For those desperate to escape from the daily, mirage-chasing, big city life, a day-spend around the picturesque railway station at Salogra, tucked away along the mountain railway route between Kalka and Shimla is indeed the ideal reprieve needed to recharge oneself. Located 53 kilometres from Kalka railway station, Salogra can be reached by one of the narrow-gauge trains which stop here daily, on their way up to Shimla.
As you detrain at the station, the yellow & black painted board proudly proclaims the station name, “SALOGRA”, with a small post script, “1509 metres above MSL”. Reading it, you suddenly you wake up to the crisp chill of the mountain air.
For the Railway buff, the station master will gladly unravel many of the hidden railway treasures which the station staff guard zealously. The cottage-like station building itself was commissioned in 1905; and it still uses a heritage British parcel weighing machine of 1914 manufactured by Avery. The signal lever hut manages the control of trains with a vintage ten-lever frame. But the most amazing items are the tracks as old as 1892 (72 lb Barrow Steel) and 1903 (60 ib Dowlais Steel), still in working condition in the station yard. Perhaps, they are the oldest functioning railway tracks in the world!
Just below the station is the picturesque camping arena of the Northern Railway’s Bharat Scouts and Guides. During springtime, the cherry and apple blossoms dance to the winds whispering through the deodar & pinewoods above. Himalayan Magpies and Wrens accompany the visitors with their lilting calls as one treks down the bridle path towards the campsite. The gurgle of a gushing stream guides you to the reservoir which supplies water to the inhabitants of this quaint hillside railway settlement. As the sun sets over the station, one can enjoy its crimson reflection on Shimla city far to the north, while the romantic hoot of the afternoon train beckons the rail enthusiast, as it twists down the mountainside on its way to the plains below!
Text and Photos: SANJOY MOOKERJEE