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Pressing ahead with the outdoor exhibits: (Exhibits 3 to 23)
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item: Steam Locomotive |
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| 3.1 When I visited in Nov. 1997, the Ramgotty was receiving a fresh coat of paint, due to which the familiar lettering on the sides was missing.The engine has now been moved to the Fairy Queen's glass palace after the Queen was pulled out for excursion train workings. | 3.2 An earlier photograph of the Ramgotty, showing off her classic lines and the familiar large boxed name display on the side.(picture scanned from Mike Satow's 'Railways of the Raj') |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: Anjubault, Paris,France Class: None Year Built: 1862 Service: EIR (East Indian Railway), later Calcutta Municipal Corporation Wheel Arrangement: 0-4-0T Numbering: Not known Named: RAMGOTTY Rail Gauge: Initially 4' 0", later modified to bg (5' 6") |
| 'Ramgotty' is named after Ramgotty Mukherjee, who was the last GM of the Nalhati-Azimgunj light railway, built in 1862,which operated on an unusual 4'0" rail gauge. The line was taken over by the EIR in 1892 and re-gauged to the Indian standard bg. Ramgotty too was consequently re-gauged to bg, and became a shunting engine at the Jamalpur Workshop, till she was sold in 1951to the Calcutta Municipal Corpn. alas, for refuse train workings. The engine was consigned to the scrap heap in her centenary year, but happily, in 1974, was rescued, and returned to Jamalpur, before being retired to the NRM. The second oldest exhibit in the museum, Ramgotty is the only exhibit to have undergone a gauge change, and is the only locomotive in India fitted with outside Gooch valve gear. (caption based on info, gathered from Mike Satow's 'Railways of the Raj'). After the Fairy Queen was moved from here glass palace when she started hauling tourist trains, pride of place in the glass house has now been given to the Ramgotty. |
item: Steam Locomotive |
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| 4.1 The WP/P at the NRM in 1999, having just received a fresh coat of paint, and the pointed star re-instated.(Photo courtesy:Harsh Vardhan). | 4.2 A picture postcard sold at the NRM in 1997 shows the WP in a rather frayed condition, awaiting refurbishment and movement to the NRM. (Source: As above). | 4.3 The mighty WP/P as seen in Nov. 1997. She had been shunted to a corner, to enable movement of the Fairy Queen, and bore a ridiculous flower motif on the smokebox.Happily, both these shortcomings have been removed. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: Baldwin Loco Works, USA Class: WP/P Year Built: 1947 Service: GIPR (Great Indian Peninsula Railway), later C.R. Wheel Arrangement: Pacific (4-6-2) Numbering: 7200 Named: ---- Rail Gauge: bg (5' 6") |
| Encouraged by the sterling performance of US built steam engines during the war, the IR drew strong influences from these engines when designing standard bg engines for express passenger duties.(and freight). The post war designs followed the bar frame design of the Yankee engines, and also took advantage of the large firebox and grate area of the wartime US built engines, which were more suitable for burning inferior quality coal. Ten years of hard work brought out an excellent express passenger locomotive design, which took advantage of the best in US and British design features, tending more towards the US designs for reasons stated above. Orders for the first batch of engines based on the new design were placed on Baldwin, USA. Thus emerged the fabulous WP class of locomotive, a radically new type of engine in the country, with a semi-streamlined, bullet nosed casing, disk wheels and recessed headlight, with a typical American whistle. The engines were later 'Indianized' with addition of features like a cowcatcher, cab side shutters etc.,and were subsequently built in India. Pride of the IR fleet, the handsome devils were the mainstay of the bg express traction secanrio for over four decades, and continued hauling important trains till withdrawal as recently as 1995. The first sixteen prototypes were classed WP/P (the second 'P' for prototype) of which this was the first to arrive. There are plans to steam this engine, but nothing concrete has been revealed so far. |
item: Passenger Car |
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5. The graceful ERC car at the NRM Delhi. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: Original: Not Known. Re-built at the Central Workshops, Alambagh, Lucknow Class: ERC Year Built: 1890, Re-built 1905 Service: O &RR (Oudh and Rohilkhund Railway), Wheel Arrangement: 4 Wheeler Numbering: 4910 Named: ---- Rail Gauge: bg (5' 6") |
| Not much information apart from what appears in the table above is available about this beautiful specimen, bedecked in elegant white/green livery. It is a wooden bodied 4-wheeled car on a steel underframe, typical of cars of its time. The original fittings of the car are intact. Apart from a sunshade running all round, the car is also provided with a kitchen and toilet. The ERC saw service on the erstwhile Oudh and Rohilkhund Railway near Lucknow in Northern India. |
item: Steam Locomotive |
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6. Note the typically British slender outline and graceful styling of the B-26. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: Sharp, Stewart & Co. Manchester Class: B (non-standard) Year Built: 1870 Service: O & RR (Oudh & Rohilkhund Railway) Wheel Arrangement: 0-6-0 Numbering: 26 Named: ---- Rail Gauge: bg (5' 6") |
| One of the earliest examples of a Sharp Stewart machine, the slender and graceful B-26 was used for mixed traffic operations between Lucknow and Cawnpore (Kanpur) on the Oudh and Rohilkhund Railway. She was retired from service in 1921. The engine is said to be fitted with a two-tone whistle to give a very pleasing whistle tone. |
item: Freight Car (goods wagon) |
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| 7.1 A view of the steel bodied freight car at the NRM. | 7.2 The unusual circular doors (locked from inside) which the car has at either end. | 7.3 Close-up of the bottle-jack buffers (right) fitted to the freight car. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: Central Workshops,Alambagh, Lucknow Class: ---- Year Built: 1879 Service: O & RR (Oudh & Rohilkhund Railway) Wheel Arrangement: 4-Wheeler Numbering: 148 Named: ---- Rail Gauge: bg (5' 6") |
| 148 is one of the earliest examples of a fully covered, steel bodied rivetted freight car, and it saw service on the erstwhile Oudh and Rohilkhund Railway in Northern India. The original 'bottle jack' buffers (so named due to their unusual shape: ref 7.3 above) have been retained intact on the car. Another unusual feature of the car is the provision of two round doors at either end, in addition to the normal loading doors. (ref. 7.2 above). The purpose of these doors is mystifying, especially considering that they are locked from the inside! |
item: Steam Locomotive |
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8.Shady trees and a quiet life: back at home on Indian soil: the ST 707 in the NRM grounds. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: Asembled at NWR's Mughalpura Workshops from parts received from North British Loco. Co. Class: ST (non-standard) Year Built: 1904 Service: NWR (North WesternRailway: most of it now in Pakistan) Wheel Arrangement: 0-6-2T Numbering: 707 Named: ---- Rail Gauge: bg (5' 6") |
| The earliest Indian locomotives were imported from Britain.It was a common practice among most British manufacturers to provide one full set of locomotive parts along with consignments of fully built locomotives. In effect, this tantamount to getting one full CKD locomotive kit as an added extra. Some of the more enterprising loco sheds got down to assembling these parts (rather than use them for spares) so as to generate one additional locomotive. ST 707 was one of the first such examples assembled in-house. Put together at the NWR's Mughalpura works, she was used for shunting purposes on that railway. Most of the NWR is now in Pakistan. |
item: 6-car Armoured train |
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9-14. Away from all the fighting and bloodshed, the armoured train rests peacefully in the NRM. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: Converted at the Ajmer Works of the B B & C I (Bombay, Baroda and Central India) Railway Class: --- Year Built: As per table below Service: Not known Wheel Arrangement: 6-car formation Numbering: As stated below Named: ---- Rail Gauge: mg (3' 3 3/8") |
| Armoured trains fitted with long range 'maxim' guns were used extensively by the British in India, on all those areas having access to the railway. The use of such trains was most common during World War I, i.e. till about 1920 or so. The NRM has managed to rescue and preserve one such complete train formation. Converted into an armoured train at the Ajmer Works from freight cars on 1880s vintage, each car is fitted with a half inch thick armoured plate, followed by a 3" thick felt lining, with another 3/4" thick armoured plate after that: enough to protect the occupants against normal gunfire. Each of the six cars served a specific purpose, as detailed below. |
9.Car # 8952 (built:1886):Open flat car fitted with a cowcatcher at one end. |
10 .Car # 9908 (built:1890):Covered armoured car fitted with a searchlight on the roof, two maxim guns inside.. |
11. Car # and year built not known: open car for 12 pounder gun. |
| 12. Car # and year built not known: covered 4-wheeled armoured car for petrol engine and generator. | 13.Car # 9919 (built:1890):Covered armoured car fitted with a searchlight on the roof, two maxim guns inside.. | 14.Car # 8956 (built:1886):Open flat car fitted with a cowcatcher at one end. |
item: Steam Locomotive |
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| 15.1 The YB at the NRM. Note the decorative step leading onto the buffer beam. | 15.2 A plaque affixed to the cab side proclaims that the YB was gifted to the NRM by the Izzatnagar Workshops of the NER. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: Nasmyth Wilson, Manchester,UK Class: YB Year Built: 1935 Service: BNWR (Bengal and North Western Railway), later O & TR (Oudh and Tirhut Railway), finally NER (North Eastern Railway) Wheel Arrangement: Pacific (4-6-2) Numbering: 429 Named: ---- Rail Gauge: mg (3' 3 3/8") |
| The standard post-World War I locomotives on the Indian metre gauge were the YD 2-8-2 Mikado for freight operations, and the YB 4-6-2 Pacific for passenger services. 429 seen here is one of the YB Pacifics, and was gifted to the NRM by the Izzatnagar works of the NE Railway. The YBs came in after 1926, and they are fitted with what is called a 'Caprotti type' of valve gear for optimum steam distribution. Note the decorative drop down step leading onto the front buffer beam. |
item: Steam Locomotive |
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16. The AWEs were built to mighty US loco proportions. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: Baldwin Loco Works, USA Class: AWE Year Built: 1943 Service: GIPR (Great Indian Peninsula Railway), later C.R.(Central Railway). Wheel Arrangement: Mikado (2-8-2) Numbering: Original:69703, GIP no. 6128, CR no. 22907 Named: ---- Rail Gauge: bg (5' 6") |
| The AWE represents one of a class of wartime locomotive designs imported from the US . The reasons for the shift from conventional British suppliers were two: to overcome a severe motive power shortage, and to tide over certain shortcomings with the IRS designed locomotives. For instance, the British designs were most suited to burn good quality Anthracite coal. The US designs on the other hand offered a large firebox and grate area,which were more suited for the comparatively lower quality lignite and bituminous varieties of coal.The AWEs had virtually the same dimensions of the earlier (1928) IRS era XE locomotive (one of which is also preserved at the NRM for comparision if you are keen) with negligible differences. The AWEs were primarily freight engines, but were also used on passenger train workings towards the end of their working life. |
item: Steam Locomotive |
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| 17.1 A celebrity in her own right, this shot of the WL (Nov.1997) still shows her with most of her embellishments intact. | 17.2 A NRM plaque affixed to the cab side proclaims the engine's celebrity status. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: Vulcan Foundry, UK Class: WL Year Built: 1955 Service: SR (Southern Railway), later C.R. (Central Railway) Wheel Arrangement: Pacific 4-6-2 Numbering: 15005 Named: Sher-e-Punjab Rail Gauge: bg (5' 6") |
| WL 15005 enjoys the honour of having worked the last broad gauge steam train on the IR. The run was between Ferozepore and Jullundur (now Jalandhar) on the NR, on 6th Dec.1995. This class of locomotives was designed for light tracks and for secondary passenger duties, and WL 15005 spent her working life doing just that. The engine started off on the SR, and was assigned to the Shoranur shed in Kerala. She was later moved to the NR, and was homed at Bhatinda, Ludhiana, and finally Ferozepore, from whence she finally retired. Although she has been named 'Sher'e-Punjab', it appears that this naming was for the historic last bg steam run only. Although this was officially the last bg steam run on the IR, steam continued in odd corners till a couple of years later. |
Item: Passenger Car |
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| 18.1 The 6-wheeled ERA car shot in Nov.1997. It was not possible to shoot from the other (balcony) side due to another exhibit being coupled at that end. | 18.2 The MSM logo painted on the side of the car. | 18.3 This pic shot by me in 1981 shows the balcony at the other end of the car. I was greatly fascinated by a switch under the balcony which read 'tail light switch'. This has now been painted over. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: Perambur Workshops of the SR (Southern Railway) Class: ERA Year Built: 1914 Service: Initially MSM (Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway), later SCR (South Central Railway). Wheel Arrangement: 6 Wheeler Numbering: MSM no. 15, SCR no. 024 Named: ---- Rail Gauge: bg (5' 6") |
| The ERA is a six wheeled wooden bodied car used primarily for inspection purposes by railway officials, initially on the erstwhile Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, and later on the South Central Railway. Apart from a kitchen and an attendants' cubicle, the car is also provided with a balcony at one end. (I could not shoot from the balcony end when I visited in Nov.1997 due to another exhibit being coupled at that end, due to re-organization of the outdoor display.) Electric lighting was provided inside the car. |
item: Steam Locomotive |
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| 19.1 The PHOENIX in the NRM grounds as seen in November 1997. | 19.2 An earlier shot of the engine in the NRM shows the engine in her original form,without the jazzy flower on her smokebox.(from 'Railways of the Raj') |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: Nasmyth Wilson and Patricroft, UK Class: None Year Built: 1907(as a railmotor); converted to an ordinary steam engine in 1927 Service: EIR (East Indian Railway), Wheel Arrangement: 0-4-0WT Numbering: Originally 798, EIR no. 1354 Named: PHOENIX Rail Gauge: bg (5' 6") |
| Railmotors (coach with built-in steam locomotive) were used by several railways for minor passenger services. In 1907, Nasmyth Wilson of the UK supplied five railmotors to the erstwhile East Indian Railway, of which PHOENIX was one. The others were ATLAS, HERCULES, AJAX, and SAMPSON. In 1925, the coach portion was scrapped, and the power bogies were re-built at the Jamalpur workshops as small shunting engines. Of the four shunting engines so retreived, PHOENIX (pictured above) was moved to the NRM, and HERCULES was preserved at Jamalpur. (now moved to the Diesel Loco. Works at Varanasi). SAMPSON and AJAX were scrapped. ATLAS was moved to the Calcutta Municipal Corporation for refuse traffic, like the venerable Ramgotty, and was subsequently scrapped. (caption based of info gathered from Mike Satow's 'Railways of the Raj'.) |
item: Steam Locomotive |
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| 20.1 The sheer size of the behomoth XG/M can well be appreciated from this photograph. | 20.2 This amusing shot shows the contrast in size between the massive bg XG/M and the dimunitive ng Mourbhuj coach. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: Beyer Peacock, Manchester, UK Class: XG/M Year Built: 1928 Re-built in 1943 at the Mughaplura Workshops of the NWR (North Western Railway) Service: NWR (North Western Railway), later EPR(East Punjab Railway). Wheel Arrangement: Origially Decapod (0-8-0), re-built in 1943 as a Mikado (2-8-2) Numbering: Originally 650, altered to XG/M 911, altered to 973, finally XG/M 36826 Named: ---- Rail Gauge: bg (5' 6") |
| Beyer Peacock have always been renowned for their penchant for massive engines, (eg. the Garratt), and the XG/Ms were no exception. The engines, originally classed XG, were built as giant Decapods (0-8-0) with a massive 23 tonne axle load. They were used for hump shunting of heavy freights on the erstwhile North Western Railway (NWR) (most of it now in Pakistan). They caused a lot of damage to the track due to their sheer weight, and consequently had to be rebuilt as Mikados (2-8-2), with the addition of an extra axle at either end to spread out the weight. They were then re-classed as XG/M. |
| fireless locomotive | item: Steam Locomotive |
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| 21.1 The fireless loco at the NRM. | 21.2 The steam boiler protrudes well into the cab. Note absence of a firebox. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: Henschel, Germany Class: None Year Built: 1953 Service: Factory loco (works shunter) at Sindri Fertilizers, Sindri, Bihar Wheel Arrangement: 0-4-0 Numbering: 25630 Named: ---- Rail Gauge: bg (5' 6") |
| A fireless locomotive is, as the name suggests, one which does not use fire. i.e. it does not need to burn coal to create steam. The engine has instead a high-pressure steam vessel, in which it collects ready-made steam from a distant steam/boiler plant. Such locomotives are used in places like chemical plants, where sparks flying out of the locomotive chimney could prove to be a major fire hazard. As the capacity of the engine is limited to the amount of steam the boiler can hold, the utility and range of these machines is necessarily very limited, and speeds very low. This particular fireless locomotive was used by the Sindri Fertilizer works in Bihar, and was gifted to the NRM by that company. |
| gaekwar of baroda saloon | Item: Passenger Car |
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| 22.1 The GBSR saloon enjoys protected status at the NRM! | 22.2 An attempt to shoot the ornate ceiling of the car. It was pitch dark inside, with bright sunlight reflecting on the tinted glass pane outside.This is the maximum I could manage to get. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: Parel Workshops of the BB &CIR (Bombay,Baroda and Central India Railway),Bombay Class: ERB Year Built: 1886 Service: Initially GBSR (Gaekwar of Baroda State Railway), later BB & CIR (Bombay,Baroda and Central India Railway). Wheel Arrangement: 6 Wheeler Numbering: 20 Named: ---- Rail Gauge: bg (5' 6") |
The Gaekwar of Baroda saloon was a unique masterpiece,and one of a kind.Built in 1886, the car was used by the Gaekwar extensively on his tours of those areas in his kingdom which were served by bg track. The wheel arrangement of the car was unique: of the six wheels,(three axles), the centre axle was rigid, while the two outer axles (at each end) could swivel according to the curvature of the track. Another unique feature of the car was the elaborate gold enamelled work on the ceiling, which unfortunately suffered extensive fire damage. Part of it has been restored,and is visible from outside, through one of the locked glass windows of the car. (see abortive pic. 17.2 above). |
| dynamometer car | Item: Dynamometer Car |
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| 23. The dynamometer car at the NRM. Note the tapered car ends: a feature of some British built cars at that time. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: Car by Metropolitan Cammel, UK Equipment supplied by Alfred J.Amsler, Switzerland Class: WRK Year Built: 1930 Service: GIPR (Great Indian Peninsula Railway), later C.R.(Central Railway). Wheel Arrangement: Bogie stock Numbering: 2483 Named: ---- Rail Gauge: bg (5' 6") |
| Built in 1930, the dynamometer car was used on the GIP Railway (now Central Railway). The car was used to evaluate performance characteristics of locomotives, and to determine power requirements for different loads. The equipment housed with the car could also calculate the level of resistance by the rolling stock to traction. Tests used to be carried out under various load, speed and gradient conditions. |
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| HOME | LOCATION MAP AND GENERAL INFO | HYPERLINKED LIST OF OUTDOOR EXHIBITS | INDOOR GALLERIES |
| OUTDOOR EXHIBITS | FAIRY QUEEN | SOUVENIR COUNTER | NRM:HISTORY & ORIGINS |
| CREDITS | LINKS |