Shimla is one of the most famous tourist places in India. It is said to be one of the most romantic places ever. The perfect place that beats the heat of summer has picturesque locations that make this place a traveler’s paradise. Shimla is famous for its beauty but there is one horrifying place inside this city. In the heart of Shimla, there lies a hidden ghost story that will make you sweat cold.
Shimla offers a lot of activities to its guest and among these wonderful offering, one is taking a toy train on the Kalka-Shimla route. The track of this toy train is only 2 feet 6 inch wide which was built in 1898. The Railway line between Kalka and Shimla is popular for dramatic views of the hills and surrounding villages. Today the track includes 889 long and short bridges and 102 tunnels but originally the Railway Company of Delhi – Ambala – Kalka line and the Secretary of state constructed 107 tunnels. 4 tunnels were outnumbered in 1930 and later in 2006, another tunnel was also dismantled.
This story is the story of Tunnel no.33. It is the longest tunnel of all with a length of 1143.61 in the Kalka – Shimla Railway. The toy train takes about 2.5 minutes to cross this tunnel and Barog railway station immediately follows the tunnel. It is said that this tunnel is haunted.
The Story Of Colonel Barog
Colonel Barog was a British engineer who was assigned to complete the construction of the tunnel in a given period. To match the deadline and speed up the construction, he divided the team of workers in two and ordered to dig the tunnel from both sides. He instructed the crew members to bore the tunnel according to his calculations from both sides so that both the tunnels could meet in the middle to become a single tunnel.
The crew members had faith in Barog’s calculations and they started blasting the tunnel from opposite ends but, his miscalculations failed as both the tunnels did not meet even after crossing the center of the mountain. The British Government fined Colonel Barog Rs. 1 and accused him of wasting the property of the government. Colonel Barog couldn’t complete the work of the tunnel and his decision also made the workers furious because all their hard work went in vain.
All of it send Barog in the state of depression. It was humiliating for him. The pain in his heart was becoming unbearable until one day he decided to get rid of it.
On an evening Colonel Barog went for a walk with his dog and shot himself dead inside the tunnel committing suicide. He was then in front of the incomplete tunnel which is about 1 km from Barog. The area, railway station, and Barog Pine Wood Hotel were named after him. But the story doesn’t end here.
It is said that he never left the place, his soul still wanders around the tunnel. Many people and locals have claimed to see him. Although, they have clearly said that he is a good soul and never harms anyone but the thought of a soul residing there is scary.
The government has tried to lock the tunnel with a metal door but the lock of this door has been mysteriously broken. The tunnel is awfully dark yet beautiful but, the question is will you visit this place to interact and get some true historical facts if you got a chance to the soul of Barog?
24 August 2017
Avni S. Singh