| Mettupalayam-Coonor-Ooty | | | | on the grooved surface of the pinion axle. This can |
| Coonoor is at the corner of Nilgiri plateau and is about | | | | be used in any place where the rack is laid down. |
| 6,000 feet above the sea level. Coonoor has been | | | | The brake system on Nilgiri locomotives is very |
| the terminus for the Nilgiri from last 8 years. The | | | | complicated even after hundreds of years as it was |
| government did the extension of Coonoor to | | | | in the year 1886. |
| Ootacamund and this line became functional from | | | | |
| September 15, 1908. This line is used a lot and | | | | It takes 17 hours to reach Metupalaiyam from |
| numerous travelers can now travel easily by it. | | | | Chennai by train. The expenditure on this travel is of |
| | | | | about Rs 20 first class. The left over 33 miles can be |
| Main Feature | | | | which goes up the vertical mountain is another 20 |
| Unique rack System was the most important feature | | | | rupees. For this purpose the tongas can be taken and |
| of this line. It was quoted in Sir Guilford L. | | | | the heavy luggage can be sent by a bullock cart. The |
| Molesworth’s report : “The locomotive which | | | | best alternative here was to take on a pony and |
| works on Abt System has 2 different functions: first | | | | arrange for the luggage which can be taken up by |
| is of traction by union as in an usual loco and second | | | | individual baggage carriers. |
| is that of traction by pinion. | | | | The Current Scenario |
| | | | | In today’s time, the travelers from Ootacamund |
| There are 4 brakes in number out of which 2 are | | | | leave the Chennai station at 9.00 p.m. and reach at |
| hand brakes which act by friction and the other 2 | | | | Mettupalaiyam at 7.10 in the morning, after |
| which act by checking the free escape of air and | | | | completing a journey of 10 hours. There the platform |
| compressing the air in holding back the progress of | | | | is hardly crossed to join the meter gauge train which |
| the engine. The former are utilized for shunting while | | | | leaves the station at 7.25 am. The train reaches |
| the latter ones are used for descending vertical | | | | Udagamandalam in the morning at 11.40 a.m. The Nilgiri |
| gradients. One of the hand brakes is suppose to act | | | | Railway (NMR) is one of the achievements made by |
| on the tyres which are put on the wheels in the | | | | the engineers. |
| most ordinary way and the second one which acts | | | | |