SRI LANKA - DEMODARA LOOP [ENGINEERING MARVEL]

The construction of the Demodara railway line was completed in 1921 by the Ceylon Government Railway. The terrain just beyond the Demodara station was too steep to build the railway track to Badulla, the maximum inclination stipulated by the Railway was one foot per forty four feet [1/44], D. J. Wimalasurendra, the engineer in charge of design, suggested taking a path in the shape of a loop, encircling the mountain on the left of the station [applying a permittable inclination] and passing through a tunnel dug right beneath the station, at a lower elevation, to avoid the steep gradient beyond the station. The Demodara Loop is considered an engineering marvel of the Colonial era. Click on Pics to enlarge. 

Demodara railway station

Railway line, encircling the mountain, reaching the tunnel beneath the station

Pics by: Nelsonlanka

Sony  NEX  6