An indigenously manufactured coal-fired steam locomotive manufactured for the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) is all set for dispatch from the Golden Rock Railway Workshop here.
It will mark yet another milestone in the workshop's chequered history.
Trials have been successfully conducted at the workshop for the newly manufactured ‘X’ class loco fitted with rack and pinion arrangements to chug in the hilly and scenic terrain.
The loco, which has been given a coat of polyurethane painting to boost its aesthetic appeal, is to be flagged off by Southern Railway General Manager John Thomas on Wednesday at the workshop that is more than 90 years old.
The new loco will be dispatched by road to Mettupalayam where trial runs will be conducted on the hilly terrain before being deployed for regular operations.
A technical team from the workshop will go to Mettupalayam when the trial runs are conducted on the NMR stretch.
Milestone
“This is the first time that the workshop has manufactured a coal-fired steam locomotive for operation in the NMR section, which will mark another important milestone for the workshop,” said Chief Workshop Manager Shyamadhar Ram.
Loco pilots from the NMR section carried out trials at the workshop and were impressed with the performance of the new loco, senior officials said.
The manufacture of the metre gauge loco was taken up after the Railway Board, New Delh,i entrusted the workshop with the task and sanctioned around ₹9 crore for the project.
The workshop has all along been carrying out periodic overhaul of Swissmade coal fired steam locos in operation in the NMR section. But, this is the first time that the workshop has manufactured a coal-fired loco to run on the mountain stretch, Mr. Shyamadhar Ram said.
Although the workshop had originally planned to dispatch the loco in February last, the project suffered delay for more than a year due to outbreak of COVID-19. The pandemic led to closure of the workshop for some period of time and caused delay in supply of critical components such as cylinders.
The work gained momentum after the workshop resumed to function with full strength following relaxations announced by the State government and supply of cylinders.
The new loco weighing 50 tonnes is fitted with an all-welded boiler suitable for coal firing and a steam powered turbo generator for producing electricity to power head lamps and for cabin lighting.
Water tanks
The coal bunker for holding over three tonnes of coal is placed at the rear side of the loco pilot cabin. The loco has two stainless steel water tanks of a total combined capacity of 4,500 litres.
The length of the new loco is 10,380 millimetre with its height being 3,420 mm.
The new loco is provided with a vaccum brake system with hand brake arrangement in the loco pilot cabin besides dynamic braking and band brake arrangement.
