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44-487: "Toy train" usually refers to a reduced-scale model of a train for children to play with. Some similar but larger vehicles are made for children to ride in, typically in parks and playgrounds; often they run on tires and not tracks. If they are meant to resemble trains then these too are called toy trains. Small trains are sometimes also called toy trains. In India, many trains that run on meter-gauge tracks and that are meant for adults are called toy trains. The trains that run on

88-510: A German firm that specialized in doll house accessories, sought to create an equivalent toy for boys where a constant revenue stream could be ensured by selling add-on accessories for years after the initial purchase. In addition to boxed sets containing a train and track, Märklin offered extra track, rolling stock, and buildings sold separately, creating the predecessor to the modern model train layout featuring buildings and scenery in addition to an operating train. Electric trains followed, with

132-464: A rack is employed – unless, indeed, one can so describe the squat and stolid hill-man who sits perched over the forward buffers of the engine and scatters sand on the rails when the wheels of the engine lose their grip of the metals and race, with the noise of a giant spring running down when the control has been removed. Sometimes we cross our own track after completing the circuit of a cone, at others we zigzag backwards and forwards; but always we climb at

176-575: A steady gradient – so steady that if one embarks in a trolley at Ghum , the highest point on the line, the initial push supplies all the energy necessary to carry one to the bottom. The trip to Darjeeling by rail has changed little since that time, and remains popular with travelers and rail enthusiasts. Like tea and the Ghurka culture, the DHR has become an essential feature of the landscape and an enduring part of Darjeeling's identity. Several films have depicted

220-407: A steam tramway from Siliguri to Darjeeling. Ashley Eden , lieutenant governor of Bengal , formed a committee to assess the project's feasibility. The proposal was accepted in 1879 after a positive report by the committee, and construction began that year. Gillanders, Arbuthnot and Company was hired to construct the line and, by March 1880, track was laid as far as Tindharia , and Lord Lytton ,

264-506: A train with a TV camera in the front of the engine and hooked up to a screen, such as computer monitor. This will show an image, similar to that of a real (smaller size) railroad. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway , also known as the DHR or the Toy Train , is a 610 mm ( 2 ft ) gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in

308-473: Is a very minor issue with such systems that focus rather on sturdiness, avoiding sharp edges and avoiding parts that could be a choking hazard. Although the words "scale" and "gauge" are often used interchangeably, many toy train manufacturers historically had little concern with depicting accurate scale. American Flyer tended to boast its closer accuracy compared to other manufacturers. The terms "O scale" and "S scale" tend to imply serious scale modeling, while

352-470: Is designed such that it can also be used outside much like a garden train . The other system is designed for preschool children or even toddlers. An example of a system aimed at the very young is offered among others by the company "Wader Toys". This includes tracks for road and rail as well as waterways. The elements are very simple in design, sturdy and washable as they are thought for play including such environments as sandboxes, mud and water. To scale detail

396-402: Is seven millimeters to the foot. U.S. manufacturers rounded it down to 1:48, which is a quarter-inch to the foot. However, most engaged in a practice of selective compression in order to make the trains fit in a smaller space, causing the actual scale to vary, and numerous manufacturers produced 1:64 scale trains—the proper size for S gauge—in O gauge, especially for cost-conscious lines. Some of

440-609: The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway are an example. For highly accurate train models made for serious hobbyists and collectors, the term "model train" is preferred. The first widely adopted standards for toy trains running on track were introduced in Leipzig , Germany in 1891 by Märklin . See also List of rail transport modelling scales . Z Gauge [1:220] N Gauge [1:160] HO Gauge [1:87] S Gauge [1:64] O Gauge [1:43 to 1:48, varies] G Gauge [1:20] Märklin measured

484-665: The Ffestiniog Railway , the Launceston Steam Railway and the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway during this time. In 2023, it was sold at auction to a newly formed trust who will keep it at the Statfold Barn Railway , and after the next overhaul plan to take the locomotive to other 2 ft gauge railways. The line follows Hill Cart Road, which is part of National Highway 110 . The track is on

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528-477: The Indian state of West Bengal . Built between 1879 and 1881, it is about 88 km (55 mi) long. It climbs from about 100 m (330 ft) above sea level at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 m (7,200 ft) at Darjeeling, using six zig zags and three loops (originally five) to gain altitude. Ghum station is situated at an altitude of 2,258 metres (7,407 ft). Six diesel locomotives handle most of

572-496: The 1989 Railway Act and the stipulations governing public property. It is now headed by the director, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. All the steam locomotives currently in use on the railway are 0-4-0 ST B-Class , built by Sharp, Stewart and Company and later the North British Locomotive Company between 1889 and 1925. A total of 34 were built but, by 2005, only 12 were still in use or being repaired by

616-590: The DHR) became part of the North Eastern Railway zone in 1952, and part of Indian Railways ' Northeast Frontier Railway zone six years later. In 1962, the railway was realigned at Siliguri and extended by nearly 6 km (3.7 mi) to New Jalpaiguri (NJP) to meet the new broad-gauge line there. The extension began freight service that year, and passenger service in 1964. The locomotive shed and carriage depot at Siliguri Junction were moved to NJP. The railway

660-747: The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the second the Nilgiri Mountain Railway , and the third the Kalka–Shimla Railway . The documentaries, directed by Tarun Bhartiya, Hugo Smith and Nick Mattingly, were produced by Gerry Troyna. The documentary on Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was directed by Tarun Bhartiya. The series won the UK Royal Television Society Award in June 2010. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society (DHRS)

704-659: The NDM-6 class. The DHR purchased the third Garratt locomotive built, a D Class 0-4-0+0-4-0 T , in 1910. Only one DHR steam locomotive has been taken out of India: DHR 778 (originally No. 19). After many years out of use at the Hesston Steam Museum , it was sold to Adrian Shooter in the UK and restored to working order. It was based for nearly 20 years at the privately owned Beeches Light Railway in Oxfordshire , and visited

748-468: The company Eichhorn, refers to a variant of the connecting system used by some modern wooden track producers. The tracks don't use rails as such but rather grooves set apart a certain distance. The same "gauge" is used by the "Lionel Great American Adventure series" produced by Learning Curve, the Plarail system from Tomy and Trackmaster . Although the rolling stock of each system may be used to some extent on

792-534: The earliest O gauge trains made of tinplate weren't scale at all, made to unrealistic, whimsical proportions similar in length to modern HO scale, but anywhere from one and a half to two times as wide and tall. Some adult fans of toy trains operate their trains, while others only collect. Some toy train layouts are accessorized with scale models in an attempt to be as realistic as possible, while others are accessorized with toy buildings, cars, and figures. Some hobbyists will only buy accessories that were manufactured by

836-539: The first viceroy to visit Darjeeling, rode to Tindharia on the train. Colonel F.S. Taylor, R.E., Consulting Engineer to the Government of India for Guaranteed Railways, and Franklin Prestage inspected the line and authorised the stretch from Siliguri to Kurseong open for traffic from 16 August 1880. It opened a few days later on 23 August 1880. The stretch from Siliguri to Darjeeling opened on 4 July 1881. The company's name

880-434: The first appearing in 1897, produced by the U.S. firm Carlisle & Finch . As residential use of electricity became more common in the early 20th century, electric trains gained popularity and as time went on, these electric trains grew in sophistication, gaining lighting, the ability to change direction, to emit a whistling sound, to smoke, to remotely couple and uncouple cars and even load and unload cargo. Toy trains from

924-406: The first half of the 20th century were often made of lithographed tin ; later trains were often made mostly of plastic . Prior to the 1950s, there was little distinction between toy trains and model railroads—model railroads were toys by definition. Pull toys and wind-up trains were marketed towards children, while electric trains were marketed towards teenagers , particularly teenaged boys. It

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968-480: The gauge as the distance between the centers of the two outer rails, rather than the distance between the outer rails themselves. Lionel's standard gauge is allegedly the result of Lionel's misreading these standards, as are the variances in O gauge between the United States and Europe. Most of these standards never really caught on, due to their large size, which made them impractical to use indoors, as well as

1012-529: The high price of manufacturing. Wide gauge trains, which are close in size to 2 gauge, are produced in limited quantities today, as are 1 gauge and O gauge trains. Of these, O gauge is the most popular. The modern standards for toy trains also include S gauge , HO scale , N scale , and Z scale , in descending order of size. HO and N scale are the most popular model railway standards of today; inexpensive sets sold in toy stores and catalogs are less realistic than those sold to hobbyists. O gauge arguably remains

1056-498: The metre gauge system ends and the two-foot gauge of the Darjeeling-Himalayan railway begins, confirms what all these things hint at ... One steps into a railway carriage which might easily be mistaken for a toy, and the whimsical idea seizes hold of one that one has accidentally stumbled into Lilliput. With a noisy fuss out of all proportion to its size the engine gives a jerk – and starts ... No special mechanical device such as

1100-426: The most popular toy train standard. Another size that is attracting interest among hobbyists is building and operating trains from Lego , or L gauge , which is roughly 1/38 scale. A "de facto" standard is used by some companies making wooden toy trains that run on wooden tracks. This is usually referred to as " Brio " or " Thomas " compatible in reference to two major companies. The term "Vario System" introduced by

1144-525: The railway was also affected, although it soon recovered and played a vital role in transporting repair materials. During World War II , the DHR transported military personnel and supplies to the camps around Ghum and Darjeeling. In 1951, the railway was purchased by the Indian government and absorbed into the government railway organisation before it was managed by the Assam Railway . Assam Railway (including

1188-602: The railway works were relocated from behind the locomotive shed to a larger site. The Batasia Loop was constructed in 1919, creating easier gradients on the ascent from Darjeeling. The DHR began facing competition from buses operating on the Hill Cart Road which took less time than the railway to reach Darjeeling. In 1934, a major earthquake in Bihar shook all of Northeast India. Many buildings in Darjeeling were heavily damaged and

1232-480: The railway. In 2002, No. 787 was rebuilt for oil firing on the same principle as that used on Nilgiri Mountain Railway No. 37395. A diesel-powered generator was fitted to operate the oil burner and an electrically driven feed pump, and a diesel-powered compressor was fitted to power the braking system. The locomotive was also fitted with a feedwater heater . The rebuild dramatically changed its appearance. Trials of

1276-529: The railway. Protagonist Rajesh Khanna sings " Mere Sapno Ki Rani " to heroine Sharmila Tagore , who is on the train, in the 1969 film Aradhana . Other films which include the railway are Barfi! , Parineeta and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman . An anthropomorphized version of one of the B-Class locomotives appears briefly in Disney's Planes (2013) when an airplane flies through a tunnel and nearly collides with

1320-676: The refitted locomotive were disappointing, and it never entered regular service; in early 2011, it was in the Tindharia Works awaiting re-conversion to coal-firing. In early 2019, B787 was restored cosmetically and is now displayed on a plinth outside Siliguri Junction station. In March 2001, No. 794 was transferred to the Matheran Hill Railway for a "joy train" (a steam-hauled tourist train) on that railway. It entered service there in May 2002. Six diesel locomotives are in use: Nos. 600–605 of

1364-546: The rights to the Plasticville-like buildings produced by Marx from the 1950s to the 1970s). However, due to their high cost, one is more likely to find an HO scale or N scale train set in a toy store than an O scale set. Many modern electric toy trains contain sophisticated electronics that emit digitized sound effects and allow the operator to safely and easily run multiple remote control trains on one loop of track. In recent years, many toy train operators will operate

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1408-399: The roadside for long stretches, and both track and road might be blocked by a rockslide . Since a length of the road is flanked with buildings, the railway line often resembles urban tramway tracks. To warn pedestrians and drivers of an approaching train, engines are equipped with very loud horns and whistles which train drivers sound almost constantly. A major difficulty faced by the DHR

1452-646: The same company who made their trains. This practice is most common among fans of Marx and Lionel. The earliest toy trains were made of lead and had no moving parts. Some had wheels that turned, but these had to be pushed or pulled. A few of the early 19th-century push toy trains were made of tinplate, like the large, durable, stylized locomotive toys in the U.S., which were painted red and gold and decorated with hearts and flowers. Around 1875, technological advancements in materials and manufacturing allowed tin to be stamped, cut, rolled, and lithographed faster than ever before. Toy trains were revolutionized when Märklin ,

1496-438: The scheduled service, with daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum – India's highest railway station – and the steam-hauled Red Panda service from Darjeeling to Kurseong . Steam-enthusiast specials are hauled by vintage British-built B-Class steam locomotives . The railway's headquarters are at Kurseong. On 5 December 1999, UNESCO declared the DHR a World Heritage Site . Two more railway lines were later added, and

1540-524: The site became known as one of the mountain railways of India . Siliguri , at the base of the Himalayas , was connected with Calcutta (now Kolkata) by a metre gauge railway in 1878. Between Siliguri and Darjeeling, Tonga services ran on a cart road – the present-day Hill Cart Road . Franklin Prestage , an agent of the Eastern Bengal Railway , approached the government with a proposal to lay

1584-451: The stations, line and vehicles, is owned by the government of India and entrusted to the Ministry of Railways . The Northeast Frontier Railway documented the railway in a comprehensive register, and handles its day-to-day maintenance and management. Several programs, divisions and departments of Indian Railways are responsible for operating, maintaining and repairing the DHR. It is protected by

1628-494: The terms "O gauge" and "S gauge" tend to imply toy trains manufactured by Lionel and American Flyer , respectively. While S gauge is fairly consistent at 1:64 scale, O gauge trains represent a variety of sizes. O gauge track happens to be 1/45 the size of real-world standard gauge track, so manufacturers in Continental Europe have traditionally used 1:45 for O gauge trains. British manufacturers rounded this up to 1:43, which

1672-423: The tracks of other systems the compatibility beyond simple straight track and large radius curves may be rather limited. Playmobil is an example of a company that offers a complete play world system based on its small plastic dolls and has later extended its play world to railways. It has developed two train systems to date. One is aimed at larger children using electric trains and remote control. This track system

1716-545: The train. The BBC series " The World About Us " made a documentary episode about the Indian Railways in 1975, titled "The Romance of Indian Railways". The documentary included a section on Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, with colour footage of the original steam trains in use. The BBC made a series of three documentaries on the mountain railways of India, which was first broadcast in February 2010. The first episode covers

1760-414: Was changed to Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Company. Although the railway originally followed Hill Cart Road, the steepness of the road was more than the locomotives could handle in some areas. In 1882, four loops and four zig-zags were built between Sukna and Gayabari to ease the gradient to a uniform 1 in 28. The line was extended by a quarter-mile to Darjeeling Bazar in 1886. The Darjeeling station

1804-534: Was closed for 18 months during the Gorkhaland hostilities in 1988 and 1989. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999. Following the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, the service was stopped for 18 months from March 2020 to August 2021. On 25 August 2021, the service was restarted from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling with the new vistadome coaches for the tourists. The DHR and its assets, including

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1848-531: Was during the 1950s that the modern emphasis on realism in model railroading started to catch on. Consumer interest in trains as toys waned in the late 1950s, but has experienced resurgence since the late 1990s due in large part to the popularity of Thomas the Tank Engine . Today, S gauge and O gauge railroads are still considered toy trains even by their adherents and are often accessorized with semi-scale model buildings by Plasticville or K-Line (who owns

1892-627: Was renovated in 1891 and Kurseong got a new station building and storage shed in 1896, but the railway was affected by an 1897 earthquake and a major cyclone in 1899. In 1902, heavy rains caused many landslips along the route and the Teesta bridge was washed away. Services were maintained with transhipments at the breaks. In 1910, the DHR carried 174,000 passengers and 47,000 tons of goods. The first bogie carriages entered service, replacing basic four-wheel carriages. DHR extension lines were built to Kishanganj in 1914 and Gielkhola in 1915. At Tindharia,

1936-428: Was the steepness of the terrain. Loops and zig-zags were incorporated along the route to achieve a comfortable gradient . When the train moves forward, reverses and then moves forward again (climbing a slope while doing so), it gains altitude along the side of the hill. The Earl of Ronaldshay described a journey on the railway in the early 1920s: Siliguri is palpably a place of meeting ... The discovery that here

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