This gallery contains 13 photos.
It’s strange how Indian Railways is connected to the common man – it reaches deep into the geographical state boundaries, village boundaries and makes a positive impact on the lives of people staying in some of the far fetched areas or remote villages in India. Continue reading
This gallery contains 15 photos.
There were no men, women, children, or animals for miles on either side. The only distraction was the sound of the wind and the echo of a honking locomotive. But then thats the kind of distraction, we needed – it was like the healing medicine for us. Continue reading
I was still a child, groping with a strange fascination of steam locomotives when these mighty iron beasts were pulled out of service. I still have faint memories of WP class of steam locomotives hauling Danapur fast passenger from Howrah to Bolpur, Shantiniketan on Eastern Indian Railway (EIR). With the introduction of WDM-4 class diesel locomotives and WAM-1 class of electric locomotives, the steam locomotives were gradually phased out.
Rewari Queen
Of course, the new diesel and electric locomotives have their own charm but somewhere deep down I couldn’t really relate to them as I could to the beautifully decorated, majestic, iron clamored steam locomotives. Over the last 3 decades, a lot has changed in Indian Railways where locomotives are concerned and we are gradually moving into the zone where the requirement for high speed locomotives has become pertinent.
Although I have been a rail enthusiast from my childhood, life had taken me to through different paradigms and photography for me was restricted to travel and wildlife. I had in many ways moved away from railway locomotives and spent a great deal of time trekking to higher altitudes in the Himalayas or just spending time indulging in the cultural delights and historical nuances of a country living somewhere in between. So when in the recent past I came face to face with an opportunity to visit the Rewari Steam Heritage Shed, I was thrilled.
I am thankful to Mr. B.M.S Bisht (Retired GM/NFR) and Mr. Ashwini Lohani (DRM-DELHI) for making this possible and the shed visit memorable. Of course, my friend Samar had an important role to play in planning the trip and coordinating every aspect of it.
Samar arrived from Lucknow on 08th March and was joined by Bharath from Bangalore, Visvanathan and myself from Delhi. We traveled to Rewari on the morning of 09th March from Delhi Sarai Rohila. Boarded the 2215A Garibrath in the Chair Car and departed from Delhi at 09:20am. We reached Rewari at 10:43am. It is actually a short journey and there are several trains available from Delhi Jn, New Delhi, and Delhi Sarai Rohilla.
We were accompanied by Mr.D.C Dhawan (SSC/L/DLI) who ensured that we reached our destination safely and made the visit comfortable for all of us. The excitement of taking this walk into the past was all that was there on my mind. We reached Rewari at 10:50am and walked towards the Delhi end of the station. Crossing the tracks, as we started walking away from the station, I wondered where the Heritage Steam Shed really was.
Rewari Heritage Steam Shed
Then I saw the board from a distance…a bright yellow board that said, “Steam Heritage Shed-NR, Delhi Division” It seemed like the only structure standing tall around the uncut shrubs and hardened earth that announced boldly that something inside that compound was still very much alive!
We walked to the entrance of the compound and the first sight is something that will be deeply etched on my mind for as long as I live. As we entered the Heritage shed, it was a little dark inside and on the far end of the shed stood a survivor – shining bright, as alive as if she had just hauled a train!
Rewari Queen
The front placard said “Rewari Queen” and it’s reflection on a small pool of water told the whole story. What I felt at that moment is incomprehensible – I didn’t have words then and even today I can’t explain the strange feeling – the adrenalin rush, the excitement, and the love for the Queen. I stood there admiring her as she watched me in silence oblivious of my admiration. Seeing her, who would say that she had grown old for she looked right in her teens – ready to take on time and the future!
As I went back into the past, I was greeted with a smile by Mr. Shyam Bihari (SE/H/RE). We went to his cabin and spent about 2 hours talking about the history of steam and its current status. Then came the surprise moment as he said, “Let me fire a steam loco for you guys” All of us were truly stoned because watching a steam locomotive in action was not really what we had anticipated. As the “Rewari Queen” was being fired, we roamed around the shed taking pictures of the other locomotives, some of which lay in a dilapidated condition, and some in desperate need of maintenance.
YG 3438 stood in one of the pit lines awaiting repair. Its boiler assembly was open and the boiler tubes had been taken out. It is a Broad Guage locomotive that was built in 1960 by TELCO and has the following specifications:
HP: 866HP
Number of Cylinders: 02
Locomotive Weight: 100 Tonnes
Length: 19.1 m
Axle Load: 10.65 tonnes
Tractive Effort: 8500 kgs
Max Speed: 65kmph
Right behind 3438 was YP 2151, a passenger locomotive. The locomotive seemed to have undergone maintenance and looked as good as new. The 2151 was built in 1959 by TELCO and has the following specifications:
HP: 938HP
Number of Cylinders: 02
Locomotive Weight: 98.5 Tonnes
Length: 19.1 m
Axle Load: 10.65 tonnes
Tractive Effort: 6290 kgs
Max Speed: 75kmph
Another locomotive that looked in running condition is XE 3634, which has been donated by M.P.E.B (East) and the engine had been renovated by S.E.Railway (Bhilai). But one locomotive that really caught my attention is WL 15005. I don’t know why I couldn’t keep myself away from the 15005 and I was overwhelmed by its somewhat haunting presence.
Stripped Off - Steam Loco
I was told later that the 15005 was fired up and the boiler tubes had burst, which led to the death of Richchpal Sing (SLI/SSB) and Raghubir Singh (LP/DEE). Now it stands in a distant corner with its boiler stripped off. Someone said it’s a killer loco but I don’t think so – I still believe that the 15005 deserves a place in history and among the Kings and Queens of Steam Locomotives.
I was immersed into the past of the 15005 when I heard Mr. Visvanathan call out for me. The Rewari Queen was fired and raring to go. As the Rewari Queen slowly trudged along on the track, nostalgia hit me hard on my face and I felt a weak feeling in my knees. It was not just exciting but there was a feeling of “awe” that rocked me as I watched the “Iron Lady” take her mighty steps.
Rewari Queen – YG 3415 – Video
The foreman of the locomotive then looked at us and smiled and pulled a string – Ah! The familiar and melodious hoot! It was a really defining moment. As we were enjoying the release of steam from the Rewari Queen, another melodious hoot from the other end of the shed almost made me skip my heartbeat – and out came, AWE 22907 smoking and hooting.
AWE 22907-Smokin'
AWE 22907 Video
The foreman asked me to hop in and I jumped in along with Samar and Visva Sir. Even though it was a 200m ride, it is the most memorable journey in my life. After almost two decades, I was again face to face with the Gentle Iron Beast. While in the lap of the beast, I shoveled coal into its burning belly and soon it was hungry for more. White smoke came out of the chimney as he carried me along the track forward and reverse.
Going back in history, I realized that this was a Baldwin monster that used to haul loaded freight across the country. The AWE is a variant of the XE (X Eagle) steam locomotives and was the most powerful of all Indian Railway Steam locomotive designs of that period. Used for broad gauge freight, the AWE has a boiler diameter of 7 inches and axle load of 22.5 tons. They were decommissioned in the late 1980′s.
Steam Locomotive Components
After the eventful ride in the lap of the Gentle Iron Beast “AWE 22907″, we were taken to a small museum within the Rewari Shed. The museum houses different parts of a steam locomotive like the Walshert valve gear, T.C. Box body, 4-feed lubricator, injector body, vacuum ejector, LDG and TRG bush, Driving side rod bush, injector delivery cone, smoke box-small door, petticoat, and much more. For me, it seemed like I had walked into a museum of rare artifacts. I took pictures of almost all the parts of a steam locomotive including their road number plates. Another interesting exhibit in the museum is the symbols of the erstwhile railway divisions like:
Emblem of Erstwhile Indian Railway Divisions
Madras and Southern Maharatta Railway
Eastern Punjab Railway
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
Bengal Assam Railway
State Railway Mysore
Eastern Bengal State Railway
Assam Railway
Martins Light Railways
Jaipur State Railway
Bengal Nagpur Railway
Gondal
Datia State
East Bengal Railway
Bengal and North Western Railway
The Men and their Magnificent machine!
By the time, I came out of the museum; I knew it was time to head back to the station to catch my train. I entered my notes on the Shed register and bid farewell to Mr. Shyam Bihari promising him that I will return for another visit soon.
Parthajit Dasgupta
I have faint memories of Shantiniketan but the three images that always kept coming in and out of my subconscious mind were that of the Palash Tree (Flame of the forest), the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, and the railway tracks that cut through the heart of this small town. I used to visit Shantiniketan once a year, every year when I was in School and then as my grandfather passed away and my grandmother shifted to Hyderabad, my visits to Shantiniketan stopped completely.
Shantiniketan bathes in a riot of colors but the most prominent color is red - The Flame of the Forest!
I believe that sometimes you are destined to travel to a destination that you are attached to at some point in time. So here I was traveling to Shantiniketan when everyone else was heading to the hills to take respite from the heat and humidity. Shantiniketan/Bolpur can be best reached from Kolkata or even Asansol by road or rail.
There are buses that ply from Asansol to Bolpur and the cost can vary from 45/- to 120/-. There are trains from Asansol to Rampurhat and from Rampurhat, there are several trains to Bolpur.
But the easiest way to travel to Bolpur is from Howrah. There is a dedicated train 2337 Shantiniketan Express that travels from Howrah (10:10am) to Bolpur (12:25pm) daily. It covers a distance of 146km in 2 hour 15mins. It returns back to Howrah on the same day starting from Bolpur at 13:10pm and reaching Howrah at 15:40pm. There are two stops in between at Bardhhaman Jn and Guskara.
I took this train to reach Bolpur, Shantiniketan and traveled in the unreserved compartment (2S), which has a fare of INR 53. You can even opt for reservation in 2S for INR 68. There are two air-conditioned chair cars also attached to the train and the fare is INR 232. Most times, you will find a seat in the train except during the festive season like poush mela, holi, Durga puja etc.
The journey by Shantiniketan Express is nice and the landscape around the tracks can be quite soothing to the eyes. Till Khana Jn, the landscape was prominently green with several small ponds.
Green ponds and red sand paths dot the landscape in and around Shantiniketan
The scenery gradually changes to dry sand with less vegetation and finally as I approached Bolpur, it was red sand with specks of green here and there. The only constant were the ponds and the canals. While on-board the train, I also had Jhaal-Muri (Spicy puffed rice salad), which did wonders to my taste buds. Jhaal muri is a specialty of Kolkata and is available mostly on trains instead of the streets. Here is a video taken while onboard 216 Viswabharati Fast Passenger to Howrah.
Shantiniketan Express on the huge curve after Khana Jn
As the Alco chugged through the dry landscape honking, I was suddenly transported back to the reality. We crossed the Adjai River Bridge and the river was merely a stream now. I still remember it swelling during the monsoons and flooding nearby villages. Today it lay dead and buried – giving a silent warning to people that nothing is forever – not even water!
The sad sight of the Adjai River - Dried and dead!
As we crossed the bridge, I realized that I had reached my destination and I could see the Bolpur railway station at a distance. The train curved into Platform 1 and I felt like I was actually home. Strange feeling and it was insuppressible.
The station structure had gone through a major facelift. Back in the 80′s when I was still in school and my grandfather used to drop us at the station, it was merely an elevated concrete walkway with trees lined up in a symmetrical manner. Today, it was more than that. There was a retiring room, several vendors, seating arrangement, and a colorful entrance. There is also a State Bank ATM right next to the Station entrance.
The colorful entrance to Bolpur Station
The moment I got out of the station, I became the center of attraction for the several rickshaw pullers. Each one of them wanted to take me to my destination but none of them agreed to the fare I was offering. Finally, one man came out of the crowd and said, “I will take you”. So there I was paying INR 35 to travel to Ratanpalli by rickshaw, a distance of 6km from the station. Not a bad bargain eh!
In the 15 minute ride from the station to Ratanpalli, I realized that Shantiniketan had changed a lot in the last 10 years. The Shantiniketan of today is more modern. Public utilities like miltinational banks and ATM’s, travel agents, hotels and lodges, departmental stores, restaurants, and much more.
The road from Bolpur to Shantiniketan….picturesque indeed!But the good thing is that Shantiniketan is still a very peaceful place. I noticed that it is not crowded with cars or scooters and most people still love to cycle their way to office or the market. So there is one thing about Shantiniketan that hasn’t changed – the tinkling of the bicycle bells!
I was finally at home!
I had quite a disturbed sleep due to overheating of the compartment and somehow the honking of the locomotive didn’t sound right. I know the sound of WAP-7 but the honking sounded more like the WAP-4 locomotive. I removed the drapes only to discover that our train was running 3 hours late. We were entering Dhanbad at 0550am instead of the scheduled time of 0250am. I had made some elaborate plans of railfanning at Howrah Station and now it seemed as if I might even miss my connecting train: 2337 Shantiniketan Express.
As the Duronto slowly entered Dhanbad, I saw brand new Mughalsarai WAP-4 #22817 taking a breather. We stopped for about 5 minutes and started off towards Howrah. I was calculating – if the Duronto doesn’t get any more reds then we should reach Howrah by 09:30am and I will be able to catch the 2337 at 10:10am. Anymore reds and I will have to wait to catch the 2347 Rampurhat Superfast at 1200 pm. As we crept out of Dhanbad, I saw the rake of 2340 Coalfield express with its locomotive WAP-7 #30204 of Gomoh. The Coalfield Express is a classic example of rake sharing in Indian Railways – it is also the rake for 2341/42 Agniveena Exp from Asansol and 2337/38 Shantiniketan Express to Bolpur.
Since, we were already late by 3 hours, might as well make use of the daylight for taking pictures and railfanning. We crossed the Dhanbad loco shed on the right followed by the yard. I was lucky enough to find some loco’s idling in the yard with Mughalsarai WAM-4 #21338 followed by TATA WAM-4 #21317, MGS WAP-4 #22803 and 22064, GZB WAP-7 #30233 and finally another MGS WAM-4 #20655.
As the train picked up speed, I was still wondering what loco was heading our train. I was certain it was a WAP-4 and I was expecting it to be either a Howrah or a MGS P4. 15 minutes from Dhanbad, we crossed the Barakar River bridge, which is essentially the starting point of West Bengal. At 06:34am, we crossed through Asansol (ASN) and I thought, “This train is flying with the P4.” Since, I was parked on my berth; I missed a couple of WAG-5′s idling inside the Asansol Electric Loco shed. I spotted some locos idling in the trip shed though like the KGP twins (WDM-2) 17510 and 17852 (this is a transfer from BNDM), and Kazipet WAG-7 #27730. As we entered Asansol, MGS WAP-4 22017 was waiting for its starter with an unknown train.
I have always considered Asansol as one of the best places for railfanning as a lot of coal rakes pass through this junction. So my railfanning here started with a newly painted ASN WAG-5 #23357 hauling a BCNA rake. Soon enough New Katni Jn (NKJ) WAG-7 #27901 whizzed past hauling another BCNA rake. As I was wondering how many more BCNA I might be able to spot so early in the morning, I came across Bhilai WAG-5 #23787 with mixed rakes. I somehow like the livery of Asansol and Bhilai WAG-5′s as they add more color to the Goods action comprising of normally blue G7′s and Green G-9′s in the electric sections.
As we crossed the eastern yard in a hurry, I saw twin G7′s crawling in what was my first coal rake of the day. The leading loco was TATA WAG-7 #27545 and the trailing loco was Kazipet (KZJ) WAG-7 #27544. As we crossed Kalipahari West, we passed another G7 twin waiting for their starter hauling a coal rake. The leading and trailing loco here were both TATA WAG-7′s and the numbers are 27558 and 27562. At 06:55am, we entered the Andal Yard – this is one of the biggest Marshalling yards in India as far as Goods movement is concerned.
Although Andal witnesses a lot of goods movement, today it looked seemingly empty. The only two locos that were making their presence felt was Andal (UDL) WDG-3A 13397 in its customary Green livery and UDL WDS-6 36148. We entered Durgapur at 07:04 am. So far so good! As my Duronto flew through Durgapur, I spotted Howrah (HWH) WAP-4 22405 running light towards Howrah on the parallel track. Of course, the Duronto was faster and in another 10 minutes, we crossed Panagarh as well. As we crossed Panagarh, the familiar landscape of West Bengal – green fields and small pools of water became more visible. This is one of the landscape aspects that I love about West Bengal – a lot of greenery, small homes with thatched roofs, and small ponds.
As we crossed Khana Jn at 07:33am, I knew that Howrah was not too far off. One of the amazing things about traveling from Khana to Howrah is that there are multiple tracks here to facilitate up and down movements. Till Khana, there were 3 tracks and from Khana there were 10 tracks. Wow!! One more thing: the electric catenary in this part of the country is different from everywhere else. Our train slowed down to about 40kmph as we approached Bardhhaman Jn (BWN) – it was 07:40am. As we cruised out of the station, I noticed a Howrah Bardhhaman mainline EMU. I somehow prefer the livery and the look of these EMU’s vis-à-vis the Mumbai EMU’s.
As we crossed Bardhhaman Jn, I just couldn’t resist the temptation of doorplating. I headed for the nearest door and with my camera on; I was ready to take some morning shots. More than anything, I desperately wanted to know what loco was allocated to the Duronto at Mughalsarai. We crossed Shaktigarh at 07:58am and the landscape looked wet. It seemed as if this place had witnesses a brief spate of rainfall and the interlocking cabin at the east end of Shaktigarh looked really red as if it had just been painted.
Saktigarh is an important junction because it is the point from where the chord line and the main line bifurcate. There are quite a few curves after Saktigarh and this is where I was able to spot our Loco for the first time. Of course, it was a WAP-4 but I was unable to get its road number or shed name because it was doing almost 90kmph. In quick succession, we crossed Masagram, Nabagram, Gurap, and Belmuri. As Baruipara, we even left behind the 2342 Agniveena Express from Asansol hauled by Howrah P4 22408 after a few minutes of parallel action. I was feeling happy because the 2342 would leave Howrah as the Shantiniketan Exp. So there is no way I would miss the train.
At Janai Road, 2381 Poorva Express crossed us hauled by MGS WAP-4 #22216. We reached Dankuni Jn at 08:46am and the Duronto stopped for 4 minutes. Dankuni is another busy junction as the lines from Howrah and Sealdah meet here. The starter went green and the advanced starter showed Double yellow as the Duronto pulled out slowly from Dankuni Jn. As we changed tracks, I was able to spot the loco finally – SRC (Santragachi) WAP-4 #22637. I was absolutely thrilled! An SRC loco was like a really pleasant surprise.
The SRC WAP-4 hauling Howrah Duronto at Dankuni
We entered Liluah at 09:01am, which is the outer of Howrah Station. I was shocked to see the Yellow and Green livery of the Liluah station. Why on earth did Mamata Banerjee change the color of the station and if she had to do it then why not something more lively and soothing? Well! For me, a railway passenger – this is an utter waste of money!
Another unfortunate aspect of the journey is that in spite of the train being over 3 hours late, the passengers were not offered morning tea or breakfast.
As we curved into Howrah Station, I quickly shifted from the right door to the left to shoot the Duronto on the curve. I have always wanted to capture this curve in the camera lens but somehow I never got to. I have mostly been traveling to Sealdah from Delhi and hence the opportunities were rare.
The Duronto curving into Howrah through the intricate points
As I focused my camera to take the Duronto on the curve, I was amazed to see the number of points and up and down lines. There are only a few stations in India that has such an intricate formation of tracks and signalling. It was really awesome!
The tail end of the Duronto on the Curve outside Howrah
Mr. Dependable!! SRC WAP-4 #22637
We finally entered Platform 12 after quite a few curves and point changes. Once I got off at Howrah, the first thing I did was look at the SRC P4. The Wappie had done a great job! I thanked the LP and moved on towards the ticket counter to buy a ticket on Shantiniketan Express, which had also entered Platform 10.
April 28, 2010
Bang in the middle of the summer, we had this bright idea to travel to Kolkata and Shantiniketan, which was as hot as Delhi and was hitting 80% humidity levels. I was of course looking forward to meeting my grandmother, railfaning, and just wandering around. A nice break from the dreariness of a monotonous life and the searing heat of Delhi.
Started off from the New Delhi Railway Station at 1300 PM aboard the newly inaugurated 2274 New Delhi Howrah Duronto Express. I had got a nice little side berth in 3AC but to my horror, my name was missing from the reservation list. A gentleman came to me and urged me to speak to the Ticket Inspector since his name was written on the list and I was occupying his berth. What a way to start the journey!
The train moved on and the IRCTC staff on the Duronto started taking lunch orders. I was getting a little bit jittery since the TT was nowhere on sight. Finally, I did find him relaxing in the First AC compartment and he looked up his charts and told me with that I have been upgraded. He said, “You are lucky! You will be traveling in 2AC for the fare of 3AC”. I was concerned because I wanted a window seat. The good thing was that I got side lower berth – Window Seat. Yipee!!
Hauled by Ghaziabad WAP-7 #30263 (brand new locomotive), we made good time and crossed Ghaziabad at 1332pm. Uptil now, I had seen quite a few locos, and I kept jotting down their road numbers to tally with my list. This was an integral part of railfanning. I saw Lallaguda WAP-7 #30238, Kalyan Tigerface #27260, and Asansol G7 #27881.
Duronto at New Delhi Station
Suddenly someone knocked on my shoulder. I turned around to find that lunch had arrived and it was 1442pm. Bang on time! Hungry and tired I was, I didn’t care much less and started hogging. Lunch included rice, 2xparanthas, pickle, paneer masala, arhar dal, plain curd/yogurt.
Lunch in Howrah Duronto
Post lunch, most passengers opted for a quick afternoon siesta but I kept awake for the pure thrill of railfanning. We crossed Tundla at 1548pm and I noticed that the 2274 was being given the red more than once. Goods trains as well as some other mail/express were made to pass while we just watched. Mamata Di’s dream train had turned from Duronto to “Stop-anto.” Wonder what she has to say to this!
The only good thing was that I was able to spot plenty more locomotives. I saw Ludhiana G7 #27685 and 28076, Angul G7 #28091 and 28180, Mughalsarai G7 #27524, Vadodara WAG-5 #23991, Howrah WAP-4 #22611 and 22574, Kazipet G7 # 27590, Gomoh WAG-9 #31050 and 31036, AJNI WAG-9 #31081 and 31106 and Kanpur WAG-7 #27991.
Evening snacks were served at 1730pm and included a tea kit (tea,sugar, and milk), Samosa, vegetable sandwich with extra mayonnaise courtesy Haldiram, Ladoo, tomoto ketchup satchet, and cadbury eclairs. The 2003 Lucknow Shatabdi zipped passed us with WAP-5 in the opposite direction at 1805pm and we had still not reached Kanpur.
Evening snacks and tea on Duronto
We entered Kanpur at 1844pm instead of 1735pm – we were already running late by more than an hour. The 2274 departed from Kanpur at 1900pm after dinner was picked up and crew change was complete. I was wondering how will I be able to take picture of the amazing deep “C” curve after Kanpur station. Since it was post sunset, I decided to take a video and now when I look at the video, it feels good – at least I got the train on the curve. These are the times when you feel good about having a digital camera with video options!!
Duronto at Kanpur Station (CNB)
As I couldn’t see a thing outside, I put my camera aside and joined in some real time coffee house type bullshit with my co-passengers. Of course, they were quite an interesting lot. An elderly couple whose sense of humor was the highlight of the journey, a young man in his early thirties, and a young woman who was returning home from Haridwar. Dinner was announced at 2030pm and was no different from the lunch. The Paranthas were replaced by Rumali Roti, and tearing it was quite a feat. The arhar dal was excellent and so was the vanilla ice-cream. Time to hit the bed!
As if things were not that bad yet, I woke up at 0005 am all sweating in a air-conditioned environment. Yes! The AC was not working at all and I couldn’t find the engineer to rectify it. I came back to my berth and the train started to move. I looked outside and was able to catch a glimpse of the station board, which read “Mughalsarai”. Christ! We were supposed to have reached here at 2200pm. The train was late by 2 hours but then I thought, it will cover up in the night.
27 April, 2010
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