The forgotten railways of Pune’s backyard - part II
During the first week of June 2007, Google Earth upgraded a patch of the territory, South East of Pune to high-resolution. This upgrade between Alandi and Shindawane revealed a previously unkwown section of the abandoned MG line in usable detail.
A closer look of the MG alignment in the satellite map showed a tunnel with what looked like a well or a pond located on the hill above the tunnel.
Could this be a tunnel ventilation shaft ?
The only way to find out was by a first hand investigation. Pune gang trekked to that area on the 14th June 2007 to do just that.
Hyderabad gang member PVS Praveen Kumar traveled overnight each way to Pune to join John, Ashish and me, Apurva for this trek of around 10 Kms.
Check out the report of the earlier trek on the same alignment but in a different section here.
Some railway hardware found on the permanent way – perhaps a rail mounting chair.
We sighted many examples of real wildlife during our trek. This is a Chinkara (Indian Gazelle) of genus Gazella Gazella Bennett – the shy, graceful and very fast moving animal can be seen on the path near the small tree in the centre of the image. This
A view inside one the cuttings. Our progress is slowed by the numerous landslides and thorny vegetation.
The set of rails marking what is left of the Guroli station probably supported the point lever platform.
The text on the rails at Guroli states: “Mosbay – 1886 MPC/ 75 lbs per yard” – Saif, please interpret what that means.
The ruins of two stone huts, marks the erstwhile Guroli station – these seem to be homes of the staff that resided here. Not visible in any picture, is a fouling mark stone lies nearly buried in the mud – evidence that this was a station of the Indian
The ruins of another hut at Guroli. This is near the tracks hence may be the station building.
Two cemented pits at Guroli station that might have been water tanks. The pits are as deep as they are wide – with Ashish’s sack as a reference for size.
WDG 4 # 12019 curves into the yard limits of Shindawane after a descent from the ghat through the mountain in the background. The white portal of a tunnel in the ghats is visible above the second last BCN. 2007_06_17.
WDG4 12019 with a BCNA rake waits for token after crossing of Karnataka Sampark Kranti at Shindavane
KJM's WDM 3A # 14083 hauls in the biweekly Karnataka Sampark Kranti Express from the Pune end. Shindawane, 2007_06_16.
A view of the Bangalore bound 2630 Up Karnataka Sampark Kranti Express as it climbs into one of the tunnels of the Shindawane ghat. The train has gained this height within a few kms of the sharp curve after the Shindawane station yard limits. Part of th
A ladder that does not lead anywhere – this is used by the Shindawane station master to visually confirm the status of the signal aspect when the normal vision was obscured by say a train standing on the platform.
Our return ride, the 1610 Up passenger heads into the Shindawane yard.
At Shindawane, the assistant driver prepares to catch the outgoing token hoop while the surrendered token is still flying in the air. Guntakal's WDM 2A # 17501 (coupled with a sleeping stablemate WDM 2 # 18917R) hauls in the 1610 Up passenger bound for Pu
Recent comments
Nice album, Appu and gang. Great to see remains of old P. way recorded completely. The bat episode is even more entertaining! Hope you will be able to plot the entire MG line in that area soon
Posted by Jimmy Jose on 2007 Aug 27 09:37:41 +0000
Excellent stuff. Great going guys!!
Posted by Siddhartha Ganesh on 2007 Aug 22 16:17:59 +0000
Wonderful photo essay as usual!! And Kudos to Apurva for the detailed captions for the pics. Great effort. Keep up the good work
Posted by Akshay Marathe on 2007 Aug 20 03:21:34 +0000