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A [[File: Nilgiri Mountain Railway Map.png|thumb|'''Nilgiri Mountain Railway''' - Location Map]][[File: Nilgiri Mountain Railway Map line of route.png|thumb|'''Nilgiri Mountain Railway''' - Line of Route]][[File: Nilgiri Mountain Railway Map with mileages and altitudes.png|thumb|'''Nilgiri Mountain Railway''' - with mileages and altitudes]] The '''Nilgiri Mountain Railway'''(NMR) is a metre gauge ([[Rail_gauge_#Metre_Gauge|MG]]) rack railway from [[Mettupalaiyam]] to [[Ootacamund|Ootacamund, often called Ooty]] a distance of 28.7 miles (46km), that is today a tourist attraction and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The line climbs from 1071 feet(326 mtrs) above sea level to 7228 feet(2203 mtrs) over this length. Diesels can only haul NMR trains on the top section between [[Coonoor ]] and [[Ootacamund |Ooty]].

Following the opening of the [[Madras Railway]] broad gauge line from [[Madras]] to [[Calicut]] in 1862, a 26 mile, broad gauge branch from [[Podanur]] to [[Mettupalaiyam]] , the '[[Mettupalaiyam Branch Line]]' was opened to traffic in 1873 and plans discussed to extend this into the [[Nilgiri Hills]] - the "Blue Mountains".

In 1885, the '''Nilgiri Railway Company''' was formed with construction beginning in 1891. Initially, it was intended to adopt the ''Rigi'' rack system but eventually the ''Abt'' rack system was chosen. [[Horace Bell ]] continued to act in a private capacity as Consulting Engineer in London, he had in 1894 retired from his position in India as Consulting Engineer for the State [[Railway Board]].

In 1899 the first section, from [[Mettupalaiyam]] to [[Coonoor]] (including 12 miles of rack), was opened to working by the [[Madras Railway]]. In 1903 the GoI purchased the line and contracted its working to the [[Madras Railway]].

When the [[Madras Railway]] was merged into the [[Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway]] in 1907, the NMR contract was awarded to the [[South Indian Railway]](SIR). The railway was included as part of the [[South_Indian_Railway_-_Lines_Owned_and_Worked#SIR System Metre Gauge|'SIR System Metre Gauge']]. Construction of the extension from [[Coonoor]] to [[Ootacamund]] was completed by the GoI [[Public Works Department]] in 1908, [[Robert Richard Gales]] was the Engineer-in-Chief on the project <ref>[http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/1922_Who's_Who_In_Engineering:_Name_G Grace's Guide "Who's Who 1922 - Gales R R"]; Retrieved 18 Jul 2016</ref>.