IRFCA Mailing List Archive
Messages 6361 - 6380
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: Indian Railways Magazine
Date: 21 May 1999 02:11:40 -0500
I have been with this mag for quite a few years now. I agree that it is
a wealth
of information. The latest (Jan 99 - with the DMU on the cover) has just
been in
(they are successfully catching up with the gap :-)).
Now that a few of us receive it regularly, we could discuss some of the
issues
that are published in the current mag.
The article about the Baad (Bad ?) C&W depot makes fascinating reading.
The
writer has listed the reasons why 4 wheeler tanker wagons were parting
their
CBCs.
Quote
Apparently the parting was due to the CBC handle dropping and workout of
lock or
due to tilted lock. During shunting operation in-between conventional
type
buffer headed wagon with CBC stock wagon, the buffer hits the CBC handle
bracket
and it breaks.
To eliminate this problem, the modification has taken care of the CBC
handle
bracket shifting towards end of head stock. The other case of train
parting is
a missing of CBC handle. In such cases there is no anti creep
arrangement on
lock lifter and rotary lever, the lock lifts and CBC is opened during
run
Unquote.
Why doesn't the IR mag take subscription for 5 years or more like the
other mags
do ? Had the mag had its editorial office in Pune, I would have wrung
their
necks often, but since it is in NDLS, I guess Harsh will have to do the
needful.
I propose we actually send them an email (via Harsh) complimenting SC
Sharma
(the editor) on how their mag is so important to so many Indian Railway
enthusiasts, and then we put down the list of demands like regular
publication,
taking subscription for longer periods, putting only railway related
pictures on
the cover, not adding their own artwork when there IS a train picture on
the
cover etc. Maybe even a web base edition ! If the composing is done
electronically (and making money is never the objective of the IR mag at
Rs. 4
per issue), making a web based edition would be quite easy.
Apurva
From: Vijay Balasubramanian <>
Subject: Re: 2nd longest MG run
Date: 21 May 1999 06:19:20 -0500
>
>Surprise Surprise. My Aug '98 All India abstract TT mentions the
>Samastipur - Tezpore Exp. Now that is very surprising indeed. When I
was in
>Siliguri in Nov '98 there was no mention of this train anywhere. I
I also verified this from my 1998 TAAG. A 30 mt. halt at Alipurduar
reinforces the fact that it has got extended. Once Joydeep confirms
this, we can regard this as the 2nd longest MG run.
>
>My Aug '97 NFR TT does not mention the 5813 Arunachal Exp. between
Kamakhya
>and Murkongselek. This train features in AI abstract TT of Aug '98.
Joydeep,
>Pls enlighten us.
>
My Bradshaw shows this train between Rangiya and Murkongselek but has
not indicated the schedule between Rangiya and Kamakhya. Wonder what's
going on. Joydeep to the rescue :-)
Vijay
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From: Auroprem Kandaswami <>
Subject: Re: Indian Railways Magazine
Date: 21 May 1999 13:40:55 -0500
Hi Shankar,
Really liked your comments about Indian Railways magazine,
filled generously with humor and satire. Please keep the
good stuff coming.
Cheers,
Auro
>From: Shankar <shankie@emirates.email
>Reply-To: shankie@emirates.email
>To: Steven Sliwka <sliwka@centuryinter.email
>CC: irfca@cs.email
>Subject: Re: Indian Railways Magazine
>Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 19:01:06 +0400
>
>Hello,
>
>There is indeed a magazine dedicated to the Indian Railways. And I do
>not think there will be any difficulty for you to subscribe to it from
>the US: I live in Dubai and I have been subscribing to it for the past
>year and a half.
>
>To be very frank and honest with you, its a sort of an in-house
magazine
>for IR staff. But for us rail freaks, its a vital source of
information.
>Due to the in-house trend, it sometimes tackles issues region by
region:
>The SE region exceeded freight target and the SR won an award for 100 %
>punctuality and things like that, SOmetimes you also have a region-wise
>spotlight: spotlight on Khurda Road division of the SE etc.
>At times its a bit obscure: Sportsmen on the ER Jamalpur Division
>honored for their sports achievements etc.
>
>But for the most part, its a feast: you get to know about rare, obscure
>events taking place in rare, obscure places. You come to know of new
>train services, sometimes even obscure services or unimportant trains.
>Things you rarely get to see esp. since you are outside India.
>Future plans etc. can sometimes also be learnt of in advance.
>
>Receiving: well, its a hit and miss affair. Supplies are quite erratic.
>I got the Dec.'98 issue first, then the Oct and Nov. issues a couple of
>months later! I received the Oct '98 issue only last week, in May '99!
>I could really never figure out the frequency of publication. Its
>usually monthly, but two or sometimes even three months are clubbed
>together into one issue, though this is not done too often.Supplies as
I
>said are quite erratic: do not expect to receive your issue bang on the
>dot every month. You can hope to receive one or two issues every two
to
>four months.
>
>That actually adds to the interest, and I eagerly look forward to my
>copy and drop everything else to read it when it arrives.
>
>For whatever it is worth, you can subscribe by writing to:
>
>Mr. S. C. Saxena, Business Manager,
>'Indian Railways'
>Room # 311, Rail Bhavan,
>New Delhi-110 001, India.
>
>Subscription rates:(Annual)
>Foreign: Indian Rupees 300 by Sea Mail, Ind. Rupees 700 for Air mail.
>
>Funds are payable in Indian Rupees by a demand draft drawn in favor of
>'The Secretary, Railway Board', and payable in New Delhi, India.
>
>I'd personally advise you to stick to air mail (INR 700 per year) as
>with sea mail, you'll be hopelessly lost,probably receiving one issue
>every six months or so, hopelessly outdated.
>
>Hope I have been of some help.
>
>Best regards, and happy reading.
>
>Shankar
>
>
>Steven Sliwka wrote:
> >
> > Dear Members
> >
> > I have heard about a Magazine dedicated to the subject of Indian
> > Railways. And what does it contain? Can I subscribe to it even
> > though I live in the United States? If I remember right, I think it
> > was around 16$ American Dollars per year. Can anyone help? If I
> > could subscribe to it, how long would I have to wait to receive it?
> >
> > Steven
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From: Sankaran Kumar <>
Subject: Hindi signs
Date: 21 May 1999 13:54:22 -0500
Apurva wrote:
>I have noticed that all the stations near Chennai have had the names
>deleted by
>black paint in Hindi and sometimes in English too bu pro Tamil
activists.
>Makes it
>quite trying to guess which station that may be.
>
>
The definite confirmation that one has crossed into Tamil Nadu is that
depending on the political climate du jour is that Hindi signs on
station
name signposts are either (1)absent, (2)written in microletters
sandwiched
between the much larger Tamil and English signs or (3) blacked out. I
suspect that this phenomenon occurs cyclically with the Hindi signs
appearing, then being blacked out by irate Tamil activists and the
railways
then assuaging these activists by painting out the Hindi signs. After a
while when passions have cooled down, the Hindi signs appear again to
assuage the Hindi activists in Rail Bhawan and elsewhere in Delhi. I
have
never seen English signs defaced; this may be a new phenomenon.
The only other state I have seen the defacing of Hindi signs is in West
Bengal; the Hindi signs were blackened and the English signs were
crossed
out (so that one could still read them; rather considerate, I thought of
the
Bengali activists).
Kumar
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From: Sankaran Kumar <>
Subject: Agra-Bhopal
Date: 21 May 1999 14:02:06 -0500
(In response to Shankar's posting)
I believe it is
Agra(UP)-Dhaulpur(Raj)-Gwalior(MP)-Jhansi(UP)-Bhopal(MP)
The area near Dhaulpur/Morena is where the tracks go through the Chambal
ravines on both sides of the Chambal river. Extremely interesting
geographically; infamous for dacoit activity.
Kumar
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From: Auroprem Kandaswami <>
Subject: All India Railway Time-Table?
Date: 21 May 1999 14:04:55 -0500
Hi folks,
I remember very well - in the 70s, there used to be an
All India (all-zone) Railway Time-Table. This used to be a
"full-blown" one covering all 9 Railway Zones, all Branch and
rural lines, all stations and all trains. The way it used to be
organized
is, individual TIme Tables of all 9 Zones would be physically bound
together, one after the other into one "thick book" (close to 1000
pages),
giving hours of real kick to the IR nut. Is this publication still
available,
and if so what is the frequency of publication?
TAAG is not that much fun. Because, it carries only somewhat "abstract
timings" of major IR routes, while ignoring branch lines, passenger
trains and lots of other details.
Regards,
Auro
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: All India Railway Time-Table?
Date: 21 May 1999 23:29:20 -0500
Auroprem Kandaswami wrote:
> Hi folks,
>
> I remember very well - in the 70s, there used to be an
> All India (all-zone) Railway Time-Table. This used to be a
> "full-blown" one covering all 9 Railway Zones, all Branch and
> rural lines, all stations and all trains. The way it used to be
organized
> is, individual TIme Tables of all 9 Zones would be physically bound
> together, one after the other into one "thick book" (close to 1000
pages),
> giving hours of real kick to the IR nut. Is this publication still
available,
> and if so what is the frequency of publication?
Wow ! I have never heard of this book but if it exists it really is a
time table
browser's wet dream. Okay, I have a gut feeling that the badly printed
and loosely
bound Bradshaw is not very authentic. One possible scope for error is
the
typesetting which is manual in case of the Bradshaw. I much prefer the
official
zonal TTs but that is because I am in India and have access to them.
With the acquisition of the excellent SR tt I have ALL the zonal TTs and
the TAAG
for this year.
What is your opinion of the authenticity of the Bradshaw ?
Apurva
From: John Lacey <>
Subject: [Fwd: Re: FAQ - Trivia Update.
Date: 22 May 1999 01:09:28 -0500
From: Dr. S. Parthasarathy <>
Subject: irfca faq
Date: 22 May 1999 04:53:28 -0500
This happens to me all the time. When I keep things stored safely to be
able to retrive it again, I never find it. I have "lost" the URL of
irfca FAQ.
Please can someone e mail me the same. Thanks a lot.
...partha
From: hvc <>
Subject: Re: All India Railway Time-Table?
Date: 22 May 1999 08:19:23 -0500
> I remember very well - in the 70s, there used to be an
> All India (all-zone) Railway Time-Table. This used to be a
> "full-blown" one covering all 9 Railway Zones, all Branch and
> rural lines, all stations and all trains. The way it used to be
organized
> is, individual TIme Tables of all 9 Zones would be physically bound
> together, one after the other into one "thick book" (close to 1000
pages),
> giving hours of real kick to the IR nut. Is this publication still
available,
> and if so what is the frequency of publication?
>
No, Iam afraid not. The last of these were published in the late
seventies.
These all India TTs were about 250 pages and nowhere near the 1000 mark.
After all most of the content of the individual thick zonal TTs is the
junk
advertisements at the back(good reading for pastime if you feeling
bored)
and much of the fare and
train information is common for all the zones. My '77 copy cost Rs. 5
back
then.
All zones were given different colour pages to work as easy book marks.
Of
course there were not so many trains back then but it is perfectly
possible
to produce something on a similar scale today. The main problem is that
the
zonal TTs are out of stock/print most of the time and by the time you
manage
to lay hand on them all, half the year is gone. One thing which I have
never
understood is why bring out a TT in August/October when fares change and
services
are introduced/rerouted in March during budget. If that is the kind of
lagtime they require to bring a TT, the All India TT will always remain
a
distant dream.
It will be a horror for a TT collector like me when there will be
fifteen
timetables as a result of realignment of zones. Getting nine at hand
itself
is hell of a job.
Harsh
From: Shankar <>
Subject: Re: All India Railway Time-Table?
Date: 23 May 1999 10:56:08 -0500
Hello,
Indeed, I remember the detailed TT vaguely as well.
But after it ceased publication, I used to religiously buy the Newman's
Indian Bradshaw: every few months whenever I was in India, and during
each visit to India after I moved to Dubai.
Despite the crude printing and finish, I somehow used to find it quite
fascinating. I've even ordered it once by mail when I was living in Abu
Dhabi.
Horror upon horrors! When I visited India in Nov 1997, I confidently
walked up to the Wheelers stall on p/f 1 of Poona station, only to be
shown an abstract bradshaw! It was 'Newman's Indian bradshaw' alright,
the publisher was 'W.Newman' of Calcutta alright, but it was an
abstract, just like the TAAG. I protested quite loudly, only to be told
off rather curtly: ah yes, that detailed thing is not published any
more.
Is this true, or is the abstract an optional edition for those who do
not want the real thing?
While on the subject of abstract timetables, there seems to be a
proliferation of several privately published TAAGs from all over the
country.
I saw one from Calcutta and another from Raipur at Poona Jn.These are
called 'Travel Guide" or something similar: each has a different
name,but most have very interesting covers.
AMong the private TTs, the 'Rail Duniya' is also quite OK, but the one
thing I do not like with it is, it shows the arrival times only, at 99%
of the stations. I think the departure time makes more sense.
Can anyone of ye India-based friends manage to lay your hands on a full
and detailed bradshaw? I'd be highly obliged. I'll send you the funds in
Indian rupees the monent you can tell me how much.
Best regards.
Shankar
Auroprem Kandaswami wrote:
>
> Hi folks,
>
> I remember very well - in the 70s, there used to be an
> All India (all-zone) Railway Time-Table. This used to be a
> "full-blown" one covering all 9 Railway Zones, all Branch and
> rural lines, all stations and all trains. The way it used to be
organized
> is, individual TIme Tables of all 9 Zones would be physically bound
> together, one after the other into one "thick book" (close to 1000
pages),
> giving hours of real kick to the IR nut. Is this publication still
available,
> and if so what is the frequency of publication?
>
> TAAG is not that much fun. Because, it carries only somewhat
"abstract
> timings" of major IR routes, while ignoring branch lines, passenger
> trains and lots of other details.
>
> Regards,
> Auro
From: Vdate <>
Subject: Re: All India Railway Time-Table?
Date: 23 May 1999 13:49:24 -0500
In a message dated 5/23/99 11:11:31 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
shankie@emirates.email writes:
<< AMong the private TTs, the 'Rail Duniya' is also quite OK, but the
one
thing I do not like with it is, it shows the arrival times only, at 99%
of the stations. I think the departure time makes more sense. >>
If the "Rail Duniya" TT is showing the arrival time from the railways'
working timetable, it indeed may be showing the departure time; as the
departure times in the public timetables are the arrival times from the
working timetables.
From: Tim & Anita Wakeman <>
Subject: Re: intro
Date: 23 May 1999 16:35:48 -0500
Tim & Anita Wakeman wrote:
>
> Hello list,
>
> I'm new here,so let me tell you all how I got here.
> I first became interested in Indias railways back in the late 70s'
when
> I came across a TRAINS mag from the early 70s' with an article on
> photographing trains in India.It claimed there was enough steam
engines
> to last to the year 2000.Maybe.Then I found a video in the local
library
> shot by a German company.It was one of the most amazing videos I have
> seen to this day.I never thought I would be able to visit this far
away
> land.Then an ironic thing happened.I met a women at work that I became
> close friends with.In 1994 we traveled to India together to be married
> in front of her family in the small village of Gandhi Nagar just north
> of Vellore,Tamil Nadu.I slept the first day there from the long
trip.At
> night I was not totally asleep.Then something jolted me out of the bed
> at the wee hours of the am.Mixed in with the occasional single blast
air
> horns I could hear off in the distance,came a shrieking steam whistle
> through the night sky.At first I thought it was something else,but
then
> it sounded again in departure.The light puffing of the locomotive then
> was audible.WOW!I thought.I knew there was a good chance steam was
still
> here,but steam was still,RIGHT HERE!The search was on.More on that
stuff
> later,if you all do'nt mind some stories.I have been back there twice
> since then.Once,for family only,(besides,heat was too extreme at the
> time of year),and again, for family and fun.Boy,did I have fun!
> Zoom into 1999,one child later and busy employment.We live in New York
> State,U.S.A. Getting RR info on India is by and least most
> difficult.Then I broke down and got ourselves this computer.I saw
> through family and friends the wealth of railroading I could do right
at
> home.For two months or more I have been gradually getting into the
> railways of India on the web.I came across "minirails",which led me to
> Apurvas' web site and this list.I figured there must be India railfans
> someplace out there,and here you are!I must say,I am most certainly
glad
> to be here.
>
> Tim Wakeman
From: Sankaran Kumar <>
Subject: Re: Agra-Bhopal
Date: 23 May 1999 17:07:49 -0500
Dacoit is an armed robber. Widely used in Indian English.
Kumar
>From: "C.L.Zeni" <clzeni@mindspring.email
>Reply-To: clzeni@mindspring.email
>To: Sankaran Kumar <sankaran_kumar@hotmail.email
>Subject: Re: Agra-Bhopal
>Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 16:04:46 -0400
>
>Sankaran Kumar wrote:
> >
> > (In response to Shankar's posting)
> > I believe it is
> >
> > Agra(UP)-Dhaulpur(Raj)-Gwalior(MP)-Jhansi(UP)-Bhopal(MP)
> >
> > The area near Dhaulpur/Morena is where the tracks go through the
Chambal
> > ravines on both sides of the Chambal river. Extremely interesting
> > geographically; infamous for dacoit activity.
>
>Dacoit? What's that?
>--
> Craig Zeni - REPLY TO -->> clzeni at mindspring dot com
> <A HREF="http://www.mindspring.com/~clzeni/index.html">http://www.mindspring.com/~clzeni/index.html</A>
> Kitty Haiku: Like a king or queen
> I sit in regal splendor
> Until I puke up.
>
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From: Sankaran Kumar <>
Subject: Re: MG double tracking ?
Date: 23 May 1999 17:18:36 -0500
>From: "Vijay Balasubramanian" <vijay_642@hotmail.email
>To: irfca@cs.email
>Subject: Re: MG double tracking ?
>Date: Mon, 17 May 1999 10:20:29 PDT
>
>
>
>>From: "Harsh Vardhan" <champa@del3.email
>>Reply-To: "Harsh Vardhan" <hvc@vsnl.email
>>To: <sank@telco.email "IR List" <irfca@cs.email
>>Subject: Re: MG double tracking ?
>>Date: Mon, 17 May 1999 11:11:23 +0530
>>
>> >
>> >While on this MG subject, I got to thinking
>> >about MG double tracking: the stretch from
>> >Katihar to Barauni on NER used to have some
>> >MG doubled track. I suppose the electrified
>> >MG line out of Chennai is also doubled.
>> >Are/were there any other sections ?
>> >
>>
>>MG line out of Madras is double only in the suburban section i.e.
>>upto
>>Tambaram.
>>
>
>Tambaram - Chengalpattu is also doubled-tracked. Isn't one of these
>lines
>exclusively for suburban services between Tambaram and Chengalpattu?
>Following seems to be the track layout between Chennai Beach and
>Villpuram -
>corrections welcome!
>Beach to Tambaram - 3 electrified MG lines (two of these exclusively
> for suburban services)
> 1 electrified BG line
I believe Beach-Egmore is 2 electrified MG lines and one electrified BG
line. Egmore to Tambaram is 3 electrified MG lines and 1 electrified BG
line.
>Tambaram to Chengalpattu - 2 electrified MG lines (one for suburban)
> 1 un-electrified BG line
In fact Tambaram to Chengalpattu is 3 electrified MG lines and 1 (being
electrified) BG line. A pair of MG lines is for the sole use of the
Tambaram-Chengalpattu EMU's.
>Chengalpattu to Villupuram - 1 electrified MG line
> 1 un-electrified BG line
Chengalpattu to Villupuram is 1 electrified MG line and 1 (to be
electrified) BG line.
Kumar
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From: Sankaran Kumar <>
Subject: Ahh! The All India Railway Time-Table
Date: 23 May 1999 17:44:20 -0500
Yes the glorious All India Railway TT, better reading for me than any
thriller story. I still vivdly remember the colors for the various
zones...light yellow SER, green ER, Red NR, blue NER, dark yellow NEFR,
light red CR, dark green WR, dark blue SCR, pink SR. The beauty of the
AIRTT was that the printing style of each zone was different and did
correspond to the TT of each zone. And this masterpiece used to come
out
twice a year. Of course, I had to often read this literary jewel in
secret
lest my parents found out and sternly suggested that I do more "useful"
things like studying.
But where else could one identify the zonal railway which covered both
Tamil
Nadu and a Hindi-speaking state. Anyone else on the net know? Both the
railway and the relevant sections of it.
Kumar
>From: Auroprem Kandaswami <kandaswa@apple.email
>To: Indian Rail Fan Club Association <irfca@cs.email
>Subject: All India Railway Time-Table?
>Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 14:04:55 -0700
>
>
> Hi folks,
>
> I remember very well - in the 70s, there used to be an
> All India (all-zone) Railway Time-Table. This used to be a
> "full-blown" one covering all 9 Railway Zones, all Branch and
> rural lines, all stations and all trains. The way it used to be
organized
> is, individual TIme Tables of all 9 Zones would be physically bound
> together, one after the other into one "thick book" (close to 1000
>pages),
> giving hours of real kick to the IR nut. Is this publication still
>available,
> and if so what is the frequency of publication?
>
> TAAG is not that much fun. Because, it carries only somewhat
"abstract
> timings" of major IR routes, while ignoring branch lines, passenger
> trains and lots of other details.
>
> Regards,
> Auro
>
>
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From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Latest on the Barsi Light
Date: 24 May 1999 01:16:41 -0500
Gang !
As per the newspaper reports the 100 Kms long Kurduwadi -
Pandharpur section of the Barsi Light Railway is to be
shutdown from 25th May 1999 (tomorrow !) for gauge conversion.
This section is over 100 years old in operation and the last
train out of KWD is due at 1600 Hrs tomorrow. Public is
requested to be present in large numbers to bid a grand
farewell.
As per an unconfirmed report from a non railfan person the
Latur - KWD section is already BG but awaiting inauguration.
Additionally a BG spur has been constructed from Latur town to
Latur Road (12 Kms) to connect to the Manmad Hyderabad BG
line.
I would have to check out what the state of the BLR is at the
Miraj end. Maybe that will be shut too with the rake and locos
being cut off from the maintenance facilities at KWD.
The BLR is the lifeline to the thousands (lakhs ?) of people
who converge upon Pandharpur for the holy festivals.
One more 'religious train' I recall being run on the IR is the
Mathura Brindavan ' Radha Krishna Express' (correct name ?)
Apurva
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: HWH - CLAT Super Delux Express
Date: 24 May 1999 01:43:47 -0500
Gang !
I just have family visiting from Calcutta who have arrived on
the 2102 Up Super Deluxe. They are quite impressed about the
train, which is a sort of 'reversed' Gitanjali, actually it is
faster.
2859 and 2102 both leave at 0600 from CSTM and HWH
respectively. 2859 reaches HWH at 1500 Hrs while the 2102 is
supposed to reach CLAT at approx 1400 Hrs. The number of stops
are apparently the same.
Family is impressed about the new rake (with new linen !) and
the enthusiastic but still raw catering staff . Apparently
there is no panty car but the the food is served warm by
Shatabadi style food warmers in casseroles. The inexperienced
catering staff mixed up orders with veg - non veg reaching the
wrong passengers. The rake has a livery ! Orange and yellow
(as per one member of the family) or Red and white as per
others (that seems correct - the latest {Jan 1999 !} IR mag
has a small pic of the inauguration). I will confirm that
there was a generator car.
Our family did not get tickets to the train of their choice
the HWH -PA, Azad Hind Express, they had only one confirmed
seat and three wait listed 47-59 ! So they watched the AZ
express depart on Tuesday and opted for the Tatkal class on
the Super Deluxe. Tatkal means that you cannot buy sectional
tickets like HWH - NGP, you have to take a tick for CLAT only.
The 2102 arrived 1 hour late with unscheduled stops at Nasik
Road etc.
Family got off at Kalyan to catch the 7031 CTSM - Hyderabad
Express coming on the other platform at Kalyan.
Family confirmed that they would take this train again if
offered and mentioned that it would run packed even if it were
daily.
Has any of the gang studied the economics of any train ?
Whether a train packed to its official capacity with paying
passengers actually meets the operating expenses of the train
?
Apurva
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: intro
Date: 24 May 1999 01:45:25 -0500
A warm welcome to Tim to the IRFCA, the only home on the web
for the Indian Railway fan.
His description of the 'whistle in the night' gave me goose
pimples !
Looking forward to your travelogues.
Apurva
Tim & Anita Wakeman wrote:
> Tim & Anita Wakeman wrote:
> >
> > Hello list,
> >
> > I'm new here,so let me tell you all how I got here.
> > I first became interested in Indias railways back in the late 70s'
when
> > I came across a TRAINS mag from the early 70s' with an article on
> > photographing trains in India.It claimed there was enough steam
engines
> > to last to the year 2000.Maybe.Then I found a video in the local
library
> > shot by a German company.It was one of the most amazing videos I
have
> > seen to this day.I never thought I would be able to visit this far
away
> > land.Then an ironic thing happened.I met a women at work that I
became
> > close friends with.In 1994 we traveled to India together to be
married
> > in front of her family in the small village of Gandhi Nagar just
north
> > of Vellore,Tamil Nadu.I slept the first day there from the long
trip.At
> > night I was not totally asleep.Then something jolted me out of the
bed
> > at the wee hours of the am.Mixed in with the occasional single blast
air
> > horns I could hear off in the distance,came a shrieking steam
whistle
> > through the night sky.At first I thought it was something else,but
then
> > it sounded again in departure.The light puffing of the locomotive
then
> > was audible.WOW!I thought.I knew there was a good chance steam was
still
> > here,but steam was still,RIGHT HERE!The search was on.More on that
stuff
> > later,if you all do'nt mind some stories.I have been back there
twice
> > since then.Once,for family only,(besides,heat was too extreme at the
> > time of year),and again, for family and fun.Boy,did I have fun!
> > Zoom into 1999,one child later and busy employment.We live in New
York
> > State,U.S.A. Getting RR info on India is by and least most
> > difficult.Then I broke down and got ourselves this computer.I saw
> > through family and friends the wealth of railroading I could do
right at
> > home.For two months or more I have been gradually getting into the
> > railways of India on the web.I came across "minirails",which led me
to
> > Apurvas' web site and this list.I figured there must be India
railfans
> > someplace out there,and here you are!I must say,I am most certainly
glad
> > to be here.
> >
> > Tim Wakeman
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: MG double tracking ?
Date: 24 May 1999 05:16:57 -0500
I have taken the MG EMU from Nungambakkam to the MG station opposite to
Chennai Central (which is ?) in 1995, and I recall that there was a BG
line but no BG no platform at
Nungambakkam. The ride was along water front areas with the strong
smells of Chennai wafting through the MG EMU. I can confidentially say
that Chennai wins hand down on the
smell front, even the Mahim creek bridge at Bandra South (Mumbai)
entrance pales in comparison. The other great place to catch the strong
sewer smell (although not on the
railway) is the Oovam river (flowing next to the hotel I was staying in)
which the Madrasis call the 'Buckhigham canal' !
Apurva