Posted: Dec 01, 2011 at 0045 hrs IST
Mumbai The unsuccessful journey of 95-year-old steam engine B-794 on the Neral-Matheran route on Sunday last could perhaps be its last trip as the forest department had given only a one-time permission. Officials doubt if steam engines could be plied on this route.
Railway sources said the forest department had objected to the use of the steam engine when the railway permitted a chartered trip of three coaches — a trip booked by the IRCTC for a group of passengers.
“They claimed that plying steam engines on the route could cause pollution at Mathreran. It was after many requests from the railway officials that they gave this one-time permission, but it failed,” an official said.
The CR mechanical department has blamed its operations department for the failed trip. It said the operations department had not conducted trial runs of the steam engine beyond Jumpatti station — from where the route takes a steep spiral climb — despite several instructions to the same. It says the three-four runs of the steam engine this year were restricted to Jumpatti.
“The wheels of the steam engine were trapped on a 100-degree curvature when they tried to climb the hills after Jumpatti. Some employees had also reached there and argued with the railway staff as they did not know that their superiors had given permission for running the steam engine. According to them, steam engines pollute the fragile environment of Matheran,’’ a CR official said on condition of anonymity.
“The operations department had permitted plying of the steam engine from Neral to Matheran without conducting any trials from Jumpatti to Matheran.”
The narrow guage steam engine B-794, manufactured by Baldwin Loco Works, UK, in 1917, was in operation on the Neral-Matheran section for special trips till last year, when it was brought to Neral for repairs. The services on the section were suspended between 2005 and 2007 following the deluge.
Between 2007 and 2009, it had done 12 trips and was due for periodical overhauling. The engine, operational on Darjeeling Himalayan Railways earlier, was recommissioned at the Parel workshop in 2001.
Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/snaghit-journey-could-be-last-run-of-1917-engine/882553/