The Twisty Road to Salem

The Pune WDG 3A # 14815, now relieved of the short freight seen earlier waits at a wayside station for the 571 to cross. (Apurva)

Erode’s WDM 2 # 17543 thrashes the 571 through the curves. (Apurva)

A view of the guard’s cubicle. The half height grill on the left is the animal cage. The space in the middle contains emergency items: Stretcher, fire extinguishers, wheel wedges and emergency flood lights with self contained energy source. (Apurva)

The emergency items are locked using a ‘one time use’ lock – it can be forced open without a key but cannot be re-closed. The guard is required to make an entry in his log book if he forces the lock open due to any reason. The text engraved on the l

To the right of this place is the guard’s toilet. The guard’s loo door always has a clear window, through which he could watch the brake pressure gauges even if he in the act. (Apurva)

The hand wheel in the guard’s cubicle that operates the mechanical brake for the SLR – this is the reason the SLR is also known as the “brake van” or just the “brake”. (Apurva)

The guard’s walkie-talkie has a whistle attached to it! This helps in the driver hearing his ‘guard right’ while working very long rakes. Notice the immaculate record keeping in the guard’s log book, even for a stopping passenger like the 571. (Ap

As the day ends, the guard switches on the various coach lights. The SLR does not have lighting switches except with the guard. This switch panel also controls the tail lamp and the side lamp (the front and rear facing lamps above the guard’s door). (Ap

Erode’s WDM 2 # 17543 snorts its defiance prior to descending the BYPL ramp to join the electrified mainline at the lower level. (Apurva)

Advait making sure if there's enough fuel in the beast to do the trip ;-) (Poochi)

Chief and Assistant share a light moment while conducting mandatory checks. (Poochi)

Acknowledging the BPC... (Poochi)

Anxious passengers await our arrival at Rayakottai (Poochi)

One of the picturesque spots enroute. The distant Mountain Range is part of the great Western Ghats near Hogenekkal. (Poochi)

A young railfan eagerly looks for the loco up front...! (Poochi)

Ready for the sound of the beast :-) This family had to wait for a while for that blessing! (Poochi)

At Dharmapuri, The Great -Three together... Apu, Srinivas and 17543 wait for the crew. (Poochi)

Sivadi-Ghat panorama. Looking towards Salem. (Poochi)

At Sivadi, everyone cooperated with us railfans for photography (the crew, the guard, the beast...) while we waited for 1014 to cross. (Poochi)

Here comes 1014, roaring down the line! And there's Apu capturing the moment... (Poochi)

The Border God...who guards the village. (Poochi)

1-in 70 gradient down... (Poochi)

Almost at once we're snaking through the hills. (Poochi)

The first Brake-Halt is conveniently near a Hanuman Temple (in the valley below). Quite a lot of passengers got off to visit the temple. (Poochi)

At the second Brake-Halt (Muttampatti), the Assistant has just obtained the 'secret code' through the telephone in that box. (Poochi)

Toppur Peak dominates this picture of a sparkling hydro-dam at the foot of the hills. (Poochi)

Winding our way down... the line hugs the hillside in most places. (Poochi)