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This is the new fabled WDP/4 - paeans have been sung by Indian railfans for this beast, but strangely this locomotive seems to resemble a truck! This GT45MAC import from General Motors has a cab one-way, making it pretty tough to drive her rump-first. The drivers of 7686 Bangalore-Kacheguda don't seem to mind this though, on the run through Channasandra outside Bangalore. This is one of the few non-superfast trains considered prestigious enough to merit this state-of-the-art locomotive.

 

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Beauty and the beast? WDP1 #15029SS from TKD shed waits with her successor, WDP2 #15537, (also from TKD shed) across the road underbridge at Delhi Safdarjung station. This place lies near Chanakyapuri, the diplomatic enclave in capital New Delhi. This line acts like a freight bye-pass away from New Delhi's passenger stations and frequently gets light locomotives heading home.

 

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The WDP2 locomotive is a largely indigenous effort to build a hi-speed diesel-electric power for long expresses and passenger operations. WDP2 #15537 is running light and takes the circular route around Delhi to reach Tuglakabad shed. Observe the excellent front view out of the cab. NR has named the TKD WDP2 class, "Pushpak" and has "diesel power" emblazoned on their sides.

 

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A pair of Golden Rock (GOC) WDP2 locomotives in Rajdhani livery cool their heels outside Vasai Road (BSR) station in the outskirts of Mumbai. These locomotives are recent visitors to Mumbai, and haul the 2431/32 Thiruvananthapuram-Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express. This train has two prior locomotive changes - a WAP4 from NZM to BRC (Vadodara), a WCAM2 from BRC to BSR. The third change happens here and the WDP2 leads this train south on Konkan Railway (KR).

 

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The WDP1 looks like a WDM2 from the long hood, but are Bo-Bo below the chassis. A clean WDP1 with a commuter train from Sirsa pulls into New Delhi station on a wet morning in August '98. Funnily, this locomotive has no shed markings, and is homed in Tughlakabad (TKD).

 

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However, the short hood had a blunt end - and it could mean that this locomotive was regeared/power-upgraded version quite like the WDM2C. They are not deputed in large numbers and recently, they've been usurped by the newer WDP2 beasts.