In India, 1855 Steam Locomotive Gets New Lease on Life

Pallava Bagla
for National Geographic News
in Alwar, Rajasthan, India

November 28, 2001

Steam locomotives evoke the charm of an era when life moved at a slow
ebb, and nothing embodies that nostalgia more than a ride on the
Fairy Queen.

Last weekend, the broad-gauge steam engine
notched another milestone in its historic 146 years of service to the
Indian railways by more than tripling its own speed record.

The grand old steel workhorse of the former East Indian Railways, thought to be the oldest working steam locomotive in the world, was manufactured in 1855 by the British firm Kitson, Thomson, and Hewitson of Leeds. When built, the 26-ton coal-guzzling steam engine could travel at speeds of up to 15 kilometers (9 miles) an hour.

Last Sunday, on its inaugural service after a major overhaul, the Fairy Queen traveled at nearly four times that maximum speed, at 58 kilometers an hour, on its round-trip journey from the historic city of Alwar in Rajasthan to Delhi, India's capital.

"It is hard to imagine that a steam locomotive made in an era when India had no telephones, no electricity, and no airplanes could still be working and giving yeoman service in the 21st century," said Rajesh Agarwal, director of the National Rail Museum in New Delhi.

Longtime Service

The Fairy Queen served the Indian railways continuously until 1908, when it was retired from active service.

Today the coal-fired train travels every fortnight from November to March for two-day trips down memory lane between Delhi and Alwara, a distance of 143 kilometers (90 miles). As an added attraction, the 50 or so passengers in the special two-carriage train can visit the Sariska Tiger Reserve for an outing in the thick forests of Aravalli Hills to get a glimpse of the rare royal Bengal tiger.

When not in service, the 130-horsepower engine has a pride of place at the National Rail Museum in New Delhi.

The locomotive was moved to the museum in 1971. Thanks to the efforts of steam-engine enthusiasts, it was renovated and in 1997 was pressed back into active service, now as a national heritage.

On January 13, 1998, the Guinness Book of World Records certified the darling of the Indian railways as the "oldest working steam locomotive," making it a celebrity of sorts. Steam-train enthusiasts from around the world, and especially from throughout India, arrive to ride on the wonderful smoke-belching black stallion.

The Fairy Queen underwent a major engine overhaul in September at the Railway Mechanical Works in the southern Indian city of Perambur in Tamil Nadu. It was completely stripped and each mechanical part was checked using sophisticated equipment.

Dying Mechanical Art

Maintaining steam engines is a dying art for the Indian Railways because its entire fleet is now either diesel or electric. Seasoned workmen from all over India were recruited for the expert restoration. Overhauling the 19th-century engine took more than a month and cost about U.S. $18,000.

Adbul Qadeer, the mechanical engineer in charge of the delicate restoration, said his team performed essentially "open-heart surgery" on the Fairy Queen, replacing all the aging boiler tubes and old brass bearings. The operation gave the locomotive a new lease on life, enabling it this month to achieve the fastest speed it had ever attained.

Breaking its own speed barrier was no small achievement for the Fairy Queen, said Yogendra Sharma, director of catering and tourism for the Indian Railway Board in New Delhi. Just running the steam locomotive is a major exercise, he said, so putting it back on tracks at record speed was like completing a marathon.

The newly refurbished passenger coaches of the Fairy Queen are equipped with modern amenities, providing a comfortable ride for tourists nostalgic to resurrect the coal-and-steam era—which ended here only several decades ago—when trains used to crisscross the Indian subcontinent.

The acrid smell of burning coal, the hiss of leaking hot steam, and the toot-tooting of the brass whistle are still the same as they have been over a century and a half of service.

Longtime steam-train enthusiast Iain D. Carter, a British national who is chief of safety and environment manager at the Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System, took a long ride on the foot board of the Fairy Queen's engine to experience the excitement of a unique piece of history. Said Carter: "The engine is in fine fitness, and the ride was a dream come true."