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The '''Cochin State Forest Tramway''' was a 1,000 mm metre gauge([[Rail_gauge_#Metre_Gauge|MG]]) railway line and historical forest tramway running from the Parambikulam Forest Area (now the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary ) in Palakkad District to [[Chalakudy ]] in Thrissur District . Operating from 1907 to 1963, it served the State of [[Cochin]] and brought prosperity by bringing Teak and Rosewood from forests which were later shipped to different locations all around the globe.<ref name=Wiki>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochin_State_Forest_Tramway Wikipedia "Cochin State Forest Tramway"]; Retrieved 4 Mar 201710 Apr 2018</ref>.

Operating from 1907 to 1963, it served [[File:Cochin State Forest Tramway.png|thumb| Cochin State Forest Tramway]][[Chalakudy]] was a station on the State of [[Shoranur-CochinRailway]], a MG line that had opened in 1902 between [[Shoranur]] and brought prosperity [[Cochin|the Ernakulum Terminus in Cochin]], this line was first worked by bringing Teak [[Madras Railway]], and Rosewood from forests which were later shipped to different locations all around the globeby [[South Indian Railway]] from1908 <ref>[https://archive.org/stream/BombayBarodaAndCentralIndiaRailwaySystem/Bombay_Baroda_And_Central_India_Railway_System#page/n153/mode/1up “Administration Report on Railways 1918” page 145 (pdf153) ]; Retrieved 10 Apr 2018</ref> .

The total length construction of the tramway commenced in 1901 and was divided into three sectionsinaugurated by Sir Arthur Oliver Villiers Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill, Governor of Madras, in October 1905. The first section Regular work in the tramway started from Chalakudy and ends at Anapantham covering a length of 21 milesin 1907. The second section starts from Kavalai to Pothupara covering six milesOn June 26, 1907, and the third starts from Komalapara to ChinnarMaharaja of Cochin passed the Cochin Forest Tramway Act, covering a distance of 22.5 miles. The total length which provided for protection and management of the tramway is 49.5 miles (79.5 km)<ref name=WikiVarma>[www.irfca.org/articles/CochinStateForestTramwayJournal.doc “Journal on the Cochin State Forest Tramway” by Devan R Varma with David Churchill and Marc Reusser, 2005 published on-line by ‘Indian Railways Fan Club’"]; Retrieved 10 Apr 2018</ref>.

The total length of the tramway system was 49½ miles/79.5km from [[Chalakudy]], the location of the forest headquarters used to house the tramway workshop & timber yard. The entire tramway is divided into three sections and five inclines as detailed below <ref name=Varma/>:-* ‘Section 1 from [[Chalakudy]] to Anapandam’ (Mile 21/33.8km, altitude 400ft/120mtr above sea level), through plains for the first 9 miles on the north side of the river. Between mile 9 and 10, there were 2 zigzag bends with minor ascents; then through plains to mile 19 along Muppili range of hills; then 4 more zigzag climbs to Mile 21. * ‘Inclines 1,2,3 from Anapandam to Kavala’i (Mile 23/37km, altitude 1400 feet/430mtr) had three inclines:- Gradient 1 in 15 of 2910 feet/890mtr in length; Gradient 1 in 7 of 2640 feet/800mtr; Gradient 1 in 5 of 1380 feet/420mtr* ‘Section 2 from Kavalai to Pothupara (Mile 26.5/42.6km). From Kavalai through 12 zigzag curves, gradually descending to Mile 25. * ‘Inclines 4,5 from Pothupara to Komalapara’ (Mile 29/46.7km, altitude 2500 feet/760mtr) had two inclines:- Gradient 1 in 5 of 2270 feet/690mtr; Gradient 1 in 7 of 3220 feet/980mtr* ‘Section 3 from Komalapara to Chinnar’ (Mile 49.5/79.5km, altitude 2000ft/610mtr). From Komalapara, the line passed through 5 zigzag curves and descended to Myladappan. The line continued to descend from this point through another set of 4 zigzag curves and reached mile 32. At this point, the line crossed Muthuvarachal River and entered Orukomban ranges. The line continued further along the banks of Karappara River till Mile 36. At Mile 41 mile, the line crossed Kuriyarkutty River and ran along Parambikulam River up to the last point at Chinnar in the Parambikulam range '''Description of Zigzag Sections'''<br>The zigzags were in sections where difficult terrains had to be covered. The train moves forward through an extended line till an end point, starts moving backwards in reverse, rolls along the main line till it reaches another reverse point. Many such forward – backward – reverse movements take the train up or down through steep faces of mountains. There were two such zigzags in section 1 & 12 zigzags in section 2.  '''Description of Incline Sections''' <br>There were two tracks in parallel on each incline, one for upward movement and the other for downward movement. There were brake houses at the top of each incline, erected between both the lines. There was a wheel drum of 6 feet(1.8mtr) diameter in the brake house complete with gear wheels & brakes. The 1½ inch(38mm) diameter steel cable was wound on this wheel drum. The train of trucks carrying timber was brought to this point, the locomotive detached and each truck manually brought near the brake house. The cables were then attached to each truck and manually pushed downward through the incline. While the truck kept moving downwards with the control of brakes, another set of empty trucks & saloons carrying passengers kept moving upwards It used to take 4 hours to cover Section 1; 2 hours to cover Section 2 and another 3 hours to cover Section 3. There were rest houses in Kavalai, Komalapara, Kuriyarkutty & Parambikulam. The tramway used to charge 4 Anas (25 paise) from civilian passengers for travelling the entire distance. The line went through lush green forests, crossed streams & rivers and was considered to be a scenic & enjoyable journey. British officers used to travel in saloons attached to the tramway with servants & supplies and spend vacations in the rest houses en route <ref name=Varma/>:- ==Later History==With the tramway completed, there was still no plan in place for proper forest management of this new area. Proposed timber surveys, mapping, and felling plans were never implemented. The forested areas were merely divided into 4 felling quadrants, and the permissible felling area was set at 640 acres annually. Minimum girths for felling were assigned to the various species, Teak and Rosewood at 6 feet and other species at 4-1/2 feet. The only purpose to the felling was to keep the tram operating without a loss. The tramway helped to transport about 10,000 cu.m in a year and exploit about 32,000 ha of forest areas<ref name=Varma/>. In 1926, the special finance committee recommended the abolition of the tramway but . However in 1928, the government unwilling to abolish this ‘engineering marvel’ decided to continue to keep the tramway running at any cost, mainly by exploiting the nearby forests in the most intensive scale possible. This was rejected by another conceptual mistake which resulted in the severe damage to the forests of the area. In 1940’s the Government Anamalai road, from Chalakudy to Valparai came in 1928to being and through this road motor vehicles started carrying the timber which diminished the unique role of tramway. Another The gradual depletion of the forests could not justify the capital expenditure and in 1950 a special committee was set up in 1950 under the chairmanship of the Chief Conservator of Forests, which in order to evaluate the situation. The committee recommended discontinuing that the “Tramway is just a white elephant causing great loss of revenue for the state”. Based on the recommendation of this committee, the Government Vide G.O.F4. 3594/49/DD dated 24th April 1951, decided to discontinue the tramway <ref name=Varma/>. In <br>However, in 1953, another commission under the Chairmanship of late Mr. B.V.K. Menon, Retired Chief Secretary of the former Cochin State was appointed but given to evaluate the possibilities of reviving the report tramway. This committee reported that tramway such a monumental venture should be revived at any cost. But this idea did not materialize. In 1957, the Food and Forest Minister suggested that the tramway could be used for tourism purpose and allocated Rs 5 lakhs (0.5 Million Rupees) for the same. Three diesel locomotives (Benz engines) were brought from Germany for this purpose. But soon the ministry changed and the next ministry did not evince much interest to continue in to the work <ref name=Varma/>.

* “Journal on the Cochin State Forest Tramway” by Devan R Varma with David Churchill and Marc Reusser, 2005 published on-line by ‘Indian Railways Fan Club’ <ref name=Varma/> provides considerably more information than given here.*For a detailed account of the operation of this tramway locomotives and the locomotives wagons used, see “Industrial Railways and Locomotives of India and South Asia” compiled by Simon Darvill <ref name =darvill>“Industrial Railways and Locomotives of India and South Asia” compiled by Simon Darvill. Published by ‘The Industrial Railway Society’ 2013. ISBN 978 1 901556 82-7. Available at http://irsshop.co.uk/India. Reference: Entry KL15 page ....</ref>.