NILAGIRI MOUNTAIN RAILWAY New Oil-fired technology saves the historic Nilagiri Steam Loco Backdrop The Nilagiri Mountain Railway (NMR) is a surviving steam heritage railway which is over 100 years old. Ooty had served as the Summer capital during the days of the British Raj and a proposal for a Railway was mooted in 1875, but it was not until 15th June, 1899 that the NMR, masterminded by J.Morant (Royal Engineers) and Swiss engineer Niklaus Riggenback, opened from Mettupalayam to Coonoor, later to be extended up to Ooty in 1908, mainly to serve the Army base. Totaling up to a length of 46 kms, the line became a part of the Southern Railway during the post independence re-organization in 1951. It is one of India's steepest railway line, built to negotiate sharp curves and such gradients as 1 in 12 with 16 tunnels and 250 bridges, making it a tremendous piece of engineering with no parallels even today. With closure of the main line steam sheds, NMR and the celebrated Darjeeling Himalayan Railway are the only surviving steam operated routes and the Indian railway is committed to the efforts to ensure the survival of steam locos in the interest of heritage and tourism. The NMR has mostly been dominated by the hardy "X" class tank engines built by Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works of Winterhur, Switzerland. These engines were introduced in 1914; there are 7 vintage engines in all, the youngest being almost 50 years old. The Locomotives exude regal beauty in their attractive shade of blue outlined in yellow with the divisional emblem on the side tanks besides other embellishments. But, the Railways has been facing a problem of non-availability of good quality coal for nearly 2 decades coupled with other problems such as tough manual labour involved in shoveling 4 tonnes of coal per trip and also the implications of environmental pollution, that threaten the very existence of the Steam locomotive which is a major Tourist attraction, in the Nilagiris. Foreign tourists flock the NMR just to experience the nostalgia of a bygone era of steam. The success of the conversion to oil firing of the newest "X" - number 37395 shall prompt the extension to the rest of the fleet, breathing a new lease of life into the cherished heritage steam locomotives of India. The Technology development initiative by TREC-STEP The upgradation of the heritage Steam locomotive from a Coal-fired system to an Oil-fired one is a unique and challenging project that was taken up by TREC-STEP under the banner of CII TDB T NET. The major problem of Railways of non-availability of good quality coal and also the punishing inhuman manual handling system has been addressed by the introduction of a new technology by TREC-STEP. In an attempt to solve the problems and retain the popular tourist delight on track the Southern Railways decided to convert on an experimental basis one of the "X" class engines - no 37395 into an oil-fired system. This challenging task was taken up by TREC-STEP with the confidence and conviction provided by its diverse group of Experts drawn from its own Entrepreneurs, Academia, BHEL and other organizations. In order to leave the antique beauty of the heritage locomotive largely untouched severe space constraints were imposed while installing the proposed system - "Boiler on wheels", in place. 35 experts from diverse fields such as combustion engineering, boiler controls, heat transfer etc., toiled on every minor detail to fine tune the system design which demanded new and unique solutions in:
Trial runs with the upgraded system in place were meticulously planned and coordinated with the various Railway departments, 70 trials were carried out on the Mettupalayam - Coonoor section over a period of 140 days. The "X" class steam locos operate between Mettupalayam and Coonoor, the first section of the track between Mettupalayam and Kallar is adhesion worked. Beyond Kallar with the Nilagiris looming large, the ruling gradient rises steeply to 1 in 12; this section of the track is the rack section - the taxing yet thrilling part of the ride which can be handled only by these sturdy "X" class engines which take on the sharp gradient by operating on the rack and pinion mechanism. The final stretch between Coonoor and Ooty has been dieselized. With all other efforts by the Southern Railways, such as replacement of the aging engines with a new fleet, electrification etc., being shelved for various reasons, the successful yet cost effective conversion to an oil-fired system has ensured that the vast Tourist populace comprising international and domestic tourists who throng the popular hill retreat shall continue to experience the ecstasy of an exhilarating ride while adding to the Railway exchequer. The powerful oil-fired locomotive now propels up to 6 compartments as compared to 4 by the coal fired one as it carries out the daily assault of the "Queen of the Hills" at a faster and maintenance free pace with an environmentally friendlier technology. As for the future of steam locos in India - the light at the end of the tunnel shines brighter than before. The oil fired system has restored the NMR back on track from the brink of extinction. This project marks the beginning of new technology introduction to the NMR fleet and also demonstrates the excellent project based working relationship between Southern Railway and TREC-STEP, thus providing a shining model of Industry-Institution-Interaction for other institutes to emulate. With the validation of the system by the Railways after the trials, the newly converted Oil-fired steam locomotive was flagged off by the Honourable Minister of State for Railways, Mr. A.K. Moorthy, Mr. S. Dhasarathy, Member Mechanical, Railway Board presided over the function. Dr. M. Arumugam, Principal, REC and Member-Secretary, TREC-STEP was also present on the occasion. The Technology development initiative by TREC-STEP In an attempt to solve the problems of non-availability of good quality coal and its handling under tough and grueling conditions the Southern Railway decided to convert on an experimental basis one of the 'X' class engines - No. 37395, into an Oil-fired system. TREC-STEP under the CII TDB-T-Net banner took up this challenging task with Southern Railway. TREC-STEP approached the project with the confidence and expertise provided by its entrepreneurs, academicians and experts from BHEL and other organizations. While leaving the heritage steam locomotive's antiquity untouched, the team had to design and integrate an entirely new oil-fired combustion system within the available space. The proposed combustion system was a rare and unique mobile system, "Boiler on wheels", and conversion to oil firing demanded new and unique solutions in:
With the modified design in place, the engine had to be put through trial runs since stationary trials were not possible. Each trial demanded meticulous preparation and coordination with the various Railway departments to avail necessary clearance, crew to water and service the engine etc. For each success there were also many failures and more reworking to fine tune the system design. Each improvement was time consuming and made great demands on energy and patience, 70 trials took over 140 days, but the efforts of 35 experts from REC, BHEL, Cummins, GrundFos, Wesman, Thermax, CMTI and a major backbone contribution from the TREC-STEP entrepreneurs, did not go in vain and the light at the end of the tunnel shone brighter than ever before; the Oil-fired Steam Locomotive sped away to success 20 minutes ahead of time. Now it is already serving the regular passenger service and also as a rescue engine for other coal fired engine breakdowns. It is able to pull 6 coaches eazily while the other coal-fired locos are struggling for even 4 coaches. The project is a shining demonstration of industry - institute partnership and also an industrial cluster/consortium based initiative of TREC-STEP and its entrepreneurs along with other major industries. In addition to satisfying the requirements of Railways in terms of replacement for coal fuel and also elimination of cruel physical handling system, the project has been able to provide a better environmentally friendly technology with very low NOx and SOx emission levels. This project has demonstrated excellent project based working relationship between Southern Railway and TREC-STEP, thus providing an excellent model for other institutions to follow. The project team which took up this demanding herculean task consists of the following persons without whom this project would never have seen the light at the end of the tunnel:
Other Major contributions from:
The Project has successfully restored the beauty of the "Queen of the hills", the tourist delight, the Nilagiri Mountain Railway back in track and ensured its sustainable future. By introducing an environmentally friendlier technology, the project has contributed not only to the Blue Mountains but also marked the beginning of new technology introduction to the Nilagiri Mountain Railway. |
