113-year-old steam engine back on Shimla-Kalka track

The steam engine had developed a snag three months back after which it was sent for repair to Amritsar

A 113-year-old steam engine is back after three months on the Shimla-Kalka heritage railway track after overhauling.

Steam engines are the main attraction for tourists, particularly foreigners in the state.

The North Indian railways have started the ride for tourists in the steam engine from the main railway station in Shimla till Kaithlighat, 20 km from the capital town.

“The engine was recently overhauled at Amritsar,” Prince Sethi, a railway official said.

On the first day, as many as 25 foreign tourists took a ride in the two coaches of the heritage KC-520, Sethi said.

“I saw a documentary on Indian heritage railways and had a wish to experience the ride on a steam engine,” Dawn Stancliffe, a tourist from United Kingdom said.

“Tourists who wish to visit Shimla, enquire about the steam engine rides. It is good that the steam engine is back on the tracks,” said Suresh Dogra, owner of a travel agency on the Mall Road.

The heritage engine KC-520 was commissioned in 1906. Steam engines were used to drive trains till 1970 before being replaced by diesel engines. The steam engine was withdrawn from service in 1971 and refurbished in 2001. Three months back the engine had developed a snag and was sent for repair.

The engine was built by North British Locomotive Company for ₹30,000.

The British laid the first rail link to connect its summer capital Shimla in 1903. In 2009, the Kalka-Shimla railway was declared a World Heritage site by the UNESCO. It takes around five hours to complete a one-way journey between two terminals.

There are 103 tunnels on the rail line besides 800 bridges, 919 curves and 18 railway stations.