Udaipur Odyssey
Images from a trip to Udaipur on the Metre Guage Ahmedabad-Udaipur Express with an accompanying trip report.
YDM-4 #6170 from Sabarmati shed in a funky lilac & yellow livery rests at Ahmedabad station
A queue of Sabarmati YDM-4 locos gives you an idea of MG traffic that Ahmedabad sees even today!
The corridor of the MG 2nd AC coach. As is obvious, there are no side berths and the bays have lockable doors.
The corridor of the MG First Class coach. The First Class coach is divided into two sections by a pair of doors in the middle (similar to a GS coach) The bays are on the opposite sides of the coach in these two sections.
A spacious four berth cabin in the MG First Class coach. The incandescent bulbs in the coach gives one the ambience of the good 'ol days.
Each four berth cabin features four incandescent bulbs, four fans and a night lamp. I used to love these blue colored night lamps when I was a kid. In addition to these, there are reading lamps on each berth.
A 2 berth coupe in the MG First Class coach.
As passengers wake up to a chilly morning at Zawar, the tea vendor makes brisk business.
We overtake a tanker rake headed by Sabarmati YDM-4 #6539.
The climb begins! This section has some really sharp curves
This gives an idea of how steep the climb is. The section sees regular stretches of 1 in 60 gradients! A single YDM-4 did a commendable job of hauling the 12-coach Udaipur Express up the ghats without the aid of a banker. Who needs a WDM-2??
How can a ghat section be complete without a tunnel? This is the solitary 250 metre long tunnel in this section.
The sun rises from behind the Aravalli hills somewhere before Kharwa Chanda.
Sabarmati YDM-4 #6197 gives company to grazing cows at Kharwa Chanda.
The puny YDM-4 continues its climb up the ghats. The gradient is clearly visible in the picture.
A blue-white ABR WDM-2 has just brought in the Jaipur-Udaipur Superfast Express into Udaipur City. The Udaipur-Mavli-Chittaurgarh route has been recently converted to BG.
A view of the Udaipur City station from the FOB. The platforms on the right serve BG whereas the solitary platform on the left serves MG.
A cream-red ABR WDM-2B #16788 brings in the five coach Chittaurgarh-Udaipur passenger.
ABR WDM-2 shunting the rake of the Nizamuddin-Udaipur Superfast Express. There are no shunters here and the mainline diesels do all the shunting.
A four berth "cabin" in the MG 2nd AC coach. This coach still features the push button style green/red light switches found in older 2nd AC coaches.
The Ahmedabad Udaipur Express halts at Zawar at the break of dawn. This is the start of a picturesque Zawar-Udaipur ghat section.