A coal-fired metre gauge steam locomotive being manufactured at the Golden Rock Railway Workshop in Tiruchi for operation in the scenic Nilgiri Mountain Railway section, is expected to roll out in the second week of August.
The Railway Board had entrusted the over 90-year-old workshop with the task of manufacturing an ‘X’ class steam loco with rack and pinion arrangement for the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. The manufacturing is nearing completion with final fitment work currently under way.
A team of nearly 60 technical personnel are engaged in the manufacture of the steam loco at the workshop, which has been carrying out POH (periodic overhaul) of locos which are already in operation in the hilly Nilgiri Mountain Railway stretch. “This is the first time that the workshop is manufacturing a metre gauge ‘X’ class coal-fired steam locomotive for the Nilgiri Mountain Railway,” said Chief Workshop Manager Shyamadhar Ram.
The new loco was proposed to be dispatched in February but the work got delayed due to non-supply of cylinders on time as well as owing to the severe lockdown restrictions clamped in the wake of the spread of COVID-19.
With lockdown restrictions having been relaxed and the new cylinders sent and the railway workshop resuming functioning with its full workforce, the manufacture of the new loco has gained momentum now. The Railway Board had sanctioned the workshop with ₹8.5 crore each for the manufacture of a coal-fired steam locomotive and an oil-fired locomotive for operation in the Nilgiri Mountain Railway.
The loco has been 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. The coal bunker for holding a little over three tonnes of coal is at the rear side of the loco pilot cabin. The loco will have two stainless steel water tanks of a total combined capacity of 4,500 litres. The length of the new loco is 10,380 millimetre and its height is 3,420 mm. It weighs 50 tonnes.
The key components including a hydrostatic lubricator, mechanical lubricator, ejector and injector have all been developed through reverse engineering since there were no drawings of them available, officials said.
The task of manufacturing the all-welded boiler was given to a private firm in Tiruchi, while the cylinders were made by a Coimbatore-based firm. The new loco has been provided with a vacuum brake system along with a hand brake arrangement in the loco pilot cabin, besides dynamic braking and band brake arrangement. The steam loco is being manufactured in such a manner to maintain its heritage look, say officials.
Mr. Shyamadhar Ram said trials would be conducted at the workshop where track with rack bar arrangements for a length of 100 metres has been made available for this purpose. The trial would be conducted to ascertain the performance of the new loco before it is dispatched from the workshop. The loco would be given a coat of polyurethane painting to boost its aesthetic appeal. The British-built workshop had dispatched four new oil-fired locomotives since 2010 onwards for operation in the Nilgiri Mountain Railway section.
