Khyber Pass, Pakistan, 23/12/1993
Photographs of a charter train on the Khyber Pass Railway in December 1993. This railway, with broad gauge track, 5ft 6ins (1,676mm), was opened in 1926 for strategic reasons to reach the border with Afghanistan. It rises 2,000 feet in 21 miles and has a ruling gradient of 1 in 33 (3%), with reverses at zig-zags, requiring a locomotive on each end of the train.
The tour group’s railway carriages had been attached to an “express” train to travel overnight north-west from Malakwal to Peshawar, to connect with the charter train up the Khyber Pass. However, there had been problems with the express train’s diesel locomotive causing a severe delay which placed the trip up the Khyber Pass in doubt. Fortunately, arrival in Peshawar in the late morning and a rush in minibuses to the charter train in nearby Jamrud station allowed a curtailed trip up the Khyber Pass Railway as far as Shahgai, rather than to the intended Landi Kotal, near the Afghan border. Since this included the steep start of the Khyber Pass with its zig-zags, there was great relief and little disappointment.
Members of the tour group could travel on the train or, to photograph it, in the minibuses along the Khyber Pass road. Most decided to photograph the train going up the Khyber Pass and travel on the train when it returned down. A little alarmingly, armed guards travelled both on the train and in the minibuses for security.
1-of-10) Broad gauge, oil fired, class HGS 2-8-0 2216 (Kitson, 1914) at the rear of the charter train at Jamrud, near Peshawar, Pakistan, ready for the tour group to head up the Khyber Pass in the distance. There is a similar locomotive at the front of the train.
2-of-10) Broad gauge, oil fired, class HGS 2-8-0 2264 (Kitson, 1920) at the front of the charter train at Jamrud, ready to head up the Khyber Pass.
Two things are noticeable: the locomotive is dressed up even more gaudily than normal, and the armed guard - one of several who travelled for security on the train and in the minibuses used to carry members of the tour group who wanted to photograph the train in action.
3-of-10) Broad gauge, oil fired class HGS 2-8-0 steam locomotives start to climb up the Khyber Pass with the charter train.
4-of-10) Broad gauge, oil fired class HGS 2-8-0 steam locomotives power the charter train up the Khyber Pass. The train is traversing one of the zig-zags to gain height. The train has come up the track in the foreground, has then reversed on the right and is now heading up again to the left.
5-of-10) Broad gauge, oil fired class HGS 2-8-0 steam locomotives power the charter train up the Khyber Pass.
6-of-10) Broad gauge, oil fired, class HGS 2-8-0 2216, with 2264 at the rear, prepare for a run-past with the charter train at Shahgai, on the Khyber Pass.
Note the local tribesmen are asserting their right to free travel on the trains, a condition of the railway being constructed through their land.
7-of-10) Broad gauge, oil fired, class HGS 2-8-0 2216, with 2264 at the rear, perform a run-past for photographers with the charter train at Shahgai, on the Khyber Pass.
8-of-10) Broad gauge, oil fired, class HGS 2-8-0 2216, with 2264 at the rear, perform a run-past for photographers with a charter train at Shahgai, on the Khyber Pass. Local tribesmen are asserting their right to free travel on the trains; a condition of the railway being constructed through their land.
9-of-10) Broad gauge, oil fired, class HGS 2-8-0 2216 heads the charter train back down the Khyber Pass in the late afternoon.
10-of-10) Broad gauge, oil fired steam locomotive, class HGS 2-8-0 2216 (Kitson, 1914) with the charter train back at Jamrud, near Peshawar, having just returned from the Khyber Pass in the late afternoon.
The photographs in these railway photograph galleries are available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. Attribution should include a link to www.nigeltout.com.