While our 1609A passenger left Pune on time, the first impediment is its smooth progress is met only a few kilometers from the home. Here a very late running 1018 Up Chalukya Express arrives behind the Guntakal WDM 2 # 17775 at Ghorpadi, delaying us for a

At Daundaj (DNJ), Ashish and I get off for some time in this paradise, while the younger IRFCA members continue towards Adarki. Our special guest of the day is Sandeep Sharma of the NDLS chapter, he is sitting inside the first coach. The other members of

The Pune WDG 3A # 13039 starts the 1609A passenger in style. Daundaj, 2006-08-15.

Pulling the puny 10-coach rake is no challenge for the young, 3100 HP heart with high-adhesion feet (The loco is built in Aug 2003). Our IRFCA buddies continue to wave at us from the first coach – In the emergency window, next to Kharad is Subodh (who i

Having cleared the starter signal (on the left) the 13039 curves to meet the advanced starter (on the right). Daundaj, 2006-08-15.

We should have listened to our soul and never left the railway line, but the greed of ‘getting there faster’ possessed us. Hence we cross-countried through fields, over hills, through knee deep water streams and slithered on slippery dirt tracks, arri

The 17872 is a Jumbo ! Daundaj, 2006-08-15.

This loco probably has banked a freight train through the graded section from Ghorpadi to Wathar and is returning home for another spell of duty. Daundaj, 2006-08-15.

Light locos have a red flag to mark the rear end. The outer home semaphore admits the Jumbo into the Daundaj limits. 2006-08-15.

Chastised by having almost missed seeing the earlier train, we hurry along the railway line. Almost near the end of the loop, from across the glistening plantations, we hear the familiar, friendly rumbling sounds of twin WDG 3A hauling a freighter. Daund

The best things in life are free – the round Pune-Daundaj-Pune trip cost Rs. 28 for the train fare… Daundaj, 2006-08-15.

In our excitement of having only just made it to the railway line, as a train arrived, we forgot to note the road number of the second Pune shed WDG 3A. The lead loco is # 14816. Daundaj, 2006-08-15.

The locos are holding the moderate grade of the loop with dynamic brakes. Daundaj, 2006-08-15.

The tail of the BCN is alive too ! Meet the Pune WDM 2 # 17966. Coincidentally, last year on this very day, this loco hauled our 1610 Up from Adarki to Pune - http://www.irfca.org/gallery/Trips/Adarki-Aug2005/PA17966_AKI_15aug2005.jpg Daundaj, 2006-08-15

Watching the 17966 at the rear of the BCN is not Clark Kent, but our local superman Ashish Kuvelkar. Pune gang owes many successes to his indefatigable energy and incessant, almost an obsessive drive to do “something railways”. In the background, the