Mysore :

A miniature steam engine is the main attraction at the Railway Museum’s Sriranga Pavilion at the City Railway Station in city.

This is said to be the first of its kind model of a railway engine that actually runs on steam on miniature tracks laid inside the museum. The mini locomotive measures 84 cms in length, 31 cms in width, 36 cms in height and runs on a track measuring 15 cms in width. This engine is said to be a replica of Fairy Queen, a steam engine of the pre-Independence era.

The miniature model has been created by J.R. Antony Raj Padua and S. Shivakumar, technicians of the Mechanical Department of South Western Railways (SWR).

“Using scrap materials at the Railways Workshop and discarded brass items, we created this replica under the supervision of our superiors in six months’ time, spending Rs. 15,000,” they said.

This steam engine has a boiler unit in which the steam generated from boiling water is passed through a cylinder containing pistons which make the wheels of the engine move forward. Like the real engine, this too can move backwards when engaged in reverse gear.

Though such miniature railway engines were built in the past too, they were electric-powered. But this engine is the absolute replica of the Fairy Queen, which used to run on steam.

SWR General Manager Ashok Kumar Mittal flagged off the mini engine yesterday. Mysore Division DGM Vinod Kumar, Engineering Division Senior Divisional Engineer Kashi Vishwanath, Sr. DCM Dr. Anup Dayanand Sadhu, Publlic Relations Officer Ravindra and others were present.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / May 19th, 2013