Coonoor Railway Station & Tunnel Near Ooty – 4 Postcards 1900
Four old 1900 photo postcards of Coonoor Railway Station and Runnymede Tunnel near Ooty. Coonoor the beautiful quaint little town can be said as the gateway to its more popular sister Ooty. The first rack and pinion-operated steam train of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (MNR) chugged up these hills in June 1899.
Thus smoothening the roughness of a slow and arduous process in the construction of the line. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway’s roots go back to 1854, but its importance was seriously considered only in 1874. Niklaus Riggenbach, the Swiss Engineer and inventor put forward his type of rack and pinion line railway. Because of the high financial investment, his proposed project was declined.
Many alternative proposals were brought in, although these too fell through because of financial reasons. Finally, Riggenbach’s offer was considered for the project in 1880. He was asked to submit an estimation for a rack and pinion railway from Mettupalayam to Coonoor. After many terrible hiccups financially and work-wise, the line was finally opened in 1899 with the first trial run of a steam train. Click on the image for better view.
Did you know – the Nilgiri Mountain Railway was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 15 July 2005.
From the collection – M. Suriyamoorthy Charcoal Untitled 1964 (#18)., View From High Court Calcutta, Old Photo 1880., Bowring Institute Club In Bangalore – Old Postcard 1900., Governor’s Departure From Madras To Calcutta, 1912.
