The less explored Meter Gauge lines of Gujarat
Day 1 - We cover the single line meter gauge section of Adraj Moti - Vijapur - Ambilyasan Jn. Adraj Moti falls on the Kalol - Gandhinagar section, about 20 KM from Ahmedabad. The Adraj Moti - Vijapur line sees 2 railbus services daily, while there ae 3 services between Vijapur and Ambilyasan Jn. Vijapur is a railbus hub and has no less than 5 railbuses. Ambilyasan Jn. falls on the Mahesana - Ahmedabad mainline.
Day 2 - Meter gauge and broad gauge lines run parallel for most of the distance between Ahmedabad and Mahesana. We spent a sunday morning at Saij Sertha Road, one stop before Kalol to catch some diesel action.
Pictures by Ashwin and Abhijit Lokre
I got off at Sabarmati while Ian continued upto Ahmedabad. This MG steam loco. was plinthed outside Sabarmati railway station. 20th February, 2010, Nikon D40. (S Ashwin)
Dawn at Sabarmati (SBI). The power plant visible in the background belongs to Torrent Power. The lines on the left are BG, and those on the right are MG. 21st February, 2010. Nikon D40. Picture by S Ashwin
(S Ashwin)
The view on the other side. Abhijit can be seen taking a leisurely stroll. 21st February, 2010. Nikon D40. Picture by S Ashwin
(S Ashwin)
As we await a crossing, the Ahmedabad bound Ashram express pulls into Sabarmati headed by BGKT WDP4 #20099. 21st February, 2010. Nikon D5000. Picture by Abhijit Lokre. (S Ashwin)
The wait ends. YDM4A #6326 brings the Mahesana - Ahmedabad passenger into Sabarmati. The train will re-enter the platform after crossing the other passenger staioned on the same platform. 21st February, 2009. Nikon D40. Picture by S Ashwin
(S...
Our first sighting at Saij Sertha Road is the Ajmer bound Garib Nawaz express hauled by a Guntakal WDM3A #18981R. 21st February, 2010. Nikon D5000. Picture by Abhijit Lokre. (S Ashwin)
ABR WDG3A #13166 with a container rake between Kalol and Saij Sertha Road. I was standing quite close to the train, between the two tracks. The women are probably staring at me wondering why I am so close to the train. 21st February, 2009. Nikon D5000. Pi
Signals that control the movement of trains on this high speed section. 21st February, 2009. Nikon D40.
Picture by S Ashwin
(S Ashwin)
A clean, empty platform, clear blue skies, and a smoking YDM4A blasting through a desolate station on a lazy sunday morning. It can't get better than this. 21st February, 2009. Nikon D40. Picture by S Ashwin
(S Ashwin)
We had been speculating the color of the Rajdhani's locomotive, and were hoping for a matching livery. We got lucky. Vatva's WDM3A #18830R was the power. 21st February, 2009. Nikon D40. Picture by S Ashwin
(S Ashwin)
Abhijit captures the action from the other side. 21st February, 2009. Nikon D5000. Picture by Abhijit Lokre. (S Ashwin)
A DMU bound for ADI passes by, a few minutes after the SJ Raj. 21st February, 2009. Nikon D5000. Picture by Abhijit Lokre. (S Ashwin)
A light WDG4 #12243 with no shed markings moves towards Kalol. The IRFCA database says that this loco. belongs to SGUJ. 21st February, 2009. Nikon D5000. Picture by Abhijit Lokre. (S Ashwin)
The royal miss. We were waiting on the platform to board this train but much to our surprise, the Ranuj - Ahmedabad passenger did not halt, forcing us to use the road instead. 21st February, 2009. Nikon D5000. Picture by Abhijit Lokre.
(S Ashwin)