Churchgate parks historic steam engine

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1133270


MUMBAI: It might not be illuminated at night might not be featured as
the face of Bollywood movies unlike the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus,
but Churchgate definitely is standing tall for over a century. And to
retain the vibrancy of this station which also deserves to be on the
World Heritage list, Western Railway officials are working towards
keeping this station ever vibrant.

Western Railway which houses its headquarters at Churchgate is
planning state-of-the-art heritage museum showcasing the century-old
legacy of its existence. And to begin with it, the steam engine built
in 1923 is being stationed outside the headquarter building opposite
the Churchgate station building.

This engine, built by WG Bagnall Ltd of Stafford in UK, has become an
attraction for daily office-goers some of whom even stop by to take a
glimpse of one of the heritage structures.

Strategically located, the station is at the centre of all important
cultural, social and economic activities of the city. Neither the
railway officials nor the nostalgic Fort area and the famous Eros
cinema hall will ever let the station grow old.

At a cost of Rs30,000 this engine was is use till 1993 in the
Bilimora-Waghai section in Gujarat of the Western Railway. Not only
this but the railways are also planning to draft a proposal
seeking `World Heritage Site' status for the Churchgate building from
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(UNESCO).

The heritage museum, planned to be constructed at Bandra, would have
coaches, wagons, locomotives, tickets, time-tables and logos. "There
are large number of locomotives operating on narrow gauge in Baroda,
meter gauge in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jaipur. Since there are
no trains running on these locos, they have become outdated. We are
working towards restoring and maintaining them. But keeping them in
museums will serve no purpose. It needs to be assembled where people
will be able to appreciate the relics," said a senior railway
official.