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Aboard the good old black beauty

Staff Reporter

`Rail Heritage Month' being organised

NEW DELHI: It was a lesson in railway history imparted on board heritage coaches. A "bullet-nosed black beauty" was chosen by Northern Railway on Saturday for familiarising people with the history of the Railways.

The "Rail Heritage Month'' currently being organised by Northern Railway aims at providing people a chance to learn more about the Railways by taking them on short trips aboard heritage coaches.

"Steam Heritage Run''

The "Steam Heritage Run'' on Saturday morning began from Safdarjung railway station and took passengers on a two-hour trip, passing through several stations including Hazrat Nizamuddin, Anand Vihar, Delhi Shahadra and Delhi Junction.

Visual treat for passengers

It was a visual treat for the passengers as they passed heritage sites like Purana Quila, Red Fort and Humayun's Tomb along the way. What added to the excitement of the passengers was the fact that of the four heritage coaches that were attached to the train, two were from the Railway owned by the Nizam of Hyderabad.

The train was pulled by a WP 7200 engine, which is a broad gauge locomotive, one of 16 prototypes that were received from the U.S. before their regular production began at Chittranjan Locomotive Works in the State of West Bengal. This engine, manufactured at Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia back in 1947, weighs about 102.4 tonnes and has a gauge of 5.6 feet. It retired from service in 1987.

WP steam engines

The WP steam engines were the mainstay of broad-gauge passenger train operations on the Indian Railways until 1995 when they were finally phased out. It was pointed out that the steam engines are important for the Railways not only historically as part of their technological development, also as a significant catalyst for the industrial revolution around the world.

Northern Railway will organise similar steam train runs on January 13, 20 and 27.

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