The State Saloon which is now preserved at the Pahartali Railway Workshop in Chittagong is not merely a luxury coach; it is also a witness to the railway’s glorious past.
By definition, a saloon car furnished with all facilities of a living room is reserved for high officials and dignitaries. The ‘State Saloon’ is usually reserved for exclusive use by the head of state.
Recently this correspondent had an opportunity to see the historical coach at Pahartali Workshop. A special permission had to be obtained in this regard from the railway authorities since the entry to the workshop is highly restricted.
The blackish wooden furniture, ventilation system, kitchen room, toilet, conference room, looking mirror, steel sanitary fittings are definitely redolent of past history.
“The wooden coach which bears testimony to many historical events was built upon stainless steel under-frame in Scotland in 1922. The 56.6 feet long and 8.2 feet wide State Saloon was used for luxury travel by the nobility and dignitaries of home and abroad for a long time. The saloon coach was furnished with all modern facilities at that time,” said Shadequr Rahman, manager of Pahartali workshop.
“The wooden frame used in the coach is made of ‘Burmese Teak’. Teak wood has a leather-like smell when it is freshly milled. Teak timber is particularly valued for its durability and water resisting capacity and is used boat building, exterior construction, veneer, furniture and carvings,” said a maintenance official of the workshop.
According to the available information, the saloon car which is numbered as ‘CR4’ was used by the then British monarch and the then heads of state of British India. Later, the saloon coach was used by the Chairman and General Manager of Bangladesh Railway.
Some necessary repair works were done to the coach in 1966 for making it functional. After remaining in operation for a long period of time, the luxury coach again went out of order in 1992. Later, the coach was brought to Carriage and Wagon Repairing Workshop of Bangladesh Railway (East Zone) at Pahartali in Chittagong.
The railway officials after conducting a survey found that the saloon car should not be used anymore since it had already outlived its lifespan.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, Md Mizanur Rahman, Divisional Superintendent of Carriage and Wagon Workshop in Pahartali said:“At one stage the railway authorities had decided to preserve the saloon so that it does not fall into disuse. The saloon car is a heritage and witness to railway’s glorious history. The age-old car should be preserved in a museum so that the people could come to know about the object of historical interest.”
“Bangladesh Railway has a museum just opposite Pahartali Workshop. As you know the country’s sole railway museum is located atop a hillock. Therefore we cannot relocate the saloon car to the museum since it requires rail tracks,” added the divisional superintendent.