RailEnquiry

The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore, which is part of the delegation of Coimbatore Railway Struggle Committee meeting the railway officials in Chennai on Friday, is seeking a heritage run of the WP Class locomotive on the Coimbatore–Mettupalayam section.

MEMORANDUM
In a memorandum to the Assistant General Manager of Southern Railway Headquarters, Chamber president M. Krishnan pointed out that the WP Class locomotive known as Big Black Boy with a star head was ruling like a king and it hauled the legendry Blue Mountain Express (Train Number formerly 5/6) and now numbered 12671/12672. The loco was used till 1980s.This was a heritage loco and the other one was known as Fairy Queen of East Indian Railway.The loco was very popular among rail users and rail fans in the past, with its shining star faced head, attractive to and fro motion of the piston, pulsating rhythmic sound of the crank levellers and connecting rods, occasional rush of hot steam rejected from the steam chest eventually getting condensed to hot droplets of water falling down, red hot furnace swallowing scoops and scoops of black anthracite coal, majestic gushing of smoke through its chimney during scavenging stroke and on top of it the coo---ing sound echoing and reverberating en route.

Seeking the trial on August 15 and extending it for two or three more days, Mr.Krishnan placed a point favouring the plea for the heritage run around Independence Day. He said that freedom fighter V. O. Chidambaram Pillai was incarcerated in the prison in Coimbatore by the British rulers and the citizens of Coimbatore would like to take out a walk from the prison to the railway station for embarking on the heritage run.

Keywords: WP Class locomotive