INDIAN RAILWAYS YP CLASS LOCOMOTIVES NUMBERS 2257 AND 2684.

Indian Railways locomotives numbers 2257 and 2684, both of the YP Class, have recently been rescued from the scrappers torch by the North American company ´Rail Development Corporation´. The company chairman Henry Posner III, apart from his everyday job of keeping freight carrying railways alive and running as an efficient and economical form of transport on an international basis, also realises the importance of saving existing steam locomotives from being scrapped and lost forever. This allows such to be put to use on other railways that are able to use such in favour of their existing traffic, one example being tourist railways where steam is a large part of the attraction for the travelling public.

YP locomotives 2257 and 2684 were the 2 available engines of this class available for sale at the time of enquiry by RDC and hence both were brought into shops for a periodic overhaul and inspection of boilers and a mechanical inspection (by IR standards) to level IR level 4. This work was carried out at the Western Railway Workshop at Ajmer. YP 2257 was manufactured and put to service in 1956, whilst YP 2684 was manufactured and put to work as late as 1967. Both are remaining examples of what was a numerous metre gauge passenger train locomotive. The Argentine railway company of Tranex Turismo S.A. were contracted by RDC to carry out an inspection of the work completed by IR at Ajmer works and to arrange the shipping of both locomotives from India to an unconfirmed destination. The first part of this work was carried out in India by Tranex's chief engineer, Shaun McMahon during December 1999. Both locomotives were deemed fit to be released from Ajmer works and at the time of writing both locomotives are due to be transfered by rail to Kandla Port where they will be loaded onto a freight vessel and shipped to their new railway. It is possible that both of these locomotives will be modified to burn oil rather than coal, regauged to 3 foot rather than their existing metre gauge converted from vacuum brakes to an air brake system, if this is the case such modifications will be arranged by the engineering department of Tranex.

It is hoped that a further update on these locomotives status can be given in the not too distant future.

Shaun McMahon, Ushuaia, Argentina
31st January 2000.