Fairlight Works

Indian Hill Railways on BBC4

Creative Commons licensed image by Hal Dick

Last night a new three part series began on BBC4 on the narrow gauge Hill Railways of India. The first was on what is without question the most well known, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. The focus was on the lives of the people who work with and around the railway, but that didn’t mean it was short of well shot and atmospheric footage of the line in action. And in fact the social aspect was equally fascinating as you saw how the DHR has become an intrinsic part of the communities it serves.

It was particularly interesting see inside the works at Tindharia, which is clearly a shadow of its former self but something I had never seen before.

For those in the UK, the DHR programme is available on BBC iPlayer until next Sunday – when the second part on the Nilgiri Railway is broadcast.

• Previous: The 'other' Cranbrook
• Next: Planning Harrogate