#11042

The French duo Daft Punk got their band name from a negative review they received from MelodyMaker magazine for a trio they were in before. A journalist wrote that the band Darlin's music was "a daft punky thrash". – WTF Fun Facts

Incidentay, I have kept this as my laptop wallpaper background! 😉 There was a dirty nalla before we passed a forest with a lot of goats and sheep led by a shepherd. The approach to Koduru was very scenic

The loopline speed here was 30 kmph. Then we crossed two dry rivers as well as a WAG9 hauled BOXN rake. There was a plateau on the distant right, as well as a huge apparently rainfed pond on our immediate right.

12163 DR MS ‘Super’ express crossed us with a WAG7 at Pullampet. We were rocking along at a good pace, and overtook some many lorries on the highway. There was a pond which reflected a rock inside it as well as the surrounding mountains on the distant right!

The contrasting nature of the Rayalaseema landscape continued though, as we crossed two more dry rivers! The freight action continued as well, as we crossed a BOXN rake with twin WAG5s before Razampeta, where there was an Electronic In-Motion Weigh Bridge (Whatever that means? :O) on the UP line platform. We then crossed 56012 HX – AJJ passenger led by AJJ WAM4 21320 at Hastavaramu. There was a lake with crystal clear water near the mountains. Then we crossed the dry (except for a few patches of stagnant water) Chaiyyeru river on a bridge which had a PSR of 50 kmph.

At Nandalur, an AutoLinx Car Carrier freight hauled by a blue ED WAG7 stopped on the mainline. As we departed, we overtook a BCNA rake led by twin ED WAG7s 27496 and 27494. There was a beautiful lake with a lot of grass growing inside it, followed by a TSR of 30 kmph.

There was another lake with a lot of thorns before Ontimitta.

There was a line going to the right after Bhakrapet, followed by yet another TSR of 30 kmph and a dry river. We had an unscheduled halt of 3 mins at Kanamalopalle, which is yet another scenic station.

Here a flatbed freight with Iron Coils crossed us led by twin ED WAG7s (leading 27768). Meanwhile, in the Western bio-toilet; the flush leaked out water whenever I used it, and someone had thrown a paper packet in the commode! Yuck. A lot of people got in during our 3-min halt at Kadapa, after which there was yet another dry river with a few stagnant patches of water. The freight action rolled on as another BCNA rake crossed us with a WAG9. I dozed off for a while. When I woke up, we were leaving Yerraguntla (18 03, 29 mins late) ; and it was already dark. 57273 UBL TPTY passenger (which was running more than 2 hours late) entered led by GY WDP4D 40204 and a dead blue-white WDM3D behind. The line to Nandyal branched off to our right There were huge mounds of stone waste as well as pits, before we crawled through Kalamalla; where I spotted twin Ajni WAG7s (leading 27184) in Tigerface livery.

There was a factory in the distant right. Our coach was fairly crowded now. The never-ending freight action continued, as we crossed a BOXN rake hauled by twin Ajni WAG7s. From MAS to GTL, 11041/42 has a similar halt pattern as that of the supercrawler 11027/28 CSMT – MAS Mail. Our next halt was at Muddanaru, where again quite a few people got in. Funnily, there was a big board which spelt the station as “Muddanur”! 😛 At the next station Kondapuram, we had a longish halt of 9 mins for watering. Here, a freight hauled by an EMD skipped the station at MPS; sounding the LT horn (similar to that of an electric) continuously followed by a short burst of the HT horn. As we exited the station, there were two big water-tanks on the right; followed by a sub-station and a factory, as well as a highway on the right. This was followed by yet another bridge on a dry river with a TSR.

Then there was suddenly a huge jerk as we apparently hit an object on the track (a stone, according to my co-passengers)! This was one of the rare times I had actually felt scared during a train journey, especially given the spate of derailments we have had in the last 1 year or so! Anyway, this sensation of fear would not last long; especially with a train fanatic like me! We passed a few more factories with fire burning in the chimneys of two such factories.  There was another unscheduled halt at Challavaripalle for less than a minute before we pulled into Tadipatri at 19 24, half an hour late. 12708 NZM TPTY AP Sampark Kranti express with 5 AC coaches entered nearly 3 hours late behind an EMD. I had dinner from the pantry, which comprised 3 chapatis with paneer mutter. It was quite tasty.

Meanwhile, we were losing time; and the ride was not very smooth – there was a lot of lateral movement. We had yet another unscheduled halt – this time for as long as 16 mins, at Rayalacheruvu. Another family got in here. Then there was a halt of 3 mins on the mainline at Jakkalacheruvu which is a ghost station. The light from an excavator nearby shone on a family camping and having dinner on a mat – this is the beauty of train journeys, especially in non AC! You get to see so much of the countryside and its wonderful people, and these sights are even more scenic in the night! Anyway, coming back to the journey; I had thought these unscheduled halts would be the last in store for us that day – I was emphatically wrong. We were again halted at Gooty cabin (with the BPCL factory in the right), and this time for a monumental 40 mins or so!

A rather crowded 18464 SBC BBS Prashanti express was standing adjacent to us. It honked (HT electric horn, probably WAP1/4) and departed ahead of us. Then 17212 YPR MTM Kondaveedu express overtook us led by GY WDP4D 40150 honking continuously. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBtchfI0Xf0 Then 16570 KCG YPR tri-weekly express crossed us led by KJM WDG3A 13285 honking and chugging hard, as we finally departed! We limped into Gooty at 21 14, 1 hr 46 mins late. Here there was diesel freight action in the form of a BCNA rake led by GY WDG3A 13100, and a flatbed rake with Iron coils led by twin GY WDM3Ds 11351 and 11321. Again, there was more agony for us; in the form of an overtake by the shining rake of newly converted LHB superfast 12793 TPTY NZB Rayalaseema express led by LGD WAP4 22643 – believe it or not, both the HT and LT horns of this beast  (as the train departed) were of the pure P7 variety! :O

Apparently to compensate (the railfan in me) for the long wait, the station was full of ALCO honking and chugging, and EMD whining sounds! We finally departed at 21 48, 2 hrs 18 mins late! There was another flatbed rake led by GY WDM3D 11342 and the Indian Oil factory on the right. We crossed two bridges over dry rivers (yet again!) . It was time for me to lie down on my LB. We were already running way behind schedule, and would lose more time during the next long halt at GTL – for our WAP1 would be replaced with a diesel; which would take us all the way to Mumbai! Of course, 11042 has huge slack later in the journey from Yadgir to Wadi – 2 hrs 5 mins for a distance of 38 km! Anyway, to find out how well we make use of this slack, you will have to wait for Part 3! Happy reading till then!

Technical Terms

MPS – Maximum Permissible Speed

PSR – Permanent Speed Restriction

TSR – Temporary Speed Restriction

LT – Low Tone

HT – High Tone

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

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

LHB – Linke-Hoffman-Busch (German company whose technology is used to produce modern coaches – mostly seen in Rajdhanis, Shatabdis and Durontos)

Station Codes

RU – Renigunta

AJJ – Arakkonam

LGD – Lallaguda

DR – Dadar (Central)

MS – Chennai Egmore

HX – Kadapa

ED – Erode

UBL – Hubli

TPTY – Tirupati

GY – Gooty

CSMT – Mumbai Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (Mumbai CST with the ‘Maharaj’ in it! 😛 )

MAS – Chennai Central

NZM – Hazrat Nizamuddin

SBC – Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Bengaluru (or just Bangalore City 😛 )

BBS – Bhubaneswar

YPR – Yeshwantpur

MTM – Machilipatnam

KCG – Kacheguda

KJM – Krishnarajapuram (KR Puram)

NZB – Nizamabad

LGD – Lallaguda

GTL – Guntakal

After brunch, I left home by 11am and took an Ola auto to reach MAS by 11 30 without much ado. One look at the giant digital display board told me that 11042 was berthed on Platform 9. On PF 6, 22602 SNSI MAS superfast was resting with APU-fitted TNP WDM3As 16084R and 16853R; while on PF 8 a shining LGD WAP4 22322 was resting – according to railfan Jyothish K it had brought in 12696 TVC MAS superfast.

My coach S8 was a very old 1996 old make, but surprisingly had mobile charging sockets in all bays and even bio-toilets at one end! :O It was 5th from the loco – AJJ WAP1 22011, and I had a trackside window seat LB 😉 .

From PF 3, 22637 MAS MAQ West Coast express departed at 12 05. On PF 8, 12608 SBC MAS Lalbagh express arrived at 12 19 (4 mins late) behind RPM WAP7 30332. One of its 2 AC Chair Cars was a 2015 make, and it had 3 Deen Dayalu coaches (1 2017 made). We departed at 12 25 (5 mins late) after sounding 2 LT horns. For a while, there was parallel action with the rake of 22602 which was being shunted – its front SLR had broken shutters despite being 2015 made 😦 . Near BBQ Coaching Depot, I saw a 20 lever Cabin; and a Train Care Centre in the distant right. On a siding was TNP WDM2 16885 in GOC livery (maybe to be transferred to GOC?). As always, the BBQ ETS was home to a variety of locos – RPM WAP7s 30367 and 30413, ED WAP7 30573 (First time I had ever seen an ED P7! ), LGD WAP4s 22663 and 22515; and AJJ WAP1 22021. Not a single ED/RPM WAP4 though – times have indeed changed! :O

There was a PSR of 30 kmph before BBQ. I also saw Don Bosco Higher Secondary school before VPY. There was a TSR of 30 kmph before Villivakkam – there I saw a road with name “Loco Scheme Ist Street”! :O I guess it is a railway colony! Near Korattur there was a lake full of moss. By now we were galloping and the continuous honking (the two LT horns and a rarely used HT whine) was a treat to the ears, accompanied by mild flat wheel sounds coming from the rear of the coach :P. There was another dirty moss-filled lake near Ambattur. As we crawled through Avadi, I could see the Tube Products of India factory in the right. I also saw the Madras College of Pharmacy and 2 Kalyana Mandapams before a WAG9 hauled BOXN rake crossed us (a cue to the freight action to follow). After the line to PTMS branched off to the distant right, a Tigerface WAG7 hauled express crossed us – probably 16054 TPTY MAS express.

The surroundings became more rural from hereon. I observed Jaya College and Vivekananda Vidyalaya, and a Tigerface WAG7 hauled BOXN freight at Veppampattu. There was a lot of stagnant dirty water for a while, and quite a few temples before the crawl through Tiruvallur. There was a container freight hauled by GMO WAG9H 31822 standing in the opposite direction. Then an express crossed on the left before the Egattur forests. There were a lot of sheep, goats, cows and calves grazing. There was a stagnant patch of water in the dry Kushasthalai river. My ticket was then checked – the TTE asked only for the ID proof – I showed him my PAN Card, but he told me that it’s a photocopy and asked me to keep Aadhaar card for safety! Aaah…just underlines the obsession of our government with Aadhaar for anything and everything! Anyway, I have the original Driving License as well just in case!

There was a BCNA rake led by Ajni WAG9 31259 standing at Tiruvalangadu. We crawled and changed tracks – now we were on the leftmost track! On the right most track there was a TSR of 100 kmph! I then saw a stagnant pond and a long line of palm trees, as well as a Splendor bike parked in the midst of this wilderness before Mosur! After Puliyamangalam, 12610 SBC MAS Intercity exp crossed us with RPM WAP7 30427. Then there was again a TSR of 100 kmph on the right most track! :O Then there was a lake before a PSR of 15 kmph (which would continue till we took the line to RU from AJJ). In the AJJ yard, there was a Car Carrier AutoLinx rake and a BCNA freight with LGD WAG9 31556. An EMU departed towards MAS on the distant right as we pulled into the station (PF 3) at 13 44, 22 mins late. 3 families got in our coach. There was an EMU waiting on PF 4, ready for departure towards MAS.  22638 MAQ MAS West Coast express arrived on PF 2 as we departed after a two-minute halt.

An LHB rake crossed us on the left (12551 YPR KYQ AC superfast ?)while we changed tracks to move to the RU line. There were people hanging from the doors of our front 2 coaches! :O On the line to RU, there was a TSR of 80 kmph for passengers and 50 kmph for goods. Soon there was a teaser of the scenery to follow later in this section, in the form of a forest, corn fields, palm trees and irrigated fields before we passed the ghost station of Ichiputtur. Then there was a stagnant pond and some coconut trees before an express crossed with a P1 – probably our counterpart 11041 CSMT MAS express. Then there was a small pond with water lilies and a lot of houses and an LC before we pulled into Tiruttani, where a few people got down and a family got in. 12245 HWH YPR Duronto (apparently running about 3 hours late) passed the station without stopping, hauled by TATA WAP7 30549.

There was a small river called Nandhi, before a highway gave us company on the right. Then came the scenic Ponpadi station (last station in TN on this route) which was full of trees, following which there was that famous 90 degrees curve.

On the DOWN line, there was a TSR of 50 kmph for passengers and 30 kmph for goods before Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta – the station with the record for having the longest name in IR (or has it been broken?), and the first station in A.P in this route. There was a Grand World Water Park (a really scenic location for a water park, I must say! 😀 ) . Then there were some stagnant water patches and the dry Nagari river. There was a tractor on a thin road next to the DOWN line bridge! Now the DOWN line was really down – as it was below us! 😛

Then there was a beautiful lake near Ekambarakuppam, in which there was a grass island. I saw cows and calves grazing. There was also a uniquely shaped mountain peak christened “Dadar express” by railfans – since it resembles a train being pulled by a diesel loco – 12163/64 MS-DR superfast (earlier 11063/64 MAS-DR express) has always been associated with diesels; in fact, for a brief period from 2003 to 2006 it was hauled by a diesel loco (usually a GTL WDM2) between Pune and MAS!

Check this video of us blasting through the scenery – rock cuttings, greenery, trees and mountains; skipping Vepagunta on the way – all the way our P1 honking melodiously https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M6P4-2EBOc&t=9s . Then there was the lovely sight of boys playing hockey at a school, while a lot of girls and boys watched. This school was, again; in a very scenic setting – with a beautiful lake nearby and a lot of coconut trees. A lot of buildings signalled the arrival of Puttur, where some people got down. We overtook a freight led by twin WAG7s (leading – ED 27481). The separation between the DOWN and UP tracks made for some good photography! 😉

There was another beautiful lake and some spectacular scenery (yet again!) in the form of forests and surrounded by a line of coconut trees and of course the Sapthagiri Hills in the distant right!

There was a TSR of 80 kmph before Pudi, where we overtook a TNP ALCO with  a few freight bogies. There was the dry Swarnamukhi river, before we crossed an almost 1 hour late running 66048 TPTY MAS Fast MEMU. At RU yard, there was an LGD WAP4 22717 coupled to a now rare Rajdhani liveried AJJ WAP1 22058. There were Humsafar coaches (have seen them here since March end this year!), few BCNA rakes, an accident relief train as well as a WDP4D in the distant right; as we pulled into the station (PF 1) at 14 57, 7 mins late. Near us lay GTL WDM3D 11118 with 2 Accident Relief Medical Vans. On PF 5, 22603 KGP VM superfast pulled in behind RPM WAP4 22872. On the distant right, a BCNA rake led by BZA WAG7 28464 (in WAP4 shell) left (in our direction) after continuous LT horn blowing. On PF3, 16381 CSMT CAPE Jayanthi Janata express arrived behind ED WAP4 22526.

I had an Egg Biryani for lunch (which was strictly ok) as we left at 15 10. I spotted twin ED WAG7 twins 27653 and 27497 in the distant right. I will be continuing my account in Part 2. Hope you have enjoyed so far!

Technical terms

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

LT – Low Tone

HT – High Tone

SLR – Second Class (Unreserved) cum Luggage rake

ETS – Electric Loco Trip Shed

PSR – Permanent Speed Restriction

TSR – Temporary Speed Restriction

LC – Level Crossing

EMU – Electric Multiple Unit (or just local train :D)

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

MEMU – Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (or just non-suburban electric train :P)

LHB – Linke-Hoffman-Busch (German company whose technology is used to produce modern coaches – mostly seen in Rajdhanis, Shatabdis and Durontos)

Station Codes

MAS – Chennai Central

CSMT – Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (Mumbai CST with the ‘Maharaj’ in it! :P)

SNSI – Sainagar Shirdi

TNP – Tondiarpet

GOC – Golden Rock (Ponmalai)

RPM – Royapuram

ED – Erode

AJJ – Arakkonam

LGD – Lallaguda

TVC – Trivandrum Central

BBQ – Basin Bridge

VPY – Vyasarpadi Jeeva

PTMS – Pattabiram Military Siding

TPTY – Tirupati

GMO – Gomoh

SBC – Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Bengaluru (or just Bangalore City! :P)

MAQ – Mangalore Central

YPR – Yeshwantpur

KYQ – Kamakhya

HWH – Howrah

TATA – Tatanagar

MS – Chennai Egmore

DR – Dadar (Central)

GTL – Guntakal

KGP – Kharagpur

VM – Villupuram

BZA – Vijaywada

CAPE – Kanniyakumari