[3] In 1949 he was appointed as chief mechanical engineer of the Railways, the first Sri Lankan man at that post.

[2] During his time at this post, Rampala noticed many major railways around the world were upgrading from steam locomotives to diesel.

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.

He submitted a paper on his observations to the Institution of Locomotive Engineers in London,[4] which gave him full praise.

[1] In addition to improving safety on the Sri Lanka Railways, Rampala has been remembered for his mark on culture.