So why did Peter have to photograph this huge loco manufactured for Indian Railways? I can’t be sure of the reason why, but part of it seems that he has a family connection with India. Here’s his letter to me dated March 14, 2011:
Dear Ravindra,
Thank you for your interesting email and the kind things you say about my website.
Thank you also for the link to your interesting website Railways of the Raj which I enjoyed reading.
I have a small family link with India. My Great Grandfather Thomas Wallage joined his father in the Royal Navy as a boy entrant at the age of 12 in the days of sailing ships and later joined the Honourable East India Company's navy, eventually becoming Commander of the Company's paddle wheel gunship Nemesis. His "home port" was Calcutta but most of the time the ship operated in the South China Sea and around Sarawak, often in company with ships of the Royal Navy. His wife often sailed with him (including sometimes into battle), My Grandfather was born in Bombay. Sadly, Thomas Wallage was a victim of one of the tropical illnesses which afflicted many Europeans serving in India in the early and mid 19th century. He died in his 30s and is buried in Calcutta. His widow returned to England with her children.
Yes, of course, you have my permission to use the picture of the railway locomotive taken at the 1951 Festival of Britain.
Kind regards,
Peter Wallage
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Picture Courtesy: Peter Wallage
