Prize for repairing two DHR engines - UK-based society wins award for best heritage repair

Siliguri, March 10: Two engineers from the UK travelled 4,000 miles to India and repaired two Darjeeling Himalayan Railway steam locomotives within a year. Their effort has won them the first prize at the Heritage Railway Association which conducted a poll for the Steam Railway Readers magazine. On February 9, David Mead and Mike Weedon’s work was judged the best heritage railway project of 2012. The project was funded by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society (DHRS) — a UK-based association of steam locomotive lovers. “The prize awarded to us on February 9 is the jewel in our crown. The award recognises the Society’s work in improving the reliability and performance of the world-famous B-class DHR steam locomotives. David Mead and Mike Weedon, two engineers from the UK made three DHRS-funded trips to the Tindharia Locomotive Workshop,” David Barrie, the chairman of DHRS, told The Telegraph here yesterday. “With the willing assistance of local staff they were able to achieve significant improvement in the efficiency of two steam locomotives. They also assisted with skills training and a review of workshop procedures of the staff. The total fund spent by the DHR in the project was £16,000,” Barrie said. Steam Railway Readers is a magazine in the UK with a circulation of over 32,000. The Heritage Railway Association is an umbrella organisation representing heritage and tourist railway, railway museums and railway preservation groups in the UK and Ireland. The Tindharia engineering project was the only project (from India) among 16 heritage railway-engineering projects of the UK and Ireland. The project was funded by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society (DHRS) — a UK-based association of steam locomotive lovers. The Tindharia engineering project was the only project from India among 16 heritage railway-engineering projects of the UK and Ireland. “We were amazed and overwhelmed to win. We were up against some high-profile UK projects to overhaul steam locomotives. It appears that the unique nature of the DHR entry was that two engineers support by the DHRS had travelled 4,000 miles to India to overhaul the locomotives,” said Mead. “It is seen as a continuation of the long association between Britain and India, first developing the railways and supplying the rolling stock and now passing on our expertise in restoring and running heritage locomotives,” Mead said. Paul Whittle, the DHRS vice-president thought the Tindharia engineering project should participate after reading an article in the magazine inviting nominations for participation in the competition in August last year. “I called up the editor of the magazine to check if the engineering project would be eligible, it being an overseas railway project and was told he should consider it entered. Voting was strictly by Steam Railway Magazine readers and 16 finalists were reduced to three by voting in September last year. The voting for the top position resumed after that till December 31 and DHR was announced the winner at Union Jack Club in London on February 9,” said Whittle. Mead and Weedon had visited the workshop in Tindharia between mid-2011 and March 2012 and conducted repairs on the 99-year-old steam engine ‘B 791’ and 85-year-old steam engine ‘B 806’. Both these engines were manufactured at North British Loco Company, Glasgow. We were scouting for locomotives which needed major repair and came across B 791 and B 806. The two engines were operational but were not being used at that time due to several technical faults which needed correction. We got an adjustable link manufactured in the Tindharia workshop and fitted it to the engine,” said Mead. Asked if the DHRS would take the engineering project forward Barrie replied, “Indian Railways has expressed its sincere gratitude for the work and is keen to have a continuing fully-funded engineering relationship with the DHRS. Work is in progress on taking this forward”.