Rain, Mist and Diesels - A trek in the Braganza Ghats

Well past 10 in the night, we were the only passengers waiting on a deserted suburban platform for a horribly late train. Banaswadi, Camera: Sony Ericsson K750, Date: 2007-09-14, Colin Peter.

The 7311 MAS-Vasco swinging on the twisties on the way from Dharwad to Castle Rock. 2007-09-15, Bizzy Mishra.

Let the trek begin...Colin, me and Ramdev at Castle Rock prior to beginning our trek. 2007-09-15, Bizzy Mishra.

A lone Gooty baldie wandering down the ghats takes us by surprise & completely unawares. 2007-09-15, Bizzy Mishra.

No limits to the extent to which a railfan can go to capture his subject...Bizzy on a signal post & Ramdev in the bushes capturing the DN Amravati. 15th Sep 2007, Colin Peter.

Rains, mist, steam and diesels! It's pouring as hard as it can and the rainwater falling on the WDGs creates clouds of steam as a penta-headed rake thunders down the ghats.

The devils close in on us! 2007-09-15, Bizzy Mishra.

We catch the UP Goa Express, a.k.a. 'The Super' snaking past Caranzol. 2007-09-15, Bizzy Mishra.

As dusk sets in, bringing along a thick cloud of mist, twin WDG-4s heading a freight pull into Caranzol, apparently scanning the tracks with the powerful low-beam lights! 2007-09-15, Bizzy Mishra.

The bankers disappear into the mist, leaving behind a trail of light resembling a comet's tail. 2007-09-15, Bizzy Mishra.

As night starts setting in, a sharp beam from the starter pierces the mist-filled sky and a couple of CFL lamps dimly illuminate Caranzol station building. In the absence of electricity and a diesel genset being the only source of power, every watt of pow

Tracks at Caranzol station at dusk. The visibility was barely around 50m at this time. 15th Sep 2007, Colin Peter.

This is how the three of us spent the night...by the trackside! And everytime the thundering bankers passed by, barely two feet from us, we got up with a start, thinking it was going to run us over! 2007-09-15, Bizzy Mishra.

The rake that brought us to DDS, now makes an unscheduled halt at DDS due to a rare (and unexpected) point failure. The pilots had to cumpulsorily stop their rakes at DDS and got clearance only after the points were manually set. 16th Sep 2007, Colin Pete

The penta-headed freighter which brought us from Caranzol to DDS waits amidst a thick mist at DDS while one of the loco pilots takes a walk down to the station. 2007-09-16, Bizzy Mishra.

Part - 1: The Amravati makes it's first apeparance at DDS. The MG-era station building of DDS can be seen in the background. 16th Sep 2007, Colin Peter.

Part - 2: Gooty beauty 14013 brings the Amravati into DDS. Note the refrigerator van in tow. 16th Sep 2007, Colin Peter.

Part - 3: The bankers of the Amravati Exp pass by us. 16th Sep 2007, Colin Peter

The last of the bankers, 14656, literally erupts like a volcano, sending a pillar of smoke into the sky as the Amravati departs DDS. A topless Ramdev can be seen shooting the spectacle. 16th Sep 2007, Colin Peter

Twin DG-4s led by 12038 hauling a coal freight rake appear around the corner at Dudhsagar. 2007-09-16, Bizzy Mishra.

I mean business....Looking into the eyes of the devil! 2007-09-16, Bizzy Mishra.

After an unscheduled halt and a great deal of effort from the bankers, the rake finally gets moving with a spectacular display of dust, smoke and raw power! 2007-09-16, Bizzy Mishra.

Can you feel it? I can feel it coming even now! 2007-09-16, Bizzy Mishra.

The three monsters banking the rake literally baked us inside the tunnel with their heat waves! 2007-09-16, Bizzy Mishra.

The monsters finally disappear into a cloud of steam, dust and smoke...water falling from the top of the tunnels can be seen here. 2007-09-16, Bizzy Mishra.

The WDG-4's powering a coal rake are fuming for all their worth as they wind up on this slow rollercoaster of a ride up the ghats. 16th Sep 2007, Colin Peter.

The twin WDG-3a's from Gooty look on from the loop line as the freight led by quad WDG-4 crawls past them. Camera: Sony Ericsson K750i, Date: 16 Sep 2007, Colin Peter.