Nilgiri Mountain Railway X class

Nilgiri Mountain Railway X class
Nilgiri Mountain Railway locomotive No.37385 preserved in the Delhi Railway Museum.
Type and origin
Power type Steam
Builder Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works, Winterthur, Switzerland (17)
Golden Rock Railway Workshop, Golden Rock, Tiruchirappalli, India (4)
Build date 1914, 1920, 1925, 1952, 2011-2014
Total produced 21
Specifications
Configuration:
 ​
 • Whyte 0-8-2T
Gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in)
Driver dia. 815 mm (32.09 in)
Fuel type Coal or Oil
Fuel capacity 2011: 850 litres (190 imp gal; 220 US gal) of diesel and 2,250 litres (490 imp gal; 590 US gal) of fuel oil
Cylinders Four, outside, compound
High-pressure cylinder Adhesion: 450 mm × 410 mm (17.72 in × 16.14 in)
Low-pressure cylinder Rack: 450 mm × 430 mm (17.72 in × 16.93 in)
Valve gear Walschaerts
Performance figures
Maximum speed Adhesion: 30 km/h (19 mph)
Rack: 15 km/h (9 mph)

X class locomotives are metre gauge 0-8-2T rack and pinion compound locomotives working on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway in the Nilgiri Hills of southern India. They are used on the 20 kilometer section between Coonoor and Mettupalayam, where the gradient of the track can be as steep as 1 in 12.5. The railway uses the Abt system on these steep sections. X class locomotives are compound locomotives with two high-pressure and two low-pressure cylinders, located outside the locomotive's frames. The low-pressure cylinders drive the rack wheels and are positioned above the two main high-pressure cylinders which drive the main wheels.

This class of engines was acquired to replace the line's original Beyer-Peacock 2-4-0 engines, whose traction power was not enough to handle the traffic.[1][2] The X class locomotives were bought in two batches from the Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works, Winterthur, Switzerland. The first batch (12-nos.) started operating between 1920 and 1925, and the second batch (5-nos.) in 1952.[1][3]

SLM orders

Table of SLM orders[4][5]
SLM Works Nos.YearQuantityNMR No.All India No.Notes
2456–2459, 2469–2470191461–637384ex-No. 1
2734–2736, 2733192047–1037385–37388
3000–30011925211–1237389–37390
4069–40731952513–1737391–37395
unknown2011 - 2014418-2137396-37399Non-SLM

Conversion to oil

Nilgiri Mountain Railway locomotive No.37395 at Coonor Shed, February 2005

Coil-fired Locomotive No. 37395 was modified to oil-fired in 2002. Soon after, another locomotive was modified the same way. The Railway aims to furnish more locomotives with the oil-firing system, since they are less likely to start forest fires caused by sparks. They are also easier to load with fuel. Only one fireman needs to travel with the driver of oil-fired locomotives, while coal-fired engines need two.[6][7]

New builds

To ease the load on the existing X class locomotives, four new oil-fired steam locomotives of X Class 0-8-2T rack and pinion compound engine bearing road were ordered, having a very similar design. The first one (No. X 37396) arrived in February 2011, entering service on March 24, 2011. The second one (No. X 37397) was rolled out at Golden Rock in February 2012 and entered service on NMR in March 2012. The third one built by Golden Rock, Trichy (No. X 37398) entered service in March 2013. The last one (No. X 37399) was rolled out on March 5, 2014, at the Central Workshop, Ponmalai, Tiruchirapalli to join the fleet after trials on the rack railway.

In fiction

In the 2016 animated film Thomas & Friends: The Great Race, a character named Ashima was based on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway X Class.[8][9] [Tina Desai]], an Indian actress and model, gave voice to the character.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 Bhandari, R. R. (2008). "Steam in history". IRFCA. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  2. ↑ "Blue Mountain Railway". India for Visitors. indiaforvisitors.com. 2003. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  3. ↑ "National Railway Museum". Rail in India. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  4. ↑ Hughes 1992, p. 98
  5. ↑ Hughes 1996, p. 58
  6. ↑ Rajaram, R. (21 December 2009). "Work for manufacturing four new oil-fired steam locos begins". The Hindu. Chennai, India: The Hindu Group. Archived from the original on 31 December 2009.
  7. ↑ "Oil fired Steam engine on Nilagiri Railway , India". Encyclopedia.com. HighBeam. 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  8. ↑ "Meet Ashima, and Her Impact on Child Product Sales to India". India Briefing. March 31, 2016. Archived from the original on December 7, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Ashima - Character Profile & Bio". Thomas & Friends - Official Website. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Flying Scotsman on track to star in new 'more diverse' Thomas the Tank Engine film". ITV News. April 6, 2016. Archived from the original on August 11, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  • Hughes, Hugh (1992). Indian Locomotives, Part 2 – Metre Gauge 1872–1940. Harrow, Middlesex: Continental Railway Circle. ISBN 0-9503469-9-3.
  • Hughes, Hugh (1996). Indian Locomotives, Part 4 – 1941–1990. Harrow, Middlesex: Continental Railway Circle. ISBN 0-9521655-1-1.
  • http://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno-plus?aid=lok&datum=1926&psge=81&size=45
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