IRFCA Mailing List Archive

Messages 2481 - 2500

From: Larry Russell <lrussell@direct.email

Subject: Re:Fw: email from Apurva Bahadur, Pune India

Date: 28 Apr 1998 16:07:00 -0500

>2. The newer WDM2 have the entry door moved from the left (in the short
>hood) to the right. I also believe that the driving position has been
>changed from the right of the loco to the left of the loco towards the
>direction of travel. This is keeping in the view that the all the
>electric locos and emus have driver sitting in the left hand position.
>This must be helping the signal sighting and help in standardising of
>training. The newer breed of DLW locos like WDG1 and WDP1 certainly
>have reversed door positions. I saw the WDG1 last year in Bilaspur and
>Singrauli and again at Katni and they sound much deeper and powerful
>than the standard WDM2. Some of the WDG1 have a pathetically
>ëstreamlinedí short hood which make it look like the ëCoronation Scotí
>type steam loco. DLW should be told not to play with the chunky handsome
>face of the WDM2. The short hood of the WGD1 is definitely longer than
>the standard WDM2. The drivers look much satisfied !

All WDM2's have dual controls and can run in either direction. (WDM4's
likewise)
Larry

From: PROTIP.DASGUPTA <protip@giasbmc.email

Subject: Re:

Date: 28 Apr 1998 20:17:00 -0500

Hi Apurva
Yes the WCAM class locos can most definetely run in multiple units...this
is more common on WCAM3 and often on WCAM2 to! I have also seen
WCAM1+WCAM2 on a frighter headiong out of Bandra Marshalling yard for the
docks. Double headers are needed there cause of the Rail overbridge
between Kings Circle and Wadala Junction, It is avery steep incline and
loaded frights need to be doubleheaded!

The AC locos, apart from doing so while shunting or travelling light
always travel with the trailing panto up due to safety and back up
reasons! Well since both pantos are fit to run on 25KV AC, unlike DC/AC
locos where each is specialised to run on one kind of traction....the AC
locos keep the trailing panto up in case of damage to any panto. If the
trailing panto gets damaged or breaks of during a run, the front panto is
always there as backup, whereas if the front panto is raised and gets
damaged then it can also effect the trailing panto while on the run!
Thats is why as an aspect of safety and backup the trailing panto is kept
up!
Regards
Bharat Vohra

From: Raghavendra K <kragha@wipinfo.email

Subject: Train is Lost

Date: 29 Apr 1998 19:34:00 -0500

Hi all,

here is something rare....

A train goes `missing' :-)

JAIPUR: Police received a peculiar call on Monday night seeking help in
tracing a missing train in Chittorgarh region of Rajasthan.

According to reports, the passenger train, which runs between Neemach
(Madhya Pradesh and Agra), was scheduled to reach the Kota railway
station around 7.30 p.m. on Monday. When it did not arrive, top railway
officials were informed about the delay. They tried to establish
communication links with the train, but failed due to dust and hailstorm
which lashed parts of Kota. Finally, police assistance was sought.

It took about two hours for police and railway officials to trace the
missing train between Jalandari and Srinagar stations in Chittor region.

According to the driver, he had stopped the train because of the
hailstorm, but found later that he could not resume journey as the
engine had developed some mechanical snag.

-- it's high time they start using wireless or something in that
direction in our trains ?

bye,
Raghavendra

*****************************************************************

Raghavendra K

Office Address: Home Address:

Engineer-Software #484,1st 'i' Cross,
Wipro Infotech, Global R&D, 6th Block, 2nd Phase,
#88, 5th Floor, M G Road, BSK 3rd Stage,
Bangalore 560 001, Bangalore 560 085
Karnataka, INDIA Karnataka, INDIA

Tel : 91-80-55 88 422 Tel : 91-80-6722 580
Ext : 553

E-mail :

kragha@wipinfo.email (Office)
kragha@hotmail.email (Home)

My favorite quote : " Be what YOU are "

*****************************************************************

From: Apurva Bahadur <iti@giaspn01.email

Subject: Re:

Date: 29 Apr 1998 19:45:00 -0500

All messages seem to come twice. Only this message that was addressed only
to me come once. I think the anwer lies in the fact that the reply is to
sender and all recipients. Does Anurag have an explanation for the mail
coming twice ?

Anurag can you post me ALL the previous correspondence so I can catch up
with all the topics covered so far ?

Apurva Bahadur

PROTIP.DASGUPTA wrote:

> Apurva,
> I have observed that all your messages to this newsgroup seem to come
> twice...ie the same message appears twice whenever you post it???
> I a a little confused, have you been sending it twice by mistake or is
> that only I am facing this problem? PLease help!
> Bharat Vohra

From: sank <sank@telco.email

Subject: Query

Date: 29 Apr 1998 20:22:00 -0500

Just wondering:

How exactly is "tractive effort" for a locomotive defined ? I have
read that for steam locos this is considered a better indicator
of performance than the horsepower rating. Can someone explain please ?

Thanks:

--
Jayant S : IDStudio : TTIL : ERC : TELCO
Pimpri : Pune : 411 018 : INDIA
tel - 91(212)774261 exn 2534
--

From: PROTIP.DASGUPTA <protip@giasbmc.email

Subject: Re:

Date: 29 Apr 1998 00:11:00 -0500

Apurva,
as regards shunting of AC locos, I dont think it is such a problem but
when on a mainline run they are very particular about it...you must have
noticed on an engine changeover, the AC loco might come in from its home
shed, a distance away (eg, WAM4 class loco coming into take on the DN
Frontier Mail from its shed which is further 2 km away in BRC marshalling
yard) with the trialing panto(in the direction of trvel) up and then after
coupling up with the rake, lowering that panto and raising the trailing
panto ion the new direction of travel! AS regards CR DC locos, im not so
sure as I havent really noticed them but will keep a lookout!
Regards,
Bharat Vohra

From: poras p.saklatwalla <pps@godrejnet.email

Subject: Re:

Date: 29 Apr 1998 23:07:00 -0500

On Wed, 29 Apr 1998, Apurva Bahadur wrote:

> All messages seem to come twice. Only this message that was addressed only
> to me come once. I think the anwer lies in the fact that the reply is to
> sender and all recipients. Does Anurag have an explanation for the mail
> coming twice ?
>
> Anurag can you post me ALL the previous correspondence so I can catch up
> with all the topics covered so far ?
>
> Apurva Bahadur
>
> PROTIP.DASGUPTA wrote:
>
> > Apurva,
> > I have observed that all your messages to this newsgroup seem to come
> > twice...ie the same message appears twice whenever you post it???
> > I a a little confused, have you been sending it twice by mistake or is
> > that only I am facing this problem? PLease help!
> > Bharat Vohra
>
>
>
>EVEN I RECEIVE ALL THE MAILS TWICE OR THRICE SOMETIMES.

PORAS

P.P.SAKLATWALLA
4226/4232/4237

From: Apurva Bahadur <iti@giaspn01.email

Subject: Re: Query

Date: 30 Apr 1998 00:37:00 -0500

sank@telco.email wrote:

> Just wondering:
>
> How exactly is "tractive effort" for a locomotive defined ? I have
> read that for steam locos this is considered a better indicator
> of performance than the horsepower rating. Can someone explain please ?
>
> Jayant,

One defination of tractive effort would be the trailing weight that the
loco could move from stand still. The more 'flexible' the connection, more
the traction. The steam loco with the power of expanding gases has a very
flexible connection indeed. Much more flexible than a mechanical clutch, a
hydraulic torque convertor or generator - motor transmission. The raw HP
which cannot be translated into moving a train is of no use at all. Earlier
the loco would have to be heavy to dig its tractive effort to the rail
(else the dead weight of the train will cause a wheel spin) but now the
latest locos with a lot of electronics use active traction control move a
much heavier train by allowing a 'controlled slip' of the wheels. The new
ABB loco (WAM9 ?) is a BOBO weighing only 80 Tonnes yet it hauls a 22 coach
train at 110 Kmph. The terminology used for this type of active traction
is 'High Adhesion Bogie'.

Apurva Bahadur

> Thanks:
>
> --
> Jayant S : IDStudio : TTIL : ERC : TELCO
> Pimpri : Pune : 411 018 : INDIA
> tel - 91(212)774261 exn 2534--

From: Apurva Bahadur <iti@giaspn01.email

Subject: Re: Train is Lost

Date: 30 Apr 1998 00:44:00 -0500

This is an exceptional case on a branch line railroad. Radio communication
is coming in a big way I guess. I saw a number of trains like NDLS- MAS GT
exp (Up and Dn), MAS- JP weekly Exp and others carry a radio in the loco at
Nagpur recently. But whether the radio was for guard - driver or for guard -
base communication, I am not sure.
Apurva Bahadur

Raghavendra K wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> here is something rare....
>
> A train goes `missing' :-)
>
> JAIPUR: Police received a peculiar call on Monday night seeking help in
> tracing a missing train in Chittorgarh region of Rajasthan.
>
> According to reports, the passenger train, which runs between Neemach
> (Madhya Pradesh and Agra), was scheduled to reach the Kota railway
> station around 7.30 p.m. on Monday. When it did not arrive, top railway
> officials were informed about the delay. They tried to establish
> communication links with the train, but failed due to dust and hailstorm
> which lashed parts of Kota. Finally, police assistance was sought.
>
> It took about two hours for police and railway officials to trace the
> missing train between Jalandari and Srinagar stations in Chittor region.
>
> According to the driver, he had stopped the train because of the
> hailstorm, but found later that he could not resume journey as the
> engine had developed some mechanical snag.
>
> -- it's high time they start using wireless or something in that
> direction in our trains ?
>
> bye,
> Raghavendra
>
> *****************************************************************
>
> Raghavendra K
>
> Office Address: Home Address:
>
> Engineer-Software #484,1st 'i' Cross,
> Wipro Infotech, Global R&D, 6th Block, 2nd Phase,
> #88, 5th Floor, M G Road, BSK 3rd Stage,
> Bangalore 560 001, Bangalore 560 085
> Karnataka, INDIA Karnataka, INDIA
>
> Tel : 91-80-55 88 422 Tel : 91-80-6722 580
> Ext : 553
>
> E-mail :
>
> kragha@wipinfo.email (Office)
> kragha@hotmail.email (Home)
>
> My favorite quote : " Be what YOU are "
>
> *****************************************************************

From: sank <sank@telco.email

Subject: Fairy Queen:

Date: 30 Apr 1998 01:53:00 -0500

Someone just sent me a phot of the Fairy Queen at Delhi Cantt.
being cleaned and polished. Looks great and it is incredible how
old she is. Shame about the unsightly cowcatcher (cattle guard, pilot,
whatever) IR has added to the loco: was it required due to some
regulations along with the headlight ? Wish they could have run it
completely in original form........great achievement though.

Are there any WG class locos in preservation ? I read somewhere that
this was the largest steam class in the British Commonwealth. How
many were made ?

--
Jayant S : IDStudio : TTIL : ERC : TELCO
Pimpri : Pune : 411 018 : INDIA
tel - 91(212)774261 exn 2534
--

From: Apurva Bahadur <iti@giaspn01.email

Subject: Tractive Effort

Date: 30 Apr 1998 06:03:00 -0500

>From Harsh Gupta, my brother in law, explanation on the term 'Tractive
Effort'

The tractive effort of any locomotive is defined as the maximum pull it
can exert at the drawbar (or the coupling, more popularly), usually
quoted in tonnes. Heavier the engine, more can be the tractive effort.
Similarly, more powerful the engine, more the pull. Basically a simple
equation of F = mM, F being the tractive effort, mu being the
co-efficient of friction between the wheel and the rail, and M being the
mass of the loco. More mass can "tolerate" more engine power, thus
giving more tractive effort, before the wheels slip. Once the wheels
slip due to too much power (torque, to be more precise) applied, the
tractive effort reduces, as mu itself reduces (as the situation changes
from static (or clinging) to dynamic (or rubbing) friction).

The whole situation is much more complex in reality! In any locomotive,
the tractive effort is applied at the drawbar, and the wheels "push
back" the rails at the rail level. These are simply the action and
reaction forces, but they end up creating a torque. This torque tries to
lift the locos front end. All locomotives need to produce the maximum
tractive effort when they are trying to start a heavy train. When a
(say, an electric loco for example) loco is trying to start up a train,
the front bogie tends to lift up and the rear one gets pressed down,
thus trying to balance the torque I just mention. This results in a
"weight-transfer". Now in this electric loco, all the traction motors
are connected in series for the start-up. Therefore they all produce the
same torque. As the loco tries to exert its maximum pull at the drawbar,
the resulting torque tries to lift the front bogie. Within the bogie,
the same phenomenon occurs, and the front-most axle in this bogie tends
to lift too.

Soon a situation develops where the front-most pair of wheels slip as
part of the weight on them has been taken off. Any slip reduces the mu
and thus reduces the tractive effort. So the front wheels keep slipping
till the driver reduces the current going into the motors. (In a steam
loco, this wheel slip is quite a frenzied spectacle - the wheels
slipping and sparking away, and the side-rods and the valve-gear
tumbling into a mad fury. This is where they pour sand in front of the
wheels in an effort to increase the coefficient of friction - A terrible
way, in my opinion!)

Now an easy way out to prevent this slippage would be to make the loco
even heavier, but this stresses the rails, the tyres and the bearings
even further, maybe beyond their design capacity.

In an electric or a diesel-electric loco (the motors and bogies are
essentially the same in both) this slip is sensed and the current of the
slipping motor is individually reduced till the slip stops. Railway
engineers call this "slip-and-grip" control.

I am a mechanical engineer and I design machines.

Harsh Gupta, Pune, India,
Phone and fax +91-212-671159
Email iti@giaspn01.email

From: Heinrich Hubbert <hubbert@cww.email

Subject: Re: Discover India Magazine??

Date: 29 Apr 1998 07:40:00 -0500

PROTIP.DASGUPTA wrote:
>
> Hi All!
> This is to bring to your notice, more so to Mr Heinrich Hubberts notice
> that the latest issue of Discover India, March 1998 has some crucial,
> unforgivable errors in it!
> In the issue there is an article written by Mr. Heinrich Hubbert on "100
> years of the Blue Mountain Railway" which essentialy pays tribute to the
> Metupalyam-Ooty Nilgiri Mountain Railway (SR) in Tamil Nadu! There are 5
> photos featured in the issue also taken by Mr. Hubbert and to my horror
> all photos...large ones at that, were of the 'YP' class of Steam locos
> photographed on the Western Railway system in Gujarat!!!! Not a single
> photo relevant to the issue and worse still wrong misguiding pictures of
> another region, another class of loco and a different railway system all
> together!
> I dont know how any magazine can be so unprofessional and misleading and
> so careless, especially when it retails at 50/- rupees in India and also
> sells abroad for about 3 Pounds!!
> I have written a very strong letter to the publishers conmdemming the
> issue but dont really see what they will do about it, except possibly
> carry an apology in the next issue. It is really sad that such a
> publication can think of all its readers as so ignorant and idiotic!
> I hope Mr. Hubbert has seen the issue or at least knows about it, if not I
> hope he gets to read this!
> Regards,
> Bharat Vohra

Bharat, I just returned from my 6 weeks India visit. First, Your
desorientated announcement by the end of March about the end of Indian
steam proofed copletly untrue, sickered into the Dickinson-page and made
some of my gruop members quite upset, as they joint 3 weeks later to me.

Steam is still in full swing in India. Up to 25. April even Mhow
continued with its heroic struggle on 90/89 fast passenger between Mhow
and Ratlam.

About the mistake, in Discover India:

We are all human beings not gods, so we make mistakes.
Who made mistakes is not a matter here.
Mistakes can especially happen if your workflow has to overcome the
distance between New Delhi and Central-Europe.

I was told by the editor, the June issue of this wonderfull magazine
should carry a correction and will show the pictures of the
Nilagiri-Railway.

Heinrich Hubbert

From: Apurva Bahadur <iti@giaspn01.email

Subject: Horse shoe curve at Adarki

Date: 01 May 1998 04:07:00 -0500

Dear Junta,

I have been going through the older posting ( around 680 mails from May
last '97) forwarded so graciously by Anurag. I wish to make some
addition to Sundar Krishnamurthy's sites for Train Spotting list,
including memorable curves on the IR.

The single line BG route from Pune to Kolhapur via Meeraj sports an
amazing 180 degrees horse shoe curve at Adarki. The train travels in
typical mountainous country between arid gulleys, valleys and over
vertigo inducing viaducts. The permanent way for the old meter guage
track from Pune to Meeraj and beyond (dismantled in 1970s ?) runs
parallel and criscrosses the BG track. The station at Adarki begins to
get visible on the opposite mountain slope from the train. The train now
enters a few minor tunnels and the track completely reverse the
direction of travel within a distance of 800 - 1000 meters. Adarki
station itself has no wired electricity (there are solar panel operated
signals) or flowing water, possibly served only by the 315Dn/316 Up
passenger from Pune to Kolhapur. On alternate days the 315Dn carries a
TK wagon full of water, which is used to fill the station supply (a well
?). Sometimes the TK wagon is replaced by an retired eight wheeler milk
tanker with wooden slatted cover - 'Gift of New Zealand under the
Colombo Plan' it says.
It is a special treat if your train is detained on this station (
usually for 'crossing' on the single track). Sparkling clear air,
deafening silence and the amazing view.
Has any of you actually seen this place ?

The 7384Dn/83Up Maharashtra Exp, 315Dn/316Up Passenger, 7307Dn7308Up
Koyna Exp, 2480Dn/2479Up Goa Exp, 7303Dn/7304Up Sahyadri Exp and
1011Dn/1012Up Mahalaxmi Exp 'work' everyday on this route apart from bi
weekly 1017Dn/1018 Up Kurla Bangalore Exp via Miraj [CLAT-SBC exp via
MRJ !] and many freight trains which also use these tracks.

As the Pune - Miraj tracks were converted to BG the route alignment
changed some what. There were two extra MG stations which the BG
totally bypasses. The abandoned stations can be seen on the opposite
hill. One wonders what an abandoned station looks like after 30 years of
being left in the wilderness. An (day long) expedition has to be
organised to find out !

Other thrills of the Pune - Kolhapur line is the manual token system
where the assistant driver hangs out of the loco with a thick arm
protector to collect the token (a reed and leather hoop with a steel
ball in its cradle) in all weathers at full speed. This is purely WDM2
territory operated by Hubli division of South Central Railways. You can
count on the friendly, hospitable staff to make your trip very
memorable.

More of this route later.

Apurva Bahadur

From: Auroprem Kandaswami <kandaswa@apple.email

Subject: Indian Railways sets sights on Internet services

Date: 30 Apr 1998 10:36:00 -0500

Courtesy: The Hindu
NEW DELHI, April 30.

The Indian Railways is interested in becoming an Internet Service
Provider (ISP), according to senior officials. If this is not
possible in the near future, then as an alternative, it is prepared
to lease excess capacity on its telecom network. In order to be
competitive, the Railways is prepared to offer its telecom lines on
lease at 80 per cent of the cost offered by the Department of
Telecommunications (DoT), according to senior officials.

The Railways has not yet lost hope of becoming an ISP despite two
unfavourable developments. One, the Internet policy which would have
allowed it, along with other companies and organisations to become
an ISP, has been struck down by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India (TRAI) and the decision is being contested in the High Court by the
DoT. It will take some time before the issue is settled unless the
Government nudges the two sides into arriving at a compromise.
Second, there is opposition internally in the Railway Ministry over
taking on a task which is not its core business.

Officials, however, feel otherwise. They feel the Railways has all the
three attributes necessary to be an ISP. ``We have the computers, the
carrying power as well as amalgamation of telephony and computers.
All these make a deadly combination,'' they emphasise. Officials also
wonder why the railways should be denied permission when the DoT
which is strong in telecom but weak in computers, has entered the
Internet business. Officials remind the railways had entered the field
of computers in the wagon control system way back in 1964 ``when no
government organisation could spell computers.'' Even today the
Railways claims to be the largest user of computers which is reflected
in the sales of 7.5 lakh passenger tickets in different cities on an
integrated system.

Despite these arguments, if permission is not forthcoming, the
Railways is all prepared to lease out its lines to prospective ISPs as
well as private companies licensed to provide different types of
telecom services including cellular and basic phone services. Test
cases have shown the Railways will be able to offer its lines at 60 per
cent of the DoT's cost. But to be on the safe side, the offer will
probably
be at 80 per cent of DoT's leased line rates. Officials concede the
Railways has not yet tested the market ``but at worst we will charge
what the DoT is charging. Most probably it will be at a hefty
discount.''

Coupled with lower prices, the Railways will be offering a more reliable
service. This is because its staff is geared better to rectify defects as
compared to the DoT staff. Under the Railways rules, a telecom fault
has to be attended at all times of the day or night. In contrast, claim
the railways officials, DoT line staff moves out only during the day-
time. ``The difference is we treat every line fault on the same lines as
an accident whereas DoT treats faults as an incident,'' quipped an
official, adding that the Railways rules are so strict that if a linesman
does not move out to attend a `line down' problem within 15 minutes,
his one annual increment is stopped.

The Railways is also looking at tying up with private companies for
basic phone services. Bharti Telecom which has won the licence for
Madhya Pradesh has approached the Railways to utilise the optical
fibre network along the Jhansi-Bhopal-Itarsi-Bhusawal line. The
specialised railway telecom organisation, IRCOT, has been asked to
come with a joint proposal to the Railway Minister before the proposal
is given serious consideration. More private sector customers are
expected once the Railways installs optical fibre cables along the
Mumbai-Chennai and Delhi-Mumbai routes in partnership with two
railway PSUs, RITES and Ircon, respectively.

From: Auroprem Kandaswami <kandaswa@apple.email

Subject: Indian Railways sets sights on Internet services

Date: 30 Apr 1998 10:36:00 -0500

From: Auroprem Kandaswami <kandaswa@apple.email

Subject: Rly Board to present status paper on IR to Parliament

Date: 30 Apr 1998 12:52:00 -0500

Courtesy: DECCAN HERALD
Friday, May 01, 1998

The Railway Board will soon bring out a complete 'status paper` on the
condition of Indian Railways and present it before Parliament on the
opening day of the next session.

Railway minister Nitish Kumar said that the paper would suggest
improvements and steps to be taken for more transparency in the railways.

Speaking to newsmen here yesterday after flagging off the 2500th electric
locomotive Swarna Ava, built by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW), he
said that although the paper essentially aimed to improve the sagging
image of the Indian Railways, in terms of safety, security and
punctuality, efforts would be made to highlight even minor problems faced
by millions of railway commuters.

''We will not stop only at placing the status paper before Parliament but
also suggest holding several national-level discussions to improve the
system and try to bring in on a par with the best in the world,`` Mr
Kumar said.

Criticising the recruitment fraud unearthed recently in railway service,
Mr Kumar promised to deal sternly with the situation. He said several
steps had been initiated to impose a blanket ban on recruitment for the
time being.

Mr Nitish Kumar said he replaced the chiefs of all the 19 railway
recruitment boards with seniormost railway officers having impeccable
service records. Changes had also been brought about in the examination
system to plug all
loopholes. To weed out corruption an 'internal vigilance maintenance`
system had been introduced for the Railway Protection Force (RPF).

''Both as a common man and as an MP I have witnessed unfathomed
corruption at all levels and now will sincerely try to root them out at
the earliest,`` the railway minister observed.

Improvement of punctuality, safety and cleanliness in the railway network
were his priority tasks, Mr Kumar said and regretted that severe resource
crunch and lack of adequate cash flow had become the main stumbling
blocks in improving the situation.

About his plan to improve the railway network, especially in the backward
regions, Mr Kumar said he was going through the issue region-wise and had
been trying to solve the problems, wherever possible, despite limited
resources.

Agreeing that the eastern and north eastern regions were the two most
neglected zones of the country in terms of railway network, the minister
said several new trains would soon be introduced connecting the regions
with other parts.

About the promise he had made to Trinamul Congress leader Mamata Banerjee
regarding introduction of a superfast train between Cooch Behar and
Sealdah (Calcutta), the railway minister said a new train 'North Bengal
Express`
would soon be introduced.

Mr Kumar said steps were also being taken to improve tracks in all parts
of the country and several new electrification schemes and track laying
had been initiated by his ministry.

Referring to Tuesday`s mishap of the Howrah-Danapur express near Patna in
which 11 passengers were killed and 13 seriously injured in a ''suspected
case of sabotage,`` Mr Kumar said prime minister Vajpayee called him here
yesterday and expressed his grief.

Earlier Mr Kumar, who arrived here from the accident site, went around
all the CLW workshops before flagging off Swarna Ava.

RLY FREIGHT, FARE HIKE NOT RULED OUT: Railway Board officials do not rule
out the possibility of an increase in freight and passenger fares in the
coming budget, unless substantial allocation is made for developmental
schemes and
expansion projects, UNI reports from New Delhi.

Sources today said the annual outlay for 1998-99 is expected to be about
Rs 10,000 crore compared to Rs 8407 last year. For the modest plan size
required for its development, the railways require a budgetary support of
at least Rs
3000 crore.

The railway budget is to be presented in Parliament next month.

They said Railway Minister Nitish Kumar held discussions with Finance
Minister Yashwant Sinha and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Jaswant
Singh and apprised them of the problems faced by his ministry. Another
high-level meeting will be held mid-May which will be presided over by
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

EXPANSION: The railway minister has directed authorites to continue to
accord top priority for expanding railways in the backward regions of the
northeast, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Orissa and other
states. For completing the ongoing projects in these states, adequate
funds would be necessary, they said.

The officials said unless budgetory support was increased, it would not
be possible to undertake expansion and modernisation of the network in a
meaningful manner.

The Indian railways was perhaps the only railway network in the world
which continued to meet social obligations costing the exchequer about Rs
1800 crore annualy. The railways provide concessions and transport items
for mass
consumption at subsidised rates.

About 62 per cent of the railways` expenses were annually spent on paying
salaries and pensions. Although there was pressure to genereate more
revenue from internal sources, there was a limit to freight and fare
increase.

Another source was market borrowing, but this was very expensive due to
interest payments and additional cost on infrastructue. The finance
ministry and the Planning Commission should take all these into
consideration while
raising budgetory support, the sources said.

From: Auroprem Kandaswami <kandaswa@apple.email

Subject: Konkan rly, credit to non-Cong govts

Date: 30 Apr 1998 13:24:00 -0500

Courtesy: Deccan Herald
MUMBAI, April 30

India`s biggest rail project of this century, the 760-km-long Konkan
railway (KR) being dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee at Ratnagiri tomorrow, is being termed as a baby of non-Congress
governments.

The over Rs 3,400-crore project which connects the country`s
north-western part to the southern, is actually Asia`s longest rail line
project constructed at one stretch in a mere span of about 10 years.

Of the total length of 760 km, 382 km is in Maharashtra, 105 km in Goa
and 273 km in Karnataka.

Interestingly, the project always got the boost during the tenure of
non-Congress governments, and also being dedicated to the country by a
non-Congress prime minister.

The dedication ceremony coincides with the Maharashtra Day and
International Workers` Day tomorrow.

Since years, the people of Maharashtra, especially Mumbai, have been
demanding a rail line connecting Goa from the Konkan region.

But the task was difficult because of rough mountains and valleys in the
region. Huge budget was also another problem.

Actual work at the KR commenced at 12 places simultaneously on
build-operate-transfer (BoT) basis.

The 760-km-long rail line has 169 big and 1670 small bridges, and 88
tunnels.

Another fact is that during the construction of KR, over 150 persons lost
their lives, according to the records of railways. Maharashtra Janata Dal
general secretary and president of Konkan Janadhikar Samiti Prof Gopal
Dukhande
says a memorial should be built in their memory.

The project remains incomplete, till a memorial is constructed, he said,
adding that a museum of Konkan railway should also be constructed, which
will throw light on the enormous task completed by thousands of workers.

The dedication ceremony will be attended by Railway Minister Nitish
Kumar, Minister of State for Railways Ram Naik, Information and
Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj, Maharashtra Governor Dr P C
Alexander and Chief Minister
Manohar Joshi.

From: dheeraj <dheeraj@iitk.email

Subject: Re: Indian Railways sets sights on Internet services

Date: 01 May 1998 20:05:00 -0500

It is extremely rare that I criticise IR for anything, and
I don't remember having done so on this list. But this
article about IR getting into ISP business is too much of
a provocation to resist.

> The Indian Railways is interested in becoming an Internet
> Service Provider (ISP), according to senior officials.

One hopes that the Indian Railways will remain in the core
areas of competency, and not venture into things like this.

> then as an alternative, it is prepared to
> lease excess capacity on its telecom network.

This would be an excellent idea, but do they really
have excess capacities, exept on a few routes. If
they were to do the automation themselves, won't much
of this excess capacity be utilized by IR themselves.

> Second, there is opposition internally in the Railway Ministry
> over taking on a task which is not its core business.

Good to hear this.

> Officials, however, feel otherwise. They feel the Railways has all
> the three attributes necessary to be an ISP. ``We have the computers,
> the carrying power as well as amalgamation of telephony and
> computers. All these make a deadly combination,'' they emphasise.

This is exactly why Railways should not get into ISP business.
So-called officials who have perhaps never heard of terms
like TCP/IP, PPP, routers, modems, etc., would manage the
show. These people believe that setting up Voice Response
Systems is amalgamation of telephony and computers, managing
a few mainframes for passenger reservation system is same
as managing hundreds of access routers/servers, millions of
user accounts, etc. They also apparently believe that having
fiber along the tracks is same as having bandwidth. They
have perhaps no idea of switching equipment they will need.

I must say that the above statement is the most ridiculous
statement I have ever seen from IR officials.

> Officials remind the railways had entered the field of
> computers in the wagon control system way back in 1964
> ``when no government organisation could spell computers.''
> Even today the Railways claims to be the largest user of
> computers which is reflected in the sales of 7.5 lakh
> passenger tickets in different cities on an integrated system.

If spelling "computers" was enough to become ISP, every child
that learns English should open a company to provide Internet
Services. And the largest user is not necessarily the best
service provider. Railways have not been able to connect 5
different computers running its Passenger Reservation System for
last 10 years, and they plan to connect millions of PCs in the
country. I would be very skeptical, given their track record.

-dheeraj
--------------
Dr. Dheeraj Sanghi (0512) 59-7077/7638 (Off)
Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering (0512) 59-8627 (Res)
Indian Institute of Technology (0512) 59-0725/0413 (Fax)
Kanpur - 208 016 (UP), INDIA. dheeraj@iitk.email

From: Apurva Bahadur <iti@giaspn01.email

Subject: Dynamic Brakes

Date: 01 May 1998 21:37:00 -0500

Dear Junta:

There was a lot of discussion on Dynamic Brakes as I can see in the
last years postings I am going through.
South and East of Pune, this is WDM2 territory, who use a lot of DBs. I
have seen the DB being used while on the footplate. We have WDM2
drivers here who are 'artists' in the use of DBs.

Okay here goes:

* DB is used to control speeds of train without using the train or
loco brakes. Using the DB is specially useful during long downhill
descent where every application of the vaccum brakes wears out the
brake shoes ( over the entire train, it costs the IR Rs. 600/ per
application, so I am told).Also the DB prevents overheating of the
brake shoes. Hot shoes reduce the coefficient of friction and brake
effectiveness. This can be very dangerous situation specially in
freight trains down a slope.
* Dynamic brake is also known in the railway pidgin as 'electric
brake'. It is distinct from Regenrative Brake found of some DC
locos and on the most sophisticated AC locos. Dynamic converts
braking effort to heat, Regen tries to feed the energy produced
during braking back to the catenary, thus helping some other loco
which is drawing power at that instant.
* The WDM2 has a 8 position throttle lever which is moved back to
increase the engine power, this is near the driver's left hand
* The loco also has another level sticking from the back of the
control stand, this is for M(motoring) and B(braking) and Off .
This lever is kept in the Motoring position when the loco has to be
moved either forward or reverse.Off position is used during
parking or 'stabling' the loco.
* There is also a Forward /Off/ Reverse lever near the driver's
thigh. This is a short stubby lever which the loco has only one
off, hence only one control stand can be operated at any one time.
This lever is also removable to sort of 'lock' the loco at
standstill
* For applying the DB, the loco has to be faster than 40 KMPH to be
effective.
* The driver applies slight train brakes to 'bunch' the 'load'
against the coupling.
* He brings the throttle lever to zero and lifts the Motoring/Braking
lever out of its normal postion.
* As the lever is moved more towards the back of the loco the DB
becomes stronger and stronger.
* There are mechanical interlocks that prevent the wrong sequence of
levers operate in the wrong mode.
* DC motors and generators are essentially similar. Motors produce
rotary motion when fed with electricity, conversely generators
produce electricity when rotated.
* During Dynamic braking the Six traction motors connected to the
wheels are now connected as DC generators.
* The motor field coil is exited so that electrical power is produced
by the motors.Stronger the field excitation more power will be
absorbed from the wheels are more will be the braking effort.
* This power produced by 'motors working like generators' is fed to a
resistor grid located in the short hood
* This grid (looks like a lattice of metal bars) heat considerably
when loading the motor in the braking mode.
* To cool the grid an independent blower (also located in the short
hood) comes into operation when the DB is selected.
* The electric motor driving this cooling blower is powered by the
same supply given to the resistor grid.
* Thus stronger the DB action faster the blower speed - more the
scream from the short hood !
* The loadmeter (the main electrical instrument in the Control Stand-
essentially a rescaled Ammeter) registers a fair amount of current
during braking operation.
* One more complication - the traction motors are normally cooled by
the engine driven blowers - the front bogie has a gear driven
blower (one of the three small rotating machines fitted to the free
end of the main generator, the other two are the battery charging
generator and the main alternator excitation generator), the rear
bogie has a belt driven blower unit. BUT when the DB's being used,
the engine is obviously not producing power, and not running at
any speed for the traction motor blowers to cool the motors. So
when the D brake lever is operated in the Braking mode, the engine
automatically goes to the 4th notch speed so to increase the supply
of cooling air to the traction motors.
* This explains why the WDM2 stopping on DB is racing away while
coming to a stand still and for a few seconds after standstill. The
driver is uses the DB to slow the train as it comes into the
platform. He then concentrates to bring the train to a halt at a
precise stop on the platform, and uses the train brakes to do just
that, but he leaves the 'less than effective at slow speeds' DB
operating slightly in the background. As the motors slowly stop
turning and producing hardly any current, the screaming resitor
grid cooling blower also slows down and eventually dies off.
* Once the train is stopped, the driver now releases the
Braking/Motoring lever to the Motoring position and the Alco 251
V16 engine returns to its idling speed.
* Even if the loco is standing still and the DB lever is brought to
the Braking position, the engine speeds up to the 4th Notch RPM.
There is no other sound though.
* Although the DB saves brake shoe wear, extra diesel is consumed to
keep the engine at 4th notch to cool the traction motors. Which is
more economical ? Apparently the spending on the diesel is well
worth the savings on the brake shoes.
* From the footplate the tremendous momentum of the unbraked train
can be felt as the loco digs its heels using the DB and the train
tries to push against the buffers.

* The WDM1, WMD4 and the YDM4 have dynamic brakes
* The WDS 4 and WDS 6 do not have dynamic brakes.
* WCM1 has regenerative brakes - It feed 1.5 KV DC back to the
overhead wire - although I have never seen it being used.
* WCM2 - WCM 5 have no regen or dynamic brakes
* WCG2 has Dynamic Brakes: The half baked design of the loco allows
the blowers for cooling the grid work all the time, even if the
loco is not braking, and add to the deafening scream that the loco
produces at all the time. The WCG2 is the noisiest loco anywhere in
the world, I am sure due to this reason alone.Those in the gang who
have seen WCG2 as well as locos abroad are requested to confirm the
highest noise level of the WCG2.
* I have no information on the 'non frictional brakes' of the AC and
the AC-DC locos, can any junta fill me on this one ?
* Also required information is the regenerative techniques for the
latest AC locos, which use Three phase AC motors. How are these
motors supposed to produce current during braking ? And then
convert the energy generated back to the precise phase of the
catenary and feed it back to the grid.

Please let me have your reactions.

Apurva Bahadur

From: Apurva Bahadur <iti@giaspn01.email

Subject: Streamlined WDM2

Date: 01 May 1998 23:03:00 -0500

Dear Junta,

Having gone through Bharat & Sidharth's excellent web site I see that
the WDM2 illustated is one of 'steamliners'. The railway nickname for
these strange beasts is 'Jumbo'. Staff from all the divisions touching
Pune : Mumbai, Hubli and Solapur seem to agree on this name. All the
staff agree that this is a pretty terrible loco to operate. Note that a
lot of railway men call the airbraked BCN and BCNA rake as 'Jumbo Rake'.
No logical explanation for this.

* The normal WDM2 have a short hood and a long hood.
* There is a door in the left hand side of the short hood and door
set in the right hand towards the long hood.
* As the driver sits on the right of the loco the door is always
behind him. His assistant always looks out though the door glass.
* The glass in front of the driver is larger, rectangular in shape.
The glass set in the door is smaller, curved item not very unlike
a trunnicated slice of orange.
* In the 'Jumbo' an attempt has been made to 'Americanise' the
loco, which apparently has a full width wind screen. A full width
will certainly improve the cross vision of the drivers. This is
true only when travelling short hood leading. But the American
locos are rarely seen single, hence there is a short hood at either
end of the locos coupled together.
* In India there is no rule of multiple uniting, including two Jumbos
running with both the long hoods leading. We never would dream to
preserve the turn tables so that the short hood is available for
all the journeys.
* Looking closely at the 'American' model of loco, although there are
windscreens in the front, the driver still looks out from the
standard 'sight glass'. The DLW has used this arrangement in the
WDS 6, which has a low nose on the account of the lack of the
dynamic brakes. The newer American locos(that have a door in the
nose) that have a full width windscreen, but I am sure crew must
be in an ergonomically correct position.
* The control stand in a Jumbo has been moved from the side to the
front of the driver. This has only added to the driver's misery.
The sense of operation of the various levers although same relative
to each other has shifted from 'front - back' to 'left - right'.
* The assistant driver's control stand is at the same location as a
standard loco.
* The seating position is LOW ! As it is the standard 'seat' in the
WDM2 is a round wooden stool without any cushion or backrest. To
add to this, the individual loco sheds stamp their ownership by
drilling their code on the wooden stool. After a long haul the
driver's posteriors must be having a 'PA' or 'GY' imprinted in
relief ! So in the Jumbo the drivers peer through the lower corner
of the huge windscreen. Seat height can be adjusted but usually
the mechanism is jammed and the poor driver curses his fate and
sits of his haunches for the haul ahead. In India the man is often
more adjustable than the machine.
* Normal WDM2s have accessible windsreen which the assistant driver
goes around and cleans religiously before the run. The Jumbo has a
huge windscreen which can be reached only by climbing on to the
hood, very close to the overhead catenary. No right thinking human
is going to do it, DLW !
* What about the 'Spider's Web' grill on top of the huge wind screens
? How is the glass going to cleaned under that, even at the shed ?
The wipers hinged from the top of the wind screen clear a swath way
over the driver's line of sight. It would be a very funny sight if
not so sad.
* The seat centre is not in line with the long hood windscreen ! When
running long hood leading, the seat axis is such that good vision
is achieved only by leaning on one side.
* The twin horns are right over the open doors on the asst. driver's
side. The asst. driver, who often goes to out of the cab to show
the green flag during a station start, will always worry about the
horns accidentally sounding next to his ears.The 'front facing'
horns are on top of the cab.
* During exchanging of 'token' the the driver has to get up from his
seat so that the asst. may lean out of his window.
* I have seen, just once, a Jumbo at Pune with a half a windsceen. As
the Pune shed must not be having a spare wind screen in stock, they
welded the windscreen with sheet metal and grafted a normal WDM2
glass in the middle. A truly ugly looking loco.
* Not all is bad with the Jumbo loco, it looks great and adds to the
variety at the railway station. But it illustrates how unthinking
people in decision making positions can mess up things.
* I guess the loco will be with us for atleast 10 -15 years
more,before they are scrapped. DLW has made only a batch of these
locos and reverted back to the standard model ever since.

* Apurva Bahadur

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