Northern Railway organises parade of historic steam engines

New Delhi, Feb 2 (UNI) Northern Railway today organised a spectacular 'Parade of Steam Engines,' showcasing its glorious history at the Safdarjung Railway Station here.

The celebrations included a dramatised presentation of landmarks in the evolution of Northern Railway.

Commencing from the historic opening of the through-line by the East Indian Railway (EIR) from Calcutta to Delhi in August 1864, the narrative drew attention to the various heritage-buildings and bridges of the Northern Railway.

Following this, a fleet of steam engines including 1855-built 'Fairy Queen', world's oldest locomotive in working condition, 1930-built XE-3634 engine also called 'Pavandoot', 1943-built War Class locomotive AWE-22907 called 'Rajhans', the majestic 1955-built WL-15005 also called the 'Shere-e-Punjab' and the bullet-nosed locomotive WP-7200 called the 'Shahenshah' built in 1947 chugged along one after another to thunderous applause from the audience, especially the children.

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, who presided over the function, said alongside keeping pace with the rapid growth in technology, there was a need to preserve railway heritage.

Appreciating the efforts of Northern Railway towards this awareness campaign, he announced a reward of Rs ten lakh to the staff associated with the event.

Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Chandan Mitra and Member of Delhi Legislative Assembly Ashok Ahuja were also present on the occasion.

In keeping with the thematic objective of preserving railway heritage, Northern Railway had organised a series of activities during the last month to spread awareness among the public. This included round trips by 'Shahenshah' from Safdarjung Station on all Saturdays of the month, giving an opportunity to the people to travel in heritage coaches.

On popular demand two more such runs were scheduled for tomorrow and February 4.

UNI