Oldest steam locomotive in use

The Fairy Queen was built in 1855 by Kitson Thompson  Hewitson of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Between October 1997 and February 1998 she was put into service hauling a twin coach train between Delhi Cantonment, Delhi, and Alwar, Rajasthan, India, a journey of 143 km (89 miles). The No. 22 locomotive – built in a 2-2-2WT configuration - was active with East India Railway until 1909, and ferried British troops to Raniganji in Bihar during the revolt of 1857. It was restored and made fully functional in 1966 and is kept at the Indian National Railway Museum in New Delhi. Between October 1997 and February 1998 the Fairy Queen was once again put into service on five special weekend packages, ferrying groups of up to 50 steam enthusiasts - who paid US$400 for the privilege - from Delhi to the Sariska Tiger Sanctuary near Alwar. Although the Fairy Queen's official sanctioned speed limit is 40km/h (25mph), passengers reported that the 26 tonne (25.6 ton) old lady quite happily exceeded this speed during the trip, which took around five and a half hours. The locomotive runs on 5ft 6in gauge track.