IRFCA Mailing List Archive
Messages 4541 - 4560
From: S.B.Mehta <>
Subject: Great Journeys
Date: 02 Dec 1998 01:46:21 -0500
It seems the attachment has not gone alongwith the earlier msg.
Hope you get it now
======================
Sarosh Bakhtyar Mehta
M/s. Godrej & Boyce Mfg.Co.Ltd.
Machine Tool Division
Pirojshanagar, Vikhroli,
MUMBAI 400 079
INDIA
Tel:(Office) 577 3535 / 577 3636 Extn: 3917/3907/3909
Tel:(Residence) 389 3150
Fax:(Office) 91 22 517 2229 / 91 22 518 2289
Email sarosh@godrej.email
=======================
Wisdom dawns only after knowledge is gained
From: VIRAF P.. MULLA <>
Subject: Re Yatra
Date: 02 Dec 1998 02:01:15 -0500
> There is no BG steam in this serial.
I too had seen this serial what a waste of time. There were hardly few
good shots. I think Mr. Shyam Benegal was then trying to show the modern
image of IR thats why no BG steam was shown even when there was plenty
of
it left even in Bombay during those days.
==========================
Viraf Mulla
C-20/14, Jeevan Bima Nagar,
Borivali (West)
Mumbai 400103
Tel: +91-22-8954510
E-mail: sncf@godrej.email
==========================
From: Dr. K.J. Walker & Mrs. M.E, Heath <>
Subject: Re: How toilets were introduced on Indian trains. (fwd)
Date: 02 Dec 1998 03:31:58 -0500
Dear Nalinaksha -- and the gang
1. I love jackfruit -- and it's difficult to get good ones as far
south
as Brisbane. But you shouldn't eat too much.
2. Your quote is in Westwood's book Rialways of India (now rather
dated,
but still the only decent history around.) It came from a Bengali paper,
I
think.
3. The argument is really about lavatories for III class
passengers.
First always had them, and Second got them early on. I'm researching
this as
a chapter for my projected book on Indian railway rolling stock.
4. The earliest record I have is lavs in the IIIs on the GIP's
Poona
express of 1865 (some sources give 1863). Several other lines claim to
have
tried them during the last half of the 19th century, but claimed to have
given them up due to difficulties in keepeing them clean. (not
surprising --
there were too few of them and no proper arrnagements for water supply
and
cleaning, so far as I can gather).
5. Railway Board were formed in 1904 nad immediately began
pressing
for sanitation in III class. Initially they had no compulsory powers,
but it
was common in long-distance trains by the 1920s.
6. Some lines (Nizam's, and I think NWR) had introduced such
facilities earlier. Still trying to ascertain ball-park dates.
There was a biggish change (for the better) in passenger
stock
design during the 1890s and the first decade of this century. Bogie
stock
came in, sunshades were abandoned, and the additional room gained was
used
to improve passenger facilities.
Think on't
Ken Walker
-----Original Message-----
From: Nalinaksha Bhattacharyya <bhatta@interchange.email
To: irfca@cs.email <irfca@cs.email
Date: Wednesday, 2 December 1998 1:28
Subject: How toilets were introduced on Indian trains. (fwd)
>I found this in my archives.
>
>Nalinaksha Bhattacharyya
><A HREF="http://finance.commerce.ubc.ca/~bhatta">http://finance.commerce.ubc.ca/~bhatta</A>
>"The lifestyle of the Indian elite is amazing...I've never seen
>such opulence even in America"---Noam Chomsky in New Delhi in 1996
>
>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 11:51:24 UTC-0800
>From: Nalinaksha Bhattacharyya <bhatta@unixg.email
>To: bharat@cs.email
>Subject: How toilets were introduced on Indian trains.
>Newsgroups: soc.culture.bengali,soc.culture.bangladesh
>Resent-Date: Wed, 26 Feb 97 12:06:37 PST8PDT
>Resent-From: BHATTACHARYYA@phdlab.email
>Resent-To: bhatta@unixg.email
>
>This material below was posted on a thread discussing the pidgin and
>broken Hindi spoken by many Bengalis who are not familier with the
>language. One netter pointed out that the English of some Bengalis were
>also equally hillarious. Happy reading.
>Nalinaksha Bhattacharyya
>*****************************************************************
>
>Toilets were introduced on Indian trains only after a passenger, Okhil
>Chandra Sen, wrote a letter in 1909 to the Sahibganj divisional office
>complaining about how he missed the train when he got down to attend to
>the call of nature.
>The Times of India recently reproduced the unedited letter.
>
>Dear Sir,
>I am arrive by passenger train Ahmedpur istation and belly
>is too much swelling with jackfruit. I am therefore went to privy. Just
>I doing the nuisance that guard making whistle blow for train to go off
>and I am running with 'lota' in one hand and 'dothi' in the next when I
>fall over and expose all my shocking to man and female women on
>platform.
>This too much bad, if passengers go to make dung that dam
>guard not wait five minutes for me. I am therefore pray your honour to
>make big fine on that guard for public sake. Otherwise I am making big
>report to papers.
>
>
>
>
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: Great Journeys
Date: 02 Dec 1998 05:16:23 -0500
Bravo Sarosh / Viraf,
I am still reeling under the great experience that you have described. I
can only
envy you for the great trip. One request - the attachment was not a text
file but
a Lotus Word Pro document for which the editor is not widely available,
I would
request you to convert this to a true text file or even better a HTML
file and
repost it. I am going to take a printout of the article and read it in
the bed,
hope my dreams will maintain the continuity of my current thoughts.
Since you have
the pictures of this trip, why don't you make a webpage out of it ?
Apurva
S.B.Mehta wrote:
> Hi,
>
> This is especially for steam lovers of the IR. Viraf and I are
> giving a detailed account of our Tryst with Steam. Please open the
> attachment which is in plain text.
>
> Incidentally, this very article has been forwarded to Harsh,
> alongwith photographs, by Viraf and will be published in instalments
> in the forthcoming issues of FNRM Newsletter.
>
> We, Viraf and I, request you all to give us your feedback, criticisms
> are welcome, as well. This will only help us in covering our next
> trip to Wankaner early next month where MG steam is very much active.
>
> ======================
> Sarosh Bakhtyar Mehta
> M/s. Godrej & Boyce Mfg.Co.Ltd.
> Machine Tool Division
> Pirojshanagar, Vikhroli,
> MUMBAI 400 079
> INDIA
> Tel:(Office) 577 3535 / 577 3636 Extn: 3917/3907/3909
> Tel:(Residence) 389 3150
> Fax:(Office) 91 22 517 2229 / 91 22 518 2289
> Email sarosh@godrej.email
> =======================
> Wisdom dawns only after knowledge is gained
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
> The following section of this message contains a file attachment
> prepared for transmission using the Internet MIME message format.
> If you are using Pegasus Mail, or any another MIME-compliant system,
> you should be able to save it or view it from within your mailer.
> If you cannot, please ask your system administrator for assistance.
>
> ---- File information -----------
> File: trip.sam
> Date: 2 Dec 1998, 14:32
> Size: 48580 bytes.
> Type: Unknown
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Name: trip.sam
> trip.sam Type: Lotus WordPro Document
(application/vnd.lotus-wordpro)
> Encoding: BASE64
From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>
Subject: Re: Travelogues required
Date: 02 Dec 1998 10:12:25 -0500
> > Back in the 70s and early 80s, I used to
> > love traveling on the Howrah-Bombay Mail via Allahabad
> since it would be
> > hauled by a WDM2 between Bhusaval and Allahabad and we
> would encounter quite
> > a few steam-hauled trains (Bombay-Lucknow Exp., Bhagalpur
> Janata Exp., etc.)
> > during the trip. This meant that our Mail was more
> prestigous and I loved
> > it!!
>
> Vijay,
>
> My vote for the favourite train goes to -----The 3004 / 3003 ! As
> much as everyone hates this train, I find this 'two sides of a
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Why would anyone hate this train? B'coz of its unconventional route?
> traingle' route from Mumbai to Howrah an extremely intresting and an
> epic journey. It traverses two long sections of the IR - Mumbai -
> Allahabad via Itarsi & Allahabad - Howrah via MGS.
This train is still one of the most (if not the most) prestigious trains
from Mumbai to UP/Bihar. I have a 1945 Bradshaw which shows that it
actually skipped Allahabad to halt at Cheoki instead and avoided the
direction reversal.
Interestingly, Mumbai-Howrah is the only terminii-pair to have the
services
of two Mails.
Vijay
From: Shankar <>
Subject: Toy locos to Matheran out for desi precision
Date: 02 Dec 1998 11:47:33 -0500
Hello,
Just something I chanced upon while surfing the web.
Any pics or further details ye learned Bombay/Poona residents?
Best regards.
Shankar
<A HREF="http://www.indian-express.com/ie/daily/19970616/16750343.html">http://www.indian-express.com/ie/daily/19970616/16750343.html</A>
From: Shankar <>
Subject: Getting Around Indian Railways
Date: 02 Dec 1998 11:57:43 -0500
<A HREF="http://www.trainweb.com/indiarail/ttable.htm">http://www.trainweb.com/indiarail/ttable.htm</A>
From: abalchan <>
Subject: [ANB
Date: 02 Dec 1998 15:05:47 -0500
hello
What is the ticket reservation situation in India for the entire month
of January?
I would like to know if one can book in advance, if it matters that one
makes reservations, or if taking a shot at the station is the only way
to go?
Thanks
Anil
From: S.B.Mehta <>
Subject: Re: Great Journeys
Date: 02 Dec 1998 19:18:33 -0500
> Subject: Re: Great Journeys
On Dec.2, 1998, Apurva Bahadur wrote:
> Bravo Sarosh / Viraf,
>
> I am still reeling under the great experience that you have described.
I can only
> envy you for the great trip. One request - the attachment was not a
text file but
> a Lotus Word Pro document for which the editor is not widely
available, I would
> request you to convert this to a true text file or even better a HTML
file and
> repost it.
Thanks Apurva for appreciating our write-up. Please excuse me this
time for using Lotus AmiPro because from next time onwards I shall be
writing in MSDOS Editor which will make things easier for all our
members.
> I am going to take a printout of the article and read it in
>the bed, hope my dreams will maintain the continuity of my current
>thoughts. Since you have the pictures of this trip, why don't you
>make a webpage out of it ?
> Apurva
Viraf and I have a modest collection but we do not enjoy WWW
facilities however we shall try to have access to such a facility and
send you some pictures from our collection (including one which has
been retained by the WR for their archives).
Sarosh
>
> S.B.Mehta wrote:
>
> > Hi,
> >
> > This is especially for steam lovers of the IR. Viraf and I are
> > giving a detailed account of our Tryst with Steam. Please open the
> > attachment which is in plain text.
> >
> > Incidentally, this very article has been forwarded to Harsh,
> > alongwith photographs, by Viraf and will be published in instalments
> > in the forthcoming issues of FNRM Newsletter.
> >
> > We, Viraf and I, request you all to give us your feedback,
criticisms
> > are welcome, as well. This will only help us in covering our next
> > trip to Wankaner early next month where MG steam is very much
active.
> >
> > ======================
> > Sarosh Bakhtyar Mehta
> > M/s. Godrej & Boyce Mfg.Co.Ltd.
> > Machine Tool Division
> > Pirojshanagar, Vikhroli,
> > MUMBAI 400 079
> > INDIA
> > Tel:(Office) 577 3535 / 577 3636 Extn: 3917/3907/3909
> > Tel:(Residence) 389 3150
> > Fax:(Office) 91 22 517 2229 / 91 22 518 2289
> > Email sarosh@godrej.email
> > =======================
> > Wisdom dawns only after knowledge is gained
> >
> >
----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > The following section of this message contains a file attachment
> > prepared for transmission using the Internet MIME message format.
> > If you are using Pegasus Mail, or any another MIME-compliant system,
> > you should be able to save it or view it from within your mailer.
> > If you cannot, please ask your system administrator for assistance.
> >
> > ---- File information -----------
> > File: trip.sam
> > Date: 2 Dec 1998, 14:32
> > Size: 48580 bytes.
> > Type: Unknown
> >
> >
----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Name: trip.sam
> > trip.sam Type: Lotus WordPro Document
(application/vnd.lotus-wordpro)
> > Encoding: BASE64
>
>
>
>
======================
Sarosh Bakhtyar Mehta
M/s. Godrej & Boyce Mfg.Co.Ltd.
Machine Tool Division
Pirojshanagar, Vikhroli,
MUMBAI 400 079
INDIA
Tel:(Office) 577 3535 / 577 3636 Extn: 3917/3907/3909
Tel:(Residence) 389 3150
Fax:(Office) 91 22 517 2229 / 91 22 518 2289
Email sarosh@godrej.email
=======================
Wisdom dawns only after knowledge is gained
From: Harsh Vardhan <>
Subject: Re: Bhowani Junction and Julie - Films featuring IR
Date: 03 Dec 1998 00:00:42 -0500
If you look into the schedule of `Asianet' programmes regularly, could
you
please inform us the next time it is telecast. It should be fun
watching. Is
it on the BG route or the former MG route. I just love the Quilon Madras
Mail route. It must be one of the best MG route anywhere.
Incidently there was an article(not so accurate) in the `Indian railway'
magazine couple of months back about the movies featuring IR. Since I
have
passed on my magazines, could someone please inform the interested
readers
which issue it was.
HARSH
-----Original Message-----
From: Rajan Mathew <rajanmathew@usa.email
To: Harsh Vardhan <champa@del3.email Indian Railway Fan Club
Association <irfca@cs.email Kartik Pashupati
<kpashupa@mailer.email
Date: Thursday, December 03, 1998 11:35 AM
Subject: Re: Bhowani Junction and Julie - Films featuring IR
>Talking of good movies featuring the IR, see if you can check out the
>Malayalam film "No. 20 Madras Mail" which infact was a murder plot
featured
>realistically using a train with a run very similar to the Trivandrum -
>Madras Mail. A lot of finer details of a normal rail journey are
evident in
>the film. I saw it a year back on Asianet. I am not so well versed in
>Malayalam myself but the story and the backdrop of the railway made it
very
>interesting.
>
>Rajan
>
>
>
>
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: Travelogues required
Date: 03 Dec 1998 00:56:00 -0500
> > My vote for the favourite train goes to -----The 3004 / 3003 ! As
> > much as everyone hates this train, I find this 'two sides of a
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Why would anyone hate this train? B'coz of its unconventional route?
Yes, the unconventional route and the lack of punctuality makes this a
unpopular train for the Mumbai - Calcutta traveler. In the order of
preference
the 8001 is the first choice, 2859 is the second, 8029 is the third and
3004 is
the last choice of the travelers. Once the 2001/2 CLAT - HWH AC express
would
start, it would slot after the 2859, I think. For the AC express to be
taken
seriously, it must run daily. actually apart from the availability of
the rakes
there is no slot problem, although I remember that the AC express and
the Pune
- HWH Azad Hind Express arrive at HWH at almost the same time. I do not
have
the correct TT at hand to confirm this fact. The reason why I like the
3004 is
that it really it two 'normal sized' journeys. Anyone who has an itch
to
travel on the IR should travel the 3004 to HWH once.
Okay Vijay - let me make an attempt to open the 'longest train in India'
debate
once again. I believe the Trivandrum Guwahati Exp beats the Himsagar by
40 Kms,
because ot the Jhakhal Dhuri diversion. What is your opinion on the
matter ?
> actually skipped Allahabad to halt at Cheoki instead and avoided the
> direction reversal.
What is the difference between COQ and Naini ? It is something to do
with the
South bank or the North Bank of the Ganga. What I have understood is
that COQ
and NYN are both the South bank of the river. But NYN does not have an
entry
from Katni - Manikpur side so a train must go to Allahabad and then
reverse
back to NYN, thus crossing the Ganga bridge twice. While the trains
taking the
COQ route branch eastwards much before NYN. Only a person who is
familiar with
area and who has observed the trains operation in this area can tell.
These
small details about railway operations have not been widely documented,
perhaps
the IRFCA would be doing this for the first time.
> Interestingly, Mumbai-Howrah is the only terminii-pair to have the
services
> of two Mails.
True - cannot think of any other termini served by two mails. Apurva
From: poras p.saklatwalla <>
Subject: Trip Report
Date: 03 Dec 1998 01:28:10 -0500
Hi friends !
I am back from a beautiful trip to North India; here is the report :
Started by 2951 dn Rajdhani express from Mumbai, and were given a
welcome
aboard the Rajdhani Express, and were told that there is a facility for
phone on board and was available in the pantry car. The train moved at
good speed till we reached Borivali and then literally went like an
ordinary express upto Boisar, where I saw that Saurashtra Janta express
was sidelined and we were allowed to pass thru. After that we felt
that
we were travelling by Rajdhani express, and wow it was fantastic
standing
on the door only to be told by GRP pls close the door. These people
were
really thorns on these superfasts. We however recovered about 1/2 an
hr and reached Baroda 15 mins late. I was behind the Generator car
afterthe engine and at Baroda the WCAM 2P was replaced by the ultimate
loco of this CENTURY, the WAP5. I requested its driver who was in his
late 50s to let me in at Baroda and the loco is fully automated and huge
space in the drivers cabin and cushioned seats, really soft ones. Infact
the driver was ready to take me upto Ratlam, but since I was on my
honeymoon and then just in case if someone did not open the bogie for me
at Ratlam then I would have been in Bad shape,plus my wife would have
been
scared. The train started from Baroda and yo ho !! in about 15 mins
we
were having an absolute bonanza speedwise and jerk wise, with all a/c 3
tier coaches being mfd in Kapurthala it was fun. Luckily for me since I
occasionaly smoke, I was standing on the door till Godhra when again one
GRP told me to close the door, I however told him that I will finish my
smoke and close the door and he obliged. The train was at full speed.
We
reached Ratlam bang on time in the process overtaking Paschim exp at
DAhod
since it was running late.
Thereafter I slept and I felt I was in a plane, so smooth was the
journey.
At Ratlam I saw the Bhopal RAjkot Express, with a WDM2. Thereafter at
8.00 am we passed Mathura and bang 9.55 am reached NDLS.
DELHI - KALKA-SIMLA
___________________
We were booked on the 2311 Kalka mail from Delhi to KAlka and had A RAC
1/2 TICKET, I left my wife alone and went to Old delhi stn and got the
tickets confirmed, and in the process saw a few trains towards Mumbai in
the afternoon. Then in the night I left a little early for the Stn
and when we reached the stn Kalka mail had already arrived and was
almost
empty. Mussoorie express was ready to depart at 10.35 p.m. with a WDM2
of
Lucknow shed. Our Kalka mail got a WDM2 from Ludhiana shed and departed
on time. One thing I noticed that this train does a lot of time pass
at\
Ambala and Chandigarh, where it halted for almost halted for 55mins to
reach Kalka at dot 5.00 a.m. right time. From Kalka there was no RAil
car
service that day, and Shivalik express the new Premium train from kalka
was waiting. This train is fully chair car with Upholstery and ticket
cost RS 310/- per person with the last bogie being a saloon and the
train
well painted and breakfast included in tkt fare. The only stn it halts
was at Barog and it took 4hrs flat to Simla. Taken a lot photographs in
the moving train.
SIMLA- MANALI- CHANDIGARH -AMBALA WAS ALL DONE BY BUS
AMBALA - AMRITSAR
------------------
ALL of a sudden I change my itinery aand decided to go to Amritsar from
Chandigarh, since there being no train I went to Ambala by bus and on
reaching Ambala it was chaos,I was booked on the 2029 dn Swarna Shatabdi
from Delhi in the morning and nobody on Ambbala railway stn could tell
me
on which platform the train would arrive and though I tried to ask
everyone from STn master to the coolie no one told me and then all of a
sudden they announced that train standing on platform 7 is SWarna
Shatabdi for Amritsar, though when we crossed over the train pulled in
with 2 roaring WDM2's (its a real good feeling seeing 2 roaring jumbos)
pulling in a train. Both the locos were from Lucknow shed and both were
of the same blue livelry. The coaches of the SWarna Shatabdi were
different from our shatabdi and these were having huge windows and
concealed toilets though no water in the toilets !!! there were mirrors
in the train and we were served breakfast tea and at Ludhiana Junction,
free FAnta Coke etc.. There were two Lady hostesses welcoming you
aboard
the Swarna Shatabdi one for Executive class and one for CC coaches, so
when we climbed on the train we were welcomed aand given hot towels to
freshen up and friends IR have really improved ! Can You imagine good
looking hostesses on Indian trains !! I was like thrilled and gazing at
them till my wife said I am next to you, and now you are married !!!
Whilst I was in Chandigarh I read in the Indian Express DAted 19/11 that
there is a competition for the new rake of Swarna Shatabdi, is ready at
Kapurthala and each coach costs 73 lacs as against 50 lacs for an
ordinary
coach and yo ho ICF at Kapurthala has done a marvellous job of mfg it
indigeniously. Now they are contemplating whether Chandigarh, ASR, Or
LKO
will get the same. ASR and LKO are dense routes and Chand. is likely
candidate though the file is still with the GM of NR.
The line From NDLS to Ludhiana is electrified and at Ludhiana I saw the
Mumbai Bound Paschim express with a WAP 1 loco from Ghaziabad. The
swarna
shatabdi reached ASR on dot at 11.55 am .
At Amritsar I read an ad that NR. is the largest and the most profitable
rly in the country and it is the only rly to RUN THE WAP 5 AND the
largest
rly in the country handling 11ooo kms. But all over the NR stns and the
trains was written "NR GM MURDABAD" I dont know who this GM is but
poor chap must be the most abused person in the Railways. During my
stay
I went to ASR stn in the evening to see the Frontier depart and saw on
the
TT that there is a train to Lahore twice a week running regularly from
ASR
Whilst returning we came to Delhi by 2498 Shan e Punjab express and as
I
told Viraf my bogie was the composite coach and CC had only 35 seats,
which was suffocating and got more suffocating due to security and dogs
present on the train. The train departed at 15.45 instead of 14.40
though
the train arrived on time at 14.00 hours. No make up was done and at
GAnnaur station after Panipat we were delayed for another 1/2 an hour to
LET THE Swarna Shatabdi pass.
We reached Delhi at 11.30 pm. LATE by 1 1/2 hrs.
NDLS- AGRA - NDLS
-------------------
this journey was done by 2001 Bhopal Shatabdi and it was chaos at around
5.45 am in the morning as in the next half an hour 3 shatabdis leave
Ndls
vis a vis LKO, ASR, DehraDun and Bhopal (sorry 4) and I myself got
confused and seeing a Shatabdi with a WAP5 loco I got into the Lucknow
shatabdi to later climb the bridge and go to PF 1 for the right train
and
this train was packed to capacity by foreigners going to Agra as it was
a
sunday. The train was headed again By my favourite WAP5 loco and in
flat
1hr 55 mins we were in Agra. Ijumped off the train at Agraa and clicked
the loccos 4 times despite heavy security for a British delegation, but
without any problems, infact whilst clicking the loco I could also click
the GT express as It was leaving Agra.
Whilst going to FAtehpur, crossing a railway crossing by car I saw the
Lucknow Agra fort Mail with a YDM from IZN loco shed, Believe me till I
talked to Viraf this morning I couldnt Realise where IZN shed is. It is
IZZatnagar.
On return from Agra we caught the 2137 dn FRom Mumbai i.e. Punjab Mail
with a WAM4/6p from Bhusawal loco shed. On the way we passed the Mumbai
raj with a WAP 4 loco passing at Mathura, followed by the Paschim.
In DElhi I went to the RAil museum and I went Berserk seeing the Black
Iron Horses standing mute, and clicked photos like mad man whilst my
wife
got bored.
Here I enquired about Our FRiend Mr HArsh Vardhan and was told that he
visits the museum only on Sundays, I was Given his phone no. but there I
couldn't contact him. Harsh sorry but when youu receive this message I
am
sure you will reply. In the meantime I will try and call you up
sometime
to enquire about getting enrolled.
You can please write back to me on this email address.
Before I forget whilsst returning to Mumbai by RAj headed by a WAP4 from
GZB, was a sad experience as the train did not go into top speed at any
point of time and at one place before Mathura, it halted at a STn called
Kosi Karan, even thouugh the signal was green we were delayed by 30 mins
and further at Baroda we halted for 45 mins.
So friends I hope you like my trip report and your comments are eagerly
awaited, especially on the WAP locos and the WAG9 ABB locos, especially
to
start a conversation after a month long gap. Come on Guys !
From: Bharat Vohra <>
Subject: Wankaner Steam Special!
Date: 03 Dec 1998 04:52:08 -0500
Hi All!
Sorry for the long absence but my home account
<protip@giasbmc.email was cut off some days back and I had to
rely on hotmail! Please direct all mail to this account for the time
being..<bvohra@hotmail.email
Anyways this is to request you all to please visit the new page on steam
that I have added to the site...
<A HREF="http://members.tripod.com/~railinindia/wank.html">http://members.tripod.com/~railinindia/wank.html</A>
Please let me know what you think of it!
Thanking you,
Regards
Bharat Vohra
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Kurla Howrah Express derails
Date: 03 Dec 1998 07:11:38 -0500
The Kurla Howrah Express 8029 Dn. derailed near Jalgaon in the early
hours today. The TV news still pics showed one coach on top of another,
so the situation seems quite serious. There are 5 deaths in this mishap.
More details soon.
Apurva
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: Wankaner Steam Special!
Date: 03 Dec 1998 07:21:00 -0500
Wow Bharat, great page. Give us larger pictures or those which can be
expanded from the thumbnails - then your pics will grace my desktop for
many
weeks.
Apurva
Bharat Vohra wrote:
> Hi All!
> Sorry for the long absence but my home account
> <protip@giasbmc.email was cut off some days back and I had to
> rely on hotmail! Please direct all mail to this account for the time
> being..<bvohra@hotmail.email
>
> Anyways this is to request you all to please visit the new page on
steam
> that I have added to the site...
>
> <A HREF="http://members.tripod.com/~railinindia/wank.html">http://members.tripod.com/~railinindia/wank.html</A>
>
> Please let me know what you think of it!
> Thanking you,
> Regards
> Bharat Vohra
>
> ______________________________________________________
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From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: Toy locos to Matheran out for desi precision
Date: 03 Dec 1998 08:38:38 -0500
Shankar wrote:
Hello,
Just something I chanced upon while surfing the web.
Any pics or further details ye learned Bombay/Poona residents?
Best regards.
Shankar
I always thought that Matheran got new locos atleast an year back. Infact the Indian Railway mag showed the pic of a very cute one side hood - one side totally vertical NDM6 (?) loco which I believe was the new Matheran loco. I have that issue somewhere - I have never disposed a single IR mag. I can find out more details from Cummins who have built the prime mover in Pune. Why is BHEL the vendor ? This is hinting that the tiny loco has actually an *electrical* transmission !! - This is bordering on bizarre - If this is indeed a diesel electric loco, then it must be the smallest of its kind in the whole world. Are there any details on the Jung and Jungenthal locos which carry a work plate of 1955 - the original prime movers have been replaced by the much larger Cummins India NTA 855, which necessitates the sheet metal 'parasol' over the hoods.
Will keep you posted on more details.
From: Vijay Balasubramanian <>
Subject: Re: Travelogues required
Date: 03 Dec 1998 12:07:29 -0500
>> > My vote for the favourite train goes to -----The 3004 / 3003 ! As
>> > much as everyone hates this train, I find this 'two sides of a
>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> Why would anyone hate this train? B'coz of its unconventional route?
>
>Yes, the unconventional route and the lack of punctuality makes this a
>unpopular train for the Mumbai - Calcutta traveler. In the order of
preference
I am not sure whether the 3003/3004 can be singled out since all
Howrah-Mumbai trains are notorious for running late. I once crossed the
8002 (during my footplating trip on the Kanyakumari Exp.) near Bhandup
which means it must have been over 8 hrs. behind schedule!! In
addition, I have heard horror stories of the Gitanjali pulling into
Mumbai early morning.
>the 8001 is the first choice, 2859 is the second, 8029 is the third and
3004 is
>the last choice of the travelers.
The Mail vi Allahabad takes about 2 hrs. less than the Kurla-Hwh Exp.
and has better timings in both the directions. Unless the former
consistently runs late and the latter always runs on time, I would
prefer the Mail over the Exp.
Once the 2001/2 CLAT - HWH AC express would
>start, it would slot after the 2859, I think. For the AC express to be
taken
- The 2101 Dn. (Kurla-Hwh) would be prefered over the Gitanjali since it
has a much better schedule. During summertime when AC 2/3-tier is the
prefered accomodation, the 2101/2102 would be a boon especially since
Gitanjali and Mail have limited AC 3-tier service. Also, folks who can
reach CLAT conveniently by taxi or auto, such as residents from
Ghatkopar or Chembur (includes Yours Truly!) may choose to travel by the
2101/2102.
The Dn. train>seriously, it must run daily. actually apart from the
availability of the rakes
>there is no slot problem, although I remember that the AC express and
the Pune
>- HWH Azad Hind Express arrive at HWH at almost the same time. I do not
have
>the correct TT at hand to confirm this fact. The reason why I like the
3004 is
That is correct. The AC express and the Azad Hind share schedules
between Raurkela and Howrah. And so, the AC express takes nearly 40
mts. more than the Gitanjali from Raurkela to Hwh. Highly irritating
:-(
>
>Okay Vijay - let me make an attempt to open the 'longest train in
India' debate
>once again. I believe the Trivandrum Guwahati Exp beats the Himsagar by
40 Kms,
>because ot the Jhakhal Dhuri diversion. What is your opinion on the
matter ?
Will have to look into my zonal TTs to obtain accurate distances
especially for the Jakhal-Dhuri and Malda-Howrah sections.
>
>> actually skipped Allahabad to halt at Cheoki instead and avoided the
>> direction reversal.
>
>What is the difference between COQ and Naini ? It is something to do
with the
>South bank or the North Bank of the Ganga. What I have understood is
that COQ
>and NYN are both the South bank of the river. But NYN does not have an
entry
>from Katni - Manikpur side so a train must go to Allahabad and then
reverse
>back to NYN, thus crossing the Ganga bridge twice. While the trains
taking the
>COQ route branch eastwards much before NYN. Only a person who is
familiar with
>area and who has observed the trains operation in this area can tell.
These
>small details about railway operations have not been widely documented,
perhaps
>the IRFCA would be doing this for the first time.
The Ganga does not come into the picture at all. The Yamuna crosses the
Delhi-Howrah line between Naini and Allahabad with Naini being on the
south side of the river. So, the Hwh bound Mail from Mumbai approaches
Naini from the SouthWest. After a 2-mt. halt, it emerges from the
station, joins the the electrified double-track section from MGS,
crosses the Yamuna on a rail-over-road bridge and enters Allahabad. It
then reverses directions and, with an elec. loco in charge (typically
WAM2), crosses the Yamuna again and proceeds towards MGS - this time the
train skips Naini while running on a different set of tracks. The
Mahangri / Kurla-Patna Exps use the same route.
Cheoki is situated on the Naini-bypass line (so is a little further away
from the Yamuna than Naini). Trains such as Tapti Ganga Exp. and the
Dadar - Bhagalpur/Guwahati Exps. negogiate this bypass just after
passing Iradatganj (one station shy of Naini in the Manikpur-Naini
section) and then pull into Cheoki. After a brief halt, they proceed
towards MGS and merge into the electrified trunk line at the outskirts
of Naini yard. Seems to me that folks can only detrain at Cheoki but
not get in - note that Cheoki is indicated in the working TTs only. I
once traveled on the Madras-Patna Exp. which bypasses Naini and
Allahabad. I was woken up in the middle of the night to hear an
announcement that Allahabad-bound passengers should get down at that
stop. Obviously, it must have been Cheoki. Due to dense fog,
visibility was close to nil but I don't recall sighting any platforms.
The Ganga crosses the Allahabad-Varanasi line from the NorthEast
(between Prayag and Phaphamau) and then joins the Yamuna along with the
Saraswati (an undergound river) - this is the site of the famous Sangam
(confluence of three rivers). This can be seen from the Yamuna bridge
as well. The Ganga then proceeds to run parallel to the Allahabad-MGS
trunk line coming very close to it at Chunar. It then veers off in a
northerly direction to intersect the Varanasi-MGS line between Kashi and
Vyasnagar. Hence, the Ganga flows north at Varanasi and so is called
"Uttarvahini" meaning "that which flows north". The Ganga bridge near
Kashi is the famous road-over-rail Malviya bridge earlier known as the
Dufferin bridge. Thus, one would cross the Ganga twice when traveling
from Allahabad to MGS via Varanasi.
Hope this clears the picture.
Vijay
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From: Jayant S <>
Subject: Re: Kurla Howrah Express derails
Date: 03 Dec 1998 18:07:20 -0500
> The Kurla Howrah Express 8029 Dn. derailed near Jalgaon in the early
> hours today. The TV news still pics showed one coach on top of
another,
> so the situation seems quite serious. There are 5 deaths in this
mishap.
> More details soon.
The newspapers say 9 people have died, including 3 CR
employees. The loco and 5 coaches were derailed.
I am wondering how badly the rail traffic is affected
in the section: a friend of mine took the Nizamuddin-Goa
to Delhi from here early this morning. Is there
a possibilty of cancellation or major delay ?
--
Jayant S : ID Studio : Tata Technologies India Limited
Telco Premises : Pimpri : PUNE : 411 018 : INDIA
TEL 91(212)702534 : FAX 91(212)773191
--
From: poras p.saklatwalla <>
Subject: Re: [railways] [ANB]Trip Report
Date: 03 Dec 1998 19:19:14 -0500
On Thu, 3 Dec 1998, Anil Balchandani wrote:
> hello Porus,
> thanks for your trip report. i am going to make a trip soon and
would like to learn from your experiences on how to make the journey
comfortable.
>
> here are a few questions.
> how much in advance did you make the ticket reservations.
> are the sleepers or beds provided or do you have to bring your own.
> is it advisable to bring your own food/water or can you buy bottled
water and good food at stations.
> are there any other tips to make the holiday comfortable.
> did you have any trouble travelling by bus?
>
> Awaiting your reply
> Anil
>
PORAS P.SAKLATWALLA
TEL :5773535/3636
EXT :4226/4232/4237
Dear Anil,
I made my reservations two months in advance, though if it is off season
you can get your tickets but not a train of your choice
I travelled by RAJDHANI AND ALL OTHER SUPERFAST TRAINS AND BY 3 TIER AC
SO
BED ROLLS AND IN SOME CASES AS TRAVELLED BY RAJDHANI AND SHATABDI FOOD
AND
WATER WEERE ALSO TAKEN CAREOF.
BUS JOURNEYS ARE NORMALLY BORING AND THERE IS NOTHING TO BEAT IR.
ANY OTHER TIPS.
PORAS
From: Sankaran Kumar <>
Subject: Asymmetric trains
Date: 03 Dec 1998 19:36:48 -0500
Interesting note:
3111/3112 Sealdah-Delhi Express uses a slightly different route to Delhi
than to Sealdah.
Delhi-Sealdah Barddhaman-Bandel-(cross Hooghly)-Naihati-Sealdah
Sealdah-Delhi Sealdah-Dakshineshwar-(cross Hooghly)-(Dankuni no
halt)-Barddhaman.
Note also Delhi-Sealdah is done via Bandel but Sealdah-Delhi via HB
chord.
Also even though it is not assymmetric, I think the HWH Amritsar Mail
uses the HB main line even though it has no stops between Barddhaman and
HWH (it takes 20-25 mts longer than trains using the HB chord). I
wonder why it is routed on the main line? Can anyone confirm this?
Thanks
Kumar
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