NMR as all knows, is a surviving steam heritage railway which is over 100 years old. Ooty had served as the Summer capital during the days of the British Raj and a proposal for a Railway was mooted in 1875, but it was not until 15th June, 1899 that the NMR, masterminded by J.Morant (Royal Engineers) and Swiss engineer Niklaus Riggenback, opened from Mettupalayam to Coonoor, later to be extended up to Ooty in 1908, mainly to serve the Army base. Gauging up to a length of 45.88 kms, the line became a part of the Southern Railway during the post independence re-organization in 1951. It is one of India's steepest railway line crowded with 16 tunnels and 250 bridges, making it an engineering marvel.