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| XE | Item: Steam Locomotive |
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74. The massive XE ar Safdarjung station in Delhi, awaiting passage to the NRM. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: William Beardmore, UK Class: XE Year Built: 1930 Service: ER, WR, SR (SR machines were XE/1), This particular unit: EIR, ER, later served at (and retired from) the Coal Transportation Division of the MPSEB (Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Board), Korba , Wheel Arrangement: Mikado (2-8-2) Numbering: Initially 422, later 22541, changed to 3634 at the MPSEB Named: ---- Rail Gauge: bg (5' 6") |
| The XE arrived at the NRM quite by accident, as she was meant for preservation at another location. Happily, she stayed on as the latest addition to the NRM treasure trove (1998) The XE is one of a class of what is the heaviest non-articulated steam locomotive ever used on the IR. They used to weigh a good 200 tonnes in working order. The massive XEs were used all over the IR network in their heyday. In their final days however, they could be spotted by and large on the ER (Andal, Asansol, Jhajha), WR (Kota) and the SR. (Erode, Jolarpettai).This particular engine # 22541 was based at the Asansol shed of the ER, from whence she was sold to the the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board's facilities at Korba for hauling heavy coal trains. The engine was in service till as recently as December 1997. After withdrawal, the locomotive was cosmetically restored by the loco shed in Bhilai, before being moved to the NRM, albeit mistankenly. This engine has been kindly donated to the NRM by the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board for her heritage value. |
| TJ | Item: Steam Locomotive | |
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| 75.1 The TJ at the head of the old Palace on Wheels rake, at the very entrance to the NRM. | 75.2 This pic of the TJ was shot by me in 1983, and shows the engine in full black livery. The same black livery persisted even on my 1985 visit. | 75.3 A closer look at the beast. A caption painted on the side of the TJ in 1983 proclaimed that the TJs were the second lightest mg engines to run in India. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: W.G.Bagnall, Stafford, UK Class: TJ (non-standard) Year Built: 1888 Service: JR (Jaipur State Railway), later WR (Western Railway), Wheel Arrangement: 0-6-0PT Numbering: Initially 2646, JR no. 643, WR number not known. Named: ---- Rail Gauge: mg (3' 3 3/8") |
| The TJ was the second lightest mg engine to be used in India, as per a caption painted on her side in 1983. She led a rather unglamourous existence, performing shunting duties on the Jaipur State Railway, and later on the WR. At least one NRM publication (WR Metre gauge system by R.R.Bhandari) has stated that the engine is still in working order, and does perform shunting duties within the NRM grounds, as and when required. (a phenomenon probably not witnessed in recent years). When I visited the NRM in Nov. 1997, the TJ had been moved from her place in the museum's outdoor display area, and placed at the head of the old Palace on Wheels rake (due to be converted into a hotel) at the very entrance to the NRM. (see 75.1 above). |
| MTR | Item: Steam Locomotive |
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| 76.1 The MTR at the museum gates. | 76.2 Note the unusual baloon stack chimney. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: Dick Kerr & Co. London Class: MTR (non-standard) Year Built: 1910 Service: Karachi Port Trust, later Marla Timber Depot, moved to NWR (North Western Railway) (most of it now in Pakistan), finally creostating plant at Dhilwan on the NR (Northern Railway), Wheel Arrangement: 0-4-2T Numbering: 2 Named: ---- Rail Gauge: ng (2' 6") |
| The dimunitive MTR started her life at the Karachi Port Trust, Pakistan. She was later moved to the Marla Timber Depot on Northern India, and the NWR. She ended up as a works locomotive at the creostating plant at Dhilwan on the NR. Apart from her slender profile and dimunitive profile, another unique feature of the MTR is the bulbous baloon stack chimney.A common feature among wood-burning locomotives, these huge chimneys (also called 'spark arrester chimneys') incorporate a wire mesh on the inside, to prevent sparks flying out of the chimney and setting fire to the countryside. One more MTR is preserved in Delhi outside the Northern Railway Headquarters building. |
Item: Fire Engine (road vehicle) |
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| 77.1 The fire engine is now housed in a glass house, complete with mannequin firemen. | 77.2 The fire engine was usually the first exhibit to greet the visitor at the NRM. She was usually parked right next to the NRM main building entrance, and was kept out in the open. This was shot in 1981. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: John Morris & Sons, Manchester, UK Class: Not Applicable Year Built: 1914 Service: NSR (Nizam's State Railway), Wheel Arrangement: 4-wheeler road vehicle Features: 80 hp petrol engine, chain drive, turbine type of pump with a capacity of 700-900 gallons per minute. Water pipes: inlet 6" dia, output 3" dia. |
| This fire engine was procured for the Lallaguda Carriage and Wagon Works of the Nizam's State Railway (Hyderabad). She was in use till about 1960. The water pump is mounted on the vehicle's rear, and is driven by the main engine. The vehicle is also fitted with an 'exhaust ejector' type of priming device. The car is amazingly still in working order, and can run at a maximum speed of 60 kmph. The NRM enters the vehicle in the vintage car rally in Delhi every year, and she is a constant winner almost every time. |
Item: Fire Trolleys (road vehicles) |
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78-79. There are two trolleys in this pic, treated as two separate exhibits. One was used on the GIP Railway, and the other on the NSR. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: Not known Class: Not Applicable Year Built: Late 1800s/early 1900s Service: NSR (Nizam's State Railway) GIPR (Great Indian Peninsula Railway) later SCR (South Central Railway) and CR (Central Railway) respectively., Wheel Arrangement: 4-wheeler road vehicle Features: Hand-hauled and hand operated for use on station platforms, each is fitted with a rudimentary hand pump. |
| Recent additions
to the NRM treasure trove are two delightful little hand-hauled and hand operated fire
trolleys. Built in the late 1800s/early 1900s, these trolleys were placed on station
platforms, where road vehicles could not pass. Such fire trolleys were used on the Nizam's
State Railway and the GIPR (later CR): I have photographed one such trolley on the plaform
at Karjat as recently as 1992. Each of these devices if fitted with a very basic hand
pump, operated by two men in a see-saw motion. Additional information subsequently about
these hand pumps (courtesy Harsh Vardhan) is as follows:
(suitably modifien in keeping with the consistency of language and style): 1. THE PINK COLOURED TROLLEY IS CALLED `YADGIR' , (NAMED AFTER A SMALL TOWN BY THE SAME NAME NEAR GUNTAKAL. (YADGIR INCIDENTALLY IS FAMOUS FOR SAND) THIS TROLLEY BUILT BY MERRYWEATHER & SONS ENGINEERS, LONGRACE AND LAMBETH, LONDON. YEAR BUILT IS NOT KNOWN. IT WAS RENOVATED BY THE DIESEL LOCO SHED, GUNTAKAL ON 31.03.97. THIS TROLLEY WAS ORIGINALLY USED ON THE NSR.(NIZAM'S STATE RAILWAY). 2. THE MAROON COLOUR TROLLEY IS NOT NAMED. IT WAS BUILT BY SHAND & MASON, UK IN 1863 AND WAS USED ON THE GIP (GREAT INDIAN PENINSULA) RAILWAY. |
Item: Diesel Locomotive |
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80. The WDM/1s were the first bg diesels to run in India. A unit here is seen just received at the NRM (2000). The engine will be refurbished cosmetically and then displayed. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: American Loco. Co. (ALCO) Class: WDM/1 Year Built: 1957 Service: ER (Eastern Railway), SER (South Eastern Railway), Retired from Gonda shed on the NR (Northern Railway) Wheel Arrangement: Co-Co Features: Diesel-electric transmission, 4-stroke turbo supercharged 12 cylinder engine, 1977 hp Numbering: Not yet known Named: ---- Rail Gauge: bg (5' 6") |
| The very latest addition (Nov.2000) to the NRM treasure trove is this WDM/1 diesel electric locomotive: one of a class of the first broad gauge diesels to run in India. They were similar to Alco's World Series locomotives, and were unidirectional 'A' units. Although they proved beyond doubt that diesel has its advantages, this class was not repeated, due to the limited powerpack and the unidirectional profile. The engines were initially put on heavy coal and ore trains and on fast expresses on the Eastern and South Eastern Railway, and were subsequently retired from Gonda on the Northern Railway, where they ended their lives doing one off jobs. Some were re-powerpacked with Mak engines, and at least one unit had a flat nosed cab built into the blunt end by a certain diesel shed on the SER. |
WAG/1 (Bidhan) |
Item: Electric Locomotive |
PICTURE IS NOT YET AVAILABLE AND WILL BE UPLOADED SHORTLY |
81. The first WAG/1 ac electric freight locomotive built at India's Chittaranjan Works. The engine has been named 'Bidhan'. |
| VITALSTATISTICS: Builder: Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, India Class: WAG/1 Year Built: 1963 Service: NR (Northern Railway) GIPR Wheel Arrangement: Bo-Bo Features: 3400 hp freight locomotive, max. speed 80 kmph Numbering: Not yet known Named: BIDHAN Rail Gauge: bg (5' 6") |
| Another recent addition to the NRM is the first Indian built ac freight electric locomotive of class WAG/1. The engine is named 'Bidhan'. Further details and picture will be posted as soon as they are available. |
END OF OUTDOOR EXHIBITS
The Palace on Wheels was a novel tourist train launched by the Indian Railways around 1982, in association with the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation. The train comprised of nine Royal saloons and private rail cars of the erstwhile Maharajas and rulers of the Princely states. It was an attempt to re-create the high-old style and luxury of yesteryear. For a price, passengers could enjoy seven days of total luxury, travelling by a steam hauled train in exactly the same way the Royalty of yesteryear travelled, in those very cars the Rajahs and Maharajahs rode. It was luxury fit for a king.
The dream lasted less than a decade when complaints starting pouring in as to how the cars rocked uncomfortably while in motion. And the bumpy rides they offered. Luxurious alright, but the Maharajas had probably never travelled at such speeds in their time! It soon became apparent that the cars, all of them between 70 and 100 years old, were too old to keep on running. They had lived their life, and had given out the best they had, and it was not proper to thrash them about any further in this manner, without jepoardizing safety.
The Commissioner of Railway safety ordered the old veterans off the rails, and a spanking new airconditioned Palace on Wheels train took its place. Thanks to the curse of 'Project Unigauge', much of the mg track on the Palace's route was torn up and bg tracks laid instead. Thus yet another new Palace train was built, with bg cars.. The earlier mg aircon Palace rake now does another route, and goes by the name The Royal Orient. But thats another story.
The erstwhile Royal cars of the original Palace on Wheel train, now reduntant, were moved to Delhi and statationed just inside the NRM grounds, near the entry gates. It is understood that the rake will soon be converted into a luxury hotel. No train is complete without a locomotive, so one of the NRM exhibits, the TJ locomotive, has been coupled at the head of the rake. Till such time work on the hotel project is commenced and subsequently completed, the train will continue to sit there in the NRM grounds, the cars shuttered and gathering dirt.
I photographed the cars on my visit to the NRM in Nov. 1997, and a with a little research from other sources, I could collect some information about the cars, which I would like to share with you :
TJ
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This picture has appeared twice on this webpage already, but nonetheless has to be repeated here for the sake of continuity. Here is the TJ locomotive at the head of the old Palace on Wheels train. |
CT
9s
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Built in 1922 at the Bhavnagar Workshops for use by the Maharaja of Nawanagar. This car has a large central lounge with coupe'-s on either side of the lounge. |
CT
7 |
The only car in mundane IR maroon, this car was built in 1911, and was part of the Viceroy's special train. The car has four small cabins, of which three are coupe'-s and one is a four berth cabin. |
CT
744 |
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CT 744 was built in 1910 for use by the Maharaja of Rajputana. This car has a large saloon with two sette'-s. The lower berth on the other three coupe'-s are Dewan beds. (Far left: BB & CI crest on the side of the CT 744). |
CT
34755 |
Used by the Maharaja of Bhavnagar and built in 1929, CT 34755 features a small balcony at one end. The car has four two-berth cabins. |
CT
10
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This car was built to a very spacious form in 1953 from the original 1923 car used by the Maharaja of Bikaner. The lower berth in the three coupe'-s in this car have headboards, and the lounge in the car has a large period mirror. |
CT34757/814 |
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This car was built in 1910 for the Maharaja of Porbunder in Gujarat.This car is of a comparatively smaller profile, and has a balcony at one end, complete with brass railings. The balcony actually eats into the car's floor space. It has three coupe'-s and a tiny pantry which has barely enough space for a refrigerator and one staff member. (Far left: 'Booked to the Rail Transport Museum' stencil on the undercarriage of the of the car.) |
CT
34756/56 |
The unique feature of this car is the lounge at the centre, with two coupe'-s on either side. The car was built in 1917 for use by the Nizam of Hyderabad over his Nizam's State Railway. |
CT
17 |
Not much information is available about the history of this car, except that it was built in 1913. The car has a large, regal saloon, and four small coupe'-s. |
CT
3 |
The oldest car on the old Palace on Wheels train, CT 3 was built in 1889 for the Maharaja of Bikaner. It was the most sought after car on the whole train as it contained the only four-berth cabin with an attached bathroom! |
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<<<PREVIOUS 57-73 | THIS IS THE LAST PAGE OF OUTDOOR EXHIBITS |
| HOME | LOCATION MAP AND GENERAL INFO | HYPERLINKED LIST OF OUTDOOR EXHIBITS | INDOOR GALLERIES |
| OUTDOOR EXHIBITS | FAIRY QUEEN | SOUVENIR COUNTER | NRM:HISTORY & ORIGINS |
| CREDITS | LINKS |