The National Rail Museum Delhi

The national Rail Museum was established in the year 1977 at Chanakyapuri New-Delhi. This museum focuses specifically on Indian rail heritage and acquires almost 40,000 square meters or 10 acres of land in one of the most posh areas of Delhi. The premises of the museum are closed on Mondays, otherwise open regularly from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm.

                                       
                                         

Since there are both outdoor and indoor exhibits, a toy train has been organized to take the visitors around. The museum is known for harboring over a hundred exotic and fascinating exhibits for those interested. 

                                     
                                  

There are mobile and static real size trains, historical photos, signalling equipment, ancient furniture and rail related scripts displayed at the museum.

                                     
                             

                                       

                                                                               

                                                               

                                                                             

                                                         

                                                                 

                           
                                                                       

                                                                   

                                                                   

                                                                       

                                                                             

                                                                   

                                                                     

                                                                   

                                                                 

                                                                 

                                                                     

                                                                             

                                                                         

                                                                 

                                                                 

Important Exhibits Include:

·         The Fairy Queen Locomotive: Built in the year 1855 and one of the oldest functional locomotive engines in the world.

·         The Patiala Monorail Train System: Single rail track system, designed by British Colonel Bowles, Ewing system, constructed by Berlin engineers Orenstein & Koppel. This train was mobile till 1927 and connected 6 miles of terrain. The rail engine is still in working order after maintenance.

·         The Fire Engine: Constructed in the year 1914 by John Morris and Sons, this unique fire engine one of a kind in existence.

·         The Prince of Wales Saloon bogey: Built for the Prince in 1855 and later used by King Edward VII when visiting India is a luxurious piece of work.

·         Maharaja of Indore Saloon: This rail car with dynamic facilities considering the times was owned and used by the Holkar Dynasty Maharajas of Indore. This exotic saloon car has been designed intricately using gold, silver, ivory and teak wood of the best kind.

·         The Sir Leslie Wilson Electric Engine: This locomotive is one of the first electric system engines in India and was in operation till 1944.

·         The Beyer Garratt 6594 Rail Engine: Shows how the changes in rail history were coming about.

The National Rail Museum Delhi with many star attractions and literature filled scripts is definitely worth visiting for a complete knowledge of rails during the past days in India.

                                                                      Enjoy  :D

Bhimtal Through My Digital Camera

                                                                          

Bhimtal Lake

                              
Bhimtal is a small town located in Nainital district of Uttarakhand state. Though small yet spread out in area Bhimtal is situated at a height of 1370 meters (4498 feet), approximately 21 kilometers from Nainital. Like many Kumaon Hill towns Bhimtal too is adorned with a huge lake which has a small island on one side.

                                                                              

  Bhimtal Lake,in the middle is the aquarium

                            

        Way to Bhimtal Lake

 Bhimtal named after the Pandava prince Bhima of the great epic Mahabharata is proof that it is ancient. 

   Bhimtal

 The Bhimeshwar Shiva Temple on one side of the lake, still very much active and worshipped each day is said to have been constructed by prince Bhima during the period of banishment from his Indraprastha kingdom.  

                                

         Bhimeshwar Shiva Temple Bhimtal

                          

    The existing temple was reconstructed by Raja Baz Bahadur of the Kumaon region between the year 1638 and 1678 A.D.

                               

                     Boat hiring spot Bhimtal Lake

        

               Daath Bhimtal Lake side

                              Block road Bhimtal

                                                                               

               The town of Bhimtal older than it’s popular, much visited town of Nainital came into India under the British post the Anglo-Nepalese war between 1814 and 1816 A.D.

                           

Lord Hanuman temple Ramleela ground

                                     

     Bhimtal Lake,in the middle is the aquarium

                                                                          

                        Surrounded by thick forests and several small villages, Bhimtal at present is a hot tourist spot between the months of April and October. 

                                                                                 

     In front is Bhimtal lake

                         
The summers are cool and the temperature stays between 15 to 30 degrees Celsius but become cold in winters; temperature between 4 and 17 degrees Celsius. The convenient township of Bhimtal is also a stoppage point for people coming up from the plains or going down from the hills as it is near and well connected to the Kathgodam railway station, other Kumaon regions; even to the Nepal and Tibet borders. Visitors flock around this town due to many ancient temples the calm atmosphere of the lake and easy access to the neighbouring places of interest. 

                                        

Sunset at Bhimtal

    Bhimtal lake from the Highway

                           

                                                                                

                          The population of Bhimtal is approximately 8875 at present with 55% males and 45% females and literacy level of 79%. The Bhimtal town also harbors many private and government offices due to lack of space in the district headquarters of Nainital. 

Ducks at Bhimtal Lake :)

   Island aquarium of Bhimtal Lake from the mountain

                                                                                      

               In present times many good junior and higher level schools can be found in and around Bhimtal town; some examples are Sainik (military) School, Birla Institute for Science Studies, Graphic Era Parvatiya Viswavidyalaya, some government colleges and schools for both girls and boys. Bhimtal also has a National level cold water fisheries institute. The major languages spoken are Hindi, English and Kumauni.

                                                                             

                                                                                                                 

  Sunrise at Bhimtal town

                            

Bhimtal Lake side Town

            Sunny winter days above the clouds Bhimtal

Bhimtal Lake side Road

         Vendor selling Chat :) at Bhimtal lake side

            

                 Overall speaking Bhimtal lies in an attractive geographical belt, not too high or low which makes the weather favourable throughout the year and is definitely a great place to visit. You can reach Bhimtal by road, train or flight as the nearest railway station (Kathgodam) is merely 22 Kms and the Pantnagar airstrip about 55 Kms.

                                                                 

Vendor selling Nimbu pani with big mountain lemons :)

                             

           Sunset at Bhimtal

  Bhimtal lake in rainy days :)

                                                                                     

Well this was beautiful and filled with nature Bhimtal. hope you enjoyed all the pictures as well as the information about Bhimtal Town of Uttarakhand. :)

                                                                        See you :)

                                                                        SigoNa  :)