KHYBER STREAM SAFARI

 

The Khyber stream safari is a unique train ride through the legendary Khyber Pass. By antiquated stream mechanism. The stream locomotives, Hgs 2-8-os, one in the rear and one up front, haul the carriages through the Khyber. Every burst of stream or whoop of the whistle echoes the history and myth to the Khyber. The train threads its way through 34 tunnels, crossing 92 bridges and culverts dimbs up to 12000mts. The British built the rail road in 1900 at an enormous cost of rupees 2 million. Two or three coaches are pulled and pushed by two 1920 model steam engines. At one point, the track climbs 130mts in less then a kilometer by means of the famous Shagai Spur, a section of the track shaped like a “W” with two reversing stations. The legendary Khyber Pass beings at a distance of 18kms, west of Peshawar near the Jamrud fort. Jamrud, entrance to the Khyber Pass witnessed the iron kiss in 1901 and 1905. The railway track is a great feat from engineering point of view. It has ruling gradient of three percent between Jamrud and Landikotal, 3494 feet above sea level, a rise of nearly 2000 feet in twenty one miles. The track then drops 872 feet in seven kms to landikhana. This is one of the most historical and interesting train journeys in the world today. Riding this steam locomotive will not only take you back in the historical past but also will add to a memory of a lifetime.