Leighton Buzzard Railway will be transformed into a little piece of India over the Bank Holiday weekend (Sunday and Monday).
No.19, the only steam locomotive from the famous Darjeeling Himalayan Railway to have left India, now lives in the quiet Oxfordshire countryside, and will be working at Leighton Buzzard on selected dates in May.
Over the bank holiday, it will be joined by resident No. 778, which was built in the USA for the First World War battlefields, and then spent over 60 years working on secondary railways in India. These two historic engines are scheduled to haul passenger trains on both days, with departures every 50 minutes from 10.40am to 3.40pm.
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society will decorate Leighton Buzzard’s Page’s Park station in the style of northern India. They will also display the trophy they were awarded recently, for advising Indian Railways on the restoration of steam locomotives on the Darjeeling line.
A high-level delegation from Indian Railways is expected on the Sunday. Also present on Sunday (11am-1pm) will be author Monisha Rajesh, who will be signings copies of his book Around India In 80 Trains which got favourable reviews last year. She first came to the railway last December, to record an interview for BBC Radio 4.
On Monday, the Gurkha Welfare Association will run an information stand. On both days, there will be genuine Indian cuisine on offer in the Page’s Park station buffet, provided by Mum’s Kitchen of Watford.
At Stonehenge Works, the newly completed miniature track will feature on both days working scale models of locomotives which have run on the Darjeeling railway, past and present.
Leighton Buzzard Railway spokesman, Mervyn Leah, said: “Our links with the narrow-gauge railways of India go back over 40 years, and we are delighted to be offering once again the opportunity for others to share our enthusiasm.