Sunday 4 August 2013

Unesco Protected Toy Train from Mettupayalam to Ooty

The Unesco Protected Mountain Train that climbs to more than 4000 metres as it makes its way from Mettupayalam to Ooty in Tamil Nadu

The tiny steam engine chugs along through lush forests, 23 tunnels and I can't remember how many bridges.


Just several hundred metres high at this point, the town of Mettupayalam lies in the distant valley.

The train stops for toilet breaks but, more importantly, to get a greasing and more water to create the steam.

Yours truly, hanging on to a stationary train!

Another tunnel



The oddest things made me nostalgic. Runneymede Station!






Lush vegetation and tea plantations





The hotel in Ooty where I crashed for the night

Sacred Heart Catholic Church in the background, Ooty

Government Offices in a former colonial estate

An intriguing white pine in the Ooty Botanical Gardens

Me posing in auto-rickshaw parked at the Botanical Gardens

The colonial gate house entrance to the Botanical Gardens

The canon - a reminder of the past

Homesick at the smallest things - the toy train (steam train) stops at Runneymede and I cannot resist taking a picture.

No comments:

Post a Comment