In the fast paced world, when the nation is going for faster BGs, let us take some time out to relive those bygone days in the same aura and ambience. Here are a few pictures of the charming Meter Gauge section between Punalur and Sengottai, where the railway line passes through the Tenmala Reserve Forest, falling into the symphony with the misty wind, swift streams, chirpy birds and... oh yes(!) the clickety clack of trains, over bridges, into tunnels, between the woods... Oh so wonderful to be entering a tunnel under the mountains in Kerala and emerge out of the darkness to witness the vast expanse of paddy fields in Tamilnadu... Naveen, Raghu Jayaraman and Harish covered this beautiful railway section in March 2010, before the line was officially closed on September 2010. All pictures were taken with permission from CPRO and the local authority.
Kilometers away, at the same time, the Podhigai Express from Chennai Egmore has arrived at Sengottai. The loco, WDP-4 #20034, reverses and gets coupled back to the rake (Harish Kumar)
While on the MG side, the second MG service to Punalur also gets ready for the departure with YDM-4 #6310 (Harish Kumar)
The MG side of Sengottai had two active platforms and three yard lines with few spare coaches, tool vans and cranes. (Harish Kumar)
Up ahead is the mighty Podhigai Hills and the Tenmala reserve forest (Harish Kumar)
At 09:45 hrs, we move ahead (Harish Kumar)
...and ride past the diesel shed at the far west of the station (Harish Kumar)
And arrive at the first passenger halt, Bhagavathipuram. The natural canopy of Bhagavathipuram made a pretty sight. Sadly, none of these magnificent trees are expected to survive during the BG invasion. (Harish Kumar)
YDM-4 #6310 huffs, puffs, chugs and accelerates hard as the train climbs up the Pothigai hills (Harish Kumar)
While inside the coach, the atmosphere is calm and pleasant. (Harish Kumar)
We move in to one of the longest tunnels in Southern India (Harish Kumar)
While at Aryankavu, the Sengottai bound passenger has already arrived and waiting for the Punalur bound passenger to cross. (Naveen)
at 10:21 hours, the Punalur bound passenger hauled by YDM-4 #6310 arrives at Aryankavu (Naveen)
Just as the punalur bound passenger disappears around the corner, the Sengottai bound service powered by YDM-4 #6401 gets clearance (Harish Kumar)
and off she goes, to roll down the eastern slopes of Pothigai hills (Harish Kumar)
After seeing off the two passenger trains, we walked to the tunnel inside which the state border between Tamilnadu and the Kerala passes through. This was also our first ever tunnel walk. (Harish Kumar)