Coal-powered steam engines to be put up for public viewing

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The last coal-fired X class engine of the Nilgiris Mountain train came to Coonoor Railway Station from Mettupalayam on Friday. | Photo Credit: M_Sathyamoorthy;M_Sathyamoorthy -
The last coal-fired X class engine of the Nilgiris Mountain train came to Coonoor Railway Station from Mettupalayam on Friday. | Photo Credit: M_Sathyamoorthy;M_Sathyamoorthy –

‘The engines are almost a century old and part of the tradition of NMR railway’

The last of the coal-powered steam engines operational along the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) route have been retired and are to be exhibited to the public at the Udhagamandalam and Coimbatore railway stations.

Speaking to The Hindu, Divisional Railway Manager of Salem Division, Hari Shankar Verma, said that the coal-powered steam engines had far outlived their technological relevance, and that the remaining two engines still in operation will be exhibited to the public at the two stations. “We had two options, either to sell the engines for scrap or to preserve them as a memento of the NMR’s long history. We are gifting one engine to the people of Ooty,” said Mr. Verma to reporters.

Engine number 37384, which is the older of the two engines, is to be exhibited at Udhagamandalam. K Natarajan, a heritage railway enthusiast and founder of the Heritage Steam Chariot Trust, said that the “X” Class locomotives, built at the Swiss Locomotives and Machine Works factory in Switzerland, was introduced sometime between 1917 and 1925.

“The coal-powered engines are almost a century old and are part of the tradition of the NMR railway. All the newer engines are oil-powered locomotives. The railways should have preserved this important part of the NMR history, as the engine to be retired in Udhagamandalam was still operational,” he said.

He said that railway enthusiasts across the world were prepared to pay good money to enjoy the experience of the old coal-powered locomotives, and that with the retirement of the engines, an important remnant of the NMR history will be lost forever. However, railways officials said that operating the oil-powered locomotives was the only viable solution to pull coaches up the steep hills as the quality of the coal used to power the older locomotives has gradually decreased over the years. It is also said that the older locomotives increased the chances of forest fires.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Rohan Premkumar / Udhagamandalam – February 18th, 2017