N-38811 'Beyer-Garrat' --- Awakening of a Colossus as TT witnessed the History being recreated !!! Date with Beyer-Garratt - the largest Steam Locomotive of the nation belonging to the erstwhile BNR (Bengal Nagpur Railway) was made operational at Kharagpur on 21st September 2018....was lost for words to describe the moment and watched in sheer wonder and awe as this BNR giant huffed and puffed into the pages of history....

This is by far the heaviest & the most powerful steam locomotive ever used on the Indian Railway system. Built by Beyer Peacock Co. Manchester, UK, in 1926 & classed as N (number 38815), they were the only heavyweight Beyer-Garratts in India with a 4-8-0 & 0-8-4 wheel configuration. Weighing a gigantic 235 tons, these 4-cylinder articulated broad-gauge steam locomotives were utilized mainly to haul heavy mineral & iron ore traffic on the Bengal Nagpur Railway (BNR) & later on the South Eastern Railway. These locomotives were so powerful that they could easily haul a load of 2400 tons on a 1 in 100 gradient. This gigantic loco is now one of the star attraction of Kharagpur DLS. Photographed by Somsubhra Das. D.O.P. - 22nd September 2018.