The Land of the Rising Sun - Rail Heritage in the North East

A special feature of this bridge is that the superstructure is all welded with no use of rivets or fasteners of any kind. This is going to be the first bridge of this kind on the Indian Railways.

When completed, it will be the longest road-cum-rail bridge in the country and the longest bridge of any kind over the Brahmaputra.

The most impressive sight at the Heritage park was the meter gauge (1000 mm) Garratt locomotive, which is a steam locomotive that consists of three joints (one boiler and two steam engines at each end of the boiler). The Garratt on display is the only meter gauge Garratt locomotive known to exist.

It was used during the Second World War, in Myanmar, by the British War Department. At the end of the war it was transferred to the Assam Bengal Railway (which later became the North East Frontier Railway).

The B class locomotive, although not as spic and span as the Bagnall, did give the impression that it could possibly have worked in the not too distant past.

Built by Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Ltd. (TELCO) in 1960, the YG locomotive worked extensively on the Lumbding and Tinsukia divisions of North East Frontier Railway before it was retired, in February 1997.

YG locomotives were the counterparts of the YPs for working goods trains. Till diesels and conversion to Broad Guage swept the steams before them, the YG was the main goods locomotive of the Meter Gauge system of the Indian Railways.

The YP loco of 1957 had been built by Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Ltd. In its heydays, it worked all the important trains of the NF Railway including the Kamrup Express, Assam Mail and Tinsukia Mail.

This steam locomotive used to carry trains of crude oil to the Margherita refinery, between 1891 and 1901.

In the picture: Model YG 4252, known as 'Sindh' stands at the Rewari Steam Locomotive Centre.

This loco is part of the trinity of locos 'Sahib', 'Sindh', and 'Sultan' in remembrance of the three steam locos that hauled the first passenger train on Indian soil in the year 1853.

In the picture: YG 3415 in motion at the Rewari Heritage Steam Locomotive Centre.

YG 3415, renamed as 'Sahib', is a meter gauge freight locomotive, built in the year 1960 by M/s. TELCO and can run up to a speed of 65km/hr.

In the picture: YG 3438 at the Rewari Heritage Steam Locomotive Centre.

YG 3438, renamed as 'Sultan', is the third meter gauge locomotive built in the year 1960 by M/s. TELCO and can run upto 65 km/hr, just like 'Sindh' and 'Sahib'.