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Winter mornings up north are at the mercy of Mr. Smog. Visibility gets down to a less than a hundred meters and traffic moves at miserable speeds. The 2413 Delhi-Jaipur Superfast express has left two hours behind schedule at grinds to a halt at Gurgaon. WDM/2A #17388 from TKD impatiently waits for a crossing at this bustling town south-west of New Delhi.

 

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A close-up view of WDM/2A #17388 from TKD, waiting at Gurgaon station in Haryana for a crossing. On a clear day, this train would be given priority over slower cousins, but today is certainly not its day. Drivers let the locomotive horn scream continously, alerting trespassers who would be ignorant about the approaching train until it got visible a few meters ahead.

 

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The reason for the detention of 2413 Delhi-Jaipur Superfast Express becomes apparent. The early morning passenger from Rewari to Delhi pulls into Gurgaon station platform #1 managed by a WDM/2A locomotive from Ludhiana. The mythical quality of the picture is enhanced by the fact that the temperature was a little above freezing, and getting two locomotives to pose together is a visual treat!

 

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Surat is a major city north of Mumbai and features many originating trains to myriad places. The 2925 Bandra-Amritsar Paschim Express is welcomed to the station by a WDM/2A from Ratlam, standing coupled to a WAM/4P from Vadodara. The MEMU on the distant track does service southwards to Dahanu and Virar.

 

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Pune is a pilgrimage town for diesel-lovers, and WDM/2A #18974 from Kazipet seems to be the presiding deity of the day. The orange-green livery with the white stripe is an implicit tribute to the Indian tricolor. This locomotive arrived with the 7032 Hyderabad-Mumbai Express on a late Feb 2000 morning.

 

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2007 Chennai Central-Mysore Shatabdi Express departs Bangalore City station on time after a locomotive change. The motive power is WDM/2A #17497 from Krishnarajapuram (KJM). Note the tiled platform awning, and the horns mounted on the head of the locomotive. This pic is dated late April '99.