National Rail Museum celebrates 37 years of existence
National Rail Museum of the Ministry of Railways, celebrated its 37 years of existence in New Delhi today. Shri Arunendra Kumar, Chairman, Railway Board, was the Chief Guest at the celebrations. On this occasion, Shri Arunendra Kumar inaugurated and dedicated to the public. Darjeeling Hill Railway (DHR) loco & coach after restoration by the National Rail Museum engineers, technicians and professionals. For the very first time, Ho-Ho bus service has been introduced for National Rail Museum. Chairman Railway board Shri Arunendra Kumar flagged off the first Ho-Ho service from National Rail Museum. The first batch of tourists arriving by Ho-Ho was given warm welcome. The other important dignitaries present included Smt. Kanta Kumar, President, RWWCO, Railway Board Members, Sh. Alok Johri, Member Mechanical, Sh. A.K. Mital, Member Staff, Sh. D.P. Pande, Member Traffic, Sh. Kul Bhushan, Member Electrical, Sh. Subodh Jain, Member Engineering, Sh. Rajendra Kashyap, Financial Commissioner, and also Sh. H.K. Jaggi, Secretary, Railway Board, Sh. V.K. Gupta, General Manager, Northern Railway, PHOD’s of Northern Railway & Northern Railway Officers, Secretary & Executive Committee Members of RWWCO Officers from Railway Board, CMD’s of PSU’s, Sh. A.K. Sachan, DRM/DLI & his divisional team, Sh. Manu Goel, ED/Heritage, Sh. Uday Singh Mina, Director, National Rail Museum.
On the occasion, Shri Arunendra Kumar also felicitated the winners of the on the spot Drawing & Painting Competition organised for children on the occasion of children’s day in November 2013. Smt. Kanta Kumar, President, RWWCO was specially present on the occasion. A cultural progamme by Sangam Kala Group an NGO for promoting budding talents was organised on the occasion.
DHR Loco B-777
Locomotive B-777 (DHR-18) is one of the first 34 - B class steam locomotive used in Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. It was manufactured by Sharp Stewart & Co at the Atlas Works in Glasgow-England and put on service in the year 1881. This 2 feet gauge 0-4-0 saddle and well tank locomotive weighed 16 ton and had boiler pressure of 140 psi with tractive effort (pulling power of a locomotive) of 34.47 KN. It had a 7.75 ton axle load (total weight felt by the roadway for all wheels connected to a given axle). It was rebuilt at Tindharia Workshop-Darjeeling in 1917 and finally withdrawn from service in 1957.
DHR Coach ET-119
This is a four wheeler third class coach of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. It was manufactured at Tindharia Workshop on 1902 at the cost of Rs.1907/- (Rupees one thousand nine hundred seven only) with the sitting capacity of 16 passengers. This 4.360 meter long passenger coach had tare weight 1381 kg. It retired from service in 1968 after serving about 66 years. Now both has been restored to full glory by painstaking effort taken by Director, Sh. Uday Singh Mina and his museum team. Introduction of Ho-Ho Bus
Hop on – Hop off bus service is a popular tourist services operated by Delhi Tourism department for sight seeing in Delhi. National Rail Museum has also been inducted into its itinerary for the benefit of tourists. “Rail Museum is catering to almost 3.5 lakh footfalls annually and with the introduction of Ho-Ho bus the footfall figures will increase further and add to the popularity of the museum” says Sh. H.K. Jaggi, Secretary, Railway Board.
National Rail Museum (NRM) is the focus of Rail Heritage of India, a source of fascination and interest in Railways for all. Formally inaugurated on the 1st of February, 1977. This one-of-its-kind museum in Asia has an interesting collection of history, heritage, romance, nostalgia, fun, leisure and entertainment, all at one place. Sprawling over 10 acres in Chanakya Puri, New Delhi, it comprises an indoor gallery devoted to the display of various exhibits, models, records, photographs, coat of arms, documents etc. over 100 real size exhibits display the glory of the bygone era. The Museum promises to take the visitors on an exciting journey into the Railway history and heritage and depict their contribution to the industrial and economic progress of the country.
Courtesy : PIB