The ''Viceroy Special'' is a special

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

service operated by Lakindu & Thathsara (Ceylon) Ltd. Powered by the sole

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

kept in operation in Sri Lanka, it is operated as a private train on all railway lines in the island. The 75-year-old luxury train has two air-conditioned observation saloons and a restaurant car.

History

The launch of the ''Viceroy Special'' was spearheaded by

Hemasiri Fernando Hemasiri Fernando (born 12 October 1949) is the former permanent secretary to the Ministry of Defence and chief of staff of the president, chairman Board of Investment of Sri Lanka. Early childhood Hemasiri was educated at Nalanda College, ...

and Cliff Jones. The idea of re-introducing steam to Sri Lanka rails was inspired by a tourism promotional visit to Sri Lanka in 1984 by Cliff Jones who, returning from a day trip to Kandy, called at Dematagoda loco sheds and saw, what he later described a graveyard of 'veritable massive tourism potential' and put the proposition to the then Minister of State Ananda de Tissa de Alweis who was wildly enthusiastic and with the tremendous help of GMR Manager and Hemasiri Fernando it came to fruition 2 years later. During the Second World War,

Lord Louis Mountbatten Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was a British statesman, Royal Navy off ...

, the last Viceroy of India and Supreme Commander of All Forces in the South East Asian Command (SEAC) used a special train called the ''SEAC Special'' to travel to and from his headquarters in Kandy, Sri Lanka. This train was the inspiration for the ''Viceroy Special''.

Features

The ''Viceroy Special'' acts as a

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...

service. Passenger carriages on the train are fitted with nineteenth-century period fittings and include a restaurant car, an observation car and a bar. It also had some modern features like air-conditioning.

Charters

Rolling stock

Three steam locomotives ran the ''Viceroy Special'' service. * Class B1a No. 251 "Sir Thomas Maitland" * Class B1d No. 340 "Frederick North" * Class B2b No. 213

References

{{Rail transport in Sri Lanka, style = "background:Crimson; color:White" Named passenger trains of Sri Lanka Railway services introduced in 1986

History

Features

Charters

Rolling stock

See also

References