The last trip on the Kollam-Sengottai line
The historic Metre gauge line from Kollam (Quilon) Junction to Sengottai (Schencottah) became extinct on 2007-04-30, after an illustrious life of 103 years. The section between Kollam Jn and Punalur is to be converted to Broad Gauge. No final verdict has come on the Punalur-Sengottai stretch, which is trying for a World Heritage Railway status. The scenery along this line is so enchanting it is often referred to as "Queen of Indian Metre Gauge lines". This is indeed the last fully documented trip on this unique line.
Please refer this report on history of this line
What lies ahead of Manian, the food vendor from Punalur who supplies food in Punalur-Kollam stretch?? He is a licensed vendor and will have to relocate his family now
Punalur was once a point where banker locomotives were attached for the steep climb up the ghat section ahead. This is the remains of the trip shed for these steam bankers
Punalurprepares for it's future role as a change over point between BG and MG. The BG platforms are being built on the left while MG platforms on the route ahead to Sengottai are where we are now
An old water tank at Punalur built by Soth Indian Railway in 1901
Punalur once had a large goods shed. These suicidal hooper wagons bringing ballast for gauge conversion are the only goods train here now
This board showing distance in Miles would have been a terror once to the steam engines and their drivers. No present for noting the blooper
The famous hanging bridge across Kallada river. This bridge has been renovated and two wheelers are allowed on it
The topography has started to change after Punalur, though the ghat section has not started so far. We are not accompanied by gauge conversion now since the BG line ends at Punalur
A beautiful irrigation canal
We reach Edamann. This is not a regular stop but a mandatory brake check halt.
A view of the quaint Edamann station. So beautiful. The heavy gradient start from here
Edamann is famous for Jackfruits and is full of vendors selling them to the crowd going to Tamil Nadu. This man wanted to be clicked but did not reduce price of this jackfruit. He wanted Rs. 50 for it. We settled for a small piece of Rs. 5!
The Edamann station from outside. Peace reigns supreme...
Man with a message... He may look tough but is a soft man inside, giggling after I took this photo
We had to wait for half an hour for our pair, Tirunelveli-Kollam Exp to cross. Sriram and Antony are in giggles. There were so many people waiting to board the pairing train. We were surprised all of them jumped inside the moving train since it did not
Railfans who undertook this trip - Vibin, myself, Sriram, Prof. Venugopal. This photo was shot bby Anthony Damacious, who is in some of the other photos
Time to move on... Our train is also carrying a permanent way trolley to a new home
Meet your match! Our train meets it's pair
YDM 4 6229 hauling the Tirunelveli-Kollam Exp squeeze through the gap between our train and the hill cutting. What an awesome feeling for us
The crossing drama is over and we begin our steep climb up. The gradient here is 1 in 52.5
You can see the Powerhouse of Tenmalai Hydel project in the distance
What an awesome scenery! This is what this line is so famous for. I think we are at the southernmost tip of western ghats
This line is full of viaducts like these.
After the huff and puff, we reach the Tenmalai Station. This is a tourist spot for everyone
The icon of this line - Aryankavu Viaduct. A sight I would never forget in my life. It was like seeing the Taj Mahal of railways
The 13 span bridge of Aryankavu. Officially the Aryankavu viaductin all it's glory. The board syas sharp curves ahead!
A miniature Aryankavu viaduct. there are so many of them on this route. NH 208 that followed us like a shadow from kollam is parting away from us at this point
Recent comments
Excellent album guys. Thanks a lot for the treat!!
Posted by Siddhartha Ganesh on 2007 May 11 17:48:53 +0000
Excellent photos Jimmy...I regret not being able to come!
Posted by Sriram P on 2007 May 08 03:32:03 +0000