Golden Rock Workshop makes an ‘exhibit steam loco’ using discarded components

A technical team of the over 90-year-old Golden Rock Railway Workshop at Ponmalai in Tiruchi has made a ‘B class’ “exhibit steam locomotive” using condemned and discarded components. The swanky exhibit loco will be kept on display at the Bandikui railway junction in Rajasthan. 

The task of making the exhibit steam loco for display was entrusted to this British built workshop by the Railway Board, New Delhi as it had the necessary technical expertise in handling and overhauling ‘B’ class steam locomotives earlier.

 Workshop authorities told ‘The Hindu’ on Tuesday that discarded and condemned components and spares of ‘B’ class steam locos sent earlier to the workshop and which had accumulated over the years and lying idle within its sprawling premises were used and assembled in making the exhibit loco. These included hood, boilers, connecting rods, pipes, cylinders and an array of other unused items and spares. Some of the spares required in making the exhibit loco were done in-house at the workshop itself. 

 A team of over 10 technical personnel were involved in making the exhibit loco and accomplished the task in a period of four months, the authorities further said. The overall length of the exhibit loco is 5,878 mm with its height being 2,559 mm. The weight of the loco is 15.50 tonnes and its width is 1,753 mm.

The workshop is involved in a myriad of activities which includes periodic overhaul of passenger coaches, diesel locomotives and steam locomotives operating in the scenic Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) section. Besides this, it had also manufactured ‘X’ class steam locomotives with high speed diesel for operation in the NMR section.

It had also overhauled a ‘B’ class narrow gauge steam locomotive which was operating in the Neral to Matheran section located on the Western Ghats range in Raigad district in Maharashtra by converting the firing system from coal to oil-fired and by making other changes without altering the heritage look of the loco.

The authorities said a fresh coat of PU (polyurethane) painting was given to the exhibit loco to make it look bright and attractive. The exhibit loco has been fitted with lights and headlights and looks like a replica of a ‘B’ class locomotive in operation.  It was transported by road from the workshop premises on Tuesday morning to the destined location.