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Vulcan Foundry, England manufactured the locomotives used on this run. A total
of eight engines, GIP Nos 1-8 and bearing makers numbers 324-331, were ordered
from the foundry in 1852 and the locomotives were of the type 2-4-0. These were
the earliest known locomotives in service in India then. The earliest steam
locomotive still in service has been certified by Guinness as the Fairy Queen.
Villagers compared the train to God and in reverence put red tilaks on the smoke
stacks on the engine, left offerings of food, money on the footplate and flowers
on the tracks, said CR records.
Meanwhile, on February 3,1925 the first EMU, that is, suburban service started
between VT and Kurla on the harbour line with just four coaches. The same year
CR ran 150 services per day, which a fraction 1468 which crisscross over the
length and breath of the city today. And while they were just 80 million
commuters per year or 21,9178 per day in 1925 there are around 3.5 million
dependent on the lifeline today. Around 50% of Mumbai depend on the suburban
railways everyday for daily commute and it has been dubbed as the lifeline of the city.
In a run up to the momentous anniversary Railway week is being celebrated all
over the India Railways.
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