Jaunt on the Satpuras

...and you thought NG coaches are puny? Ain’t you? (Benhur)

Ben shares his pictures with the curious kids at Seoni. (Naveen)

Talking about horse-shoe curve… this must be close to one. Somewhere between Bhoma and Kaniwara. The section has many such “should-not-be-missed” moments, including ride over breathtaking viaducts. (Benhur)

Sometimes it’s good to look back at the lines through which you travelled… (Naveen)

Ticket Khidki: Asbestos sheet to cover four sides and the roof to protect the head is all needed for a ticket counter. Here the ticket vendor is standing outside the counter to make it convenient for those passengers who turn up at the last moment. (Benhu

GR Sytle Caboose! At Nainpur we came across these NG Freight wagons and caboose in a very elegant livery. (Harish Kumar)

No wonder that Nainpur is the busiest NG railway junction in the continent… at one point we had trains occupying in all three lines seen here. Platforms in the picture are 2,3,and 4, which handle trains bound to Jabalpur, Balaghat, and Mandla Fort. (Haris

Look at the inconsistency of the coaches. The rake in the picture is 1CN at PF-1 by which we arrived at Nainpur few minutes earlier. PF-1 handles trains towards CWA/NGP side. (Naveen)

2JB – Jabalpur – Nainpur Passenger pulls into Nainpur. (Harish Kumar)

ZDM-3A #170 which brought us into Nainpur is now actively doing shunting activities. This loco kept us entertained with its brisk actions. (Harish Kumar)

The waiting hall at Nainpur. This hall separates PF-1 and the other 3 PFs here. The waiting hall has one Vegetarian and one Non-vegetarian Refreshment Stall on either side. (Naveen)

What would you do when you find an emergency window open? (Naveen)

ZDM-4A #227 takes a nap as the Mandla Fort bound passenger is all set to push off from PF-4 of Nainpur. (Benhur)

View of the diesel loco shed from the Mandla Fort bound passenger. The NIR-Mandla Fort section is "just" 101 years old today. (Benhur)

A typical passenger halt in the NG lines, more often than not on a spectacular rural landscape! (Naveen)

The porter who must be in his 50s was full of energy to start with – closing and opening the LC and waving the flags to see the train through, passionately. Here’s one of the nine LCs en-route, where he is in action, near Limaura… (Benhur)

We reached Mandla Fort at 15.15 hours. Here a Maruthi car was standing bang on the track conscious of the loco’s movement. Perhaps people take these NG locos lightly. (Harish Kumar)

All attentions to this unique process. The porter closes the ninth gate, which is after the station, and signals the loco to proceed, then he goes to the far end, switches the line, comes back to the LC, waves again and opens the LC. (Harish Kumar)

Line switched and the loco moves in. (Naveen)

No. Not a beast from the Kanha National Park! That's the very loco that brought us into Mandla Fort - ZDM-4A #227 (Benhur)

Mandla Fort station has two platforms, and has a computerized reservation counter and no more card tickets. (Harish Kumar)

After spending the evening at the Narmada Ghats, we returned to Mandla Fort station for the 19.45 hrs 6NM. Had enough time to try our hands on taking night shots and gulping in the famous NG tea, which was served in a crockery set. (Harish Kumar)

It’s the same loco that doing the duty for the evening passenger as well. The loco reversal was swift, and minutes later we were ready. The train was sparsely crowded. Once inside the coach, lights were switched off and it was a homegrown solution for esc

Day 3 – 0002 Balaghat bound Satpura Express arrives bang on time at Nainpur behind ZDM-4A #227. (Harish Kumar)

An experienced hand! The overhead tanks of the Satpura Express are being filled with water. (Benhur)

Satpura Express skips Padriganj: 0001/02 is indeed the “prestigious” train between Jabalpur and Balaghat, with a first class coach in the consist, and enjoys sectional preference, which we witnessed firsthand. (Naveen)

Soon after Charegaon we were belting at a healthy 40+ kmph away towards Balaghat. Naveen enjoying the high speed run. (Benhur)