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'History' modified to include link to 'Darjeeling Steam Tramway' and text added
== History ==
Originally known as the '''[[Darjeeling Steam Tramway]]''' this 2ft Narrow Gauge([[Rail_gauge#Narrow_Gauge|NG]]) steam tramway and largely ran in the road. Hence the appropriate name. Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. constructed the railway. The stretch from Siliguri to Kurseong was opened on 23 August 1880, while the official opening of the line up to Darjeeling was on 4 July 1881. The name changed to the '''Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway Company''' on the company being formed on 15th September 1881.Built between 1879 and 1881, the original line ran (and still does) for 51 miles from [[Siliguri]] (about 100m in altitude) to [[Darjeeling]] (about 2200m).
In 1913, the system was extended from [[Siliguri]] south-westwards to [[Kishanganj]]. There was also a short branch from [[Siliguri]] to [[Kalimpong Road]]. Technically, these extensions were a separate company, worked by the agency of the first.
