Under Rly watch,iconic Fairy Queen is looted

Valuable brass spare parts of Fairy Queen have been stolen from Delhi Cantonment station

Fairy Queen,the worlds oldest running steam locomotive owned by the Indian Railways and brought back to life in 1997 for commercial tourism operations,is dead.

Thanks to neglect by the Railways,valuable brass spare parts were stolen from its shed at Delhi Cantonment station. The theft was reported in April this year after which there was a probe,which resulted in the firing of a section engineer for dereliction of duty. As many as 32 valuable items were stolen,including the original steam whistle which gave the loco its iconic character.

The 156-year-old Fairy Queen built in Leeds,UK is kept at National Rail Museum,covered with a tarpaulin,waiting to be hauled to the Perambur loco workshop in Chennai.

Im sure it will be brought back to life, said Atul Singh,director,National Rail Museum,custodian of all heritage locos.

But with the originals gone,new spares will have to be custom-made,possibly imported. Even if its back on track,it wont be the original Fairy Queen.

Also stolen were the shiny brass coat of its dome,parts of its crown,and the gleaming ladder next to the boiler. The boiler was found riddled with holes. The officer hid the fact that the property was vandalised, said an official. The Railways forced the officer to get a dishonorable exit a few days before he was to retire.