The Fairy Queen, is the oldest working Steam Locomotive in the world
The 162 year old locomotive will haul a tourist train called 'The Steam Express' once a month between Delhi and Alwar via Rewari.
The Fairy Queen, is the oldest working Steam Locomotive in the world, is also known as the East Indian Railway 22 class is an 1855-built steam locomotive, restored and housed at the Rewari Railway Heritage Museum. It frequently runs between New Delhi and Alwar, in Rajasthan for 2 Days/1 Nights. In 1998 It was Certified in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s oldest steam locomotive in regular service. The Fairy Queen runs on the same route as the Palace on Wheels, the tourist train launched in 1982, and in 1999 was awarded a National Tourism Award.
History
The locomotive was constructed by Kitson, Thompson and Hewitson at Leeds, in England, in 1855, and reached Kolkata, then known as Calcutta, in the same year. On appearance, it was given fleet number “22” by its owner, the East Indian Railway Company; it was named 1895. Initially, the 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge locomotive was used to haul light mail trains in West Bengal, operating between Howrah and Raniganj, and during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 hauled troop trains. It was later consigned to line construction duty in Bihar, where it served until 1909.
The Fairy Queen spent the next 34 years on a pedestal outside Howrah station. In 1943, the locomotive was moved to the Railway Zonal Training School at Chandausi, in Uttar Pradesh, where it served as a curiosity object for many of the students based there.
The Fairy Queen was built by Kitson, Thompson and Hewitson at Leeds in England in 1855. The coal-fired engine is powered by two outside cylinders measuring 12 by 22 inches (300 mm × 560 mm), and has a power output of 130 horsepower (97 kW), producing a maximum speed of 40 kilometres per hour (25 mph). It carries 3,000 litres (660 imp gal; 790 US gal) of water in an underslung water tank. The locomotive weighs 26 tonnes (26 LT), and the coal tender 2 tonnes (2.0 long tons; 2.2 short tons). Built for the 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) Indian gauge, it has a 2-2-2 wheel arrangement, developed by Robert Stephenson and Company in 1833, with a driving wheel measuring 1,829 millimetres (72.0 in) in diameter.
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