Fifteen years before the famous red M1 locomotives arrived, Ceylon was already running diesel trains. In 1938, three streamlined diesel-electric train sets from England began carrying passengers along the Coastal Line. They were the Class S1, the first diesel units the Ceylon Government Railway (CGR) imported for passenger service.
A new idea from Europe
By the 1930s, railways in Europe were trying lighter, faster diesel trains in place of heavy steam-hauled ones. Germany’s high-speed “Flying Hamburger” diesel train was one of the best-known examples. According to Ceylon Guide, it inspired the design of the S1.
The CGR wanted trains that:
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were lighter and used less power than steam trains;
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picked up speed faster;
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broke down less often.
The order went to the English Electric Company in England. The engines came from Willans & Robinson, an English Electric subsidiary based in Rugby.
Specifications
|
Detail |
Specification |
|---|---|
|
Class |
S1 |
|
Builder |
English Electric Company, England |
|
First run |
25 February 1938 |
|
Type |
Diesel-electric multiple unit (DEMU), articulated |
|
Engines |
2 × English Electric / Willans & Robinson H6 type, 6-cylinder, 4-stroke |
|
Power |
2 × 180 hp (130 kW) at 1,350 rpm |
|
Maximum speed |
55 mph (89 km/h) |
|
Formation |
4 coaches, with a power car at each end |
|
Wheel arrangement |
Bo+2+2+2+Bo |
|
Length |
206 ft 6 in (62.94 m) |
|
Weight |
96.2 tonnes (other sources: 94 tonnes) |
|
Capacity |
300 passengers (1st, 2nd and 3rd class) |
|
Gauge |
5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge |
|
Brakes |
Vacuum |
|
Livery |
Green and silver |
|
Units |
3: 501 Silver Foam, 502 Silver Spray, 503 Silver Mist |
|
Route |
Coastal Line (Colombo–Galle–Matara) |
|
Withdrawn |
1954–1956 |
|
Preserved |
None known |
Three silver trains
Three sets were delivered and numbered 501, 502 and 503. Each one had a name:
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501: Silver Foam
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502: Silver Spray
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503: Silver Mist
They were painted green and silver.
Each set had four coaches joined together in an articulated design: neighbouring coaches shared one bogie between them. The S1 was the only CGR diesel multiple unit built this way. There was a power car with a driving cab at each end, so the train could run in either direction without being turned around.
A full set was about 206 feet (63 m) long and carried up to 300 passengers in first, second and third class. They also had retractable footboards worked by the driver and illuminated destination boards above the doors, both unusual for the time.
Into service on the Coastal Line
The S1’s first run was from Colombo Fort to Galle on 25 February 1938. The sets then carried passengers along the Coastal Line between Colombo, Galle and Matara.
Two trial runs are also recorded:
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To Kandy: a shortened set, with two power cars and one trailer, ran on the hill line. Ceylon Guide reports this was the first diesel multiple unit to run there.
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To Talaimannar: a test run to the northwest coast is also recorded.
In regular service, though, the S1s stayed on the Coastal Line.
Beaten by the sea
The Coastal Line runs right beside the Indian Ocean, and that proved to be the S1’s weakness. Salty sea air steadily corroded the bodies.
According to the Loco Lanka blog, 501 and 503 were withdrawn in 1954 and 502 in 1956, after about 16 years of service. Some other sources give 1955 for all three. The coach bodies were cut up and sold as scrap.
A second life as the M3
The engines, traction motors and some mechanical parts were still in good condition. Engineers at the Ratmalana railway workshop used them to build two new locomotives, the Class M3:
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No. 589, named Jayanthi, entered service on 5 September 1956.
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No. 590 was completed in 1958.
Each M3 used two of the S1’s 180 hp engines. They kept working long after the S1 had gone, and both were scrapped in 2002.
What survives?
No S1 set is known to survive. An unconfirmed story says the power car of Silver Spray (502) went to a museum in Nuremberg, Germany, but this has never been proved.
The S1’s place in history is still secure. It was Ceylon’s first diesel passenger train, and it showed that diesel power could work on the island’s railways. Fifteen years later, B.D. Rampala’s M1 locomotives took that idea to every main line.
Sources:
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Loco Lanka, “S1 (1938)” (Sinhala)
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Wikipedia, “Ceylon Government Railway S1”. It cites Nalin Abesinghe, “Class S1 Self-propelled Articulated Power Coach”, Lanka Railway Digest, Vol. 1, No. 1, April 2012.
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Wikipedia, “Sri Lanka Railways M3”. It cites David Hyatt, Railways of Sri Lanka (2000).
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Wikipedia, “English Electric”, for Willans & Robinson as an English Electric subsidiary.