Kenilworth author publishes new book on his experiences of travelling the hill railways of Indian subcontinent

Richard Wallace has worked in the bus and rail industry for over fifty years, from a London bus driver, then working on the Underground to heading the representation of Britain’s passenger train operators at European trade and political organisations until retirement.

He still drives buses and coaches commercially and is a volunteer driver at both the London Transport and Black Country museums.

He has written a number of books on rail and bus subjects including the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in 2009 and two books on East Kent, the bus company he first started work at in 1968.

These were published in 2016 and 2019.

Formerly from Kent and London Richard has lived in Kenilworth since 1983 and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Transport.

Management of a London Transport ‘offshore’ development project on scheduling and signalling systems took Richard to India in 1989 and, since then, he has travelled the length and breadth of both India and Pakistan, mostly by rail.

A chance opportunity to travel to the Khyber Pass on its famous railway and its sudden closure literally months after his visit drew his attention to the fact that the story of some of the more obscure hill lines should be recorded before knowledge of them passed into obscurity.

He said: "Detailed research uncovered that many long-held beliefs recorded about a number of these railways were inaccurate, whilst other details were, up to this time, little known or had gone unpublished.

"As such, this book represents the only work where the stories of these seven hill railways have been recorded in a single comprehensive volume."

Hill Railways of the Indian Subcontinent describes seven railways, in what is now India and Pakistan, all of which climbed into the mountain ranges of the subcontinent.

These ranged from the dizzy heights of the Himalayas where one line overlooked the third-highest mountain in the world – the mighty Kanchenjunga - to the gentle Blue Hills of south India but also into the notorious North West Frontier and the Khyber Pass, bordering Afghanistan.

Each line is described in detail by the Richard who has travelled throughout them all except for one.

The details include maps, histories and operations.

A number retained operation by steam locomotives to the end of their days and two still feature regular steam services.

Their individual stories represent a journey through the history of Indian and Pakistan from the colonial era, through independence and into the modern era where three lines have now gained UNESCO ‘World Heritage’ status which Richard has said is "an incredible accomplishment".

The book has been published by Crowood (www.crowood.com) and will be available at through Kenilworth books (www.kenilworthbooks.co.uk) in the town.