Will steam locomotive make it to the Guinness?

CHENNAI: Although it is 157 years old, the steam locomotive, EIR 21, has not run out of steam, even as it embarks on its Fourth Heritage Run to win the title of ‘The World’s Oldest Working Steam Loco’ in The Guinness Book of Records.Railway sources said that it is expected to take another three to six months for EIR 21 to replace Fairy Queen (EIR 22) as the oldest steam engine after the heritage run gets recorded. Chief Workshop Manager M A Inbarasu, who, along with his team of engineers in Perambur Loco Works, helped revive the 157- year-old wonder in 2010, said  he felt that the EIR 21 would soon be given the green signal to enter the record books. The recognition may have come officially on Monday with Railway Board member Sanjeev Handa, along with Deepak Krishan,  General Manager of Southern railways, boarding the train on its Fourth Heritage Run from Chennai Central to Perambur.Inbarasu said that he would be meeting the Delhi Heritage officer in this regard. “Once the officials from Guinness arrive here, we may also have a public run,” he said. Interestingly, the regular running of the engine, which was manufactured in 1855 in England by Kitson Thompson and Hewitson, is still away from entering The Guinness Book of Records, as its sister Fairy Queen is plying regularly between  Delhi and Alwar.“I don’t know exactly what  the requirements to enter into The Guinness Book of Records are. But we will work it out,” Inbarasu said.The engineers of Perambur Loco Works have played a major role in resurrecting ancient wonders. After resurrecting EIR 21, which was lying in Jamalpur Workshop, in 2010, the engineers are working to repair the Fairy Queen. “Premabur Loco Works has adequate knowledge and expertise to bring to life our nation’s ancient heritage,” he said.The EIR 21 has a capacity of 1,000 kg of coal and 3,000 litres of water. “There was no refuelling done during the trip from Chennai Central to Perambur,” Inbarasu said. “This time, we used 3G mobile technology in the 157-year-old locomotive.”It is understood that the steam locomotive EIR 21 was used by the East India Company to move troops between Howrah and Raniganj to quell the First War of Independence in 1857. “Now, we are proud of running the 157-year-old wonder by combining heritage with newer technologies,” Inbarasu added. Heritage Run: First Heritage Run: It was conducted on August 2010 from Chennai Central to Avadi with two coaches as part of Independence Day’s celebrations.Second Heritage Run: It was conducted on August 2011 from Chennai Egmore to Guindy, covering a distance of 11 km in 35 minutes in a mean speed of 31kmph. It had only one coach. Three video cameras were used. One in front of the engine to capture the mood of the public and two inside the loco to capture the wheel movement.Third Heritage Run: It was conducted from Egmore to Guindy to mark the 63rd Republic Day’s celebrations. It had a 60-seater coach and was fitted with GPS-based speedometer and a wireless video monitoring system.