Plinthed & Museum
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Narrow Gauge Steam Plinthed & Museum |
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Page 5 |
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Like most MG stock, NG locomotives have no side-buffers. A centrally mounted coupler engages with the coach or freight wagon, and all accelerations/retardations are gradual. ZP #3 has some new friends in these bushes and creepers, in her long, open incarceration at Pulgaon. |
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ZP #3 has something resembling a small alternator (battery set?) on top of the ridge that separates the wheels from the cylindrical boiler frame. I reckon that these were used to power the headlamps and cab lights, and were charged by the motion of the train. The previous sentence is completely an assumption. |
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ZP #2 has a better preserved alternator on her side. Also visible in this picture are tubes that run along the sides of the frame and a wide walk-way on the side that allowed the crew to move up to the front of the locomotive, on the ridge. |
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Another shot of the ZP pair at Pulgaon Junction, taken from the east end of the stabling platform. Many years ago, these monsters smoked fire and soot as they romped along the tracks with aplomb. Now, the tractor-like ZDM class diesels mock at these ancient donnas, past their prime, and take up assignments hauling trains. |
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The silence and quiet around these locomotives seems eerie! Pulgaon - Arvi would qualify as one of the most quaint NG routes in India today. One wonderful pic of ZP #3 being cared for by her crew is here. The distance between Pulgaon and Arvi is 35 kms, and two trains travel across each way daily. |
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On one side of ZP #3, you could notice a slender iron crank mechanism coming out of the cab, and engaging with some sort of a lever/gear on the base of the locomotive. I wonder about the utility of this apparatus. Suggestions welcome. |
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