Page 1

 

974 x 646, 41 KB. Click to enlarge
 

Its late March '98, and the last few MG freight wagons of this division prepare to bid good-bye to Hotgi junction near Solapur. This is the old meter gauge line from Solapur to Gadag, through the historical town of Bijapur. This line featured the nicely-named Solapur-Bangalore Golgumbaz express in the days of yore. Broad Gauge has invaded this town now, with the Bijapur-Gadag stretch under conversion, awaiting operation. Observe the uprooted permanent way base in the foreground.

 

897 x 582, 39 KB. Click to enlarge
 

A north-bound freight train crawls along the sharp curve of the Channasandra bye-pass that provides a link north for trains out of Bangalore City. Its a cold windy day, and frequent freight and light loco movements render quick closures of the level crossing linking the ring road to Old Madras road. Most people on the road prefer to drive west to Baiyappanahalli and take the road overbridge there.

 

980 x 653, 40 KB. Click to enlarge
 

With a bustling harbor at Chennai, container traffic is common on the Jolarpettai-Chennai Beach corridor. The 2639 Brindavan Express passes a celebration of color - that's some express freight service. Observe the shadow of the WAP1 locomotive minding Brindavan express - the shapes of the pantograph and circuit breakers clearly visible.

 

982 x 671, 44 KB. Click to enlarge
 

An empty freighter rake stands lonely in the sidings of Channasandra Station near Bangalore. These rakes are quite rarely seen, not your usual flat-car that takes containers and stuff, I suspect this one is meant for some kind of railway maintenance.

 

888 x 563, 57 KB. Click to enlarge
 

A bright sun greets the marshalling yard at Igatpuri. A pair of container freights had come in early morning, and the guard van at the rear of one bids goodbye to set forth into a journey up north. Freight operations on Indian Railways face a stiff competition from trucks on the highways, even though certain segments remain predominantly with rail (like coal, fertilizer and cement).

 

950 x 620, 31 KB. Click to enlarge
 

The Mathura-Nizamuddin corridor on CR gets counted among the most heavily used lines on IR. With dense freight and passenger traffic, separate lines exist for freight till Ballabgarh. The freighters wait one behind the other, for peak hours to crawl back into the past. The 2954 AK Rajdhani passes a couple of closely parked freighters at a level crossing south of Faridabad. The guard and driver of adjacent trains sit on the tracks and share a smoke and some memories.