94-year-old loco, ‘Little Red Horse’ dazzles at WR’s revamped heritage lawn

According to WR officials, this steam locomotive is a symbol of development and modernity through the 19th and 20th centuries. ‘Little Red Horse’ was manufactured by M/s. Kerr Stuart & Co. in England. It was procured in those days for ₹34,423, or less than half the price of an ordinary two-wheeler today

Mumbai: She stands in her grandeur with her stately appearance at the newly revamped lawns outside the Mumbai Central railway station. Meet 94-year-old steam locomotive - ‘Little Red Horse’, manufactured in England in 1929 during King George V’s reign, retired after 61 years of service in 1991 independent India and found her lost glory back in 2023, a year when the Indian Railways is celebrating its 170th anniversary. All thanks to the efforts taken by the Western Railway (WR)’s mechanical department to restore the pride of the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway (BB&CI).

Mumbai: A view of Garden reopen at Mumbai Central Railway Station, East Side, in Mumbai on Sunday, 17 April 2023. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande)

On Saturday, the WR officials unveiled the heritage lawn outside the Mumbai Central railway station where the ‘Little Red Horse’ is placed proudly atop a special pedestal.

According to WR officials, this steam locomotive is a symbol of development and modernity through the 19th and 20th centuries. ‘Little Red Horse’ was manufactured by M/s. Kerr Stuart & Co. in England. It was procured in those days for ₹34,423, or less than half the price of an ordinary two-wheeler today.

“Little Red Horse was operated between Dabhoi-Miyagam narrow-gauge line in Gujarat, considered the oldest narrow-gauge line of Asia and was maintained at Pratap Nagar Workshop. It was decommissioned after 61 years of service and laid to rest in Mumbai Central station in 1991 on the occasion of the platinum jubilee year of the station,” said a WR official.

As part of the restoration work of the steam locomotive, the corroded parts were thoroughly repaired and skillfully painted to match its grandeur when it was first launched. To add to its beauty, artificial steam using a fogging machine and a recorded sound of whistle and chugging has been introduced. All headlights, tail lights and dome lights are provided using a fixed power supply, as a part of the restoration.

The lawn was inaugurated by Kshama Mishra, president of Western Railway Women’s Welfare Organisation, in the presence of WR General Manager AK Mishra, DRM Neeraj Verma and other top officials.

It was handed over to MMRCL to carry out work on the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro-3 and to set up underground metro stations there. This was in poor shape and the WR authorities had asked them to hand it over.

Sumit Thakur, the chief PRO, Western Railway said, “The garden has been redeveloped by our engineering department after completion of the ongoing metro rail work. Beautiful landscaping and fencing work has been done thereby uplifting the beauty of the garden, including a pedestal for the steam locomotive”.

In addition to this lawn, the garden at the entrance of Mumbai Central station with Ashoka Emblem has been beautified with glass enclosure replacement and landscaping. Designed by British architect Claude Batley and built by Shapoorji Pallonji in 1930, the gardens were developed when the station and terminus came into existence.