Darjeeling, Feb. 10: So what if it is 115 years old? It still has enough steam to run 14 miles, that too in a country far away from its home in the mountains.

The second oldest steam engine of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) is set to ferry passengers in the UK from next year. The “B-class” engine, 779 — built in 1889 — is being overhauled and remodelled in England.

The engine will ply the Ffestiniog Railway route — one of the oldest narrow-gauge routes in the world built in 1836 — in north Wales, taking steam engine lovers from Porthmadog to Blaenu Ffestiniog. The route was originally used to carry slate from the quarries of Blaenu Ffestiniog to Porthmadog harbour.

“The engine was taken from India to Hesston Museum at Illinois in the US in 1960. We always knew that this particular engine was there. Last year, one of our members, Adrian Shutter, bought the engine from the US,” said David Barrie, chairman of the London-based Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society, a support group of DHR lovers which has 800 members from 22 countries.

The oldest steam engine is now in the National Rail Museum and does not ferry passengers, which makes 779 the oldest running DHR steam engine in the world. Barrie, who is now in Darjeeling, said there were also plans to build carriages on lines of the DHR to complete the Darjeeling feel. The engine will be displayed at the Rail Fest, scheduled to be held at York this July.

According to Barrie, there are 12 narrow-gauge railways in the UK and people there are fond of a steam engine ride. In fact, a perfect outing in England is to have such a ride, he added.

Barrie said the society was willing to sponsor competitions like best kept house or best garden along the track to draw greater attention to the railway.