Title - Black beauty readies to chug down Nilgiri ramp

Come October, a brand new steam locomotive manufactured at the Golden Rock Railway Workshop at Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu will begin its onward journey to Nilgiris to haul coaches of the Nilgiris Mountain Railway on the Mettupalayam-Ooty stretch.

A team of engineers and technicians under the guidance of B Anand, deputy chief mechanical engineer of the Golden Rock Railway Workshop, are toiling hard to meet the deadline for the induction of the `4 crore engine. Those not familiar with steam locomotives may raise their eyebrows about the significance of the event.

Golden Rock Railway Workshop set up in 1928 for repairing, maintenance and overhaul of railway engines have graduated into the big league now. “We have the capability, expertise and technology to manufacture steam locomotives. Previously we were importing steam locomotives from England and Switzerland. With the advent of diesel and electric engines, the steam locomotives were phased out of service,” P Mahesh, chief general manager, GRRW, told The Pioneer.

Mahesh and Anand had to struggle hard to collect nearly 4,000 engineering drawings prior to the launching of the works. “Manufacturing steam locomotives is an art as well as engineering. Run-of-the-mill engineers and technicians will not be able to assemble these black beauties. You need aesthetic sense, artistry and technical brilliance to manufacture the engine which has more than 3,000 components,” explained Anand. No wonder, Anand describes his team of technician as master craftsmen and artisans.

Since Indian Railways has reservations about using coal-powered steam locomotives, Anand’s team perfected a technology to power the engine with furnace oil. “It is more safe and environment friendly than the coal-powered engines. We made slight modifications in the boiler of the coal-powered locomotives and the result was encouraging. Now we can manufacture the vintage class black beauties in four months. An engine will cost `6 crore,” said Mahesh.

The GRRW successfully converted some of the vintage steam locomotives lying in various sheds of the Railways into furnace oil-powered engines. “The engines we made are plying in Matheran in Maharashtra also. While I took a converted engine to Matheran, a former loco pilot who had drove her two decades ago identified her and hitched a ride with me. It was a great moment for me,” said Anand.

According to Mahesh, enquiries with loco manufacturers in Switzerland and England threw in some interesting information. “Their engines cost `10 crore and will not be able to ply in mountain stretches.

But our engines are capable of plying in the steepest routes because of their unique Rack and Pinion System. Our engines could get a maximum speed of 30 km per hour in the high ranges,' said Mahesh.

What is interesting is that many private individuals, including some Bollywood stars, have shown interest in owning locomotives. "We get enquiries for even diesel locomotives. There are people who are interested in owning locomotives only to put them on display in their courtyards. Though Lamborghinis and Bentleys are easily available in India nowadays, passion for the black beauties of the Indian Railways has not subsided," said Mahesh.