In 1955 the state owned Ceylon Government Railway, now the Sri Lanka Railways, manufactured Sri Lanka's "first" diesel-electric locomotive using old spares of withdrawn Class S1 DMU power sets. This locomotive was named as "Jayanthi" and classified Class M3 - 589. The locomotive was put to service on 5 September 1956. Two years later, in 1958, the then Ceylon Government Railway manufactured another locomotive and Classified it as Class M3 590.

Sri Lanka Railways class M3
Sri lanka's First Manufactured Diesel electric locomotive.
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel-electric
BuilderSri Lanka Railways
Build date1956
Total produced2
Specifications
Configuration:
 • AARBo-Bo
Gauge5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)
Loco weight47 tons[which?]
Fuel typeDiesel
Prime moverEnglish Electric 2 x Willans type H6
Engine type6 cylinder 4 stroke diesel
TransmissionDiesel-electric transmission
Loco brakeVacuum
Performance figures
Maximum speed55 mph (89 km/h)
Power output2 x 180 hp (130 kW)
Career
OperatorsCeylon Government Railway
» Sri Lanka Railways
Numbers589 & 590
Official nameJayanthi
LocaleSri Lanka
First run5 September 1956
Scrapped2002[1]
Dispositionscrapped

The reconditioned Jayanthi was built at the Ratmalana Railway Workshop under the guidance of chief engineer, Mr. Raj Gopal. The locomotive made its maiden journey on 5 September 1956. The inauguration of the train was declared open by Maithreepala Senanayaka, Minister of Transportation, 1956 government. Currently, the locomotive is scrapped.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "෴M3 ඩීසල් දුම්රිය එන්ජිම - දේශිය ඉංජීනේරුවන් විසින් මෙරටදීම සැලසුම් කර නිපදවූ දුම්රිය එන්ජිම෴". Loco Lanka. 18 December 2010.
  2. ^ "Sri Lanka Railways Info Page". wordpress.com. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2013.