IRFCA Mailing List Archive


Messages 5121 - 5140

From: Harsh Vardhan <>

Subject: Re: Help

Date: 19 Jan 1999 08:02:58 -0500



>Is true true ? There are WPs in a working order that can be chartered?
WOW
!
>Maybe when we have a world meet of IRFCA members at NDLS. Where are the
BG
steam
>locos held ?

These two WP 7015/161 are at Charbagh, Lucknow and have recently
acquired
air-brakes! They will be moving to Rewari where they will be based once
something is decided about their working future. Rewari is planned to be
BG
cum MG heritage steam loco shed cum museum. `Steam Town Rewari' - how
does
it sound?

>I was told by a nonrailfan person that Asansol shed has still got
>4 WGs in working order. Cannot confirm that until a trip is made to
ASN.
>

Iam certain that there is a restored HGS 26761 stored there which was
prepared by Jamalpur in 1992 for some film shoot which never
materialised.
WGs were there indeed 6 years back but we need to ascertain the current
situation. These were never planned to be saved and might well have been
sold/scrapped by now. Maybe Shanku will get us some news next month. So
keep
your fingers crossed(all of them)!

Harsh

From: Harsh Vardhan <>

Subject: Re: Help

Date: 19 Jan 1999 08:02:58 -0500



>Is true true ? There are WPs in a working order that can be chartered?
WOW
!
>Maybe when we have a world meet of IRFCA members at NDLS. Where are the
BG
steam
>locos held ?

These two WP 7015/161 are at Charbagh, Lucknow and have recently
acquired
air-brakes! They will be moving to Rewari where they will be based once
something is decided about their working future. Rewari is planned to be
BG
cum MG heritage steam loco shed cum museum. `Steam Town Rewari' - how
does
it sound?

>I was told by a nonrailfan person that Asansol shed has still got
>4 WGs in working order. Cannot confirm that until a trip is made to
ASN.
>

Iam certain that there is a restored HGS 26761 stored there which was
prepared by Jamalpur in 1992 for some film shoot which never
materialised.
WGs were there indeed 6 years back but we need to ascertain the current
situation. These were never planned to be saved and might well have been
sold/scrapped by now. Maybe Shanku will get us some news next month. So
keep
your fingers crossed(all of them)!

Harsh

From: Harsh Vardhan <>

Subject: Re: Asansol

Date: 19 Jan 1999 08:33:42 -0500





>I am visiting India from the 8th to the 27th of February. So I will
probably
>go to Asansol somewhere around the middle of the month.
>
>Steam locos would be good to see, indeed. I'm not sure what I can do in
the
>way of photographs, since I don't have "official" permission, and can
go
>only as far as casual photographs - and monetary "donations" :) - will
take
>me. I hear they're specifically not too happy about photography near
sheds.
>


Do plan to have some time at hand and go see the DRM straightaway or the
Sr.
DME(Power). The effort will not be wasted. Meanwhile I'll see if I can
put a
word for you through someone, but don't bank on it till I confirm it to
you.
If you can confirm a date for your visit, it will be helpful.

Harsh

From: Harsh Vardhan <>

Subject: Re: Asansol

Date: 19 Jan 1999 08:33:42 -0500





>I am visiting India from the 8th to the 27th of February. So I will
probably
>go to Asansol somewhere around the middle of the month.
>
>Steam locos would be good to see, indeed. I'm not sure what I can do in
the
>way of photographs, since I don't have "official" permission, and can
go
>only as far as casual photographs - and monetary "donations" :) - will
take
>me. I hear they're specifically not too happy about photography near
sheds.
>


Do plan to have some time at hand and go see the DRM straightaway or the
Sr.
DME(Power). The effort will not be wasted. Meanwhile I'll see if I can
put a
word for you through someone, but don't bank on it till I confirm it to
you.
If you can confirm a date for your visit, it will be helpful.

Harsh

From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>

Subject: Re: CLAT - HWH/ NGP express (a joke!!)

Date: 19 Jan 1999 09:18:11 -0500


* Two new, weekly Super Delux AC Express Trains with Rajdhani Type
Coaches
KURLA (T) - HOWRAH - KURLA (T)
The regular service of weekly 2101 Dn./2102 Up Super Delux AC Express
has
commenced from 13.01.99 and 16.01.99 respectively.


Kurla(T)Dep.: 20.20 hrs.     Howrah Arr.: 05.15 hrs.
(Wednesdays)
(Third day)
HowrahDep.: 06.00 hrs.     Kurla (T) Arr.: 14.00 hrs. (Saturday) (Third
day)

Stoppages: Kalyan, Igatpuri, Bhusaval, Akola, Badnera, Nagpur, Durg,
Raipur,
Bilaspur,   Rourkela, Chakradharpur, Tatanagar and Kharagpur..


KURLA (T) - NAQPUR - KURLA (T)
The regular service of weekly 2103 Dn./2104 Up Super Delux AC Express
has
commenced from 18.01.99 and 19.01.99 respectively.
Kurla(T) Dep.: 20.20 hrs.      Nagpur Arr.: 09.50 hrs. (Mondays)
Nagpur Dep.: 18.15 hrs.       Kuria (T) Arr.: 07.40 hrs. (Tuesdays)
Stoppages: Kalyan, Igatpuri, Bhusaval, Akola, Badnera.
Composition of both the above trains: Five AC 3-tier, Three AC 2 tier,
One
AC First Class, One Pantry Car and Two Generator-cum-Luggage vans.
One AC 3 tier and one AC 2 tier on 2101 Dn./2102 Up and 2103 Dn./2104 Up
available for Tatkal Service @ Rs. 150/- for AC 3 tier and Rs. 200/- for
AC
2 tier


 
             How much further can this train be degraded?  The only
decent
non-stop run for this train was Bhusaval-Nagpur (as per the CR
timetable)
and now that has been blotted with Akola and Badnera.  This train is no
better than the Gitanjali - it is marginally faster and has about the
same
number of halts.  And the public has to pay higher fares  for this
caricature of a train :-( :-(    This train must be the worst
Rajdhani-type
train ever introduced on IR.  It neither has a decent commercial speed
nor a
respectable halt pattern.  To illustrate my point, let's compare it to
few
other Rajdhanis / superfasts between the metropoles:
 
             Train                                         Commercial
Speed        No. of halts
                                                              (in
kmph.)                            
             Mumbai-Delhi Raj                     83.46 /
81.41                 3
             A.K. Raj                                   79.88 /
79.50                 6
             Howrah-Delhi Raj (via Gaya)     86.46 /
82.34                 5
             Howrah-Delhi Raj (via Patna)     78.20 /
75.95                
5
             Nizamuddin-Chennai Raj            77.50 /
76.60                
4
             Kurla-Howrah Superdeluxe        60.75 /
59.60                
13
             Tamilnadu Exp.                           67.56 /
66.03                 7 / 8
             Swaraj Exp. (between Mumbai   69.49 / 67.79                
10
                 and N. Delhi)
 
             Maybe, we should show this to the public and let them know
how
they're being taken for a ride.   To repeat a cliche,
             if Mumbai / Howrah had been India's capital the above
figures
would have looked very different.  Comments?
 
 
Vijay

From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>

Subject: Website on Mukand Ltd.

Date: 19 Jan 1999 13:03:14 -0500


Mukand manufactures bogies for BOXN wagons. Check out the following
website:

<A HREF="http://www.mukand.com/foundry.htm">http://www.mukand.com/foundry.htm</A>

What does BOXN stand for? If I am not mistaken BOBS is the covered
Bo-Bo
version with CBC couplers, right? Could someone describe the following
wagons: BOX, BOI, BOY, BCN, BCNA ?

Vijay

From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>

Subject: More IR links

Date: 19 Jan 1999 13:31:12 -0500


Enjoy:

<A HREF="http://www.irconinternational.com">http://www.irconinternational.com</A>
<A HREF="http://www.rites.com">http://www.rites.com</A>
<A HREF="http://www.steam.demon.co.uk/trains/india1.htm">http://www.steam.demon.co.uk/trains/india1.htm</A> to india12.htm
<A HREF="http://www.ggautomotive.com/">http://www.ggautomotive.com/</A>
<A HREF="http://www.exciteasia.com/mtrail.htm">http://www.exciteasia.com/mtrail.htm</A>


Vijay

From: Rajan Mathew <>

Subject: Re: SUPER TRUNK ROUTES

Date: 19 Jan 1999 20:43:15 -0500


Folks,

Unfortunately my mail got cut and i realised only later.
What i wanted to say was that on my recent trip to Nagpur, I was quite
disappointed with the speed of the train - I felt that the line could be
upgraded further and WAP's be used. This can be especially true for the
Gitanjali, HWH SuperDeluxe. Unfortunately, Vidharbha has too many halts
and
has been labelled superfast because of its fast (though not spectacular
run)
and convenient timings

The Nagpur Wardha is part of the North South line and trains really
cruise
here. But Wardha onwards, the speed somewhat lowers.

Rajan

Apurva's update of the latest CR advert gives info on the trains.


>> >The superdeluxe trains are a start in the right direction
>> but why make
>> their
>> >run-times so pathetic? The Dn. trains can easily cover the
>> Kurla-Bhusaval
>> >stretch in 6 hrs. 50 mts. (a whopping 35 mts. less than the
>> present time)
>> >giving them a Kurla-Nagpur running time of about 13 hrs.
>> Igatpuri as a
>> >passenger halt is another nail in the coffin :-(
>> >
>> I was quite disppointed the last two times when I went to
>> Nagpur with the
>> speed of the train. The Wardha - Igatpuri section whole needs to
>>
>> rajan
>>
>Your mail seems to have chopped off. When did these trains get
introduced?
>What is the rake composition? Did your train pass through Akola,
Badnera
>and Wardha without halting?
>
>Vijay

From: Rajan Mathew <>

Subject: Re: Train sounds

Date: 19 Jan 1999 21:23:33 -0500


Dear Apurva,

I had visited your pages recently but no time to give you the feedback
on
the same. You've done a real good job of completely revamping and
indexing
your pages. The unique bits of info like details on the Diesel operation
and
DMU's was very informative and also the latest entrant - WDP2

The Sounds were good. I have downloaded WDM2_3 so far which is good I
had
some problem in getting one file. I will check it up again. The horn was
very intersting too...

All the best and keep it UP

Rajan

From: Rajan Mathew <>

Subject: Re: CLAT - HWH/ NGP express at last

Date: 19 Jan 1999 21:26:10 -0500


Apurva, Thanks for the update - This ad appeared on the tender page, and it is now CR and WR practice to use space on the tender ad for advertising new services facilities etc. 

CR advt out in the Times of India of 19th Jan 1999.  Note the emphasis on the 'Rajdhani type coaches' , the CR does feel left out when the WR has so many of these trains. The CLAT - HWH would make a great train if it runs daily (and out of CSTM - may I wish ?) The CR has at last got out its kick of showing Amtrak/ Austalian locos in these ads - a WCM 5 and a Mumbai EMU is shown in the picture

Thats right - instead of separate trains to HWH and NGP, if we can have a daily train with a good NGP quota, this would be much better.

 Now you can buy season ticket with credit cards also:  Season tickets can now be bought against your Credit Card at Season ticket counter Nos. 6 and 7 in Star Chamber booking office at CSTM. Two credit card machines have been installed at these counters to bring you this facility.

I tried this facility the moment I saw the ad - its really good. For our friends who might wonder what machine were talking about, it is the Card machine where the card is swiped and an online transaction done with the bank.

MUMBAI CST - MADGAON HOLIDAY SPECIAL EXTENDED The tri-weekly holiday special train running between Mumbai CST and Madgaon has now been extended from 19.01.99 to 17.03.99. Train No. 103 Dn. will leave CSTM on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 05.20 hrs. and reach Madgaon on the same day at 16.10 hrs. In Up direction, 104 Up will leave Madgaon on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 05.50 hrs. and reach CSTM at  16.40 hrs. on the same day. The train will halt at Thane, Panvel, Chiplun,  Ratnagiri, Kudal and Karmali stations  on both directions. The first  extended Holiday Special will leave CSTM on Tuesday 19.01.99. 

The extension of this train really means that once a second rake is obtained the train would be the daily Mumbai - Goa Day train which we discussed earlier. 
Information on timings etc can be found at
<<A HREF="http://www.cyberdezigns.com.konkanrail/index.html>">http://www.cyberdezigns.com.konkanrail/index.html></A>
 

From: Rajan Mathew <>

Subject: Re: KR Freights!!

Date: 19 Jan 1999 21:44:43 -0500


One ad appeared in the Times of India today - 20 Jan 99, with details
Pre Launch on 22 Jan : Dep Kolad 1435 Arrival Surathkal 1235 next day
Regular "Ro-Ro" service to commence on 26 Jan 99.
Scheduled daily noon services
Guaranteed delivery within 24 hours

Not in the ad but in a report in Indian Express dated 14 Jan, the
charges
are Rs. 5000 per truck

Rajan

>Hello!
>
>The advertisement, mentions specifically the trucks & not containers.
In
>that case, they may be providing some carriage for the truck drivers,
>cleaners to ride this leg of the journey. The drivers & cleaners may
>indulge into some card playing sort of games !!
>
>Bye
>
>Shrinivas
>

From: Apurva Bahadur <>

Subject: Re: Help

Date: 19 Jan 1999 23:11:32 -0500




Harsh Vardhan wrote:

> >Is this true ? There are WPs in a working order that can be
chartered? WOW
> !
> >Maybe when we have a world meet of IRFCA members at NDLS. Where are
the BG
> steam
> >locos held ?
>
> These two WP 7015/161 are at Charbagh, Lucknow and have recently
acquired
> air-brakes!

I can see where this is going, air brakes are essential to haul the POW
BG rake
!

> They will be moving to Rewari where they will be based once
> something is decided about their working future. Rewari is planned to
be BG
> cum MG heritage steam loco shed cum museum. `Steam Town Rewari' - how
does
> it sound?

Sounds too good to be true. I wish the IR were not so secretive about
their
plans for such events. Only problem is that Rewari is too out of the way
of the
enthusiasts unlike NDLS and there is lot of scope of bungling as there
is no one
keeping an eye on the going ons. If there is anything amiss at the NRM,
Harsh
and other would be around to take them apart, but may not be so with
Rewari ...

> >I was told by a nonrailfan person that Asansol shed has still got
> >4 WGs in working order. Cannot confirm that until a trip is made to
ASN.
> >
>
> Iam certain that there is a restored HGS 26761 stored there which was
> prepared by Jamalpur in 1992 for some film shoot which never
materialised.
> WGs were there indeed 6 years back but we need to ascertain the
current
> situation. These were never planned to be saved and might well have
been
> sold/scrapped by now. Maybe Shanku will get us some news next month.
So keep
> your fingers crossed(all of them)!

If the news that Harsh gave us earlier about prohibition of scrapping
any more
steam locos is true, then India still has lots of powers, however many
are not
in working order.I have always felt that the IRFCA has hardly any
representation in the east. Joydeep in NJP is requested to recruit
railfans in
that area.

Apurva

From: Apurva Bahadur <>

Subject: Re: Help

Date: 19 Jan 1999 23:11:32 -0500




Harsh Vardhan wrote:

> >Is this true ? There are WPs in a working order that can be
chartered? WOW
> !
> >Maybe when we have a world meet of IRFCA members at NDLS. Where are
the BG
> steam
> >locos held ?
>
> These two WP 7015/161 are at Charbagh, Lucknow and have recently
acquired
> air-brakes!

I can see where this is going, air brakes are essential to haul the POW
BG rake
!

> They will be moving to Rewari where they will be based once
> something is decided about their working future. Rewari is planned to
be BG
> cum MG heritage steam loco shed cum museum. `Steam Town Rewari' - how
does
> it sound?

Sounds too good to be true. I wish the IR were not so secretive about
their
plans for such events. Only problem is that Rewari is too out of the way
of the
enthusiasts unlike NDLS and there is lot of scope of bungling as there
is no one
keeping an eye on the going ons. If there is anything amiss at the NRM,
Harsh
and other would be around to take them apart, but may not be so with
Rewari ...

> >I was told by a nonrailfan person that Asansol shed has still got
> >4 WGs in working order. Cannot confirm that until a trip is made to
ASN.
> >
>
> Iam certain that there is a restored HGS 26761 stored there which was
> prepared by Jamalpur in 1992 for some film shoot which never
materialised.
> WGs were there indeed 6 years back but we need to ascertain the
current
> situation. These were never planned to be saved and might well have
been
> sold/scrapped by now. Maybe Shanku will get us some news next month.
So keep
> your fingers crossed(all of them)!

If the news that Harsh gave us earlier about prohibition of scrapping
any more
steam locos is true, then India still has lots of powers, however many
are not
in working order.I have always felt that the IRFCA has hardly any
representation in the east. Joydeep in NJP is requested to recruit
railfans in
that area.

Apurva

From: Apurva Bahadur <>

Subject: Re: Website on Mukand Ltd.

Date: 19 Jan 1999 23:17:39 -0500




Balasubramanian, Vijay wrote:

> Mukand manufactures bogies for BOXN wagons. Check out the following
> website:
>
> <A HREF="http://www.mukand.com/foundry.htm">http://www.mukand.com/foundry.htm</A>
>
> What does BOXN stand for?

Although I am not sure of the acronym of BOX, the N stands for
Pneumatic,
meaning air braked. BOXN is a open eight wheeler wagon meant for
mineral
traffic.

> If I am not mistaken BOBS is the covered Bo-Bo
> version with CBC couplers, right? Could someone describe the
following
> wagons: BOX, BOI, BOY, BCN, BCNA ?

BCN and BCNA are covered eight wheeler wagons, of which the A variant is
slightly taller. These are used to carry bagged material such as
fertilizer
and cement. I think all the above mentioned wagons have a CBC. The Pune
marshaling staff refer to these NBOX, BCN, BCNA wagons as Jumbo rakes.

The other company manufacturing wagons / parts of wagons is Texmaco.

Apurva

From: Apurva Bahadur <>

Subject: KR's RORO service

Date: 20 Jan 1999 02:25:46 -0500


KR ad in the TOI of 20th Jan 99. The road from Mumbai to Mangalore
is really bad with few population centers, hence a train with no
intermediate loading/ unloading would succeed. Where else in the
country is this sort of service likely to run ? Note the email
address below is suspect. I feel it should be only comkrcl@vsnl.email
rather than the additional 'in'. (pointers to the fact that the KR
does not really use email). The opening shows a cartoon by Mario
Miranda where a flat faced loco (like a WAM 4 only diesel) is on a
viaduct with flatcars full of trucks. The drivers of the loco are
waving to a pair of broken down trucks.

Apurva

Free: Pre launch trip on 22nd Jan 99, the Konkan Railway invites
Fleet owners and Truck operators. Go with Konkan Railway's RO - RO
service.

Free: Ro- Ro coupons first come first served. Registration by 12.00
noon - 21.01.99 for 10 trucks

For further details & bookings contact:

Shri. P.B. Murthy / Shri. V.C. Sinha, Tel 022-7572015 -18/ 7572417
ext 290/292, fax: 022 -757 2420, email: comkrcl@vsnl.email

The regular Ro Ro service starts on 26th Jan 1999. Reservation opens
from 22.02.1999 at Belapur, Kolad, Surathkal and KRIST/ Mangalore.

Save tirne: 50% to 70% goods transportation time is saved
Save ON COsts :Saves Mumbai - Mangalore 'truck on road' journey time
by 20% to 30%, gives extra fleet utility

Saves Wear & Tear: No wearing out of expensive truck tyres and other
repairs. Low maintenance • increases vehicle life and helps avoid
'fleet idling' time

Save fuel costs: More economically viable

DELIVERY GUARANTEED, PROFITS ASSURED


RoRo route: A map of KR showing Kolad (south of Roha) to Surathkal
near Mangalore

Presenting for the first time in India a western concept that allows
faster transportation of goods. (In the transport business time is
money, right ?)
Konkan Railway's 'Roll-On' 'Roll-Off' offer. RO-RO in short. It's
the simplest way to put an end to the tiresome, hazardous Mumbai
Mangalore truck journey.
If your trucks are going South, just let them 'Roll-On' to the train
at Kolad, 145 km from Mumbai. They will 'Roll-Off' at Surathkal,
20 km from Mangalore.That saves you a 734 km. stretch of travel,
without any tension or worry. And you get guaranteed delivery within
24 hrs. both ways. If the trucks are going North they 'Roll-On' at
Surathkal and 'Roll-Off' at Kolad. These are scheduled daily noon
services, operative both ways. Each train has 30 flats to
accommodate 60 ten tonner trucks.
What's more, Konkan Railway's 'state-of-art' Information
Technology aided tracking system will keep track of your truck every
minute of the way. So now you can happily say, " A truck load of
profits, by train! "

Truck on Train schedule:
Dep: 22.01.99 Kolad 14.35 hrs
Arr: 23.01.99 Surathkal 12.35 hrs

Delivery Guarenteed, Profits assured

From: Joydeep Dutta <>

Subject: on 18233

Date: 20 Jan 1999 04:10:49 -0500


Dear Friends
Harsh has already forwarded my message that I had spotted the first
WDM2 no 18233 built at DLW and dedicated to the nation by Sri Lal
Bahadur Shastri on 3rd Jan 1964. It is now allocated to Andal Diesel
shed of the Eastern Railway. Interestingly enough the first WDM2 of the
16 series -- ,16000 is also at Andal.
Joydeep

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>

From: Dheeraj Sanghi <>

Subject: Patna Rajdhani.

Date: 20 Jan 1999 07:17:10 -0500



Patna Rajdhani has been rerouted via Kanpur-Mughalsarai.
It won't go via Lucknow and Varanasi any more. (I guess
now that Guwahati Rajdhani provides connection to those
cities, there was no political necessity of routing
Patna Rajdhani through them.)

Surprisingly, the arrival and departure timings at Patna
and New Delhi has been retained. I thought this should save
at least 2 hours. Those who already hold the tickets from/to
Lucknow or Varanasi can get full refund. Varanasi passengers
have an option to catch the train at MGS.

The Patna-NDLS fare also remains unchanged.

-dheeraj
--------------
Dr. Dheeraj Sanghi (0512) 59-7077/7638
(Off)
Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering (0512) 59-8627 (Res)
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From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>

Subject: Tidbits from early IR issues (68-69)

Date: 20 Jan 1999 13:02:59 -0500


Continuing from where I had left off..... Vijay

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

Nov. 1968
--------------
-Deputy PM, Shri Morarji Desai, inaugurates Dadar Terminus on Oct. 12.
First train to leave was the Dadar-Nagpur Exp. [photo shows a WCM4 at
the
lead]. The 3 trains scheduled to use this terminus - Nagpur Exp., Poona
passenger, Poona Exp. [predecessor of the Deccan Exp.?]

Feb. 1969
--------------
- A detailed article on the New Delhi - Howrah Rajdhani Exp. to be
introduced on March 1. Max. speed - 120 kmph. Dep. N.Delhi at 5.30 pm,
Arr. Howrah at 10.50 am (current run-time is 10 mts. more, even with 130
kmph. max speed). Dep. Howrah at 5.00 pm, Arr. N.Delhi at 10.20 am
(current
run-time is 40 mts.less). Rs. 280 for AC First Class and Rs. 90 for AC
Chair Car. Techincal halts at Kanpur, Mughalsarai and Gomoh [not
Dhanbad]
for watering, replenishing of catering stores, etc. Speeds upto 163
kmph.
were achieved during trial runs [with a WDM4+ test rake]. Measured
shovel
packing for tracks used instead of beater packing. Rake consists of 4
chair
cars, 1 sleeper coach, 1 pantry-car-cum-lounge, 2 power generating
cars
with luggage compartments. The AC equipment is of the 'Stone Carrier
Automatic System' which allows electric heating to be automatically
switched
on during cold weather. Sleeper coach has 3 4-berth compartments and 3
coupes with extra-wide windows and sunk-in upper berths. Matching
carpets
and curtains. Luggage compartment has been provided in the coach as
well as
an attendant's cabin. Foot-operated wash basin in each compartment.
[how
many of these are standard AC first class features? During my last
trip on
the Mumbai Raj - summer 1995 - I stepped inside the AC first class and
was
rather disappointed by its appearance: no thick carperting, no colorful
decorations inside the cabins, ....] Lounge attached to the pantry car
-
passengers can read magazines, play cards, etc. Power is generated at
440
volts AC and fed to each coach through interconnecting coach couplers.
Stepped down to 110 V for lighting. There is a 24V emergency lighting
arrangement in each coach, power coming from the storage batteries
underneath.

April 1969 (annual report)
--------------
-Electrification of Howrah-Kharagpur completed.

-Rourkela-Jharsuguda to be energized soon.

-On Oct. 17, 1967, CR ran its first superfast goods train from Wadi
Bunder
to Itarsi - the Freight Chief.

-On July 11, 1968, Western Exp. introduced between Bombay Central and
New
Delhi/Amritsar to run on non-deluxe days.

-Golconda Exp. introduced between Vijayawada and Secunderabad on March
1,
1969 as the fastest steam-hauled exp. train in the country. avg. speed
is
54/58 kmph.

-Poona-Miraj expected to be fully converted to BG by end of 1969.

May-June 1969
---------------------
-Igatpuri-Bhusaval energized on March 26. Electric traction being used
only
on goods services till a new loco. capable of working both goods and
passenger trains goes into production [The WAM4 started operating after
1971]

-Divisional system introduced on North Eastern Rly. on May 1 - Lucknow,
Varanasi, Izzatnagar, Samastipur

-Wadi-Shahabad doubling completed - will be opened to passenger traffic
after monsoon

-From May 1, Brindavan Exp. being run by a completely vestibuled new
rake -
2 first class, 7 third class, 2 composite third-luggage-brakevan.

Sept. 1969
---------------
-First diesel shed lounge on SR opened at Erode on Aug. 8. Improved
facilities for loco. drivers.

-Special service of Western style A-la-carte meals introduced from June
15
on Frontier Mail and AC/Paschim Exp. for convenience of overseas
tourists
and upper class passengers entraining at Bombay Central.

Oct. 1969
--------------
-Trains introduced on Oct. 1 -> New Delhi-Puri Utkal Exp., Delhi-Udaipur
Chetak Exp., Madras-Madurai Pandyan Exp.

-More vestibuled trains to be run to safeguard against crimes and
accidents.
Soon all the BG mails and expresses will be fully vestibuled since all
new
coaches being manufactured with vestibules [they must have discontinued
this
practice otherwise most of the present trains would be vestibuled]

-Diesel shed at Kazipet inaugurated on Aug. 19.

-CTC(Centralized Traffic Control) on Madras-Tambaram section inaugurated
on
Aug. 14. The CTC center is at Egmore.

Nov. 1969
--------------
-234 km. Jhund-Kandla BG line opened on Sept. 16. Longest bridge is of
62
spans and is across the Little Rann of Kutch.

-As many as 8 trains on SER have been accelerated - Tatanagar-Waltair
biweekly exp. [predecessor of Bokaro-Alleppy Exp.] by 90 / 50 mts.,
Howrah-Puri Exp. by 30 mts., Howrah-Bombay Exp. by 30 / 40 mts.,
Howrah-Bombay/Madras weekly deluxe exps. by 20 mts. [these were
discontinued
a few years later].

From: ranand <>

Subject: Re: Tidbits from early IR issues (68-69)

Date: 20 Jan 1999 13:53:39 -0500


Here is a fantasy project triggered by Vijay's posting. I would
love to see a sequence of gif images which would depict the
sequence in which
1. Track doubling
2. Electrification
3. BG to MG conversion
occurred over the years. Perhaps this could even be animated.
It would be enough to merely allow the viewer to step through the
pictures. Perhaps one picture per month (or year).

I would start with a reasonable large GIF image of the IR network
and would then analyze all the fragments of data in the IR magazine
reports which Vijay has and change the color of the lines.

A massive undertaking to be sure!

Anand

Internet: anand@watson.email
External tel: (914) 784 7054
Notes: Rangachari Anand/Watson/IBM@IBMUS
Tie-line: 863 7054

From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>

Subject: Tidbits from early IR issues (Feb. 1970 - Aug. 1972)

Date: 20 Jan 1999 14:08:57 -0500


Next in the series.

Feb. 1970
--------------
-Manufacture of elec. locos was taken up at CLW in 1960. First DC elec.
loco. was commissioned in Oct. 1961 - named 'Lokmanya' [a WCM5?]. First
CLW
built 25kv AC elec. loco. 'Bidhan' was commissioned in Oct. 1963 [was a
WAG1]

-11 Dn./12 Up Bombay-Madras exp. dieselized between Poona and Madras
from
Dec. 25, 1969. Four coaches added. Train now starts from Dadar instead
of
Bombay V.T. [it has gone back to starting from V.T.(now CST)]. Train
will
have 14 coaches upto Poona and one more coach from there. No. of
coaches
for Cochin has been increased from 2 to 5 and a coach for Madras has
been
added.

-1 Up/2 Dn. Bombay-Howrah Mails via Nagpur dieselized from early Jan.
1970.
Load increased from 14 to 17 coaches. The train which was being hauled
by
elec. loco. between Howrah and Chakradharpur will now be hauled by
electric
loco. between Howrah and Raurkela and Igatpuri and Bombay, and by diesel
loco. between Igatpuri-Raurkela.

-The weekly deluxe exps. between Howrah and Bombay/Madras discontinued
from
Jan. since they did not prove much popular.

-New station building for Grant Rd. inaugurated on Dec. 23, 1969.

-2nd line between Balharshah-Wardha Bridge opened.

-First diesel electric loco. overhauled at Golden Rock workshop turned
out
on Nov. 19, 1969.

-Weekly AC train between Bombay Central and Ahmedabad inaugurated on
Jan.
10. Covers the distance in 8 1/2 hrs. Accomodation provided is AC I
class, AC 3rd class chair car and ordinary 3rd class [I never knew about
the
existence of such a train. Could someone provide the details such as
halts,
livery, etc.?]

-Lucknow-Gauhati Exp. dieselized from Sept. 27, 1969 - five additional
coaches running as sectional coaches between Katihar and Gauhati.

-Cochin-Madras Mail inaugurated on Dec. 25, 1969.


April 1971 (Annual)
----------------------------
-Prototype for WCG2 has already rolled out of the shops and the
prototype
was WAM4 is under testing. Prototype for WCAM1 is expected to be ready
by
end of 1972.

-Northern Rly. has set apart 10 seats in the Rajdhani Exp. AC Chair Car
for
Kanpur-Howrah passengers and 10 seats for Delhi-bound passengers.

-Track recording car commissioned on July 24.


Sept. 1971
---------------
-From Nov. 1, the Rajdhani Exp. will run at a max. speed of 130 kmph.
45
mts. in running time of Dn. train and 30 mts. reduction for Up train.
Dep.
N.Delhi 18.10, arr. Hwh 10.45 [is 55 mts. slower now]. Dep. Hwh
17.10,
arr. N.Delhi 10.00 [is 10 mts. faster now]

-From Nov. 1, a total of 90 trains to run faster. Kalka Mail, Frontier
Mail,
Howrah-Bombay Mail via Nagpur, GT Exp. will run at 110 kmph. max.


Nov.-Dec. 1971
----------------------
-Longest pre-stressed concrete railway bridge opened at Farakka. Assam
Mail
when routed through Farakka will reduce its running time by 5 hrs.

-Bombay-Allahabad-Howrah Janata Exp. now runs daily [this train was
discontinued in the mid-80s]


Jan. 1972
--------------
-IR has extened its operations into Pakistan in the Barmer area of
Rajasthan. Work of linking Munabao station with Khokropar was completed
in
40 hrs. and the first train steamed into Pakistan on the afternoon of
Dec.
7.

-New Katni-Singrauli link opened on Feb. 14.

-Electrification of Virar-Ahmedabad-Sabarmati expected to be completed
by
end of 1974.

- 72 WDM4 locos. homed in at Mughalsarai shed. WDM2 locos. have been
tested
and modified suitably for hauling the Rajdhani exp. to be inaugurated
between Bombay Central and New Delhi on May, 1972.

-Electric traction presently operating on Howrah-Tundla,
Howrah-Bhilai,
Asansol-Gua, Bombay V.T.-Bhusaval, Bombay V.T.-Poona, Churchgate-Virar,
Madras-Tambaram.


May 1972
--------------
-10 new long-distance and 50 new suburban trains introduced and runs of
31
trains extended from May 1. Among these are the Rajdhani Exp., biweekly
Bombay-Bina Janata Exp. [now the Kushinagar Exp.], triweekly
Lucknow-Kathgodam Exp.

-Survey for MRTS for Madras to be undertaken shortly.

-Second Rajdhani Exp. inaugurated between Bombay Central and New Delhi
on
May 17. Operational halts at Vadodara, Ratlam, Gangapur City and
Mathura.
Max. speed - 120 kmph. Dep. Bombay Central 16.20, arr. N.Delhi 11.25 [2
hrs. 5 mts. faster now]. Dep. N.Delhi 16.20, arr. Bombay Central 11.50
[2
hrs. 55 mts. faster now]. Rs. 343 by sleeper and Rs. 113 by Chair Car -
includes food and reservation charges. One First AC sleeper coach with
18
berths, four AC Chair Cars with 71 seats each, one pantry-cum-chair car
with
10 seats, two luggage-cum-power cars. Additional AC chair car will be
run
as and when traffic justifies [I have seen this train with 8 / 9
coaches]


Aug. 1972
--------------
-Both Rajdhani exps. making substantial profits ranging from Rs. 21,000
to
30,000 per trip.