If one has a good idea, he can create wonders even out of scraps. So while most neglected redundant machineries such as forklift, a bogie, and other accessories destined to end up in the railway scrap yard, few technicians and workers at Lower Parel Workshop turned some of it into a light weight shunting engine. The engine, named Chetak Shunter, has now replaced the old fuel-guzzling, expensive shunting engines, and earned many fans as well.

Chetak Shunter was commissioned into service on the auspicious day of Makar Sankranti, on January 14. This is the first time any manufacturing was done at the Lower Parel Workshop of Western Railway, which only specialises in maintenance, repair and overhauling of main line coaches.

Hailing the new locomotive, A K Garekar, chief works manager of Lower Parel workshop, said: “It is very useful in movement of coaches from one shop to another for different repair activities.”

Traditional shunting engines are old diesel-run locomotives which have outlived their lives on the main railway lines. So they are relegated to shunt coaches and bogies for maintenance purposes. On an average, there are about 50 coaches that have to be moved daily from one shop to another for repair work. Compared to conventional shunting engines that weigh 50 tons, Chetak weighs merely 17.4 tons. At three meters long and less than two meters wide, Chetak’s size is just half of the traditional engines that are six meters long and three meters wide.

“The diesel shunting engines couldn’t move the coaches close to the workshops due to its large shape. Workers had to face lot of problems to move the coaches from one shop to other,” said M Kalimuthu, works manager (Machine and plant), and in-charge of making of the Chetak shunting engine. “With its reduced size, the fuel consumption is reduced drastically. While diesel shunting engines guzzle 20 litres of fuel per hour, Chetak consumes only 3 litres of diesel per hour,” said motor mechanic Charlie Gonsalvis.

Chetak has helped cut down significantly on the operation cost. Previously, shunting engines from the loco diesel shed had to be requisitioned along with its staff, and the cost of operation would be approximately Rs 30 lakh per month.

Meanwhile, fondness for Chetak seems to be pervading across the ranks at the Lower Parel Workshop. “I am often tempted to visualise this beautiful engine running on green hilly section of Neral- Matheran section,” exclaimed C K sharma, deputy chief mechanical engineer at the workshop.