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Viceroy Special

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Viceroy Special
Overview
LocaleSri Lanka
Transit typeinter-city rail charter
Operation
Began operation1986[1]
Operator(s)Sri Lanka Railways (owner) & J.F. Tours & Travels (Ceylon) Ltd (operator).[2]
Technical
Track gauge1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) (Indian gauge)

The Viceroy Special is a special passenger train service operated by J.F. Tours & Travels (Ceylon) Ltd.[2] Powered by the sole steam locomotive 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.

File:Viceroyinmaho.jpg
Viceroy Special in Maho-2014

History

The launch of the Viceroy Special was spearheaded by Hemasiri Fernando and Cliff Jones.[3]

During the Second World War, Lord Louis Mountbatten, 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.[3]

The Viceroy Special has been running for over 25 years.[4]

Features

The Viceroy Special acts as a heritage 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 is also given some modern features like air-conditioning.[2]

It is run by the only steam locomotive still in operation in Sri Lanka.

Charters

Scenery seen from hill-country Badulla-Colombo railway line
Scenery seen from hill-country Badulla-Colombo railway line
Route
Hill Country Odyssey Colombo to Nanu Oya
Route
Sense of Heritage Colombo to Kandy, with an excursion to Pinnewela
Route
Glimpse of the Ocean Coast line to Galle

Rolling stock

Currently three steam locomotives run the Viceroy Special service.[5]

  • Class B1a No. 251 "Sir Thomas Maitland"
  • Class B1d No. 340 "Frederick North"
  • Class B2b No. 213

See also

References

  1. ^ ""Viceroy Special"". 2011-02-02. Retrieved 2011-06-14.
  2. ^ a b c Viceroy Vintage Train Tours
  3. ^ a b Vinodh Wickremeratne and Kanishka D. Perera. "Railways of Sri Lanka". The Viceroy Special. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
  4. ^ Weerasuriya, Sanath. "'Viceroy Special' rolls on the track for 25 years". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
  5. ^ http://www.infolanka.com/org/mrail/locos1.html
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