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Delhi Railway Museum

By Mike Mayer

Here's some info from the museum on the engines pictured:

1st photo is overall view of the museum grounds.
2nd snap is BNR N class Beyer-Garrett the only 4-8-0 + 0-8-4 ever built - Built 1930 - Bengal-Nagpur Railway (Now South-Eastern Ry).
3rd: 1889 Darjeelin-Himalaya Ry. 0-4-0T, this one was one of the prototypes, re-built in 1917.
4th & 5th: BESA (British Engineering Standards Assoc.) standard Metre-Gauge 4-6-0 of former Rajputana-Malwa Ry, later Bombay, Baroda and Central India Ry, (Western Railway). BESA began in the early 1900's to standardize designs for all of India, with 4-4-0, 4-4-2, 4-6-0 and 2-8-0 primarily both Broad and Metre-Gauge. They were very sucessful, unlike the IRS designs of the 1920's/30's (Indian Railway Standard), whose XA - light Pacific and XC Heavy Pacific were good but the standard Mail engine, the XB was a disaster, being poorly balanced and tended to 'hunt' nosing side to side and resulted in a disasterous wreck at Bhita in 1936, I believe. they were speed restricted ever since. the XD and XE 2-8-2's were a great success.
6th: Non-standard 4-4-0, the only engine in India with Joy valve gear, built at Ajmer shops 1923/24, inside cylinders and valve gear on Metre-Gauge, the first drving axle is nothing but cranks!
The last: EM-922, former Broad-Gauge 4-4-0, extended into BESA-style Atlantic 4-4-2 in 1941 (original 1907), Great Indian Peninsular Ry. (Central Railway). Copyright Mike Mayer 1997

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