The Steam Locomotives of Nepal

There have been three 2' 6" narrow gauge railways in Nepal. The first was the 'Nepal Government Railway' from Raxaul (actually in India) to Amlekghanj. This opened in 1927 and closed in 1968 except for a short section at the southern end up to Birganj which was converted to metre gauge and later to broad gauge. Its purpose was to carry goods to an aerial ropeway which ran up towards Kathmandu. 


The second was the Janakpur Railway which also started in India (at Jaynagar) and ran to Janakpur Dham opening in 1937. Most of the traffic was passenger as opposed to freight, particularly as Janakpur is a place of pilgrimage for Hindus. A later extension to Bizalpura was opened and this carried only light traffic in comparison. The railway was dieselised in 1993 and closed for gauge conversion in 2012/3. Nearly all the pictures shown here were of this section. Most of the former NGR eventually came here over the years.

These pictures cover those locomotives seen on the Janakpur Railway.