Sushil Dikshit, who retired from the public health engineering department of Bengal government, is on a mission to promote the world-famous Darjeeling Himalayan Railway’s toy train, especially among youngsters, by making models of the trains and some of the DHR’s prominent properties.

“The DHR is perhaps the only heritage property of Northeast Frontier Railway, and deserves more attention from the authority in railway for its conservation. Unfortunately, that seems lacking. I would like to carry the task forward by making its models and highlighting them, so that the younger generation can learn about their heritage railway and its glory,” Dikshit, who retired in 2006, told The Telegraph.

Unesco gave the mountain railway a world heritage status in December 1999.

Dikshit has made a model of Kurseong Station, which eventually became the headquarters of the DHR. He is making a similar model on Sukna. He has already made models of the DHR’s steam loco.

“All the materials for the models are very expensive. I have collected many materials from my friends in the UK, who belong to the group called the DHR Lovers Society in UK,” he said.

He added that he inherited a love for toy trains from his father late Banshidhar Dikshit who served in the railways from 1942 to 1974.

He nurtures a dream to build an exclusive museum on the DHR at his residence at Bhanutola under ward 18 of Kurseong Municipality.