DHR: Suspension of New Jalpaiguri-Siliguri-Darjeeling Services
Due to rock falls at Pagla Jhora the daily service between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling is suspended until further notice.
Other DHR services between Kurseong and Darjeeling are unaffected, although the frequency of the Darjeeling-Ghum- Darjeeling ‘Joy Trains’ is currently reduced during the monsoon season.
Intending travellers are advised to check locally with the DHR authorities before finalising travel plans.
DHR Society Celebrates 20th Anniversary
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society (DHRS) has celebrated its 20th anniversary and twenty years of supporting the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) with a major event at the garden railway of its President, Adrian Shooter CBE.
On 1 July under a clear blue sky and ‘Indian Summer’ weather some 170 DHRS members, families and friends enjoyed a day at the narrow-gauge Beeches Light Railway in Oxfordshire with steam action provided by three locomotives, all with strong links to India.
The event was also the public launch of the DHRS’s latest publication – the definitive story and history of the iconic DHR B Class, acknowledged as the world’s oldest and still operational fleet of British-built narrow-gauge locomotives. Author David Churchill was presented with the very first copy of the book by Society President, Adrian Shooter.
Said Vice Chairman Paul Whittle “This was a hugely enjoyable and successful event. Indian Railways acknowledge the wide variety of support we give, and we look forward to another 20 years of helping them conserve and develop their world famous, world heritage Darjeeling Railway”.
A full report plus photographs will feature in the next issue (August 2018) of the Society’s highly-regarded quarterly magazine ‘The Darjeeling Mail’.
Not a DHRS member already? – do consider joining us. UK membership is only £20 per year and you can join on-line. You will be most welcome!
See pictures below
The Incredible 'B' Class
At last, the definitive story of Darjeeling's 'B' Class Locomotive
The history, build details and operating practices, and it includes detailed plans for model makers too. It expands considerably on the knowledge base we have from previous publications and will prove to be the definitive work on this iconic class of locomotives which have worked on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway since 1889! Written by David Churchill, probably the world’s foremost authority on Darjeeling Locomotives, it balances diligent research with information from the DHRS archive and the support of friends with specific expertise. The book also covers the locomotives initially delivered to the Raipur Forest Tramway and those subsequently sold to Coal India to work at Tipong in Assam. No-one with an interest in the DHR or the surrounding area should be without it.
Gloss laminated soft cover with 128 pages
with SEWN BINIDINGS, 282 x 210mm.
Price £22.50 plus postage. UK £3.00, EC £6.50 Rest of World £9.00
