To celebrate the 75th year of Independence on August 15, Southern Railway will showcase the country’s oldest steam locomotive on a heritage run from Chennai Egmore to Kadambakkam.
According to a tweet by the Divisional Railway Manager of Southern Railway, the oldest steam locomotive, EIR-21, will depart from Chennai Egmore at 12 pm on August 15.
The oldest steam locomotive, EIR-21, which was manufactured in 1855 and hauled the first train from Howrah to in 1866, has been restored by Loco Works, Perambur. A heritage run of EIR-21 with one coach will take place on 15-08-2022 from Chennai Egmore to Kodambakkam at 1200 hrs, as tweeted by the DRM, Chennai.
Manufactured in England in 1855 by Kitson, Thompson and Hewitson, EIR-21 was shipped to British India in the same year. The locomotive pulled the first train from Howrah in West Bengal to Delhi in 1866.
According to official information, the locomotive was used by the East India Company and English and British training company between Howrah and Raniganj before being recalled in 1909 and thereafter kept in Jamalpur workshop.
However, it was put back into operation in 2010 for a heritage run from Chennai Central to Avadi after being restored. The locomotive has a 130-horsepower steam engine and can reach a maximum speed of 45 km/hr.
