grass glistened in the crisp, morning air.

Inside the cushioned comfort of our first class compartment (to seat eight), we pored over this picturesque landscape, remembering History class with uncharacteristic fondness. There's never a dearth of storytellers.
u00a0
Regulars will tell you about the commando-like feats of most famous simian inhabitants of Matheran. The Macaque and Langurs are fond of pinching expensive cameras with ease that would put Mumbai chain-snatchers to shame.

Our travelling companions, an outdoor-happy couple pointed to Peb Fort in the distance. Later, a curiously shaped standing rock-cut idol of Lord Ganesha emerged from the rock facades to invite a flurry of camera activity and long-distance chanting.

As we neared Dasturi Point, the entry point into Matheran, the familiar red laterite soil outlined every view from our toy train. This is the limit up to where motor vehicles can reach.

Horses, mules and ponies dotted the landscape, in their multiple roles, including that of goods carrier and tourist transport.

It was 9.30 am and we'd steamrolled into Matheran. Peppered with nostalgia, a degree of quaintness associated with this British legacy and good old-fashioned picnicking made for a pleasant journey.
u00a0
What made the welcome doubly warm was that this hill station takes its unique, eco-friendly avatar rather seriously.

With capitation tax (entry fee Rs 25, per head), pollution-free environs, relatively controlled commercialisation, one hopes that this miniature, near-Utopian slice of paradise (if you ignore the weekend cacophony) will bolster MLR's chances of making it to the prestigious WHS list.

Monkey Business

Hanuman Langurs and Bonneted Macaques abound in this elevated hilltop. In fact, these aggressive simians co-exist with humans on a love-hate relationship basis.

They can either be spotted giving unknowing tourists a hard time or on other occasions comfortably ignorant of their evolved cousins, within such close proximity.

They even have a tourist attraction dedicated to them, Monkey Point, where they can be spotted in all their swinging, jungle-inspired frenzy.

Brass Tracks About MIR

The railway took three years to build, with a share capital of Rs 1,00,000
MLR ascends at an average gradient of 1 in 25 (maximum gradient of 1 in 20 i.e. limit of an adhesion railway; a steeper gradient will lead to slipping).
It has 121 bridges, one tunnel (One Kiss Tunnel), a steep, winding gradient and 221 incredibly sharp curves.
The 20-km line was washed away in the 2005 floods but was restored by the Railways.

Check List

Best Time: October-May
Must Haves: Walking shoes, sunblock, adequate water, food, liquids for the two-hour journey; hawkers are rare and don't stock much variety.
Avoid: Littering en route or when you reach Matheran; it's an eco-sensitive zone; disposeu00a0 trash at the end of your journey.

How To Reach

Train: Board any Karjat or Khopoli bound train on the Central Railway. Frequency varies from 20 to 35 minutes. Alight at Neral to get on the toy train.

Check https://www.irctc.com/ for updated Neral-Matheran train schedules. The service is sometimes terminated during the monsoon.

Road: You can share a cab from Neral, to reach in 20 to 30 minutes. Or else drive up in your vehicle and park it at Dasturi Point; it's 2.5 km from the railway station.

Heritage Status Beckons

The Matheran Light Railway faces stiff competition from Maharaja I Singh II's Jantar Mantar in Jaipur.
u00a0
Besides, three sites of the Indian Railways are on UNESCO's tentative list: Churchgate building, Railways Oak Grove School in Mussoorie and Maharaja Railway or the Gwalior Light Railway (GLR).

The other three mountain railways, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway and Kalka-Shimla Railway are already on UNESCO's World Heritage Site list.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels