#11027

The Margherita Hut is the highest building in Europe at 14,941 ft above sea level. The hut which lies on Monte Rosa in the Italian Alps originally began construction in 1889 and was then later restored in 1977. – WTF Fun Facts

After passing Asra School and the dry Shahabad Nallah, we made a scheduled halt at Shahabad station on the mainline platform; there was one line between the 2 PF lines. Then we crossed the Cognee river.

This was followed by a clump of eucalyptus trees as we neared Wadi.

There was the ACC cement factory in the distant right, with a herd of bullocks in the foreground.

We pulled into the junction at 12 54, only 4 mins late; thanks to slack. Here our EMD was replaced by an electric loco during a long 21-minute stop. I had a tasty lunch of Egg Biryani; ordered from the pantry. There were rows of solar panels before Nalwar. I felt rather sleepy after the heavy lunch, and thus clambered up to my SUB and slept for a good 2.5 hours. When I woke up, we were at MALM.

We departed after a 2-minute halt, and soon started blasting with melodious HT and LT horns; the HT horn being used mainly. At our next stop Kosigi, 12164 Chennai Dadar ‘Super’ express crossed at MPS; led by a honking AJJ WAP1 22071. Then there was more scenery in the form of coconut and palm groves, as well as rocky man-made hills. There was a TSR of 75 kmph and the UP track was on a higher level for a while. There were also a lot of tall and thin trees, before we crossed a BCNA rake headed by a WDG4D and a WDG4 (in the rare and beautiful mango-yellow and cream livery 🙂 ). At our next halt Kupgal, there was a family of monkeys on the other PF. I saw share-autos waiting outside, as well as a temple. Later, the rocky man-made mountains drew closer to us.

We overtook vehicles on the road. The approach to Adoni was marked by the presence of many factories, VRL Logistics, oil industries, a Ginning & Pressing factory; and a Hero MotoCorp showroom. We crossed 71302 GTL-GR DEMU before entering the station at 16 50, 32 mins late. There was a PSR of 15 kmph on a solitary non-PF line. Before Nagarur (where we had a stop of just 30-40 seconds! :O ), I saw a solitary man-made pond amidst red and black soil.  Then there was an old man and a lady shepherding a herd of lambs, goats and sheep. This was followed by another TSR of 75 kmph; after which we blasted away.

There was an unscheduled halt of 30-40 seconds at Aspari on the mainline, where I saw BOB8NM wagons and a caboose on the other PF. Then there was a TSR of 20 kmph before Molagavalli, where we made another unscheduled stop.

We accelerated strongly as a strong wind blew.

There was another man-made pond amidst black soil before Nancherla, followed by a muddy canal. Then the line from Bellary joined us on the right.

This was followed by a HPCL plant.

We crossed twin AJJ WAG5s (trailing – 23488) leading a tanker train. Saw BZA WAP4 22777 on a siding, before we arrived at GTL (PF6) at 17 43, 5 mins early; thanks to slack again! 😛 We had a long 19-minute halt, during which the coaches were cleaned thoroughly. The stop also provided me time for railfanning 😉 . The junction was bustling as usual.

I saw GTL WDM3A 16715R and MLY WDM3A 18910R in the distant right.

Our electric power was ED WAP4 22774.

I also spotted AEB-fitted UBL WDG4 twins 12071 and 12123.

There was an auto stand at the main station building on the right. The freight action continued as we crossed a BOXN freight behind twin ED WAG7s 27452 and 27752 before Timmanacherla, where there was a mosque. We overtook vehicles on the highway and crossed a light WDP4D, before traversing scenery again – in the form of goats, lambs and sheep grazing, many palm and date palm trees; and a solitary small and stagnant tank. There was another mosque near Nakkanadodi, followed by a beautiful lake. Then there was the strange sight of a stagnant pond in which a man was using a tire to float and fishing with a net at the same time! :O We passed through rich red soil, followed by another lake in the far right. A BOXN freight with twin ALCOs crossed us before we made a halt for clearance at GY home signal for 4 mins. The line from Kurnool joined us on the left.

We then crossed twin GTL WDG3As 13408 and 13240 on the right-most line – the pair was chased by twin WAG7s in WAP4 shell! :O Reached the junction at 18 32, 14 mins late. As we left after a stop of 4 mins, I saw a Tower Car shed. Then came the famous curve of the line from Bangalore, as a passenger approached from the mountains behind BZA WAP4 22657; and crossed us.

Later I found out that this was 56503 BNC-BZA passenger – running 3 hours late! :O The freight action followed determinedly, as twin EMDs crossed us with a BOXN rake. We then crossed a stationary WDG4D and WDG4 at Jakkalacheruvu. The mountains continued to keep us company in the distant right, as we overtook vehicles on the highway. There were mounds of lime before we crossed another freight hauled by twin EMDs. There was an LC with many vehicles waiting, followed by a mosque; before we arrived at Rayalacheruvu at 18 59; 20 mins late. Here there was a GTL WDM3D 11393 heading a BOBYN freight in the opposite direction. There were RPF personnel in our coach; probably owing to the fact that it was Independence Day. By now it was too dark to see much outside the tinted glass windows; thus I instead settled into reading the Perry Mason novel ‘The Case of the Gilded Lily’. Later I had a tasty dinner of 3 Chapatis with Panneer Mutter. Slept soon after paying the fare for lunch and dinner combined.

When I woke up, we were pulling into MAS. Arrived at 03 23 (early by 7 mins, as expected! 😛 ) on PF3. An announcement was made for 12839 HWH-MAS Mail to arrive shortly on PF8. I had some coffee before taking an auto to reach home before 4 am. Thus ended another typically long 2 nights and a day trip from Mumbai to Chennai. Thanks in advance for patiently reading through yet another long blog! 😛

Technical Terms

EMD – Electro-motive Diesel (and a modern class of diesel engines)

ALCO – American Locomotive Company (and an old class of diesel engines of the 1960s)

HT – High Tone

LT – Low Tone

MPS – Maximum Permissible Speed

TSR – Temporary Speed Restriction

PSR – Permanent Speed Restriction

DEMU – Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (or diesel local train)

AEB – Auto-emergency Brakes

LC – Level Crossing

RPF – Railway Protection Force

Station Codes

GR – Gulbarga

MALM – Manthralayam Road

AJJ – Arakkonam Junction

GTL – Guntakal

BZA – Vijaywada

MLY – Maula Ali

ED – Erode

UBL – Hubli

BNC – Bangalore Cantonment

HWH – Howrah

MAS – Chennai Central

Then I took a slow local to Dadar, before deciding to change to a Fast thereon. Accordingly, I shifted from Platform 3 to Platform 6. I was waiting for the 22 01 local, which was already quite late; and then got further delayed – as a WDS6-AD with 2 coaches (1 AC Jan Shatabdi coach, but in the regular blue-cyan livery instead) passed through PF6. The local eventually arrived 25 minutes late. To my surprise, we crawled under Arthur Bridge at Chinchpokli and almost came to a stop, before changing to the slow track prior to Byculla! :O Then we overtook Tapovan express at Sandhurst Road, but it eventually caught up with us as we stopped at Masjid for clearance. I saw that its loco was KYN WCAM3 21953. At CSMT, I saw that the loco for 22106 Pune Mumbai Indrayani express (on PF8) was Pune WDM3D 11388.  On PF11 KYN WCAM3 21884 was resting, and on PF12 was UBL WDP4 20035. Tapovan arrived (as usual) on PF13.

My train was berthed on its customary PF14. My coach B2 was 6th from the engine and only B3 separated us from the Pantry Car. B2 was of a 2010 make and had plug points in all bays; as well as mirrors in the main bays. I had a trackside window 🙂 . The cushions were of a pleasant maroon brown hue. I saw the temperature settings – 19 to 21 degrees Celsius in winter; and 23 to 25 degrees Celsius in summer. Our electric power till Pune was KYN WCAM3 21957 – towing along with it a dead WCAM3 21931.

We departed at 23 46, a minute late. On a siding, I spotted twin KYN WDP3As in Tejas livery (leading – 15544). On departing from Dadar, we had a parallel run with 11003 DR-SWV Tutari express led by KYN WDG3A ‘Shakti’ 13604; before eventually overtaking the latter. After blasting through Thane at MPS, we overtook a stationary Container freight behind a WAG9 coming from the Thane bypass on the Turbhe line.  Meanwhile, my ticket was checked; as I voluntarily displayed my e-ticket; the TTE only cross-checked the seat number with me. To my surprise, rather than crawling; we entered KYN at a decent speed and came to a smooth stop on PF4 – at 00 49, 12 mins late. 11057 CSMT-ASR ‘Pathankot’ express departed almost immediately afterwards from PF5, only to come to a stop. It eventually started moving two minutes later, but again came to a stop; before finally pulling out at 00 53 (20 mins late) !! :O A case of alarm-chain pulling, perhaps?

Anyway, I soon clambered up to my side-upper berth and went to sleep after a while. I woke up a few times during the night as well as early morning; and could thus make out (from the manner of acceleration as well as the unique horn) that we were being headed by an EMD post-Pune, and that we stopped for a few crossings. When I finally climbed down from my SUB, it was around 09 45. I washed my face and brushed my teeth, as we pulled into SUR at 09 57; 27 mins late. We were on PF3. There were 2 DEMU rakes on the right, on the same platform. On PF1 lay 57659 Solapur Falaknuma passenger behind GTL WDM3D 11450.

Our diesel power was KYN WDG4 12668.

We departed after a halt of 13 mins. The acceleration of the WDG4 was superb, as we blasted through a lake covered mostly in moss. At Hotgi, the loopline speed was 30 kmph; and there was a DEMU on the right. There were also twin KJM WDG4s 12027 and 12029 in a unique navy blue-cyan livery, on the distant right. As we departed after a stop of just 1 minute, I saw the sugar factory as well as the line to Bijapur on the right.

 We then passed through typical rural scenery with a lot of cow sheds, a lady shepherding a herd of goats and lambs, lots of trees; and bushes and shrubs. Crossed an express with a WDP4B/D; probably 11302 SBC-CSMT Udyan express. After AKOR, there were corn, sugarcane and maize fields, cattle grazing, sunflowers, plants grown in neat rows; and a man-made tank for irrigation. We blasted through Nagansur at MPS, after which I could observe good progress in doubling (there is a 72 km single line section till GR). We made an unscheduled halt at Boroti for a minute, on the mainline – there was a passenger train on the left, headed in the opposite direction. There was also a BOXN rake on our right, which we later overtook – its loco was UBL WDG4 12149. Track has been laid in patches on the right; along with ballast piled up neatly, sleepers stacked up, and  land levelled.

We then passed through more countryside scenery, comprising sugarcane and maize fields, cow sheds, meadows, plantains etc. The sight of huts and shanties indicated the arrival of Dudhani, where there was a BCNA freight hauled by GTL WDG3A 14995 and GY WDG3A 13067 on the right. I saw track again laid in patches before Kulali, as we entered Karnataka. Then we blasted through Gaudgaon.

Reached GUR at 11 41, 28 mins late. Here the freight action continued, as another BOXN rake headed by GTL WDG3A twins 13245 and 14686 departed from the loop on the right. Then we stopped before Hunsil Hadgil for clearance for 3 minutes.

It soon became clear that the reason for this halt was a scissor-crossing with 57134 Raichur Bijapur passenger at the station ahead! 😉 We accelerated, with our EMD blowing its unique horn and belching out smoke; while the passenger reversed behind its Pune WDM3D 11457 – it would then take our line!

After this unusual crossing, the WDG4 once again showed its prowess as we touched MPS before slowing to a crawl and almost stopping before Sawalgi. Then we accelerated again and crossed a BCNA freight (powers: KZJ WDM3A 18895R and BZA WDM3A 18763R) at good speed at the station. From here the doubling work is in full flow once more, as track has been laid in patches on the right; till GR. I also saw a clump of eucalyptus trees as well as a road on the right, before we ripped through Bablad at MPS; honking all the way. Pulled into GR (PF1) at 12 17, 32 mins late. Here I shall wrap up for now; and continue the rest of the journey in Part 2. Please bear with me then! 😛

Technical Terms

MPS – Maximum Permissible Speed

EMD – Electromotive Diesel (and a modern class of diesel engines)

DEMU – Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (or diesel local train)

Station Codes

KYN – Kalyan

UBL – Hubli

CSMT – Mumbai CST

DR – Dadar (Central)

SWV – Savantwadi Road

ASR – Amritsar

SUR – Solapur

KJM – Krishnarajapuram

SBC – Bangalore City

AKOR – Akkalkot Road

GR – Gulbarga

GY – Gooty

GTL – Guntakal

GUR – Ganagapur Road

KZJ – Kazipet

BZA – Vijaywada

Meanwhile, the BCNA freight on PF4 departed towards Pune. I was already feeling sleepy after the lunch and our train’s progress added to that 😛 . So I retired to my UB. When I finally woke up about 2.5 hours later, we were speeding through small forests, meadows and a village with lot of stone cottages, temples and cemeteries. Reached Shahabad at 17 56, 5 hours 43 mins late. Nearby, I saw Dr. Ambedkar Nagar on the right with Jai Bhim flags, a Buddha statue and boys playing cricket. We crossed 16382 CAPE-CSMT Jayanthi Janata express with mega-offlink SPJ WDM3D 11495; my friend railfan Jyothish KD had seen its counterpart 16381 with the same link a few days back! :O Then came the perennial Kagini river (the board read ‘Cognee’).

  Now there was a TSR of 30 kmph over the bridge; earlier the trains used to speed through 😦 . There was a Steam Chamber in the Sleeper factory on the left. Saw twin KYN WDG3A Shaktis in a siding. There were many BCNA rakes as well as a BOXN rake in the yard on the left, as we approached Wadi. Pulled into PF2 at 18 12, 5 hrs 22 mins late; having made up some 20 mins due to slack. On the right was 12702 HYB-CSMT Hussainsagar express with a massive offlink; twin WDG3As – 14675 of VSKP trailing. It seemed to be a day of offlinks! 😉  To our irritation, lights were not working in our bay for a brief while – to add to the already messed-up schedule of the train! 😦 Our EMD was detached, and the electric loco to take over all the way to MAS was AJJ WAP1 22013.

There was a delicious irony in the fact that the loco to haul us till our destination belonged to AJJ; given that AJJ was the source of all our troubles! 😛 Meanwhile, I was able to capture the KYN Shakti twins that I had seen earlier – WDG3As 13579 and 13571 (non-DBR). 13579 had a really sharp HT horn. Also, the locos seemed to be coupled the wrong way – the Short Hood of 13579 was coupled to the Long Hood of 13571.

We departed at 18 33 (5 hours 38 mins late), after a long halt of 21 mins. Saw BZA WAP4 25033 and another brick red WAP4 on a siding in the left. We crossed a BOXN freight headed by twin blue WAG7s before Nalwar. Passed through meadows, small forests, a viaduct on a road in the distant left, a town with a lot of huts and cottages, and mountains in the distant left; before Yadgir. Now it was really dark and there was hardly anything to see outside the glass windows. So I settled down into reading “Stardust and Fire”, a book of poems by Neha Kabra; a very well-known poet and a friend of mine. We had a watering halt at Krishna station in Telangana.  

I heard some ALCO chugging and saw an ACC Cement rake crossing – the chugging could be heard long after the train skipped the station! 🙂 We departed at 20 10, 5 hours 55 mins late. Saw two Plasser machines in a siding on the left. There was a TSR of 80 kmph before the bridge. The river was only 50% dry 😦 . Meanwhile, I went to the loo and found that the water from the taps was quite warm; thanks to the summer heat! 😛 There was a brief unscheduled stop at Yadalapur on the mainline. I had a Veg. Thali for dinner – it consisted of 3 Chapatis, Jeera rice, Dal and Chana Masala; and was quite satisfying. The total fare (lunch and dinner combined) for me was Rs.190 (70 for the Veg. Biryani and 120 for the Veg. Thali) – however, inexplicably; the pantry guy didn’t have even Rs.10 change (which is supposed to be basic!) and so went to other coaches to obtain the change! :O The wait was really annoying, since we were all looking forward to sleep.

It turned out that the whole change fiasco was a red herring, as the pantry guy eventually returned with one of his fellow staff; who had apparently complained about one of my co-passengers refusing to pay the fare – since he found the fare too high (as against the official IRCTC food rate list and menus – https://www.irctchelp.in/irctc-latest-food-menu-rates ); and some of the food items he had asked were not provided. However, I was not really in a mood to argue with the staff in favour of my co-passenger; I was just tired and retired to my UB after paying the fare for the food I had ordered. Had a solid sleep of close to 10 hours. After I did my usual morning routine; we were speeding through the Chennai suburbs – blasted through Sevvapet Road. We overtook locals at Pattabiram, Avadi and after Villivakkam. Crossed a freight before pulling into Perambur at 08 21, 5 hours 28 mins late. Here predictably the coach almost emptied.

I spotted AJJ WAG7 28680 and ED WAP4 22665 in the BBQ Trip Shed. Saw LGD WAP4 22515 in the right as we finally crawled into MAS. There were twin APU-fitted TNP WDMAs (trailing – 16882R) on the right – most probably assigned to 22601 MAS-SNSI superfast. Came to a stop on the customary PF1 at 08 41, 5 hours 11 mins late. Not bad – we had been rescheduled by 4 hours and got delayed by an hour further in Maharashtra itself; and then mostly maintained the overall 5+ hours delay throughout. There was a long walk from my coach till the terminus exit; the coach being at the rear of the rake. Then I had to walk a while further to Park Town station after crossing the road. There I took an MRTS local till Thirumayilai (Mylapore) after standing in a long queue to get a ticket – I didn’t get a seat, but there was quite enough space to stand with my luggage. After that it took a 10-15 mins walk to finally reach my home around 09 30. It was a really long journey, but the AC comfort took away most of the potential hardships.

Hope you were not bored by this long blog containing 2 parts! 😛

Technical Terms

APU – Auxiliary Power Unit (specifically for charging the loco batteries when it is idle)

EMD – Electromotive Diesel (and a modern class of diesel engines)

ALCO – American Locomotive Company (and an old class of diesel engines of the 1960s)

LT – Low Tone

HT – High Tone

TSR – Temporary Speed Restriction

DBR – Dynamic Brake Resistor (usually mounted on the roof of the loco)

MRTS – Mass Rapid Transit System (partly elevated local train network in Chennai)

Station Codes

LTT – Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (or just Kurla Terminus)

VSKP – Visakhapatnam

KIK – Karaikal

KYN – Kalyan

SUR – Solapur

CAPE – Kanniyakumari

CSMT – Mumbai CST

SPJ – Samastipur

HYB – Hyderabad

AJJ – Arakkonam

BZA – Vijaywada

ED – Erode

LGD – Lallaguda

TNP – Tondiarpet

SNSI – Sainagar Shirdi

BBQ – Basin Bridge

I left my home by around 11 pm, intending to spend a few hours in the Upper Class AC waiting room at CSMT; as it wouldn’t be safe to travel in the locals beyond midnight. 12860 Howrah Mumbai Geetanjali express led by SRC WAP4 22529 overtook my local at Matunga – the train was running close to 3 hours late. I just about managed to get a seat in the waiting room, since there was a big crowd; I guess most of them were travelling in 11027! Announcements were repeatedly made for 01079 CSMT-KCVL special to depart from Platform 17 – important of course, but made it harder for me to get a decent sleep! 😦  More unhelpful was the temperature of the AC (predictably 😛 ). After 2 hours, I finally gave up and instead shifted to the adjacent non AC waiting room! 😛 There I ironically found it easier to sleep (even if it was not for much), before waking up around 02 45. I saw many passengers leave and head towards the platforms, which meant that the rake of our train must have finally been shunted to its designated platform.

As expected, 11027 was on PF14. My coach B1 was of a 2013 make; next to an extra coach B2 and closer to the rear.

Our loco was KYN WCAM2P 21863.

There were plug points in all bays as well as bio toilets. The seats and cushions had a pleasing maroon brown hue. I soon clambered on to my UB and slept after having my ticket checked. Added to our very late departure, the going was slow as well; and we took almost 5 hours to reach Pune. I had a solid sleep of close to 8 hours, though I woke up a few times in between. I could make out that we were being hauled by an EMD post Pune, going by the pull of the loco and its unique horn. We had a long halt at Bhigwan, during which a raging ALCO with a shrill horn crossed us with an express – probably 11406 Amravati Pune express. There was a brief stop at Jinti Road home signal, following which we accelerated through the station; crossing a BCNA freight in the process.

I noticed that our loco was a strong smoker. There were many rock cuttings and mounds before we crossed the Ujjaini Reservoir (created through the Dam on Bhima River).

We then crossed a river at MPS before Parewadi – where we crossed another freight. There was another river with mounds of waste in it. There was a good amount of freight action, as we overtook a twin WDG4 hauled freight at Washimbe. Reached Jeur at 12 31, 6 hours 3 mins late. Here we halted for 3 mins. There were fields and rock cuttings before we crossed another WDG4 hauled freight at Bhalwani. Then there were plantains and rock cuttings before we pulled into Kem at 12 51. It was a long stop. 18520 LTT-VSKP express, which had been hot on our heels; arrived behind KYN WDP4D 40233 and made an unscheduled halt. 

I sensed that there was a crossing. Sure enough, 11302 SBC-CSMT Udyan express rushed past behind Pune WDP4 40144.

Already running 6+ hours late, I thought we would be overtaken by 18520 (which is a faster train). Instead we were given the proceed and departed at 13 08, after a halt lasting 17 mins. Crossed a freight hauled by twin ALCOs (Leading – Orange & Cream livery; trailing – blue-white livery) at Dhavalas. There was an LC with a lot of vehicles before we arrived at KWV (PF4) at 13 26, 5 hrs 26 mins late – a good amount of slack between Kem and KWV reducing our delay. There was a pair of AEB-fitted UBL WDG4s (Leading – 12324) on the right. There was another pair of UBL WDG4s (Leading – 12156) on the left. At Wadsinge, we crossed an EMD-led express waiting for us on the right (probably 16340 NCJ-CSMT express) as well as a WDG4 with a freight carrying Steel coils in the distant right. Then we crossed 71414 Solapur Pune DEMU and another LC before Madha; where there was a TSR of 90 kmph on the right track. After that we crossed yet another freight pulled by a WDG4. I had Veg. Biryani for a late lunch.

Noticed that one of the bio toilets at the front of the coach had a “Bio toilet” sign even though it was not actually a bio toilet :O ! At Mohol, there was a sleeper factory which also housed cranes and lorries in sheds. There were also coconut trees in the distant right and a highway across us. We crossed a train having coaches in CR daytime livery headed by an ALCO – probably 12170 Solapur Pune Intercity express. Then there was a bridge over a river with small islands after Mundhewadi. The scenery continued, in the form of sugarcane and corn fields, as well as another bridge over a stream. We overtook a WDG4D hauled freight at Pakni. Then there were sugarcane and maize fields, stacks of hay, hay huts and cottages, cow sheds and meadows. At Bale, there was an empty and sparkling clean DEMU rake on the right. We crossed an orange and cream ALCO with an express. Then there were twin WDG4s with a freight on the right-most track.

As we entered SUR, I saw a flatbed rake on the right which departed towards GR. Pulled into PF1 at 14 50, 5 hrs 20 mins late. I saw that our loco was KYN WDP4D 40260.

There were twin WDG3As – 14898 of GTL and 13263 of KJM; next to the rake of 12157 Pune Solapur Hutatma express (An AC Observation Car in the front).

The station was crowded as usual.

18520 arrived on PF3 at 15 01, 36 mins late. Will we again proceed ahead of this train or will it overtake us? How would the rest of our run to MAS shape us? I leave it here on a tantalizing note; you will be forced to wait till Part 2 to hear more 😛 .

Technical Terms

EMD – Electromotive Diesel (and a modern class of diesel engines)

ALCO – American Locomotive Company (and an old class of diesel engines of the 1960s)

LC – Level Crossing

MPS – Maximum Permissible Speed

TSR – Temporary Speed Restriction

AEB – Auto Emergency Brake

DEMU – Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (or just diesel local train 😛 )

Station Codes

MAS – Chennai Central

CSMT – Mumbai CST

SRC – Santragachchi

KCVL  – Kochuveli

AJJ – Arakkonam

KYN – Kalyan

LTT – Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (or Kurla Terminus)

VSKP – Visakhapatnam

SBC – Bangalore City

KWV – Kurduvadi

UBL – Hubli

NCJ – Nagercoil Junction

SUR – Solapur

GTL – Guntakal

KJM – Krishnarajapuram