IRFCA Mailing List Archive
Messages 6461 - 6480
From: SHRINIVAS V. JOSHI <>
Subject: Re: Hubli - Ankola line
Date: 28 May 1999 00:07:47 -0500
Hi!
On Fri, 28 May 1999, Shankar wrote:
> Hello,
> Are they planning a line between Poona and Nasik via Shirdi?
Yes, the survey is already on near Sinner. Sinner is the 5 Star
Industrial Estate , as announced by Govt. Of Maharashtra. Even a
international Airport is also to come up . So , sure chances of a rail
network to cater to this area.
Shrinivas
From: VIRAF P.. MULLA <>
Subject: Wankaner Update
Date: 28 May 1999 01:19:10 -0500
Hello Gang
My friend Michael Smyth visited Wankaner on 15th. May and has sent me
his
observations which I would love to share with you all.
According to the staff at the depot no definite date has been set for
the
end of steam working. The locomotives have received temporary extensions
to their boiler certificate for 1999. However as overhauls of MG steam
locos have ceased, locos are kept serviceable only by cannibalising
spares
from withdrawn engines.
There are four departures from wankaner: 5.45 to Maliya Miyana, 7.30 to
Morbi, 11.00 to Morbi, 18.20 to Navlakhi. In addition there is a daily
goods to take salt from Navlakhi.
Engines in steam were: YP 2233
YG 3360, 3334, 3318
Steamable were YP 2825 & YG 3434
YP 2257 has been sold to a buyer in USA and was being prepaired for
shipment.
Other engines out of use in various degrees of dereliction were:
YG 4129, 4138, 4159, 4182, 3474, 3525
YP 2211, 2805, 2150, 2813, 2683
Michael was shown the report written by Appu, of our January trip by the
Shed staff. They said an Australian gentleman had given it to them. Was
it
you Ken?
Regards
Viraf.
==========================
Viraf Mulla
C-20/14, Jeevan Bima Nagar,
Borivali (West)
Mumbai 400103
Tel: +91-22-8954510
E-mail: sncf@godrej.email
==========================
From: Dheeraj Sanghi <>
Subject: Broad gauge to Nepal ?
Date: 28 May 1999 01:30:16 -0500
Calcutta Port seeks Rlys support for direct broad gauge link with Nepal
Sunil Mukhopadhyay
Financial Express, Friday, May 28, 1999
Calcutta, May 27: Calcutta Port Trust (CPT) has sought the
support of Indian Railways for direct broad gauge link between
Calcutta dock system and Birganj in Nepal for quicker and
cheaper cargo transportation to the land-locked neighbour. For
this, the existing 5-6 km-long meter gauge line between Raxaul
in Bihar and Birganj needs to be converted into broad gauge.
According to CPT, despite higher terminal handling charges
imposed by the container shipping companies, the gauge
conversion will provide an additional leverage to Calcutta
port in transporting Nepal cargo compared to any other port.
The gauge conversion issue was raised during the railways minister
Nitish Kumar's recent visit to Calcutta. The minister has responded
very positively on the issue, CPT sources told The Financial Express.
Kumar, who is also the surface transport minister, has taken
special initiative and the gauge conversion is likely to start by
December. Earlier, CPT had taken up the issue with Railway Board.
Atpresent, a large chunk of cargo imported by Nepal is being
transported to the country using a broad gauge line linking
Calcutta dock system and Raxaul. At Raxaul the cargo is unloaded
and send to Birganj using the meter gauge line or road transport.
This requires both excess time and extra handling cost.
Nepal is also keen on continuing its imports from Calcutta port and
believes that gauge conversion will benefit the country. "We have
no plans to shift our imports from Calcutta to any other ports,"
a senior official of Nepalese consulate in Calcutta said.
"The movement of import and export cargo from Calcutta Port to Nepal may
increase significantly if the meter gauge between Raxaul and Birganj is
converted to broad gauge by Indian Railways. The railway link will also
help to reduce expenditure and long transit time associated with
movement
of Nepal goods through road," a senior CPT official said. CPT expects
at least 7-8 per cent average growth in Nepal cargo in next 10 years.
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: Trip to the south!
Date: 28 May 1999 01:46:36 -0500
> -arrived at Podanur Jn at 22:10, again almost two hours late (20th)
> -Bus to Ukaddam (20th)
> -Bus to Gandhivaram (Coimbatore) (20th)
> -Bus to Metupalayam (20th)
> -night at Metupalayam (MTP) station (20th)
How did you change three buses after 22:10 and arrive at MTP still
within the
same day (20th) ? Are these really short distance local buses ? Did you
spend
the night out on the MTP platform ? If so tell us about the traffic
through the
night.
> -night arrival at CNR at 19:10, on time for a change!! (22nd)
Change as in clothes change :-) ?
> One thing that impressed me a lot about them was their Passenger Time
> Table...the most impressive Railway publication I have ever
seen....those of
> you who have laid your hands on the latest one..please comment...its
more
> like a souvenier/brochure given out at functions...with sponsors and
ads all
> over...glossy cover, glossy colour coded maps, tips for travellers,
tips on
> how to read the time table and so on....very well laid out and
> executed...hats of to the team who put in such an effort and
> initiative....other railways please take note!!
The new SR tt in my house has been mistaken many times for the latest
India
Today ! The SR tt finish is that good. I think the other railways have
no choice
but to hand over the contract to the TTK company (who has produced this
excellent material).
On the minus side, I did find the glossy maps lacking details, the
smaller
station have not been mentioned. Also the SR has chosen to add their own
convenient codes (not railway codes) for some tables (PA for Palghat
division,
this is a gross violation - PA is Pune !) - typically which station is
under
which division.
My tt is coming apart at the seams and I have not started reading it.
But that
is enough criticism for an otherwise excellent product. The legibility
and the
ease of use is outstanding, but then I am the wrong person to judge, I
am used
to seeing the worst product (NER or NFR tt I think).
> Coming to their rolling stock.....I have never seen a railway with so
many
> air braked passenger train rakes...majority of their long distance
runs have
> air braked rakes..even short distance passenger workings like
MAQ-Cannanore
> are air braked!!
This must be working a different routes in the day and in the night.
That is why
you find an advanced rake in such a short distance passenger. Example -
Pune
Karjat Shuttle in the day is the rake of the Pune Mumbai passenger by
night.
Also all the new rakes are air braked, new divisions get new rakes !
Actually the 'new' air braked rakes are the refurbished old vacuum
braked stock
which has been worked over by likes of the Matunga workshop. The result
is a
nearly new looking and air braked coach
> I didnt manage to see any WDS4's on SR or even WDS6's for that matter!
The
> locos I spotted amongst the diesels were the WDM2, WDM7 and WDG2's. I
liked
> the colur schemes on all the SR powers....Erode being my favourite
livery!
> It seems like Erode is the largest shed on SR...is that correct?
Golden Rock
> appears to be the smallest...I suppose thats because its newly taken
over
> from the MG shed there!
GOC shed may be small but the workshops must be huge, it is to the SR
what the
Matunga / Parel/ Jamalpur/ Charbagh is to the CR/ WR/ ER/ NR.
> I spotted a total of 4 GOC powers and even less KJM
> powers....only 2 on a BCN working!
Any double heading ?
> an Arokonam WAM4 (20610)
> which was marked WAM4 SPD ..??
A new one for me too - what is SPD ? Harsh ?
> However on the way back the Erode power, WDM2, 18600R worked the train
all
> the way from MAS to MAQ!
This is a rebuilt loco (the R in it's number)
> In fact I only spotted a total of 4 electrics
> between Shoranur and Podanur including ours!
> The others were a WAG7 and 2 WAG5's! It seems that either electrics
are in
> short supply over SR or then the newly electrified section till
Shoranur is
> missing electric patronage! 90% of frieght and passenger workings on
their
> electrified sections were on diesel power!
This is true in the Mumbai Pune section also, 99 % of freight is diesel
hauled
for some policy reason, even the yard master of Pune is at a loss to
explain why
!
Waiting for your new webpage and the detailed trip report.
Apurva
From: John Lacey <>
Subject: Re: Longest halt on the IR
Date: 28 May 1999 02:01:18 -0500
My guess for the long halt of the Kalka Mail at Delhi Jn runs along
similar historical lines: that as electrification brought the Delhi
arrival time earlier, a late evening departure time was retained to
avoid a too early arrival in Kalka as well as allowing for recovery
time.
In late 1980 I had wanted to sample ACC travel and so had booked in AC1
from Delhi Jn to Kalka. The Mail was listed on the Train running board
as arriving 3 hours late, and this became later and later as the evening
progressed. I spent the night walking between the waiting room, the ref
room and the Inquiry Counter, and finally went down to the platform
after 1.30 am. Unkown to me, there was a set of cars attached to the
train at Delhi and these, including the composite First/AC1 in which I
was booked, were patiently waiting for the train to arrive from
Calcutta. It was very pleasant to have the AC section to myself and I
was soon enjoying a deep sleep.
You might find the following times interesting,drawn from the short
abstract section of the July 1953 Western Railway timetable:
61Up Mail Calcutta-Kalka a. 21 20 d. 22 30
62Dn Mail Kalka-Calcutta a. 6 50 d. 8 30
The 1952 Central Railway gives a liitle more detail:
Delhi Jn 22 25 6 48
Ambala 3 18-3 46 2 12-2 31
Kalka 6 20 0 30
Regretfully, neither of these timetable gives Calcutta times.
Re the current longest halt:
Unfortunately the most recent timetable I have is the July-August 1998
Cooks and this gives 2311 Mail at Delhi Jn as 19 50-22 45. However old
friend 581 Ajmer-Purna ( now listed as Exp in Cooks ) is shown at
Ratlam as 18 50-22 20 !
The only pre 1980 timetables I have are the 1952 CR and 1953 WR
mentioned above and so this is the explanation for my ignorance about
the Agra start of the mg Vaisahali Exp and its effect on the total
distance in an earlier post.
Hope this is of interest,
John Lacey
From: hvc <>
Subject: Re: Longest halt on the IR (fwd)
Date: 28 May 1999 02:41:42 -0500
>Again at Ambala for 50 mins and chandigarh for 1 hour that is from 3.10
am
>to 4.05 am. Correct me if I am, wrong. I was on Kalka mail in
November
>and was freezing to death in the cold at chandigarh. I could not sleep
>because some unthoughtful Babu Moshais were creating a hungama over tea
>and coffee and switched on the lights and were constantly shaking and
>pushing me on the lower side berth at 3.00 in the morning. So the best
>thing I did in these circumstances was to put on my jacket and get out
of
>the coziness of 3Ac and out on the platform with a cup of tea and a
>Marlboro ciggerete to keep warm. I wished that there was a steam loco
>some where so that I could stay warm, but alas !
>I think in these circumstances it wwas best to join the pandemonium
>creators on board ! Am I a true fellow passenger !
>
Ambala Cantt. schedule halt is 20 min. and Chandigarh is 30 min. but
then it
nearly always before time. In my dozens of journeys on this train, only
once
the train has been late when a diesel failed between Chandigarh and
Kalka,
no spares locos were available, a passenger train overtook us and our
struggling WDM 2 finally dragged us into KLK, two and a half hour behind
schedule!
The train has so much of lag time on a very fast line, not too many
stops
and over six hours to cover 268 Km. I have once footplated a goods train
here which took us to Ambala in 3 hours flat(198 Km), non stop at that.
The Babu Moshais are omnipresent on IR(and every bit of land) during
Puja
holidays. The foremost memory in the mind is them taking stroll on The
Simla
Mall with monkey caps and gloves etc. on in the months of October(!!!).
On my journey from Jodhpur to Jaiselmer by overnight passenger(MG
then) in the Autumn of '95 we had several for company in our coach.
In the morning I was woken up by loud shouts and screams of `Amar Shonar
Killa'(our Golden Fort) as the Jaiselmer Fort came into view. I was not
aware till then but was informed by the gentry that Satyajit Ray(or
somebody
else) had made a film which featured the Fort and had the same
title(perhaps). So Jaiselmer was `the place to go' that year!
On the brighter side of it, the Bongs are perhaps the most well read,
widely
travelled and cultured(self proclaimed) of the Indian communities. When
not
talking about the virtues of Bengal and Bengalis, they do make good
conversation and travel companions.
Harsh
From: hvc <>
Subject: Re: Track through Rajaji National Park
Date: 28 May 1999 02:55:41 -0500
To me it appears that the railways are between fire and frying pan with
wild activists on one side and wilder travelling public on the other.
I should be possible to completely fence(elephant proof) the track and
provide several crossing corridors(animals use only fixed routes for
inhabited places) but the burning question is :- Who will foot the bill?
Harsh
>INTERNET WILDLIFE ACTIVISTS TARGET RAILWAYS
>
>Rahul Karmakar (Lucknow, May 27)
>Hindustan Times, May 28th.
>
>Internet-linked wildlife activists across the globe are poised
>for a war with the Indian Railways over a 16 km killer track
>in Rajaji National Park. They will be making the first move on
>Friday when they submit an unprecedented petition signed by over
>three lakh people world-wide to Railway Minister Nitish Kumar.
>
>The Motichur-Kansrao section of the Delhi-Dehradun track has
>killed 15 elephants, two leopards and several other animals
>since 1987. This 16 km stretch passes through Rajaji National
>Park (RNP), a critical conservation area for Asian elephants.
>
>Spread across Haridwar, Dehradun and Pauri districts of Uttar Pradesh,
>RNP was designated a Project Elephant reserve by the Ministry of
>Environment and Forests with the sole of aim of maintaining viable
>populations of elephants. But the killer track has been a major
>hurdle, putting the future of some 200 pachyderms there at risk.
>
>In November last year, RNP officials met their railway
>counterparts including the Moradabad DRM in order to stop
>endangered animals from being run over by trains. During that
>meeting, railway officials had agreed to take certain measures.
>
>These included erection of signboards warning drivers about potential
>animal crossing zones -- they were expected to slow the train and blow
>horn, flattening or widening narrow nullah-like areas through which
>the track passes and slowing trains to 20 kmph. On March 26, however,
>the DRM Moradabad wrote to RNP officials intimating that under current
>circumstances, it would not be possible to regulate the speed of trains
>to 20 kmph between Motichur and Kansrao. Five days later, the 15th
>elephant -- a female -- was killed by a speeding train in this section.
>
>The elephant's death prompted five global organisations including
>Defenders of Wildlife and Wildlife Coalition to come together and
>target Indian Railways. They pointed out that operation of high-speed
>trains on the Motichur-Kansrao track was in violation of the Wildlife
>(Protection) Act of 1972. Only two measures are required to put an end
>to these killings, said Mr Nirmal Ghosh, a Singapore-based activist,
who
>would approach the Railway Minister along with Mr A Christy Williams
>of the Wildlife Institute of India and Mr Ashish Kothari of
Kalpavriksh.
>
>The immediate measure is slowing down of all trains, he said via the
>e-mail adding the long-term solution is to re-route the
Doiwala-Kansrao-
>Motichur-Raiwala track via Rishikesh. But even after realignment of the
>track, trains should run at under 20 kmph in the Raiwala-Haridwar
section.
>
>Eventual realignment of the track will hardly affect commuters while
slowing
>down trains will only entail a few minutes rescheduling on the part of
the
>Railways, he added.The conservationists also plan to submit the
petition to
>the Minister of Environment and Forests and the director of Project
Elephant.
>
>They are not averse to blocking the killer track and intensifying
>their campaign if no action is taken to save the RNP animals.
>
>
From: hvc <>
Subject: Re: Trip to the south!
Date: 28 May 1999 03:38:41 -0500
>One thing that impressed me a lot about them was their Passenger Time
>Table...the most impressive Railway publication I have ever
seen....those
of
>you who have laid your hands on the latest one..please comment.
Oh yes. Very well done indeed.
>SR electrification is complete till Shoranur Jn on the west coast. On
our
>way to Podanur from MAQ, the Erode WDM2 gave way to an Arokonam WAM4
(20610)
>which was marked WAM4 SPD ..??
It must be 5P D which is the re-gear ratio and dual brake compatibility
indication.
>However on the way back the Erode power, WDM2, 18600R worked the train
all
>the way from MAS to MAQ! In fact I only spotted a total of 4 electrics
>between Shoranur and Podanur including ours!
>The others were a WAG7 and 2 WAG5's! It seems that either electrics are
in
>short supply over SR or then the newly electrified section till
Shoranur is
>missing electric patronage! 90% of frieght and passenger workings on
their
>electrified sections were on diesel power!
>
This is how it is done initially after electrification till the powers
are
redistributed, power & traffic movement mapping redone. Even on Delhi -
Ludhiana route, recently electrified, only the long distance
passenger/freight trains arriving Delhi on E. power and proceeding
towards
Amritsar/Jammu carry on electric power till Ludhiana. Rest are all
diesel.
Mind you, there is still no E. shed north of Delhi though Ludhiana will
be
the obvious choice. Iam sure it is a similar scene down south at the
moment
and Shoranur will be a strong contender for the new E. loco shed.
>Those are the observations for now...hope to put up the pages on the
net
>soon. Meanwhile please let me know if any my observations or readings
are
>incorrect!
>Thanks and Regards,
>Bharat Vohra
>
>
>______________________________________________________
>Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>
>
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Question for our American friends
Date: 28 May 1999 04:50:26 -0500
Friends,
What is the purpose of the tiny lamp facing the front near the
entry door of a contemporary American diesel ? It is located
on the buffer beam and is slightly raised from the frame
level. It seems too weak to illuminate the CBC if coupling in
the night. Also I am quite sure that the 'Comfort Cab' type
diesels never work long hood leading, yet this tiny lamp is
lit on most locos.
Apurva
From: Don Mills <>
Subject: Re: Track through Rajaji National Park
Date: 28 May 1999 05:21:40 -0500
Does anyone have the story on the Wildlife battle on Indian Rails.
This
story is what makes Indian Railfan page great. We in the US are so
happy
that one new line in being built in our country. On India Rail already
this morning I have seen the message of three new lines that are in the
future. Great Stuff from a great country. Don in WV
-----Original Message-----
From: VIRAF P.. MULLA <sncf@godrej.email
To: Dheeraj Sanghi <dheeraj@cse.email
Cc: irfca@cs.email <irfca@cs.email
Date: Friday, May 28, 1999 1:23 AM
Subject: Re: Track through Rajaji National Park
>
>> INTERNET WILDLIFE ACTIVISTS TARGET RAILWAYS
>
>Sorry guys but also as a lover of animals I am on the Wildlife
Activists
>side.
>
>Viraf
>
From: C.L.Zeni <>
Subject: Re: Question for our American friends
Date: 28 May 1999 05:37:58 -0500
Apurva Bahadur wrote:
>
> Friends,
>
> What is the purpose of the tiny lamp facing the front near the
> entry door of a contemporary American diesel ? It is located
> on the buffer beam and is slightly raised from the frame
> level. It seems too weak to illuminate the CBC if coupling in
> the night. Also I am quite sure that the 'Comfort Cab' type
> diesels never work long hood leading, yet this tiny lamp is
> lit on most locos.
That lamp is there to illuminate the passage between units. Keep in
mind that, other than in shunting duty, a unit working by itself here is
the exception rather than the rule. That light is actually a bit
irrelevant as all crewmen at night carry a light anyway, which itself is
always lit.
As for Comfort Cab units (known variously as widenoses, safety cabs and
widebodies on various railroads) running long hood forward, only one US
railroad does that with any regularity and that's Norfolk Southern,
whose predecessor roads (the Southern Rwy and the Norfolk & Western) has
a history of running long hood forward. With the widebodies, it's
pretty rare - I've only seen it a half dozen times or so. It's a safety
concern for visibility, for these engines are huge (22 metres or so) and
peering down that long hood with the radiator wings overhanging I'm told
is difficult at best. I've put some photos of Norfolk Southern's
engines in my webspace at <A HREF="http://www.mindspring.com/~clzeni/dumper/">http://www.mindspring.com/~clzeni/dumper/</A> in
an attempt to show those not familiar with them the size of these
units. 8562 is a spartan (standard) cab General Electric C39-8 running
long hood forward; 8840 is a C40-9 spartan cab with a crewman on the
front, showing the size; 9112 is C40-9 widenose meeting another train;
and 9253 is a C40-9 close up with its driver on the walkway, showing the
size of the engine - keep in mind that his feet are 2 metres off the
ground. They are BIG...
--
Craig Zeni - REPLY TO -->> clzeni at mindspring dot com
<A HREF="http://www.mindspring.com/~clzeni/index.html">http://www.mindspring.com/~clzeni/index.html</A>
From: C.L.Zeni <>
Subject: Re: Question for our American friends
Date: 28 May 1999 05:43:12 -0500
And of course after I sent my last message I find an even better photo
of long hood forward - NS 8819, again in
<A HREF="http://www.mindspring.com/~clzeni/dumper/">http://www.mindspring.com/~clzeni/dumper/</A>
Take care all,
--
Craig Zeni - REPLY TO -->> clzeni at mindspring dot com
<A HREF="http://www.mindspring.com/~clzeni/index.html">http://www.mindspring.com/~clzeni/index.html</A>
Kitty Haiku: Like a king or queen
I sit in regal splendor
Until I puke up.
From: Shanku Niyogi <>
Subject: Re: Longest halt on the IR (fwd)
Date: 28 May 1999 10:28:28 -0500
Is it "Indian Stereotype Day" on IRFCA? Can we all join in? :)
-----Original Message-----
From: hvc [mailto:champa@del3.email
Sent: Friday, May 28, 1999 2:42 AM
To: poras p.saklatwalla ; irfca@cs.email
Subject: Re: Longest halt on the IR (fwd)
>Again at Ambala for 50 mins and chandigarh for 1 hour that is from 3.10
am
>to 4.05 am. Correct me if I am, wrong. I was on Kalka mail in
November
>and was freezing to death in the cold at chandigarh. I could not sleep
>because some unthoughtful Babu Moshais were creating a hungama over tea
>and coffee and switched on the lights and were constantly shaking and
>pushing me on the lower side berth at 3.00 in the morning. So the best
>thing I did in these circumstances was to put on my jacket and get out
of
>the coziness of 3Ac and out on the platform with a cup of tea and a
>Marlboro ciggerete to keep warm. I wished that there was a steam loco
>some where so that I could stay warm, but alas !
>I think in these circumstances it wwas best to join the pandemonium
>creators on board ! Am I a true fellow passenger !
>
Ambala Cantt. schedule halt is 20 min. and Chandigarh is 30 min. but
then it
nearly always before time. In my dozens of journeys on this train, only
once
the train has been late when a diesel failed between Chandigarh and
Kalka,
no spares locos were available, a passenger train overtook us and our
struggling WDM 2 finally dragged us into KLK, two and a half hour behind
schedule!
The train has so much of lag time on a very fast line, not too many
stops
and over six hours to cover 268 Km. I have once footplated a goods train
here which took us to Ambala in 3 hours flat(198 Km), non stop at that.
The Babu Moshais are omnipresent on IR(and every bit of land) during
Puja
holidays. The foremost memory in the mind is them taking stroll on The
Simla
Mall with monkey caps and gloves etc. on in the months of October(!!!).
On my journey from Jodhpur to Jaiselmer by overnight passenger(MG
then) in the Autumn of '95 we had several for company in our coach.
In the morning I was woken up by loud shouts and screams of `Amar Shonar
Killa'(our Golden Fort) as the Jaiselmer Fort came into view. I was not
aware till then but was informed by the gentry that Satyajit Ray(or
somebody
else) had made a film which featured the Fort and had the same
title(perhaps). So Jaiselmer was `the place to go' that year!
On the brighter side of it, the Bongs are perhaps the most well read,
widely
travelled and cultured(self proclaimed) of the Indian communities. When
not
talking about the virtues of Bengal and Bengalis, they do make good
conversation and travel companions.
Harsh
From: hvc <>
Subject: Re: Longest halt on the IR
Date: 28 May 1999 12:20:17 -0500
>My guess for the long halt of the Kalka Mail at Delhi Jn runs along
>similar historical lines: that as electrification brought the Delhi
>arrival time earlier, a late evening departure time was retained to
>avoid a too early arrival in Kalka as well as allowing for recovery
>time.
Yes, recovery time is one important reason. After a long hard day's
travel
through the Gangetic plains, it surely needs it. Rarely does it arrive
at
1950 and it has to be at Kalka a little puntual to effect the connection
to
NG.
>Unkown to me, there was a set of cars attached to the
>train at Delhi and these, including the composite First/AC1 in which I
>was booked, were patiently waiting for the train to arrive from
>Calcutta.
That is not done anymore. In those days Simla was an important army
HQ(Northern Command) and lot of top brass used to travel by the mail but
now
that has ceased to exist. However some other trains still have this kind
of
arrangement like the Dehradun Bombay Exp. carries special AC coaches
between
Delhi and Kota.
>You might find the following times interesting,drawn from the short
>abstract section of the July 1953 Western Railway timetable:
>61Up Mail Calcutta-Kalka a. 21 20 d. 22 30
>62Dn Mail Kalka-Calcutta a. 6 50 d. 8 30
> The 1952 Central Railway gives a liitle more detail:
>Delhi Jn 22 25 6 48
>Ambala 3 18-3 46 2 12-2 31
>Kalka 6 20 0 30
>Regretfully, neither of these timetable gives Calcutta times.
>
Fascinating. Kalka dep. at 0030 and still arriving Delhi at 0648 is very
interesting.
>Re the current longest halt:
>Unfortunately the most recent timetable I have is the July-August 1998
>Cooks and this gives 2311 Mail at Delhi Jn as 19 50-22 45. However old
>friend 581 Ajmer-Purna ( now listed as Exp in Cooks ) is shown at
>Ratlam as 18 50-22 20 !
>
So MG didn't let down after all and came back with a bang. I have
checked
from the latest WR TT and the current timings for 581 at Ratlam are 1855
-
2230! So that becomes 3 Hrs. 25 Min. and it beats Kalka Mail hands down
by
30 Min.
However it is still a fast passenger only. The IR TAAG gives 9671(Ajmer
-
Khandwa) as Exp. but even that is still a fast passenger. This is funny
as
it does have a four digit No.
Planning to do this journey from Jaipur to Secuderabad again in
December.
Will give you the latest update then.
Harsh
From: hvc <>
Subject: Re: Trip to the south!
Date: 28 May 1999 12:30:16 -0500
>ease of use is outstanding, but then I am the wrong person to judge, I
am
used
>to seeing the worst product (NER or NFR tt I think).
>
Currently SER produces the worst in my opinion.
>This is true in the Mumbai Pune section also, 99 % of freight is diesel
hauled
>for some policy reason, even the yard master of Pune is at a loss to
explain why!
>
Apurva, No one really wants to stop a freight train for just a loco
change
if that can be avoided. Apart from loss of time, line/section blocking
it
also entails more meticulous planning of power distribution which is
much
more difficult in case of freighters as their movement is less planned.
Harsh
From: Steven Sliwka <>
Subject: Re: Question for our American friends
Date: 28 May 1999 13:54:40 -0500
Apurva
These lights are called 'Ditch Lights'. They are most commonly found on
diesels around the Canadien Border, but not always (especially with the
new
locomotives). They are more of a safety concern than anything. That
is,
people can see the approaching train quicker. Hope this helps.
Steve
----- Original Message -----
From: Apurva Bahadur <iti@vsnl.email
To: IRFCA <irfca@cs.email
Sent: Friday, May 28, 1999 1:50 PM
Subject: Question for our American friends
> Friends,
>
> What is the purpose of the tiny lamp facing the front near the
> entry door of a contemporary American diesel ? It is located
> on the buffer beam and is slightly raised from the frame
> level. It seems too weak to illuminate the CBC if coupling in
> the night. Also I am quite sure that the 'Comfort Cab' type
> diesels never work long hood leading, yet this tiny lamp is
> lit on most locos.
>
> Apurva
>
>
From: Steven Sliwka <>
Subject: Re: Question for our American friends
Date: 28 May 1999 13:56:18 -0500
Sorry, I misread your message. That's what happens when you read
200-250
Emails a day!
----- Original Message -----
From: Apurva Bahadur <iti@vsnl.email
To: IRFCA <irfca@cs.email
Sent: Friday, May 28, 1999 1:50 PM
Subject: Question for our American friends
> Friends,
>
> What is the purpose of the tiny lamp facing the front near the
> entry door of a contemporary American diesel ? It is located
> on the buffer beam and is slightly raised from the frame
> level. It seems too weak to illuminate the CBC if coupling in
> the night. Also I am quite sure that the 'Comfort Cab' type
> diesels never work long hood leading, yet this tiny lamp is
> lit on most locos.
>
> Apurva
>
>
From: Dr. M S M Saifullah <>
Subject: new member test
Date: 28 May 1999 17:57:55 -0500
From: Jayant S <>
Subject: Re: Schlieren bogie
Date: 28 May 1999 20:20:23 -0500
Dr. K.J. Walker wrote:
> The Schlieren bogie (note spelling -- it's the town in which
Swiss
> Car and Elevator Co. have their works) has been extensively used
outside
> India, especially in Switzerland. You can often see it in photos of
Swiss
> stock in the 1930s; Schlieren had been selling their combination of
integral
> coach and bogie for quite some years before IR approached them. (In
fact, IR
> knew of them back in the 1930s, and had considered their design then).
The
> leaf-spring variety, recognisable by the long spring under the
bolster, came
> to India with the prototype Schlieren cars in 1954-5, and went under
many of
> the earlier ICF coaches. I'm not sure how much input the Swiss had
into the
> later "all-coil" design, though. Certainly, IR documentation makes it
seem
> like an indigenous development!
From a drawing I saw long back, the bogies on the British
Midland Pullman rakes of the 1950's were all-coil, and had
a very similiar appearance to the current IR type. Interestingly,
the BR rakes were criticised for a somewhat rougher ride than
the (presumably) then standard leaf spring bogie on the
Mark I passenger stock.
Which makes me wonder: are RTR models of the Midland Pullman
available ? And could they make a possible source for model
IR-type passenger wheelsets ?
--
JS
--
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: Trip to the south!
Date: 29 May 1999 02:22:20 -0500
> Currently SER produces the worst in my opinion.
The SER tt is the only tt amongst the 9 (+ 1 taag) which lists the
station
codes in the 'firm quota' section.
> Apurva, No one really wants to stop a freight train for just a loco
change
> if that can be avoided. Apart from loss of time, line/section blocking
it
> also entails more meticulous planning of power distribution which is
much
> more difficult in case of freighters as their movement is less planned
Pune Mumbai freight train change the diesel locos often. Please remember
that
for a freighter from South India Pune is the only decent shed after
Guntakal,
hence these powers are sent to the shed for trip service, while the
Kalyan or
Pune locos continue hauling the rake towards Mumbai. The newly
introduced WDG
2s from Pune shed haul trains from Ghorpadi yard (near Pune loco shed)
to
Karjat yard at the bottom of the Bhore ghats. You can invariably catch
the WDG
2 pair between 1400 - 1530 hours near Shivajinagar on their return
journey.
Pune - Mumbai has gone from a 100 % electric hauled section to 100 %
diesel
hauled. Lack of DC power is not the reason, something to do with the
increase
of the weight of the average rake in this section. Will pose this
question to
the relevant officers when I meet them.
Apurva