ट्रेनों का सफर, ज़िन्दगी का सफर, रेलफैन दोनों में माहिर

The first Rajdhani Express of IR, 12301 Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express a.k.a. the 'Kolkata Rajdhani' completed her 55 Glorious Years of Service in 3rd March, 2024 (3rd March, 1969 - 3rd March, 2024). The eventful day being a Sunday, it became a recurrence of the Golden Jubilee day in 2019. Therefore, 12305 Up Howrah Rajdhani Exp via Patna got the honor in place of 12301 Up via Gaya !! We, the rail enthusiasts, organised a small celebration which included light decorations on the locomotive & rake and a cake cutting ceremony.

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could have done even better but due to certain constraints we managed to achieve only this much. Thanks to all my fellow railfans who worked really hard. We are grateful to the officials of Eastern Railway who made the process much smoother despite their busy schedules specially DGM (G) Sir & Sr. DCM Sir / HWH. Also, thanks to all the contributors & all those who supported us wholeheartedly.

The wonderful train board was designed by our fellow rail enthusiast, Sahil Kamdi from Nagpur.

Celebrating World Heritage Day !

Although, World Heritage Day is mostly meant for historical monuments & sites, here is one of those many examples which has bagged the heritage tag from the perspective of Indian Railways.

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the Guinness World Record holder of the World's Oldest Running Steam Locomotive, EIR 22 (East Indian Railway-22) christened as the "FAIRY QUEEN". The locomotive was built by Kitson, Thompson & Hewitson, England in the year 1855 with a wheel arrangement of 2-2-2T. It served the Howrah- Raniganj stretch for a long time after it was pressed into service. Later, it was shifted to Bihar and was in service till 1909. In 1998, it was restored by Perambur Loco Works & subsequently, in the same year it earned the Guinness World record of oldest steam locomotive in service. However, as of today EIR-21 , the elder sibling of the Fairy Queen happens to be the oldest running steam loco in the world. Both EIR-21 & EIR-22 were built in the year 1855 & withdrawn in 1909. EIR-22 was restored in 1998 & became the Guinness World Record holder but back then EIR-21 was still out of service until its restoration much later in 2011 by Perambur Loco Works.

The heritage tag in IR has had other contenders too which includes few smaller gauge (MG/NG) rail roads, locomotives, station buildings, etc. Some have bagged the heritage tag, some still live to tell their stories patiently waiting for their inclusion under the tag & some have unfortunately found their permanent place in history.