Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Happy 100

The Coonoor - Udhagamandalam (OOTY) mountain railway train, which was featured in Bollywood blockbuster song " Chhaiyya Chhaiyya" in the film "Dil Se", will turn 100 on October 15. A star attraction for tourists, it offers a breathtaking view of the enchanting flora and fauna of the Nilgiris. It was on October 15, 1908 that the first train chugged in Udhagamandalam (OOTY) from Coonoor, much to the delight of the local people. This 18 km lomg line is part of the 46-km long mettupalayam- Udhagamandalam Nilgiris Mountain Railway (NMR), which has been accorded UNESCO world heritage status. While the NMR, an engineering marvel which uses a rack and pinion system, was thrown open to the Public on June 15,1899, it was extended upto Udhagamandalam only in 1908. In 1882 Swedish inventor Riggenbach came up with the idea of a "Nilgiri Railway".

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