Stripping of Matheran locomotive shocks Peerbhoys

The family of Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy, who built the Neral-Matheran narrow gauge line as a family enterprise over a century ago, is upset with Central Railway for “damaging” one of the four original steam locomotives by stripping it off all its machinery.

“The Matheran railway is our family’s creation and we are extremely concerned with what is happening,” Ali Akbar Adamjee Peerbhoy, 45, second great grandson of Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy, said. “One of the four original engines, which were on display outside Matheran station, has been stripped off its glory — all the parts are gone.”

CR has, however, rubbished all allegations. “After the centenary celebrations in 2007, we have revived one of the original engines MLR 738. It is in working condition and is in Neral at present,” CR spokesperson Ashok Singh said. “Since the engines are around a century old, damaged original parts were not available. So, we had to remove them from MLR 741. The Peerbhoys should be thankful that we have put one of the four engines back to life.”

There were four steam locomotives that the Peerbhoy family had bought specially for the mountainous stretch of the railway from Messrs. Orienstein & Koppel, Germany. These were specially made for the narrow curves and steep climbs of the Matheran hills. All the original four engines — MLR 738, MLR 739, MLR 740 and MLR 741 — survive today.

The oldest loco MLR 738 is being revived for steam runs, MLR 739 is at the National Railway Museum in New Delhi, MLR 740 is in a UK Museum, and MLR 741 is outside Matheran station.
Unesco has already included the 2-foot-wide rail line in its tentative list among mountain railways of India and a final decision is expected anytime now. Unesco recently acknowledged Peerbhoy’s request that Matheran station be renamed to honour his ancestor. The Peerbhoys have also approached the court to get the station renamed and a dispute over money with the railways.

“It is a masterpiece of engineering that was put on the difficult terrain of Matheran more than a century ago,” Dr BV Bhosale, associate professor in the department of Sociology at Mumbai University, said. “There is no parallel to this anywhere in the world.” Bhosale is compiling his scholarly study of Matheran railway into a book, Matheran Toy Train — Making of A World Heritage.

The third generation of Peerbhoys now lives a well-settled life, shuttling between Matheran and Clare Road at Byculla in South Mumbai. The family, two sisters Fatima and Zainab and three sons Husain, Ali Akbar, and Ali Asgar, owns three resorts at Matheran. They also run a charity at Saurashtra and a school near Neral at their own cost.