IRFCA Mailing List Archive
Messages 9241 - 9260
From: SHRINIVAS V. JOSHI <>
Subject: Re: Track Quality & platform height...
Date: 28 Oct 1999 00:57:12 -0500
Hi!
On Thu, 28 Oct 1999, Apurva Bahadur wrote:
> The news I have heard is that in the suburban Mumbai section, the slow
> tracks have had their bed height has been increased to cope with the
> water logging. So the EMU entry height above the platform has become
> excessive.
This is true. This year, not much problem as far as water logging is
concerned but then we had no great rains as well , which normally flood
the tracks if combined with high tide at the same hour.
> Many ladies are seen sitting the door of the EMU to get down
> on the platform as a jump is difficult. This may be an exaggeration by
> the person who told me this news but Mumbai gang could verify the
truth
> easily.
This is not at all correct. Ladies too can get down properly, only
initial
days after the track is elevated one feels something odd while getting
off
the train. Then one gets used to it. But again many such platforms too
are
given additional elevation to bring back the normalcy. We Mumbaikars
adopt
such frequent changes very easily, without much murmur!
Bye,
Shrinivas
From: Rajeev Goyal <>
Subject: what about IR services ?
Date: 28 Oct 1999 01:30:50 -0500
Gentlemen,
I recently joined this group.
I found nobody is discussing about the services which should be made
available
by Indian Railways to the passengers in lieu of the fare paid. I am sure
all of
us are also travelling by train and are equally aware of the
deteriorating
conditions.
6 months back, when I spoke to a TTC in sleeper class compartment, he
told me
that they can not do anything against the daily passengers as they beat
them up
later on.
Anybody from this fanclub would like to address these kind of problems.
Thanks,.......Rajeev
From: bhanu prakash kanneganti <>
Subject: about wdg4 engines trails.
Date: 28 Oct 1999 02:02:49 -0500
top all members.
recently a article has been published in telugu local paper eenadu that
there were four trails conducted on wdg4 engines iwhich were imported
from usa. they were tried with 58 wagons.two trails were conducted in
karnataka and two in
andhra pradesh.it seems all the four trails wwre
utter failure.it was reported in the papaer that the engines could not
move at all in the four places.and eventually they were pulled by wdg2
engines .the papaer reported the high cost were
useless and loss of money for nation.
from
kbp.
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From: Anand Krishnan <>
Subject: Re: IRFCA mailing list move
Date: 28 Oct 1999 02:12:25 -0500
hi Gang,
yeah onelist has so far given no problems to our school alumni list.
Seems good. A few of us can actually do a small survey to chose the best
possible site for our list
regards,
Anand
>From: Tim & Anita Wakeman <tmwake@warwick.email
>Reply-To: tmwake@warwick.email
>To: s_srinivas@vsnl.email
>CC: irfca <irfca@cs.email
>Subject: Re: IRFCA mailing list move
>Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 09:17:20 -0700
>
>S.Srinivas,
>
>There are two versions that I know of that are used in e-mail
>communities. One is the type we use now, except when you reply it goes
>to the server then the list members. Second is digest. What this does
is
>accumulate all sent messages over a 24 hour period then mails them to
>list members as one message. This system is fine, if all you want to do
>is read the messages, but for the people writing and responding it is
>not very efficient. For example, If I ask about a certain train in
India
>as to where it travels, the members would not recieve it until the list
>manager sends it. It usually falls around the same time of the day. Now
>say you want to answer and do so by replying.I will not get the answer
>until the next mailing. Now 2 days have passed. Second, what if 15
other
>members answer. Now all list members get to see the answer to my
>question 15 times. Now I know most people read down through their mail
>before replying just in case someone has answered another, but with
>digest, this is impossible to do. I suggest that we get a community
that
>offers both options <A HREF="http://onelist.com/">http://onelist.com/</A> is one such community that I
>have had no problems with. If you go to it you can search out subjects,
>such as railroads, and they will all pop up and can be browsed.
Archives
>are kept daily and you can go back to them. Photo archives can also be
>kept. We can even do surveys! All we need to do is set it up and then
>everyone subscribe to the list. It is free. An address for mailing
could
>be something like IndianRailways@onelist.email. Somebody mentioned "list
>bot" I think this list only sends in digest form.
>
>Well, just my 2 cents,(paises), worth.
>
>Regards, Tim
>S.SRINIVAS wrote:
> >
> > Dear Anurag
> >
> > I see no problem if the IRFCA list is moved to a public
> > mailing list server. After all, we can always not read
> > the last line of Advt. message ! Or read it and ignore.
> >
> > It is ok if the move will be convenient to you. The main
> > point is that we should continue the IRFCA's exchange
> > of messages. Not allow it to close down. Personally,
> > I have become addicted to reading the messages.
> >
> > As regards the IPR issues, all of us should feel happy
> > if someone reads our ideas and propagates it further.
> >
> > So the final decision should be yours.
> >
> > Regards to all.
> >
> > S. SRINIVAS
> >
> > P.S. Pardon my ignorance, but what
> > is a Digest version of the Mailing list.
> >
> > =================================
> >
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From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Meeting an American railfan
Date: 28 Oct 1999 02:33:15 -0500
Gang !
Yesterday I had the good fortune of meeting Geert Marien who is married
into an Indian family from Pune. After the customary round of the
electric loco shed, Dr. Yande and I saw him off on the 7308 Up Koyna
Express footplate (WCG 2). Geert and father in law Hari Athawale
footplated to Karjat and came back on the 7303 Sahyadri to Pune. Today
they will footplate 7303 to Kolhapur (overnight run) and footplate back
to Pune on the 7308 Koyna tomorrow where after 16 hours in the loco he
should return back to New Jersey very tired but hopefully happy.
Apurva
From: Rajeev Goyal <>
Subject: Re: Meeting an American railfan
Date: 28 Oct 1999 03:32:52 -0500
Apurva,
Was this message of any interest to Rail Fan Club members.........Pl.
explain
me......I fail to understand.
Thanks,.......Rajeev
Apurva Bahadur <iti@vsnl.email on 10/28/99 03:03:15 PM
To: IRFCA <irfca@cs.email
cc: (bcc: Rajeev Goyal/EOG/Enron)
Subject: Meeting an American railfan
Gang !
Yesterday I had the good fortune of meeting Geert Marien who is married
into an Indian family from Pune. After the customary round of the
electric loco shed, Dr. Yande and I saw him off on the 7308 Up Koyna
Express footplate (WCG 2). Geert and father in law Hari Athawale
footplated to Karjat and came back on the 7303 Sahyadri to Pune. Today
they will footplate 7303 to Kolhapur (overnight run) and footplate back
to Pune on the 7308 Koyna tomorrow where after 16 hours in the loco he
should return back to New Jersey very tired but hopefully happy.
Apurva
From: Rajeev Goyal <>
Subject: Re: what about IR services ?
Date: 28 Oct 1999 03:46:30 -0500
Anand,
Thanks for your quick response but I am not suggesting to discuss these
kind of
issues for the sake of discussions, rather I feel we should get the
solutions to
this kind of problem and suggest that to proper autorities.
If you do not agree........I would like to understand the objectives of
Railway
Fan Club.........or it is just a chat site where we do not discuss
serious and
meaningful things.
Would appreciate your guidance.........Thanks,.........Rajeev
"Anand Krishnan" <krish_nand@hotmail.email on 10/28/99 04:12:43 PM
To: Rajeev Goyal/EOG/Enron@Enron, irfca@cs.email
cc:
Subject: Re: what about IR services ?
Hi Rajiv,
Welcome to the list. Your concerns are fair enough. If u were
into
the list 2 days back u could have read about an MLA creating a scene at
Mumbai station and causing 15 A/c coach passengers to cancel their
tickets
and the Railway manager sending a letter to the speaker of the assembly
asking him to request members of his house to behave themselves while on
IR.
If u have hooligans like that then what more can u expect ....mind u
...we(people) have elected them. Topics like these have come up in this
forum and kindled the emotions of many members of the list and it has
resulted in exchange of unwanted,controversial mails. On my part i can
lend
my shoulder to you and support your views and thats it. Lets talk about
IR's
greatness and leave these issues alone.
Kind regards,
Anand
>From: "Rajeev Goyal" <Rajeev_Goyal@enron.email
>To: irfca@cs.email
>Subject: what about IR services ?
>Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 14:00:50 +0530
>
>
>
>Gentlemen,
>I recently joined this group.
>I found nobody is discussing about the services which should be made
>available
>by Indian Railways to the passengers in lieu of the fare paid. I am
sure
>all of
>us are also travelling by train and are equally aware of the
deteriorating
>conditions.
>
>6 months back, when I spoke to a TTC in sleeper class compartment, he
told
>me
>that they can not do anything against the daily passengers as they beat
>them up
>later on.
>
>Anybody from this fanclub would like to address these kind of problems.
>
>Thanks,.......Rajeev
>
>
>
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From: Rajeev Goyal <>
Subject: Re: Meeting an American railfan
Date: 28 Oct 1999 04:06:47 -0500
Thanks AK...........I really appreciate your message........I will
observe for
few days......Rajeev
"Anand Krishnan" <krish_nand@hotmail.email on 10/28/99 04:35:57 PM
To: Rajeev Goyal/EOG/Enron@Enron, iti@vsnl.email
cc: irfca@cs.email
Subject: Re: Meeting an American railfan
Hi Rajiv,
>Was this message of any interest to Rail Fan Club >members.........Pl.
>explain
>me......I fail to understand.
>Thanks,.......Rajeev
U are new. There are a few experiences tha each one of us here
would love to do and one of them is "footplating'. It means travelling
on a
locomotive. Its one of the greatest experiences a rail fan can have.
Another
point to note. Though people in this list have'nt met each other (most
of
them) its been a wonderful feeling of camaraderie that is prevailing. I
urge
u to be a little more polite and get to know how this list functions.
This
list is serious in the sense that there is no unwanted chats and other
stuff
included. We talk only about railways and a lot of relevance is given to
Indian Railways. In case u do want to convey something very very
personal do
that outside the list to the person individually. Anything on IR is
common
on the list. To start with just read the mails for the next few days.
Incase
they appeal to u its fine otherwise u could decide for yourself. BTW
this
list has been functioning from 1989. This is no fun@egroups.email or some
chat
corner to while away ones own time. What do u say Apurva bhai.
regards,
AK
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From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: about wdg4 engines trials.
Date: 28 Oct 1999 04:23:48 -0500
> top all members.
> recently a article has been published in telugu local paper eenadu
that there were four trails conducted on wdg4 engines iwhich were
imported from usa. they were tried with 58 wagons.two trails were
conducted in karnataka and two in
> andhra pradesh.
Assuming the load is BCN/BOXN or similar 58 wagons results in a trailing
load of 4700 tonnes. A double headed WDM 2 pair haul 3300 tonnes
regularly even in the semi ghat section. One WDG 4 is supposed to
replace two WDM 2s, so maybe
this was a load proving trials of the WDG 4.
The line in Karnataka is Hospet - Hubli - Castle Rock - to Vasco in Goa,
which is the line in Andhra Pradesh ?
I remember reading in an IR mag that the heaviest freight train hauled
by a single WAG 9 was nearly 5000 T near Gomoh.
Apurva
From: Shankar <>
Subject: Re: what about IR services ?
Date: 28 Oct 1999 07:27:13 -0500
Hello Rajeev,
Welcome aboard.
The irfca is a free for all, informal and friendly e-mail club for
exchange of news and views about our favorite subject, the IR. Period.
It is by no means a chat forum. We have quite a lot of learned members
amongst us, some of them doing extensive research projects about IR
history. Off and on, members will put up extensive webpages full of
graphics and terrific photographs about the IR, so its a visual feast as
well.Members will also share their experiences with you.
You will learn a lot about the IR and about yourself after a while.
On the other hand, the irfca is not a public pressure group or a body
trying to improve or reform the IR and its ways. All members are
admirers of the railways, and make no secret of it. We just talk about
the railways, exchange views, interact as each other as a family,them
absorb whatever appeals or fascinates and ignore what appears
superfluous. Thats it.The irfca in not a body like the Zonal Rail Users
Co-ordination Committee or some such reformist body or pressure group.
The sort of problems you state (conductors being roughed up etc.) were
also discussed a few weeks ago, but as a topic of discussion, thats all.
Of course, we do have railway officials on the group, as members or
merely those who access our mails, so they do notice the thread of
discussions.
As Anand rightly pointed out, just read the mails for the next few days.
Get to see the pulse of the irfca. You are most welcome to participate
in any of the ongoing discussions or debates, which range from frivulous
to at times pretty serious and technical. Or simply read the messages
and hopefully learn something from them.
Then decide. In case you feel it wasteful, you can unsubscribe by
sending a message to irfca-request@cs.email.
To get an idea of what the irfca members do apart from discussions, take
a look at some of our websites. Go to:
Hope to have answered your queries.
Cheers.
Shankar
Rajeev Goyal wrote:
>
> Anand,
> Thanks for your quick response but I am not suggesting to discuss
these kind of
> issues for the sake of discussions, rather I feel we should get the
solutions to
> this kind of problem and suggest that to proper autorities.
> If you do not agree........I would like to understand the objectives
of Railway
> Fan Club.........or it is just a chat site where we do not discuss
serious and
> meaningful things.
> Would appreciate your guidance.........Thanks,.........Rajeev
>
> "Anand Krishnan" <krish_nand@hotmail.email on 10/28/99 04:12:43 PM
>
> To: Rajeev Goyal/EOG/Enron@Enron, irfca@cs.email
> cc:
>
> Subject: Re: what about IR services ?
>
> Hi Rajiv,
> Welcome to the list. Your concerns are fair enough. If u were
into
> the list 2 days back u could have read about an MLA creating a scene
at
> Mumbai station and causing 15 A/c coach passengers to cancel their
tickets
> and the Railway manager sending a letter to the speaker of the
assembly
> asking him to request members of his house to behave themselves while
on IR.
> If u have hooligans like that then what more can u expect ....mind u
> ...we(people) have elected them. Topics like these have come up in
this
> forum and kindled the emotions of many members of the list and it has
> resulted in exchange of unwanted,controversial mails. On my part i can
lend
> my shoulder to you and support your views and thats it. Lets talk
about IR's
> greatness and leave these issues alone.
>
> Kind regards,
> Anand
>
> >From: "Rajeev Goyal" <Rajeev_Goyal@enron.email
> >To: irfca@cs.email
> >Subject: what about IR services ?
> >Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 14:00:50 +0530
> >
> >
> >
> >Gentlemen,
> >I recently joined this group.
> >I found nobody is discussing about the services which should be made
> >available
> >by Indian Railways to the passengers in lieu of the fare paid. I am
sure
> >all of
> >us are also travelling by train and are equally aware of the
deteriorating
> >conditions.
> >
> >6 months back, when I spoke to a TTC in sleeper class compartment, he
told
> >me
> >that they can not do anything against the daily passengers as they
beat
> >them up
> >later on.
> >
> >Anybody from this fanclub would like to address these kind of
problems.
> >
> >Thanks,.......Rajeev
> >
> >
> >
>
> ______________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>
From: Shankar <>
Subject: (no subject)
Date: 28 Oct 1999 07:32:15 -0500
Hello Rajeev,
My mailbox misbehaves off and on, and chances are, you might have
received this mail more than once.
At any rate, I think I forgot to paste the url.
To get a fair idea about some of the irfca activities, take a look at
some of the webpages of the irfca members. Go to:
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Coast/9896/superrlylinks.htm">http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Coast/9896/superrlylinks.htm</A>
Cheers.
Shankar
Hello Rajeev,
Welcome aboard.
The irfca is a free for all, informal and friendly e-mail club for
exchange of news and views about our favorite subject, the IR. Period.
It is by no means a chat forum. We have quite a lot of learned members
amongst us, some of them doing extensive research projects about IR
history. Off and on, members will put up extensive webpages full of
graphics and terrific photographs about the IR, so its a visual feast as
well.Members will also share their experiences with you.
You will learn a lot about the IR and yourself after a while.
On the other hand, the irfca is not a public pressure group or a body
trying to improve or reform the IR and its ways. All members are
admirers of the railways, and make no secret of it. We just talk about
the railways, exchange views, interact as each other as a family,them
absorb whatever appeals or fascinates and ignore what appears
superfluous. Thats it.The irfca in not a body like the Zonal Rail Users
Co-ordination Committee or some such reformist body or pressure group.
As Anand rightly pointed out, just read the mails for the next few days.
Get to see the pulse of the irfca. You are most welcome to participate
in any of the ongoing discussions or debates, which range from frivulous
to at times pretty serious and technical. Or simple read the messages
and hopefully learn something from them.
Then decide. Hope to have answered your queries.
Cheers.
Shankar
Rajeev Goyal wrote:
>
From: Anand Krishnan <>
Subject: Re: what about IR services ?
Date: 28 Oct 1999 09:12:43 -0500
Hi Rajiv,
Welcome to the list. Your concerns are fair enough. If u were
into
the list 2 days back u could have read about an MLA creating a scene at
Mumbai station and causing 15 A/c coach passengers to cancel their
tickets
and the Railway manager sending a letter to the speaker of the assembly
asking him to request members of his house to behave themselves while on
IR.
If u have hooligans like that then what more can u expect ....mind u
...we(people) have elected them. Topics like these have come up in this
forum and kindled the emotions of many members of the list and it has
resulted in exchange of unwanted,controversial mails. On my part i can
lend
my shoulder to you and support your views and thats it. Lets talk about
IR's
greatness and leave these issues alone.
Kind regards,
Anand
>From: "Rajeev Goyal" <Rajeev_Goyal@enron.email
>To: irfca@cs.email
>Subject: what about IR services ?
>Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 14:00:50 +0530
>
>
>
>Gentlemen,
>I recently joined this group.
>I found nobody is discussing about the services which should be made
>available
>by Indian Railways to the passengers in lieu of the fare paid. I am
sure
>all of
>us are also travelling by train and are equally aware of the
deteriorating
>conditions.
>
>6 months back, when I spoke to a TTC in sleeper class compartment, he
told
>me
>that they can not do anything against the daily passengers as they beat
>them up
>later on.
>
>Anybody from this fanclub would like to address these kind of problems.
>
>Thanks,.......Rajeev
>
>
>
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From: Anand Krishnan <>
Subject: Re: Meeting an American railfan
Date: 28 Oct 1999 09:35:57 -0500
Hi Rajiv,
>Was this message of any interest to Rail Fan Club >members.........Pl.
>explain
>me......I fail to understand.
>Thanks,.......Rajeev
U are new. There are a few experiences tha each one of us here
would love to do and one of them is "footplating'. It means travelling
on a
locomotive. Its one of the greatest experiences a rail fan can have.
Another
point to note. Though people in this list have'nt met each other (most
of
them) its been a wonderful feeling of camaraderie that is prevailing. I
urge
u to be a little more polite and get to know how this list functions.
This
list is serious in the sense that there is no unwanted chats and other
stuff
included. We talk only about railways and a lot of relevance is given to
Indian Railways. In case u do want to convey something very very
personal do
that outside the list to the person individually. Anything on IR is
common
on the list. To start with just read the mails for the next few days.
Incase
they appeal to u its fine otherwise u could decide for yourself. BTW
this
list has been functioning from 1989. This is no fun@egroups.email or some
chat
corner to while away ones own time. What do u say Apurva bhai.
regards,
AK
______________________________________________________
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From: Zubin Lee <>
Subject: my contribution to improving the ir - 1
Date: 28 Oct 1999 09:56:07 -0500
folks,
these are just a few of my observations, that i feel very strongly about
on
the indian railways. consider them as a layman's observations - for i am
no
techie, and i just wanted to share them with u because i wanted to know
if
they held any water at all.
1. dmu woes :
has anybody wondered that most dmu's in india are not dmu's at all, in
the
real sense of the word ? they are very much a regular train, with a WDM2
stuck in between like a slave loco in the u.s. ? even if the dmu were to
have 10 coaches, i still feel that it is a gross underutilisation of the
WDM2's capacity, in terms of pulling power, flexibility, availability,
etc.
plus, remember that atleast 6 to 7 litres of diesel go to run that loco
every km. what criminal wastage of fuel ...
i was very impressed by the new 'talent' dmu put into service by the
german
railways (db). i realise that it is very easily possible for us to put a
*similar* (not same) service in india. prime candidates -
daund-baramati,
vasai road-diva, diva-panvel, etc. e.g. consider that one BSR-DW dmu
does 4
trips a day (pls. correct me if i am wrong). that's roughly 150 odd km.
whereas a normal WDM2 hauling an express may cover 1000-1500 odd km in a
single day. true, a 'talent' like train may not be practical in india,
but
we can very easily design it. all we'll need to do is design and build
the
power cars - like the YSZZ power cars of DC emu's. for a two-coach
train, a
small displacement 16-20 litre V8 turbodiesel with 600-800 odd hp will
be
sufficient to pull an aerodynamic train at 100 km/h. imagine the saving
in
fuel (for a 6-coach train, i reckon about 450 to 600 litres per dmu per
day
on BSR-DW itself !) secondly, very little maintenance will be reqd for a
proper engine. service intervals of even 120,000 km are possible !
2. priority structure :
all railways in the world face one problem - how to run fast passenger
trains and slow freight trains on the same track. john day suggested an
interesting solution - bringing the freight trains upto passenger
standards.
it would certainly cost a lot more for locomotives and rolling stock,
but it
will show a saving, because u can increase the volume of use of a point
of
track so that all available equipment can be used to optimum advantage.
india cannot have a more ideal situation to implement this. except for a
few
superfast trains, all trains in india run more or less at 100 km/h (main
line, broad gauge). even so, freight trains are often relegated to
sidings.
if we have powerful locomotives - the 6122 hp wag-9 for example, and
even
the freight trains use the same signalling, why are they relegated to
sidings at all ? main line traffic should work like clockwork, with all
trains running at more or less the same speed and utilising trackage and
equipment to their maximum !
i think the following priority structure is easy and convenient to
maintain
:
class 1 - main line : express passenger and freight haulage, fixed to
100
km/h, no more, *no less*, depending on track. uses full boat express
engines
and rolling stock.
class 2 - regional trains : of lesser importance than main lines. can
consist of bg dmu services and mg. uses smaller lightweight and specific
design locos and rolling stock.
class 3 - branch line : small services, lesser importance mg, ng, etc.
can
use double-deck railbuses (again as implemented by db ag), smaller dmu's
etc.
accordingly, signalling, trackage, maintenance facilities and practices
etc.
may be provided. as is expected, class 2 and 3 can and will work
effectively
on small budgets.
3. train control :
a very integral part of the indian railways consist of super heavy
traffic
on certain sections, and the relevent stations and track can be a
nightmare
to manage. it is. consider KYN after 1930 hrs. i've personally seen this
while going from KYN to DR. there is a line of as many as 6 passenger
trains
going out of KYN - towards KJT / Kasara, all awaiting a platform to
enter
KYN. they can stop for as much as one hour to await entry into KYN, and
this
results in a loss of time even before exiting bombay.
why cant the ir ( or cr, for that matter ), computerise the working of
such
stations ? this will, in fact, ensure proper working with minimum time
loss
at stations. powerful computer programs, working in tandem with
intelligent
controllers can create a winning combination.
4. aesthetics :
indian railways lacks one thing very very obviously - aesthetics. even a
branch line dmu of a european railway, say db, is very attractive to
look at
and enter, so a passenger will feel like entering it. our trains are not
even passable, to say the least. that doesent mean they are hopeless.
they
may be effective, but are not attractive. my personal opinion on why the
mumbai-pune shatabdi displays such dismal occupation is this. it isnt
any
different from a normal ac train ! c'mon, i dont think a WCAM-3 at the
head
of the shatabdi is going to make it look good. nor are the coaches, with
just a different colour scheme. why not give it a good european style
coach,
with wide and deep windows, good length (say 23-25 metres), etc. in
short, a
typical eurocity coach. keep end-doors, and toilets that can be used
(!).
put a nice colour scheme and get rid of those noisy generator cars, for
heaven sake ! draw power from the loco if reqd ( as it is, it is hauling
only 6 coaches ). and last, but not the least, give it a nice loco -
DB127
eurosprinter or DB152 are good examples. if this can be done with
guaranteed
schedules, all people travelling by flight on the mumbai-pune route can
be
drawn to trains. even a ticket of rs. 300 is no bother for such a
service.
pls. let me know how u feel about what i said, whether u love it or hate
it.
~zubin.
From: Rajan Mathew <>
Subject: Re: what about IR services ?
Date: 28 Oct 1999 11:16:04 -0500
Hi Rajeev,
I think here on IRFCA we have die-hard optimists ... Indian Railway
loyalists. who only wish and want the best to take place. What attracts
us
to the railways in general, and IR in particular is the system, the
traditions and the sheer experience. Some of us are loco fans, some
timetable and operation fans, some rail heritage fans, and some rail
travel
fans ... (fans here are NOT those things in the train that are sometimes
dead and can be started by teasing the blades with a comb ... but
fanatics
for rail ... well, almost)
What each one of tends to exchange here are experiences of travel and
association of the railway.
You would have heard of the term "The romance of the railroads". It is a
belief that the railways have a life and feel and experience of its own
so
profound that it goes far beyond hopping in at one station and hopping
out
of the other...
We represent the Indian piece in that pie ...
I, for one, like to keenly follow aspects in operations - train routes
and
timings. I also have a keen interest in following the Konkan Railway,
one of
India's greatest engineering projects ...
It is beyond normal reporting ... which our media does so often.
So if you share a passion for the Indian Railways, sit back and enjoy...
Rajan
----- Original Message -----
From: Rajeev Goyal <Rajeev_Goyal@enron.email
To: Anand Krishnan <krish_nand@hotmail.email
Cc: <irfca@cs.email
Sent: Thursday, October 28, 1999 4:16 PM
Subject: Re: what about IR services ?
> Anand,
> Thanks for your quick response but I am not suggesting to discuss
these
kind of
> issues for the sake of discussions, rather I feel we should get the
solutions to
> this kind of problem and suggest that to proper autorities.
> If you do not agree........I would like to understand the objectives
of
Railway
> Fan Club.........or it is just a chat site where we do not discuss
serious
and
> meaningful things.
> Would appreciate your guidance.........Thanks,.........Rajeev
From: Sundar Krishnamurthy <>
Subject: Another toy train
Date: 28 Oct 1999 14:41:40 -0500
Hello Harsh
Keeping the toy train thread alive - there is another garden toy train
at a
park in Madikeri town, Kodagu district (Coorg) Karnataka. I remember
seeing
this train from our bus when we had been there in June 98 on an office
trip.
U can find the putani express pic at
<A HREF="http://www.netraninfo.com/bangalore_webbed/inaround.html">http://www.netraninfo.com/bangalore_webbed/inaround.html</A> - scroll down
to
Jawahar Bal Bhavan.
Regards
Sundar
From: S Pai <>
Subject: Re: IRFCA mailing list move
Date: 28 Oct 1999 15:13:03 -0500
Tim wrote:
> An address for mailing could be something like
> IndianRailways@onelist.email.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^!!
Call me sentimental, but my vote would be to retain "irfca" in the
name even though the original acronym does not make any sense any
longer. It'll also give anyone searching for information about the list
a better chance if they happen to come from some old web page or
archive or mail message somewhere and are looking for "irfca".
Besides, we're not IR, why call the list "IndianRailways"?
--Satish
From: Vdate <>
Subject: Re: what about IR services ?
Date: 28 Oct 1999 16:57:55 -0500
One job a fan has, is to defend its object ( read IR) against its foes.
Goondas are as much bad to IR as the poor maintainance, poor rolling
stocks etc. are. Therefore it is OK to talk and do something about it.
The Central Government is going to have a high power commission to look
into IR. Let us lobby them. It is as democratic as electing the leaders.
From: Royston Ellis <>
Subject: Temporary farewell
Date: 28 Oct 1999 17:44:27 -0500
Gang:
At a time when the mailings seem to be hotting up, on 31 October, I will
be
obliged to leave again. Lately all my writing assignments seem to be in
non-rail countries (this time Laos, Seychelles and Maldives!) but I will
visit the station in Singapore while in transit.
My concern is that when I try to subscribe to the irfca list again on my
return to base in January, I might not find out how to do it if the name
has been changed, etc. If that happens, I'd be grateful if someone
could
let me know off-list; the email will be stored until I switch on my
laptop
again.
Best wishes for the New Year to all.
Royston
From: Mike Brooker <>
Subject: Re: what about IR services ?
Date: 28 Oct 1999 19:58:09 -0500
>6 months back, when I spoke to a TTC in sleeper class compartment, he
told
me
>that they can not do anything against the daily passengers as they beat
them up
>later on.
>
I know that in Indian Railways terminology, "TTE" stands for "Travelling
Ticket Examiner", but what is a TTC?
Here in Toronto, TTC stands for Toronto Transit Commission. Visit at
<A HREF="http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/ttc/index.htm">http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/ttc/index.htm</A> The TTC is one of the few
transit systems in North America that still operates street cars; at one
time Toronto boasted the world's largest fleet of PCC cars.
********************************************************************
Mike Brooker
99 Wychcrest Ave.,
Toronto, ON M6G 3X8
CANADA
(416) 536-7406
********************************************************************