Press releases
The oldest and largest operational fleet of narrow gauge steam locomotives in the world was awarded a prestigious Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Engineering Heritage Award at a special ceremony on Saturday 19 November.
The B class steam locomotive fleet was honoured for its services to the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway since 1889, while maintaining most of its original design features.
Previous winners of Engineering Heritage Awards include Alan Turing’s Bombe at Bletchley Park, the E-Type Jaguar and the fastest ever Concorde.
The award was presented by the Chairman of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ India branch, Ravi Kochak to Subrata Nath, Executive Director Heritage at Indian Railways.
Ravi Kochak, Chairman of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ India Branch, said:
“This is the 107th Heritage Award and the first to be presented in India. The DHR B class steam locomotive fleet is a worthy winner.
"The recognition of the fleet by the Institution underlines the proud skills and ingenuity of our mechanical engineers - past and present - who have played such an important part in the development of the railway industry in Darjeeling and India as a whole."
Paul Whittle, Vice Chairman of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society, said:
“We are delighted that this world-famous fleet of steam locos has been recognised by the Institution as so special. The plaque will be displayed at the Ghum museum of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway where it will be seen by the many thousands of people who ride the UNESCO World Heritage railway each year.”
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the "Toy Train", is a 2 ft narrow gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in West Bengal. Built between 1879 and 1881, the railway is about 86 kilometres long. Its elevation level varies from about 100 metres at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 metres at Darjeeling.
Four modern diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled services, however, the daily Kurseong-Darjeeling return service and the daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum (India's highest railway station) are handled by the vintage British-built B Class steam locomotive, DHR 778. The railway, along with the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Kalka-Shimla Railway, is listed as a Mountain Railways of India World Heritage Site. The headquarters of the railway are in the town of Kurseong.
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers was established in 1847 and has some of the world’s greatest engineers in its history books. It is one of the fastest growing professional engineering institutions. Headquartered in London, we have operations around the world and over 113,000 members in more than 140 countries working at the heart of the most important and dynamic industries such as the automotive, rail, aerospace, medical, power and construction industries.
The Engineering Heritage Awards, established in 1984, aim to promote artefacts, sites or landmarks of significant engineering importance – past and present.
For more information: Engineering Heritage Awards