Jaipur to Purna on the Meenakshi Express

The start of thr journey. The 9769 Meenakshi Expres waits at the outer signal of Phulera

Our home for a day and a half - the Second AC coach of the Meenakshi Express

Crossing the BG track while entering Phulera Jn. Note entrance to the Phulera Diesel Loco shed

A view of Phulera Jn. The train next to us is the 9770 Meenakshi Express bound for Jaipur

Meenakshi meets Meenakshi! 9769 & 9770 wait next to each other at Phulera Jn

A full fledged Pantry Car on the 9770 Meenakshi Express. Which other MG train on IR has a Pantry Car?

Shanx & Sanyog pose in front of our coach at Phulera Jn.

Upper Quadrant semaphore signalling between Phulera & Ajmer. The BG line has MACL signalling.

Waiting at the outer of Ajmer Jn.

A view of the MG tracks and yard at Ajmer Jn

Shashanka "Superman" Nanda poses next to our power - a Phulera YDM4 6733 at Mandal

A member of the Catering crew packs some freshly prepared rice in the Pantry Car of the Meenakshi Express at Chittaurgarh.

The Meenakshi gets a loco change at Chittaurgarh. Taking over for the remainder of the journey is Mhow YDM-4 #6245. Pic by Shanx.

Dinner on the Meenakshi. The pic says it all...

Ghosts of Neemuch! Three rusting YGs from Mhow parked at a siding tell tales of the glorious era of Steam traction

One of the locos is YG #4379 from Mhow. Note the POH schedule displayed on the side of the driving cab.

Dawn at Mhow! The Meenakshi has a 30 minute halt here as 7 coaches are cut-off. We had some excellent "poha" and tea here.

A view of the Mhow station and sidings. The seven coaches which have been cut-off from the Meenakshi Express can be seen in the centre of the picture.

A condemned composite First Class - Second Class coach is parked in a siding. Mhow.

Heavenly Patalpani! The Meenakshi waits for the starter signal to descend one of the most spectacular ghat sections on IR

We begin our descent. The gradient can be clearly seen here. Look at the beauty of the surroundings!

The spectacular Patalpani waterfall which feeds the Choral river. The river can also be seen at the bottom right of the picture.

How green is my valley? The Choral river flows through some dense fog covered hills.

The sun finally manages to break free of the lush green hills. The dense fog has begun to lift

The Meenakshi Express stops at an ultra spectacular curve just before a tunnel.

After descending around 300 metres from Patalpani, the Meenakshi takes a breather at Kalakund. The YDM4 in the centre of the pic is waiting to bank a train up the ghats.