Bamunusinghearachchige Don Rampala (14 November 1910 – 20 June 1994), (popularly known as B. D. Rampala) was
chief mechanical engineer
Chief mechanical engineer and locomotive superintendent are titles applied by British, Australian, and New Zealand railway companies to the person ultimately responsible to the board of the company for the building and maintaining of the locomotive ...
and later general manager of
Sri Lanka Railways. He was the first native Sri Lankan to hold the post of chief mechanical engineer. In 1956, the Institution of Locomotive Engineers in London recognised Rampala as the finest diesel engineer in Asia at the time.
Education and training
Rampala was born on 14 November 1910 in Pannipitiya Rukmale. He received his education at
Kottawa Ananda Maha Vidyalaya (then Kottawa Buddhist Mix School)
Nalanda College Colombo &
Ananda College Colombo.
[ Tribute to B. D. Rampala, who modernized the Ceylon Railway](_blank)
/ref>
After completing his engineering apprentice An engineering apprenticeship in the United Kingdom is an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering or aeronautical engineering to train craftsmen, technicians, senior technicians, Incorporated Engineers and Chartered Engin ...
ship in 1934 at Colombo University College, he joined Ratmalana Railway Mechanical Engineering Department of the then Ceylon Government Railway (present Sri Lanka Railways).
Chief mechanical engineer
In 1949 he was appointed as chief mechanical engineer
Chief mechanical engineer and locomotive superintendent are titles applied by British, Australian, and New Zealand railway companies to the person ultimately responsible to the board of the company for the building and maintaining of the locomotive ...
of the Railways, the first Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
n man at that post. During his time at this post, Rampala noticed many major railways around the world were upgrading from steam locomotives
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
to diesel
Diesel may refer to:
* Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression
* Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines
* Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
. He made his proposal to dieselise the Sri Lanka Railways, and in 1953, the first batch of diesel locomotives arrived from Brush Bagnall of the United Kingdom. When the locomotives started faulting, Rampala made modifications to them. When inspected by the British builders, his modifications were approved and not challenged against their original design. He submitted a paper on his observations to the Institution of Locomotive Engineers in London,[Transactions/Journal Institution of Locomotive Engineers](_blank)
/ref> which gave him full praise.
General manager
Rampala was, in 1955, appointed as the general manager of the Sri Lanka Railways.
/ref>
Rampala sought to upgrade the railways. In the mid-1950s, he launched express trains to shorten journey times to major destinations. Named trains, like the Yal Devi
''Yal Devi'' ( ta, யாழ் தேவி; si, යාල් දේවී) is a major express train in Sri Lanka. Operated by Sri Lanka Railways, the Yal Devi connects Colombo, the nation's commercial hub, with the northern cities of Jaff ...
and the Udarata Menike
''Udarata Menike'' ( si, උඩරට මැණිකේ, Hill Country Maiden) is a daytime passenger train that runs between Colombo and Badulla in Sri Lanka.
The ''Udarata Menike'' made its maiden journey on 23 April 1956. The Badulla-bou ...
, were launched under his leadership. When he launched the Colombo-Matara Ruhunu Kumari
''Ruhunu Kumari '' (, Princess of "Ruhuna" - southern province) (Tamil: உருகுண இளவரசி) is a daytime passenger train that runs between Colombo and Matara in Sri Lanka.
The Matara-bound train departs from Colombo at 3.50 ...
train service, in October 1955, it was Rampala himself who drove the train from Colombo to Matara.
Until, the 1950s, Sri Lanka Railways operated entirely with a lock and block signalling system. Rampala introduced electronic colour signalling for the busiest portions of the railways in 1959. Train movements could then be controlled by a Centralized Traffic Control
Centralized traffic control (CTC) is a form of railway signalling that originated in North America. CTC consolidates train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. The system cons ...
panel at Maradana, greatly improving safety.
Recognition
In 1956, the Institution of Locomotive Engineers in London recognised Rampala as the Best Diesel Engineer in Asia.
Death and legacy
He died on 20 June 1994 at the age of 84.
In addition to improving safety on the Sri Lanka Railways, Rampala has been remembered for his mark on culture. He created the Yal Devi
''Yal Devi'' ( ta, யாழ் தேவி; si, යාල් දේවී) is a major express train in Sri Lanka. Operated by Sri Lanka Railways, the Yal Devi connects Colombo, the nation's commercial hub, with the northern cities of Jaff ...
train to connect Colombo, the capital, and Jaffna
Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...
. In doing so, he created a cultural icon that transcended any divides between north and south.
References
Further reading
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* By Amara Hewamadduma
Amara Hewamadduma, also Amara Hēvāmadduma (5 September 1939 – 27 June 2013) was a Sri Lankan government agent, literary figure and historian.
Biography
Hewamadduma was born the tenth of twelve children on 5 September 1939 in Matara, Sri Lan ...
External links
The visionary who powered the rail
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rampala, B.D.
1910 births
1994 deaths
Sri Lankan mechanical engineers
Sri Lankan Buddhists
Alumni of Nalanda College, Colombo
Ceylonese Members of the Order of the British Empire
Sinhalese engineers