IRFCA Mailing List Archive
Messages 8481 - 8500
From: raymond/Polaris <>
Subject: Re: Train Names
Date: 14 Sep 1999 21:50:01 -0500
Shankar,
I just saw the TAAG where the Delhi Katihar / New Jalpaiguri Mahananda
Express
(another river name there !!) is now called Sikkim Mahananda Express. So
they
did squeeze that one in somehow.
Regards
Raymond
From: raymond/Polaris <>
Subject: Re: IR train names and their significance
Date: 14 Sep 1999 22:15:13 -0500
Dear Sundar,
The Minar and Konark Expresses were basically the same train with a
board change
at Secunderabad. Both started off being superfast, then just the Konark
became
non-SF, then after a couple of years the Minar followed suit.
The Minar's new avatar is the Hussain Sagar Express, while the Konark is
now a
strictly CSTM BBS train, with the Railways trying their best to make the
timings
at SC as inconvenient as possible.
Actually, all those Vasai Road - Diva passing trains also try their best
at
inconvenient timings so that they do not take on too many Mumbaikars
!!!. Do any
other cases come to mind about inconvenient timings at intermediate
important
stations.
Regards
Raymond
From: raymond/Polaris <>
Subject: Re: IR train names and their significance
Date: 14 Sep 1999 22:21:54 -0500
Shankar,
Brindavan used to, and still does, connect with some train to Mysore.
Brindavan
Gardens are below Krishnarajasagar Dam near Mysore.
The Brindavan express is another one of those innumerable trains which
have
become slower over the years. Maybe even lost a little character !!
Regards
Raymond
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: IR Clipart
Date: 14 Sep 1999 23:27:32 -0500
WOW - Our own cliparts - I am delighted !
I would love to see the DC locos here as well.
Apurva
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: train numbers -- Konkan railway
Date: 14 Sep 1999 23:56:34 -0500
> I think only the CR uses four digit numbers on some passenger trains
in
> the Jabalpur area.
Shankar, are you from Pune or not ? 1551, 1553, 1321, 1617, 1547, 1326
are
all passenger trains from / to Pune on the CR to Daund, Purna, Karjat,
Mumbai etc. We also have 3 digit trains also like 327 Dn. to Wadi and
329
Dn. to Wadi/ Hyderbad.
Apurva
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: Train Names
Date: 15 Sep 1999 00:00:11 -0500
> If you take Goa,Daman & Diu (the earlier annotation before Goa
attained
> statehood), you have the Goa Exp between Nizamuddin and Vasco.
Goa Express does not touch the state of Goa yet. Only after the Briganza
ghat is
opened for passenger traffic. That date is still very uncertain.
I am going to Goa during Nov by 103 Mandovi Express (CSTM - MAO
intercity) and
returning by 2779 Goa Express (from Londa to Pune). I would find out the
details first
hand then.
Apurva
>
>
> I think there is an Arunachal Exp somewhere.
>
> UP has some trains in the old names: Kalinga-Utkal Exp, Awadh Exp,
> Bundelkhand exp, and the more reason Uttarkhand exp.
>
> W. Bengal does not have any, but Uttar Bangla Exp and Darjeeling Mail
> come close.
>
> I'm sure I 've heard of at least one somewhere to somewhere Sikkim
Exp.
> introduced somewhere. There was even a discussion in this forum about
a
> rail link to Sikkim: is it in the offing, if now, why Sikkim Exp etc.
>
> Cheers.
>
> Shankar
>
> raymond/Polaris@polaris.email wrote:
> >
> > Dear gang,
> >
> > My two bits...
> >
> > Poorva Express is just the Hindi translation of the earlier name -
Eastern
> > Express - part of the trioka of trains, Eastern, Western and
Southern expresses,
> > all of which have been translated to Hindi.
> >
> > Gondwana Express - I asked my dad, who is a big honcho geologist
(he's 88 now).
> > He said that the continental drift was discovered by a geologist
called Hughes
> > (of the Geological Survey of India) back in the 1850's after he
compared fossils
> > from India, Africa and Australia. He named this large land mass
"Gondwanaland"
> > after the Gonds, who still inhabit tribal areas in the area around
Nagpur. So
> > Gondwana and Nagpur - bang on.
> >
> > Mangala Lakshadweep Express - must be a lot of truth as to have a
train named
> > after each Indian State - remember our debate about Andaman Express.
Also
> > Calicut (Kozhikode) was the adminstrative capital of Lakshadweep (in
those days
> > when they were the Laccadive, Minicoy and Amandivi (?) Islands).
> >
> > Does any of you know of where these states "have" their trains :
> >
> > Kashmir
> > Rajasthan
> > Uttar Pradesh
> > Bihar
> > West Bengal
> > Sikkim
> > Mizoram
> > Nagaland
> > Orissa (or will Utkal do ?)
> > Madhya Pradesh
> > Pondicherry
> > Dadra and Nagar Haveli
> > Daman and Diu
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > Raymond
From: SHRINIVAS V. JOSHI <>
Subject: Unsubscribe (Please do not send any rly messages) (fwd)
Date: 15 Sep 1999 00:44:33 -0500
Hi!
I simply wonder how this enclosed message came to me. Dear, Sanyal T.H.
will you please look into it? Is it from your employer? And the employer
doesn't want all the rly. messages to come to you.
Bye,
Shrinivas
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From: STEEL DIVN <censteel@bom3.email
To: "SHRINIVAS V. JOSHI " <smg@godrej.email
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 10:39:50 +0500
Subject: Unsubscribe (Please do not send any rly messages)
At 02:17 PM 14-09-99 +0530, you wrote:
>Hi!
>
>On Fri, 10 Sep 1999, T.H.Sanyal. wrote:
>
>> Did they also have to divert some long-distance trains away from VT,
>> or did the expansion of VT Main take care of that?
>
>All the main line trains originating from CST ,continued to do so
>during the remodelling.
>
>> I remember Thana locals via Harbour branch that would switch to
>> the through lines at Kurla, therefore not stop at Vidyavihar,
>> then switch to local lines at Ghatkopar, and then run all stop to
>> Thana. Running these trains had a serious detrimental effect on
>> line capacity. Do these trains still run, or are they discontinued?
>
>Yes, that's was the case some years ago. Now there are no harbour
trains
>coming & going out of Thane.
>
>> Isn't there a foot overbridge across Veer Nariman Road straight out
>> of Churchgate?
>
>There is a foot over bridge , not exactly from Churchgate station exit
>but it is some distance away towards Purohit Hotel side. But this one
>hardly used by pedestrians, as a subway serves the purpose of crossing
the
>streets.
>
>Bye,
>
>Shrinivas
>
>
>
>
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Blue Flag in the USA was Danger Signs et al
Date: 15 Sep 1999 01:18:51 -0500
> Interestingly, in the USA the caution board or lamp that is placed by
> the locomotive and the tail of the train that is stabled for
maintenance
> is Blue in color.
AFAIK that is known 'blue flagging' a loco - this loco/ rake is not to
be
moved, also the blue flag/ lamp is to be removed by the same person who
placed it in the first place.
I do not think there is any equivalent of this on the IR. The sign on
Avinash's website is a red lamp placed by the C&W department when the
train
is being watered. This sign should over ride any starter, guard signals
that
may prompt the crew to start the train.
On the IR if a rake is being stabled for a long period, I have observed
that
junta just uncouples the brake hoses to prevent it being moved (also
stones
placed on both sides of the wheel !). Some freight wagon in a siding
often
are padlocked with a chain to the rail to prevent unintended movement
(rolling away ?).
Apurva
From: Shanku Niyogi <>
Subject: Re: IR Clipart
Date: 15 Sep 1999 01:30:27 -0500
Thanks, Apurva. Regarding DC locos, I have just put a new batch of
clipart
on the page, including:
- WDM2 in Rajdhani livery
- WAP1
- WCM5
These should also be slightly better quality - I'm getting better at
weathering and other techniques as I go along.
In coming days/weeks, I hope to create a lot more of these clip images.
I'm
building them all to the same scale, so that (hopefully) I can combine
them
to create an animated screensaver.
-----Original Message-----
From: Apurva Bahadur [mailto:iti@vsnl.email
Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 1999 11:28 PM
To: Shanku Niyogi
Cc: 'irfca@cs.email
Subject: Re: IR Clipart
WOW - Our own cliparts - I am delighted !
I would love to see the DC locos here as well.
Apurva
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Inconvinient timings
Date: 15 Sep 1999 01:45:04 -0500
> Do any
> other cases come to mind about inconvenient timings at intermediate
important
> stations.
Why should we discuss only intermediate stations ? There are many trains
that leave
and arrive at inconvenient times at the start / end stations as well. I
guess any
arrival/ departure between 0000 hrs and 0400 hrs is inconvenient. Likes
of SC -
Rajamudhry Shatabdi which arrives at Rajamudhry at 0145 hrs (not sure) ?
Also the Himsagar Exp after a bone tiring journey arrives at CAPE at
0130 ? I do not
have the tts at hand but that is what I seem to recollect. In a small
place like
Kanyakumari, arriving at 0130 means staying on the platform/ waiting
room till the
morning. From Pune the 1601 passenger to Manmad departs at 0110 hrs. But
nobody
complains as this carries the late shift workers back to Daund. Usually
the rake is
stabled on pf 6 after 2300 hrs and junta just goes to sleep right not to
be bothered
with inconvenient departure timings.
The thumbrule of convinient arrival/ depature timings (< 0000 hrs and >
0400 hrs)
seems to be followed in CSTM , there is no traffic between those hours.
Apurva
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Regional names of trains
Date: 15 Sep 1999 02:02:57 -0500
There is a 1266/68 Rewa - Bhopal (Habibganj) express which works via
Bina
(1266) or via Jabalpur - Itarsi (1268) depending on the day of the week.
We happened to hitch a ride on this train from Katni to Itarsi in 1997
when our regular train got canceled due to derailment at Maihar.
What surprised me was that the entire station referred to this train as
Rewanchal express (after goddess/ river Rewa ?)
This was utter chaos, we were bone tired, in a shock and panic to know
that our comfortable AC berth on the Mahanagari Exp to Mumbai would not
arrive at all, it was raining, slippery, the Katni platform was bursting
with stranded passengers AND the power failed (it was night). On top of
that everyone I talked to spoke of the Rewanchal express that we could
easily take to Itarsi to attempt catching another train to Mumbai.
This was one time that my study and knowledge of the timetable fell
short.
Even today the tt does not make any mention of the name to this 1266/68
express. So maybe this is a local name that the CR management in Mumbai
does not know. Maybe Jabalpur niwasi Avinash has an explanation ?
Apurva
From: Anand Krishnan <>
Subject: Re: IR train names and their significance
Date: 15 Sep 1999 02:40:18 -0500
Hi all,
>ISLAND EXP (Remember, it fell into the backwaters a few years ago?)
>after Wellington Island in Cochin. (What is the other end point for
this
>train?)
This initially was between Bangalore and cochin. Then this was extended
upto
Cape. So this is now the 6525/6526 B'lore-Cape Exp. Now another train
runs
between SBC and Quilon. Both these trains run via the new
SBC-Hosur-Dharmapuri-Salem route.
>MINAR EXP (Bombay-Secunderabad) after the Charminar in Hyderabad. I
>still remember, when the train was introduced in the late 1970s, the
>name board used to have an outline of the Charminar painted on it.
Now the train name is defunct but the minaret paintings carried over to
the
Charminar Exp. !!!
Kind regards,
Anand
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From: Suresh Mutuswami <>
Subject: [Off-topic
Date: 15 Sep 1999 02:55:17 -0500
On Tue, 14 Sep 1999 ranand@us.email wrote:
> Coromandel actually comes from "Kari Manal" which
> means black sand in Tamil. I think there are some famous
> black sand beaches along the east coast of India.
>
> R. Anand
Anand, I checked the Encyclopaedia Brittanica, and it says that
"Coromandel" comes from "Chozha Mandalam" (or Realm of the Chozhas) as I
originally mentioned. But it also mentions that "Coromandel coast"
refers
specifically to the southeastern coast of India. So, my contention that
it referred to the entire east coast of India is wrong.
Suresh
From: Joydeep Dutta <>
Subject: Re: Agniveena Exp.(was Re: IR train names and their significance).
Date: 15 Sep 1999 03:19:13 -0500
Gang
Thanks for bringing the Good old 3035/3036 Agniveena Express (actually
Howrah Asansol Express ) into the discussion. Most of you are unawre the
train was first started with an intention of a fast service between
Howrah
and Asansol with the first stoppage at Durgapur.
It was mainly intended for Durgapur passengers. It was originally
thought to
be named as Bidhan Express in memory of Dr. Bidhan Roy who had bulit up
the
industrial hinterland around Durgapur. But somehow it was named it
Howrah
Asansol Express. Travelling people still call it "BIDHAN" and some of
them
wont recognize it if you say Agniveena.
When I first saw the train in 1976 as a kid I remember still that it had
a
neon nameplate and it was glowing beautifully.
Joydeep
?From: ?Harsh Vardhan? ?hvc@vsnl.email
?Reply-To: ?Harsh Vardhan? ?hvc@vsnl.email
?To: ?Shanku Niyogi? ?shankun@microsoft.email ?IRFCA? ?irfca@cs.email
?Subject: Agniveena Exp.(was Re: IR train names and their significance).
?Date: Tue, 14 Sep 1999 23:16:03 +0530
?
?Oh, uh, uh! Caught on the wrong foot!
?Didn't know about this at all.
?
?It is appropriately named then all right. Thanks for the info.
?
?Harsh
?
?P.S. Is Agniveena the name of some character in the book?
?
?-----Original Message-----
?From: Shanku Niyogi ?shankun@microsoft.email
?To: 'Harsh Vardhan' ?hvc@vsnl.email IRFCA ?irfca@cs.email
?Date: Wednesday, September 15, 1999 8:10 AM
?Subject: RE: IR train names and their significance
?
?
? ?Harsh,
? ?
? ?Agniveena was the first major (and, by far, the best) work written by
Kazi
? ?Nazrul Islam. In some circles, it's considered the second most
important
? ?work of recent Bengali literature, after the Gitanjali (which also
has a
? ?train named after it).
? ?
? ?My guess is, they named the train after it to commemmorate Nazrul's
100th
? ?birth anniversary. They had a lot of festivities there, the PM
visited,
?etc.
? ?
? ?-----Original Message-----
? ?From: Harsh Vardhan [mailto:hvc@vsnl.email
? ?Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 1999 1:56 AM
? ?To: IRFCA
? ?Subject: Re: IR train names and their significance
? ?
? ?
? ?Agniveena - wicked ?
? ?Agniveena - Kazi Nazrul Islam ??
? ?
? ?Literally Agniveena is Agni=fire + veena=a sitar like musical
instrument
? ?which again makes no sense. Perhaps it is a name of one of Indra's
Apsaras
? ?as is so for many of these complex titles?!!?
? ?
? ?DRM Asansol better have a good explanation for this weird name!!!
? ?
? ?Harsh
? ?
? ?-----Original Message-----
? ?From: Shanku Niyogi ?shankun@microsoft.email
? ?To: 'Jishnu Mukerji' ?jis@fpk.email Vijay Balasubramanian
? ??VBalasubramanian@softrax.email
? ?Cc: 'Apurva Bahadur' ?iti@vsnl.email 'irfca@cs.email
?irfca@cs.email
? ?'pushkar_apte@hotmail.email ?pushkar_apte@hotmail.email
? ?Date: Tuesday, September 14, 1999 4:18 PM
? ?Subject: RE: IR train names and their significance
? ?
? ?
? ??What a wicked name for a train! Probably done as a tribute for the
birth
? ??centennial of Kazi Nazrul Islam? Fitting, given that he was from the
? ??Barddhaman area.
? ??
? ??-----Original Message-----
? ??From: Jishnu Mukerji [mailto:jis@fpk.email
? ??Sent: Monday, September 13, 1999 12:50 PM
? ??To: Vijay Balasubramanian
? ??Cc: 'Apurva Bahadur'; 'irfca@cs.email 'pushkar_apte@hotmail.email
? ??Subject: Re: IR train names and their significance
? ??
? ??
? ??Speaking of train names, I just discovered in the latest Newmans
? ??Abstract Timetable that the Howrah - Asansol Express is now called
? ???Howrah - Asansol Agniveena Express?!
? ??
? ??--
? ??
? ??Jishnu.
? ??
? ?
?
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From: Vijay Balasubramanian <>
Subject: Re: Train Names
Date: 15 Sep 1999 06:26:14 -0500
The South Bihar Exp. is one of few trains to employ the
Asansol-Adra-Chandil-Tata
section. It goes via Kiul-Jha
Jha-Asansol-Burnpur-Adra(reverses)-Chandil-Kandra.
At Tatanagar, a portion of it is detached and goes to Raurkela. I have
traveled on
this once from Chittaranjan to Tatanagar. It was WP-hauled till Asansol
and
then
(mercifully :) ) a WAM4 took over.
Vijay
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jishnu Mukerji [SMTP:jis@fpk.email
> Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 1999 5:36 PM
> To: shankie@emirates.email
> Cc: raymond/Polaris@polaris.email irfca@cs.email
> Subject: Re: Train Names
>
> S.Shankar wrote:
> >
> > Hello,
> > I do not know about the others, but for Bihar, there was a North
Bihar
> > Exp in the 70s, which is now discontinued. THere is still a South
Bihar
> > Exp: I will check on the end points later. Shanku?
>
> Patna to Tatanagar via Gaya - Gomoh - Dhanbad(?) the last time I
looked
>
> > I think there is an Arunachal Exp somewhere.
>
> Yes, on NFR. Guwahati to Merkong Selek or some such along the North
bank
> of the Brahmaputra I think.
>
> > W. Bengal does not have any, but Uttar Bangla Exp and Darjeeling
Mail
> > come close.
>
> There used to be an East Bengal Mail and an East Bengal Express from
> Calcutta (Sealdah) to then East Pakistan.
>
> Before Farakka Barrage and the Assam BG Link, (but after partition and
> the construction of the Assam MG Link) there used to be a train called
> North Bengal Express that ran from Sealdah to Maharajpur Ghat. One
then
> crossed the Ganga on a ferry and got on the MG North Bank Express from
> Manihari Ghat to Siliguri via Katihar, Barsoi, Kishanganj, Naxalbari.
>
>
>
>
> Jishnu
From: John Lacey <>
Subject: Re: Anyone have these Inter-Station Distances, please?
Date: 15 Sep 1999 06:39:11 -0500
lwebber@planetmail.email wrote:
> I AM MISSING DISTANCES FOR THE FOLLOWING RAILWAYS,GAUGES:-
>
NEFR,MG,Domohani 37,( Maynaguri Rd 43 )Bhottepatti 53,Changrabandha62
> NEFR,MG,Alipurduar Jn.,Alipurduar Court 4,Alipurduar6,Baneswar16,New
Cooch Behar25,Cooch Behar29,Dawan Hat39,Bhetaguri43,Dinhata College Halt
(ND) ,Dinhata 52,Falimari (Fallmarl)59,New Gitaldaha Jn.64,Abutara
Halt..,Bamanhat75
Source: NEFR No45 I October 1981
-John Lacey
From: Avinash Pandey <>
Subject: Re: My IR pictures website
Date: 15 Sep 1999 06:44:40 -0500
Hi everyone:
Thanks for taking the time to check my site out
and also thanks for your valuable comments and suggestions.
For now, this is my small collection.
A note about the NG locomotive and such:
I read the type & number of the NG steam loco from
the buffer beam but wasn't sure of it as the loco had been
re-painted. Anyhow, talking of Satpura railways, there
is still a network of NG rail lines around the Satpura
mountain ranges. These mountain ranges are south of
the Narmada and qlso on the south of Jabalpur. The ride
from Jabalpur to Gondia on the NG Satpura express is
fabulus, especially after the monsoons or in the winter
(its very very cold in the mountains!) as the train rides
through the treacherous route. I did this ride long ago,
(and still remember it) when the Satpura Express was
hauled by a steam locomotive (maybe be the same one
on display at KGP!). These days diesel locomotives
haul express and passenger trains on this route.
I've "heard" (may not be true!) that conversion
of this NG line to BG has started (it was promised
a while ago when Jaffer Sharif was Railway Minister).
If and when that happens then south-bound trains (like
the Ganga-Kaveri Express) may not have to go via Itarsi.
Next time I visit Jabalpur (perhaps Feb), I'll try to get
some pictures of the NG trains.
Avinash
Apurva Bahadur wrote:
> What a great site ! Wonder where the NG loco came from to KGP, is
> there a NG line near by ? As far as the type and number is concerned
> (woh Buffer beam pe likha heh mere Yaar) this is # 32 class ZE
> power, Typically the Barsi Light Railway and the Satpura railways
> were famous for using this loco. But what is the KGP connection ?
> Maybe Satpura railways = SER and KGP is the HQ of SER.
>
> Apurva
>
> Avinash Pandey wrote:
>
> > Hi everyone:
> >
> > I've posted my humble collection of IR pictures on the web.
> > The website is:
> >
> > <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Congress/3793/irpix.html">http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Congress/3793/irpix.html</A>
> >
> > I welcome your questions, comments, suggestions about the
> > pictures or the website. It would be great if the person who is
> > maintining the current active IRFCA site
> > (<A HREF="http://www.trainweb.com/indiarail/irfca.htm)">http://www.trainweb.com/indiarail/irfca.htm)</A>
> > can add a link to my site.
> >
> > Thanks
> > Avinash
> >
> > --
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > Avinash Pandey ~ Phone: 650 607 3717
> > Oracle Corporation ~ Fax : 650 506 7800
> > 500 Oracle Parkway 3OP7 ~ Email: apandey@us.email
> > Redwood Shores CA 94065 ~ URL : www.oracle.com
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > "Life has no obligation to meet your expectations." -Osho
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Avinash Pandey ~ Phone: 650 607 3717
Oracle Corporation ~ Fax : 650 506 7800
500 Oracle Parkway 3OP7 ~ Email: apandey@us.email
Redwood Shores CA 94065 ~ URL : www.oracle.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Life has no obligation to meet your expectations." -Osho
From: John Lacey <>
Subject: Re: The old 81/82 and 103/104
Date: 15 Sep 1999 07:21:39 -0500
Jishnu Mukerji wrote:
>
> Vijay Balasubramanian wrote:
> >
> > The 81/82 AC Deluxe exp. used to be tri-weekly and go via
> > Varanasi-Gaya - on two days a week, this would all the way to
Amritsar
> > and be terminted at New Delhi on the other day. The 103/104
> > AC exp. used to be biweekly and go via Mirzapur-Patna - once
> > a week this would go till Amritsar. Later on, the frequency of
> > the 103/104 was increased to four days a week, and the extensions
> > till Amritsar where withdrawn. That still doesn't make sense to me
> > since the 81/82 Exp. was the only train to connect stations on the
> > Amritsar-Ambala-Delhi route with stations on the MGS-Dhanbad-Asansol
> > route. Now, this link has gone. Have to dig into my old TTs to
find out
> > the exact schedules.
>
> All the following is from vague memory of times long gone.
>
> Originally back in the early 60s there was 81up/82dn bi-weekly
> Airconditioned Express via Grand Chord. At this time this train did
not
> run via Varanasi. Also in the early 60s for a period, this train
shared
> rakes with the New Delhi - Madras AC Express. This led to significant
> delays because the New Delhi - Madras AC Express was notorious for
> getting delayed. These rakes were pre-integral coach rakes constructed
> at Jessops and finished at the Kharagpur workshop, if memory serves me
> right. These days it was a 22 hour or so train.
>
> Then around '63/'64 or so came the integral coach rakes. When these
> rakes were introduced, 81/82 became tri-weekly, and the rake link with
> Madras AC Express was broken and replaced by a link with the Bombay AC
> express, including the weekly jaunt to Amritsar. Even at this point
> 81/82 was Steam hauled all the way. These integral rakes had a neat
two
> car airconditioned kitchen cum restaurant car combos. It was a lot of
> fun having dinner in the restaurant those days.
>
> Then around 1968 or so, I think a little before the Howrah Rajdhani
was
> introduced, the weekly via Patna 103/104 was introduced, and I believe
> for a period 103/104 ran in the same slot west of MGS, and ran in
> different slots east of Asansol. Naturally 81/82 was about two hours
> faster than 103/104. Then after the introduction of the Rajdhani
someone
> came up with the idea that 81/82 and 103/104 could use the same slot
> east of Asansol if 81/82 could be routed via Varanasi, slowing it down
> some, and if 103/104 were speeded up some, around this time 103/104
was
> bi-weekly and 81/82 was triweekly, and of course Rajdhani when
> introduced was bi-weekly, thus covering all seven days of the week
with
> a Deluxe train.
>
> Then progressively the frequency of 103/104 (and of 101/102 Rajdhani)
> was increased, and finally 105/106 Rajdhani via Patna was introduced
> etc.
>
> Please do take the dates in this message with a pinch of salt since I
> don't exactly remember. But the general alignment of the schedules is
> more accurate I think.
>
> Jishnu.
> --
> Jishnu Mukerji
> Systems Architect
>
> Email: jis@fpk.email Hewlett-Packard EIAL,
> Tel: +1 973 443 7528 300 Campus Drive, 2E-62,
> Fax: +1 973 443 7422 Florham Park, NJ 07932, USA.
1980 Trains at a glance gives:
Ex Howrah
101 Rajdhani 17.00 1,5 ar New Delhi 09.30
81 AC Exp 09.55 2,3 New Delhi (09.35-11.15) 6 Amritsar (19.05)
103 AC Exp 09.55 4 via Patna to New Delhi, 7 Amritsar
Speaking of the AC restaurant-kitchen combos, for how long did the AC1
Lounge-Kitchen in the Rajdhani rake last?
-John Lacey
From: Vijay Balasubramanian <>
Subject: Re: Agniveena Exp.(was Re: IR train names and their significance) .
Date: 15 Sep 1999 07:58:43 -0500
I do remember seeing this train in a late 70s timetable. It had two
halts -
Durgapur and Raniganj. Was the first train to skip Barddhaman and halt
at Durgapur.
I spotted it once at Howrah with its orange-cream-livery and WAP2 of
the
same color - what a sight for sore eyes!! Somehow this WAP2 landed up
at
Allahabad once and took charge of our Bombay-Howrah Mail.
Vijay
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Joydeep Dutta [SMTP:joydeepdutta@hotmail.email
> Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 1999 6:19 AM
> To: hvc@vsnl.email
> Cc: irfca@cs.email
> Subject: Re: Agniveena Exp.(was Re: IR train names and their
> significance).
>
>
> Gang
> Thanks for bringing the Good old 3035/3036 Agniveena Express (actually
> Howrah Asansol Express ) into the discussion. Most of you are unawre
the
> train was first started with an intention of a fast service between
Howrah
>
> and Asansol with the first stoppage at Durgapur.
> It was mainly intended for Durgapur passengers. It was originally
thought
> to
> be named as Bidhan Express in memory of Dr. Bidhan Roy who had bulit
up
> the
> industrial hinterland around Durgapur. But somehow it was named it
Howrah
> Asansol Express. Travelling people still call it "BIDHAN" and some of
them
>
> wont recognize it if you say Agniveena.
> When I first saw the train in 1976 as a kid I remember still that it
had a
>
> neon nameplate and it was glowing beautifully.
> Joydeep
>
> ?From: ?Harsh Vardhan? ?hvc@vsnl.email
> ?Reply-To: ?Harsh Vardhan? ?hvc@vsnl.email
> ?To: ?Shanku Niyogi? ?shankun@microsoft.email ?IRFCA?
?irfca@cs.email
> ?Subject: Agniveena Exp.(was Re: IR train names and their
significance).
> ?Date: Tue, 14 Sep 1999 23:16:03 +0530
> ?
> ?Oh, uh, uh! Caught on the wrong foot!
> ?Didn't know about this at all.
> ?
> ?It is appropriately named then all right. Thanks for the info.
> ?
> ?Harsh
> ?
> ?P.S. Is Agniveena the name of some character in the book?
> ?
> ?-----Original Message-----
> ?From: Shanku Niyogi ?shankun@microsoft.email
> ?To: 'Harsh Vardhan' ?hvc@vsnl.email IRFCA ?irfca@cs.email
> ?Date: Wednesday, September 15, 1999 8:10 AM
> ?Subject: RE: IR train names and their significance
> ?
> ?
> ? ?Harsh,
> ? ?
> ? ?Agniveena was the first major (and, by far, the best) work written
by
> Kazi
> ? ?Nazrul Islam. In some circles, it's considered the second most
> important
> ? ?work of recent Bengali literature, after the Gitanjali (which also
has
> a
> ? ?train named after it).
> ? ?
> ? ?My guess is, they named the train after it to commemmorate Nazrul's
> 100th
> ? ?birth anniversary. They had a lot of festivities there, the PM
visited,
> ?etc.
> ? ?
> ? ?-----Original Message-----
> ? ?From: Harsh Vardhan [mailto:hvc@vsnl.email
> ? ?Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 1999 1:56 AM
> ? ?To: IRFCA
> ? ?Subject: Re: IR train names and their significance
> ? ?
> ? ?
> ? ?Agniveena - wicked ?
> ? ?Agniveena - Kazi Nazrul Islam ??
> ? ?
> ? ?Literally Agniveena is Agni=fire + veena=a sitar like musical
> instrument
> ? ?which again makes no sense. Perhaps it is a name of one of Indra's
> Apsaras
> ? ?as is so for many of these complex titles?!!?
> ? ?
> ? ?DRM Asansol better have a good explanation for this weird name!!!
> ? ?
> ? ?Harsh
> ? ?
> ? ?-----Original Message-----
> ? ?From: Shanku Niyogi ?shankun@microsoft.email
> ? ?To: 'Jishnu Mukerji' ?jis@fpk.email Vijay Balasubramanian
> ? ??VBalasubramanian@softrax.email
> ? ?Cc: 'Apurva Bahadur' ?iti@vsnl.email 'irfca@cs.email
> ?irfca@cs.email
> ? ?'pushkar_apte@hotmail.email ?pushkar_apte@hotmail.email
> ? ?Date: Tuesday, September 14, 1999 4:18 PM
> ? ?Subject: RE: IR train names and their significance
> ? ?
> ? ?
> ? ??What a wicked name for a train! Probably done as a tribute for the
> birth
> ? ??centennial of Kazi Nazrul Islam? Fitting, given that he was from
the
> ? ??Barddhaman area.
> ? ??
> ? ??-----Original Message-----
> ? ??From: Jishnu Mukerji [mailto:jis@fpk.email
> ? ??Sent: Monday, September 13, 1999 12:50 PM
> ? ??To: Vijay Balasubramanian
> ? ??Cc: 'Apurva Bahadur'; 'irfca@cs.email
'pushkar_apte@hotmail.email
> ? ??Subject: Re: IR train names and their significance
> ? ??
> ? ??
> ? ??Speaking of train names, I just discovered in the latest Newmans
> ? ??Abstract Timetable that the Howrah - Asansol Express is now called
> ? ???Howrah - Asansol Agniveena Express?!
> ? ??
> ? ??--
> ? ??
> ? ??Jishnu.
> ? ??
> ? ?
> ?
>
> ______________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>
From: Jishnu Mukerji <>
Subject: Re: Blue Flag in the USA was Danger Signs et al
Date: 15 Sep 1999 08:07:05 -0500
Apurva Bahadur wrote:
>
> > Interestingly, in the USA the caution board or lamp that is placed
by
> > the locomotive and the tail of the train that is stabled for
maintenance
> > is Blue in color.
>
> AFAIK that is known 'blue flagging' a loco - this loco/ rake is not to
be
> moved, also the blue flag/ lamp is to be removed by the same person
who
> placed it in the first place.
> I do not think there is any equivalent of this on the IR. The sign on
> Avinash's website is a red lamp placed by the C&W department when the
train
> is being watered. This sign should over ride any starter, guard
signals that
> may prompt the crew to start the train.
My point was that in the USA when a train is being watered etc. It is
first
blue-flagged. For example when the Amtrak Southwest Chief is serviced at
Albequerque NM, it is blue-flagged, even though it is just at a longish
stop on
the way to LA/Chicago. This train is watered, cleaned, diesel added to
the loco
occasionally, windows washed sometimes etc. at Albequerque. Just as in
the case
of red lamp on IR, A blue flag overrides everything else.
> On the IR if a rake is being stabled for a long period, I have
observed that
> junta just uncouples the brake hoses to prevent it being moved (also
stones
> placed on both sides of the wheel !). Some freight wagon in a siding
often
> are padlocked with a chain to the rail to prevent unintended movement
> (rolling away ?).
In the US when a rake is stabled, hand brakes must be applied
throughout.
Jishnu.