North By Northwest

A journey undertaken in June 2006 to Ferozepur, Jammu, Udhampur and Katra to see, among other things, bridge and tunnel construction on the Udhampur-Katra section of the line to Kashmir.

Date: 2006-12-13
Owner: Gallery Administrator
Size: 64 items
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Firozpur Cantt with its intricate track patterns wears a look reminiscent of the steam era early in the morning. The Punjab Mail from Mumbai CST has just arrived

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Firozpur's station and older buildings have an interesting art decoish look - view from the chai stall in the old waiting hall. Photo by B Vohra

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The charming old waiting hall at FZR. By B Vohra

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FZR has much to recommend itself, like this platform canopy. By B Vohra

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The old DRM's office at FZR, where Bharat's grandfather once presided over matters railway. The present day DRM's office is unphotographable! By B Vohra

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Ochre robes and WDM-2's add a dash of colour to FZR....

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....as do printed cotton shirts and DMU's!

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The track towards Pakistan ends at this buffer on the eastern bank of the Sutlej River. This is actually a spur from the old alignment that bridged the river. The sign once read "The End of Indian Railways" until Rajeev Srivastava had it changed

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The track once continued over this canal to the Hussainiwala Headworks, which now only bears the road across the Sutlej to the border. Apparently the dismantled line was laid to transport the sluice gates to the barrage.

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The Hussainiwala Headworks on the Sutlej. Note that girders are in place to carry a track if ever required. The camouflaged metal barrier on the right shields military vehicles from prying eyes and snipers on the other side! By B Vohra

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Beyond the headworks, the road continues past this gate and on to Zero Point. Apparently the fields on the other side of the road are in Pakistan. By B Vohra

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This ruin is in the middle of the park dedicated to the memory of Bhagat Singh and Rajguru who were cremated here after their execution in Lahore Jail. Another memorial tablet commemorating the 1971 Battle of Hussainiwala refers to it as the brick kiln. A

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We were at first mystified by these brick piers in the garden because the Sutlej isn't visible from the garden and we were not sure of the alignment of the old rail bridge, until google earth came to the rescue! The steel latticework is a later "arti

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Piers of the destroyed railway bridge on the Sutlej seen from the Hussainiwala Headworks. By B Vohra

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Crossing the Sutlej again near Lohian Khas Jn, we had no idea that this was a single deck rail cum road bridge! By B Vohra

Comments
(view all 7 comments)
Thanks a lot! I was nostalgic for a while after browsing this album :-)
Posted by Rajeev Shrivastava on 2006 Dec 17 23:23:49 +0000
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Thank you all for the kind words.
Saifullah - we were guests of NR's Special Projects Construction Team and their on-site contractors & workers - ordinary people doing an extraordinary engineering job in difficult terrain, with a security...
Posted by Mohan Bhuyan on 2006 Dec 16 15:04:58 +0000
Hey Mohan and Bharat, thanks for giving us such a great insight into the railway system, both existing and being built. Also for the nice coverage of Hussainiwala area.
Posted by Jimmy Jose on 2006 Dec 15 19:48:57 +0000