Black Beauty Contest on Nilagiri Railway, Coonoor

On the occasion of the centenary of the extension of the metre-gauge Nilgiri Mountain Railway between Coonoor and Ootacamund [Udhagamandalam], a Black Beauty Contest was held at Coonoor on Oct.18, 2008, in rainy weather and fog.

Seen here is the Swiss steam engine 37393-X, named Aryabatta, in bright canary yellow attire "chugging on the ramp" toward the platform where the visitors and the judges were seated.

This oil-fired steam engine, converted from coal-firing mode in 2007 at Golden Rock Workshop, Trichinopoly, India, was built by Swiss Locomotive Works, Winterthur in 1950 and entered service on Jan. 17, 1953. It is still in use, pushing the train on the steep incline between Mettupalayam and Coonoor on the NMR.

NMR is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since July 2005.
V.M.Govind Krishnan's book: "NMR [Nilgiri Mountain Railway]-From Lifeline to Oblivion", documents the efforts of the public to thwart the moves of the Indian government to dismantle this unique railway, and keep it in running condition.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• NMR
• Coonoor
• Ooty

[adfgfds]

ear splitting whistle :x

[roudy1689]

cripes that whistle just gave me tinitis

[sweapy99]

Awesome 5 stars