Not far from McLeod Ganj, all the way from plains of Punjab and Haryana winds its way one if Indian toy trains. That's narrow gauge. It was built by Brits during the Raj. And apparently, bridges were very fashionable at that time. There are 950 of them. Some of them are still considered masterpieces even by modern day standards. Still when you ask at the tourist info in McLeod Ganj about timetable, they are surprised. Why the hell you want to take the train?
And they may have a point. It really is not a tourist attraction. 950 bridges is a cheat. You get this number when you count every little bridging. Weren't every bridge numbered you would not notice. There are onyl few big spectacular ones. (And most of them – suprisingly – is in the direction of plains, that is between Pathankot and Kangra.)
Hour long delays are usual but the ticket from Kangra to Palampur is only Rs 5. The trip is 29 km long and it takes two hours. Ticket controller does not come around to control. If you wave a red flag at train, it stops. In much the same way works mighty screaming in the station – if somebody did not get on before the train started going. Carriages look just like those in Thailand that go over Bridge over river Kwai. They only shrunk a little and somebody claimed them to be second class (in Thailand it third).
Few pictures from the toy train trip
