London :
The ‘toy train’ chugging up a serpentine track through the Darjeeling hills is almost an image out of a fairy tale. But for Adrian Shooter the first look at the scene triggered a life-long love story that made him buy an entire locomotive to run in his London garden.
The world’s oldest surviving Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway (DHR) locomotive is back on track, thanks to Shooter. Smitten by the magic of a ride on the DHR (now an Unesco world heritage property) a decade and a half ago, Shooter, who retired as chairman of Chiltern Railways, bought the DHR locomotive — model number 778 — built in 1889 by Sharp Stewart and Company, Manchester, to restore it to perfect
condition.
The Indian government had sold the locomotive to Hesston Steam Museum in 1960, not realizing what its worth would be 50 years later when it was declared a world heritage by Unesco.
Shooter has also bought an Ambassador that runs by the train when it chugs through his garden to give it a feel of being in Darjeeling. He shipped the locomotive in a container from US to the steam rail workshop in Tyseley, Birmingham, where he restored it. The tracks laid in his garden over 1.5km is in the form of a loop just like in Darjeeling.
He has also built a station that looks exactly like the original Sukna station, besides laying a pathway that crosses over the tracks, exactly the way it is in Darjeeling.
In an exclusive interview to TOI, Shooter said “I bought the locomotive from the museum in Indiana, US, in 2002. It had been bought by a private individual, Mr Donnelley in 1960. He died in 1975 and it passed on to the museum after that. He was the boss and major shareholder in R R Donnelley Co, which is a very large printer and publisher in Chicago.”
He added, “I have several volunteers who help me operate the loco and we give rides to invited guests. We usually have 100-150 and do this three or four times a year. The loco is fully functional and is in excellent condition. Last winter it had a 10-year overhaul when, by law, the boiler has to be taken off the chassis, carefully examined and repaired as necessary.”
“The loco still has the original 1889 boiler and is, by at least 50 years, the oldest loco boiler in use in the UK. There are a couple of older ones in India. The reason that it has lasted so long is that it is made of wrought iron, which is much more corrosion-resistant than steel. It was obviously very well looked after during its 70-year use in India,” Shooter said.
Shooter will be in Delhi in February at the invitation of Mark Tully to speak at the Indian Steam Conference. He said, “Darjeeling Railway is very special because it climbs so high (over 7000 feet) through fantastic countryside with wonderful people. Many Britons had ancestors who lived, worked or visited Darjeeling. I still regularly come across people who went to school in Kurseong or Darjeeling. The engines themselves are of a sound design that have shown themselves to be more than capable on very steep and curvaceous railway tracks.”
Shooter, however, said he has no plans to return the locomotive to India. Britons will get a chance to ride on the train as it makes a special appearance at the North Pennines on September 26-28.
South Tynedale Railway at Alston is hosting Shooter’s train — Locomotive No. 19 — for an Indian-themed weekend of food, music and films. People will be able to ride on the train, dress like a local from Darjeeling and enjoy eastern Himalayan cuisine.
Locomotive No. 19 was withdrawn from the Darjeeling-Himalayan railway service in 1960 and, privately purchased, made its way to Indiana. In 2003, it was taken across the Atlantic to be restored by Tyseley Locomotive Works, Birmingham, for Shooter. At the same time, two replicas of DHR carriages were constructed at the Boston Lodge Works of the Ffestiniog Railway. These and the locomotive run in Adrian Shooter’s private garden railway.
India at present has 14 original DHR locomotives in working condition and 10 others on display at museums. Shooter’s train is the oldest of all DHR trains. Currently, only five DHR locomotives are privately owned, four of which are in Assam. The 778 is the only model outside India.
Indian railway expert Rajesh Agrawal said, “In the 1960s, India was getting rid of a large number of locomotives as we had more than we required. One such model was the 778. Nobody knew then that the DHR would become such a prized object. People also thought the 778 was not in working condition as it was 71 years old. A locomotive generally retires after 45 years.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Kounteya Sinha, TNN / September 19th, 2014