Reliving the past, glorious railway heritage gets a boost
S Vishnu Sharmaa, INN/Chennai, @Svs03
The prestigious organisation of Indian Railways that is into renovation and maintenance of locomotives plans to run the heritage steam engine EIR 21 on a track inside its premises and the members of general public can come and view that.
The main idea behind this is to expose the public to the rich railway heritage of our nation, said Arun Devaraj, manager, Loco Works Perambur.
He was speaking to Infodea on Saturday when the heritage steam locomotive EIR 21 was run on a track inside the Loco Works premises on Saturday for school, college students and family members of railway personnel. They had an oppurtunity to experience the popular steam engine and also know how it works.
It is usual for a heritage equipment to remain on a pedestal on any railway establishment premises or a museum. But that may not provide a know-how of the equipment, putting it on run and showing how it works will give public a better understanding of our good old valuable equipments, he said.
That is how the decision to run the heritage steam engine was taken, he said. Moreover, frequently running the engine will also help keeping it in a good condition. Initially, EIR 21 will be run on Saturdays from 3 pm to 5 pm.Based on the response, we will consider running the heritage engine on Sundays and other public holidays, he said.Excitement
While the railway personnel were busy handling the steam engine and keeping it ready, couple of school children went ahead with exploring the heritage steam engine. College students also did not stay behind. Many of them even took selfies with EIR 21 in the background.
‘I came to know about this event through my father’s friend,’ said Krishnapriya, a student of Industrial Design at VIT Vellore. ‘I gave my nod soon after I heard.’ It is good to know our past, said Sanjit, a 12th standard student with Bhavans Rajaji Vidyashram.
I heard from my father telling his experiences with the steam engine and that promoted curiosity in me and motivated me to come here to have glimpse of EIR 21. Things from the past give us lessons that are of high value, says R. Manigandan, a student of 10th standard at Sindhi Model Senior Secondary School. And that is why I made up my mind to see the heritage engine soon after I came to know about it through my friend Sanjit.
