They were beautiful indeed. I especially like those “vintage” style shutter on the cab and the tender. I guess it was a tradition feature of India steam locomotives. US folks might not interested in their small Pacifics and Mikados due to their “British Styling” appearance.
The quantity of India’s homemade steam engine was impressive, but this also implies that they didn’t need foreign made steam engine anymore.
These are all broad gauge locomotives as can be seen from the buffers.
Baldwin built two Pacifics numbered 900-901 and two Mikados numbered 998-999 for the MSMR, all in 1924. These became 37000-37001 and 37022-37023 in the All India renumbering. They were known as class HP and HG respectively.
The Mallet was supplied to the NWR as a single locomotive No 460 in 1923.
It was tested with a 2-6-2+2-6-2 Beyer-Garratt No 480 built in 1925 on the heavily graded section up to the frontier with Afghanistan. These two
The last of a dying breed. 600 were ordere… then Diesels happened. 100 got built. There are similarities to the India built Pacific’s.
Canadian Pacific Railway
G5 Class 4-6-2 1200-1301
Cylinders 20" x 28" Drv. 70" Press. 250 lbs. t.e. 34,000
Tender 14 tons coal, 8,000 gallons water.
Modern Pacific type dual service locomotives intended to replace hundreds of older Pacifics and Ten-Wheelers.
Two prototypes were built by Angus Shops (one for Western Lines and one for Eastern Lines).
Orders for 100 were placed with MLW and CLC out of a planned 600 were all that happened due to dieselization.
Preserved: 1201, 1238, 1246, 1278, 1286, 1293.
Note: 1293 said to have received a new boiler in 1952.
Posing for the photographer. Definately not the normal work force!
This is either 1200 or 1201 under final construction at Angus Shops. 1944
New G5
Looks like they were decorating a Christmas Tree. I like this photo! [C]
Yeah, steam should have lived on for another generation, say 25 years. It could easily have happened, it did elsewhere. Then who knows what advancements we create. So close, so close.
You know, love for steam is pretty much universal. Years back, I think it was in the 90’s, I was watching a National Geographic documentary on India and one of the topics covered was the Indian railways transition from steam to diesel. A lot of the Indian railroaders were not too happy about it, like they were losing some trusted old friends.
One did a remarkable impression of a steam locomotive getting underway and picking up speed as it left the station, his sound effects were amazing, and he was almost in tears as he finished.
Firelock76: I think I have the DVD of the documentary you mentioned! I bought it in a book fair around 2006, so maybe it is another documentary by National Geographic.
Possibly Mr. Jones. It’s been a while since I’ve seen that NatGeo documentary, I don’t remember everything about it, but I’ve never forgotten the Indian steam and that Indian railroader.
If I remember correctly they also showed an Indian “dress up the steam locomotives” festival. Some of the decorations they put on those locomotives were pretty clever and elaborate!
Thank you very much, BaltACD. “The Great India Railway” is the DVD I own.
I am glad to know that steam trains service in India is resumed, running between Farukhnagar and Garhi Harsaru:
Baldwin Steam Locomotives Being Loaded for Export, 1929
[I](I was informed that some of our forum members unable to log on to various Trains.com forums again since last week. I hope that the appropriate department can fix the problem asap, thank you very much!)[I]
We are a small group of expats living in Vietnam and are working on a website about the history of the railways of Indochina & Vietnam and are of course struggling with incomplete locomotive rosters and general lack of documentation etc. etc.
One of the mysteries is a meter gauge (very light) 460 locomotive (3 pcs ) that were supplied to CF Indochine by Mitsui company in 1916.
(None of the locomotives survived and so far no photo found. )
There were a lot similarish 460s sold to different Brazilian railways in those times, so maybe this one could be related ?
And you are of course welcome to explore the biggest ever Indochina/Vietnam collection of railway related photos and infos on
https://www.flickr.com/photos/189316830@N03/
rgds, Janez
