Chennai:
It may be 157-seven-year-old steam locomotive but it is still the darling of Chennai as people jostled with one another to have a glimpse of the oldest steam locomotive in the world as it embarked on its third heritage journey to mark India’s 63rd Republic day.
It was a festive atmosphere at Platform number four with policemen trying to keep away the crowd as VIPs tried to squeeze in to enjoy the 10 km journey from Madras Egmore to Guindy.
The locomotive EIR 21, created by Kitson Thomson and Hewitson of England in 1855, was attached to a 25-year-old compartment that also completed its shelf life in 2010 and was coverted as heritage special.
It was packed with VIPs, which included Southern Railways general manager Deepak Krishan, director general of police K Ramanujam and other officials as awestruck bystanders tried to catch a glimpse of the train.
The engine, shipped to Indian subcontinent, had been chugging the length and breadth of the country before hibernating at 1909 for more than a century at Jamalpur Museum. Interestingly, it replaced Fairy Queen EIR 22 as ‘the oldest working steam loco.
The locomotive has completed its first heritage run from Chennai Central to Avadi on August 15, 2010 and the second heritage run from Chennai Egmore to Guindy on August 15, 2011, said railway sources. And now on its third run it is piloted by engine driver Devrajan, who was all smiles and expressed his joy on being part of the historic moment.
An excited guard V Gopiram told Express that the 10km journey will be from Egmore to Guindy. After completing the journey, the train will then proceed to Mount before returning to the shed. The maximum speed of the engine, which has a horse power of 130HP, is 30km per hour.
Railway sources said the steam locomotive is provided with GPS based speedometer now and receives signal from satellite for longitude or latitude with respect to time.
“The micro control unit inbuilt in this speedometer decode the signal input collected by change in latitude or longitude from first place to second place and converts into speed in kmph,” a railway source said.
Meanwhile, the coach is a old Guard’s compartment which has been modified at Perambur Carriage works. “We made it as a hall for inspection of railway officials,’ a railway employee who doesn’t want to be quoted said.
The coach also has a watertank to feed water to the steam locomotive besides a generator to supply current to the fans and AC equipment. The generator will also help run the water pump to feed water to the steam locomotive. The compartment also has a braking application.
As the engine blew the whistle, it was 20 minutes late, but then the passengers, who were packed in the compartment with many standing, had no qualms but a rush of excitement to be part of the history.
Factfile of EIR21:
Original manufacturing year: 1855
Place of Manufacturing: England
Creators: Kriston Thompson, Hewitson
Retired: 1909
Age: 157 years
Kept in: Jamalpur Museum
Date of resurrection: 2010
Maximum speed: 30kmph
Horse power: 130HP
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