South Konkan Outing 17th/18th April 2008.
IRFCA does the tallest and the longest in a single day! The Konkan Railways (KR) section near Ratnagiri (RN) has some the grandest sights on the Indian Railways. These sights are of course the Panval Viaduct and the Karbude Tunnel which are are IR's tallest viaduct and longest tunnel respectively. Once completed, the route in Kashmir would have even taller/longer structures, but as of today, Pavnal and Karbude are the champions, handling an endless traffic of fast, heavy trains. This is a joint presentation by Lalam, Hrishikesh, Sachin and Apurva. Poor quality images would be deleted once better pictures of the area are available.
For the three Pune (Lalam, Hrishikesh and Apurva) and the lone Mumbai member (Sachin), the trip started at Panvel where we boarded 2619 LTT-MAQ Matsyagandha express to Ratnagiri. 17th April 2008.
The south end to the Karjat - Panvel line is a descending ramp on which the Nasik bound Pune-Nasik express waits for our 2619 Matsyagandha to clear the Panvel station. 17th April 2008.
We were at the Panval viaduct even before the birds woke up = after ending up at the smaller Pomendi viaduct. We were guided only by satellite maps and local people who spoke to us during the earlier night. Just as we arrived at this spot, the Madgaon bou
The first train to arrive as the dawn broke was the 2202 KCVL-LTT Garib Rath. 18th April 2008.
Garib Rath from the Panval river bed.
In the southbound direction came this double GOC shed WDG 3A headed BCN rake. The Panval viaduct is located around 8 kms south of Ratnagiri.
This is the Panval river - known to have 15 feet floods during monsoons.
IRFCA was here ! Two railfans walk the viaducts during the extremely humid Ratnagiri morning.
A viaduct of such gigantic proportions has its own unique problems. This anemometer interlocks with the signaling system to stop trains when the wind speed exceed a safe limit.
The Anemometer is fitted on the tallest pier which is over 64 meter over the river bed.
Elastomer pads to cushion the load of the massive structure.
This items embedded in the mud could be inclinometers. These detect shifts in earth which could be a precursor to a landslide. KR has many ingenious, yet simple technologies in place to ensure safety.
The scale of things at Panval viaduct. Sachin vs the pier.
The Panval viaduct can be seen on Satellite maps. The KR track runs east - west at this point. The Banewadi tunnel connects Pomendi and Panval viaducts.
View of the Panval Viaduct.
View of the Panval Viaduct.
A view towards the Ratnagiri end.
Hrishikesh against one of the piers.
Sachin lies down for a vertical shot.
Sachin'w view of the pier.
After a long gap, the northbound 2617 ERS-NZM Mangala express arrives at the viaduct.
Mangala over the Panval viaduct.
View of the Mangala from a different location.
From the left: Apurva, Lalam, Sachin and Hrishikesh at a stupendous railfanning location - any idea where this place is ? 18th April 2008
The look up and above - Panval viaduct near Ratnagiri. This is a picture merged from many other images, so the perspective is somewhat distorted.
The massive piers are hollow from inside - and it is possible to go inside them via the door. Fantastic echo and reverberation inside.
Sachin lies down once again to get a shot vertically upwards. The pier is pitch dark inside, and it can claustrophobic inside - and also very noisy when a train goes on the viaduct with you inside. We did have a train go over our head (most probably the 1
Recent comments
Great work guys, as usual!
Posted by Mohan Bhuyan on 2008 Jun 13 15:37:39 +0000
Dear Appu & gang,
Aur ek baar Mere saath.:-)
Posted by V. Srinavasa Prasad on 2008 May 02 16:46:22 +0000
Hats off to you folks...And Three Cheers to IRFCA...Long Live Railfans!
Posted by Saurab Basu on 2008 May 01 16:08:44 +0000