Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1884-04-23

derful arjeelius-Himalayan railway
gauge two feet Here began the journey up
the mountains, the most remarkable railroad
| ing experience which ever enjoyed, or rath-
| er suffered. The engine was q tiny but pow
erful affair Weighing about ten tons. The
cars were most of them what are called troll
lies, open observation cars. less than five feet
wide and less than eight feet long, and pro-
vided with four wooden benches There was
| canvas canopy overhead. The wheels of
the cars were affixed to adjustable axles, so
that one Wheel might travel faster than an-
other in going around curve The wheels
projected up into the trolly, as in street cars
at home. AS yet no other railroad has
adopted this system. This had the effect of
bringing the platform close to the ground,
which in turn had the effect of leading us to
believe we were fairly flying, when in reality
our speed was medium. In front was what
the timetables proneunced to be q irst-class
| carriage. This statement, further interpre-
ted, would signify that there was a coop pro-
vided with dirty canvas Gu tains and slimsy
seat-oushions. Even an open trolIy was pre-
ferable. On behind was a sort of handcar
containing the mail However ridiculous the
cars, it must be conceded that the engines
and the roadbed were frst-class The toy
locomotive ahead of us dragged our minia-
ture train of seven cars up the stespest in
clines at a rate of seven or eight miles an
hour. That We took all day to make the
the fault of numerous long delays to take on
water, and especially of two stops of half an
hour each for mesfs. The rails were mainly
of fifty-pound iron, even though they were
only two feet apart. This was a display of
wisdom that wider marrow gauges in America
might many of them copy with favorable re-
suits.
We pulled out of the depot with good
deal of flourish, followed close by goods
train" of five cars. For six or seven miles
our course was substantially straight and
substantially level. Then we reached the
foothills and began the ascent. I thought I
knew something about narrow -gauging be-
fore, having travelled a thousand miles
through Colorado on the Denver and Rio
Grands: but I soon discovered the false
foundation of that supposition. 1t stands to
reason that a two-foot road can outdo three
foot road but had not thought train on
a two-foot road could accomplish miracles.
We did. We actually went two ways at once.
This may sound as paradoxical as turning a
grindstone In both directions at once, but we
did it. Our train was short one, but while
half of it would be going north the other
half would be going south. Loops2 We
turned three that made my hair stand on end
the radius of one of them being only fifty
feet ZigzagsP We found plenty of re-
versing stations. Horseshoes There are
none in Colorado, much less in Pennsylvania
Never when have been riding in the most
dangerous places in Colorado or California
have felt unsafe. The cars were solid and
comfortable, the edges of the mountain trails
we're granite, and we had substantial, ortho-
dox locomotives in front of us. Here the
trollies were so rickety that I was afraid to
sneeze for fear it might topple the train over
Much of the time we were riding on the very
margin of precipices as awful as Cape Horn
in California, with the added fact that the
ledge was of a soft, crumbling material. The
platform projected perhaps eighteen inches
over the rail on either side, SO that while the
wheels were somewhat removed from the
ragged edge" could reach out my hand
and let pebble fall hundreds-and in some
cases thousands-of feet. At times would
look down, down, down, and perhaps per-
ceive monkey swinging furiously on long
pendant vine which hung from some tall tree
that had taken root in the mountain side.
Did it make me dizzy? Every individual
hair in my head stood on end with fierce
warlike aspect, while my knees gradually ap-
preached my chin and my writhing pedal ex-
tremities fairly twined about my neck in fe-
yerish uncertainty. I confess I washer
vous. I was not altogether calm. Once
when We were rounding very sharp curve
at gradient of one in seventeen the gallant
but exhausted little engine found itself una
bic to stand the pressure, and took short
ramble on its own account. It strolled off to
within two feet of frightful abyss. and
then paused for reflection, as if half inclined
to believe that the sedate, customary course
might be the best after all. Then there
came to me that awful temptation which be
set poor Lots wife; but unlike her, put it
behind me and trsmpled it under foot
merely wrote note and pinned it to my hat,
establishing the identity of any mangled re-
mains which might be found in proximity to
it, and then heroically boarded the trolly
again. Levers are always? carried these
trains for emergencies like this, and it did
not require much coaxing to induce the frol-
iesome engine to come back to its forsaken
perch, In conversation with the engineer
upon the matter elicited the following i'm
pressive statement: 'Why, my dear sir,
this is nothing. Wait till the rainy season
comes on, and then We engineers are entitled
to your commiseration. The wheels slip on
the rails, there are dangerous landslides
above and below rs, and we go solely by
faith. Sometimes it takes from daylight to
dusk to get train through. 10 trains are
allowed to run at night"
The ground proved to be a soft shale, so
rich in mica that the hillsides glistened under
the suns rays Frequently We came to cuts
which showed veins of coal but these, like
the mica, ere not of a quality which would
Justify mining The scenery has not that
soft, subdued look that marked the noun
tains of Japan nor is it SO ragged and saw
age as that in some parts of Colorado. But
it is vast beyond anything have ever hither-
to dreamed of, and beyond anything else in
the world suppose. There is something
almost oppressive in the illimitabls expanse
which the eye is able compass in all direc-
tions At least there would be if it were not
for the clouds which shift and shift, and
never tire of shifting It is like grand ma
tional kaleidoscope. At this season of the
year you can never see all of any one of the
great mountains at time; and as the clouds
are never twice in exactly the same position,
the scenery is worthy of constant study
Thus in addition to the element OF immensi-
ty there is the element of perennial variety.
The clouds only clear away altogether at Ger
tain times in the winter months.
This narrow gauge railroad is built right
at the side of mountain cart road, which 1t
crosses and recrosses with bewildering FREE
quency. Occasionally our train would en-
counter a cavalcade of OK carts standing and
waiting for us to pass. Each driver held his
oxen by the horns while we slowly and noise
lessly passed. The danger at such times is
mutual. When the carts are loaded with
bamboo poles and the oxen wheel quickly
away from the train, the poles are very apt
to stab unsuspecting passengers on the troll
lies.
There was one great natural horseshoe, up |
the sides of which we travelled by making |
three complete detours one above another.
At another place fellow passenger pointed |
to village just one-quarter of a mile above
US ard said SIT will take us over an hour
10 get there without stops, as the distance by
rail is six miles ~ After We had gone about
'orty niles, and were at a summit command
ng magnificent prospect, the same fellow
passenger pointed ont Siliguri to me, and the
traight stretch of track over which we
had passed upon the sandy plains-sthe
title black ribbon that fecked the white"
f I may be allowed to paraphrase Jean
ngelow. Often the telegraph wires made
straight Stretch of half mile from one
hillside to another, being supported on iron
,oles 1 do not suppose the telegraph line
8 half as long Gs the railroad. In some
,laces there was an easier and longer route,
ver which the goods trains" were taken.
Iven then the goods would have to be tied
pon the cars.
As we went up it grew colder and colder,
ntil We donned our overcoats and even then
hivered at the nippinR temperature. L do
ot suppose such rapid and complete changes
q climate are at all healtbful. IT not, I sim
erely pity the train attaches. On we went
through oceansAof cloud until Ghoom, the
xtrsme summit station was reached Then
Ie commenced gentle descent which con-
nued during the remaining four miles to
'arjeeling. As we pulled out of Gheom