A Sojourn on the Mandovi.

Yes- KJM WDP4- 20019 was brought and it was coupled in SHF to Bangalore City bound Rajdhani Express. Announcements for Bangalore City bound Udyan and its pairing trains were going on. The coupling was done and I took the hotspot. Reverser to neutral and a bit of throttle.  I was switching on head lamps, emergency brake was also applied. I and my assistant were talking in Walkie-Talkie. After checking the locomotive, I signed that any damage done to loco from now on will be in my account and my assistant joined me at the deputy hotspot. We got starter and I asked the guard about the scenario at the other end of the train. A gentle voice was heard “Loco pilot 22692, please move” and I hit the “Horn L/H end” button. The brake was released and as a railfan, I did what a typical railfan wanted to do. Yes- twintone honk at a station. And I gently put the first notch and ………. 

TTTTTTTTttttttttttttrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggggggggg… TTtttrrrriiinnnggggg…. Trrrinnnggg… trriinnggg……..

“What is this… oops where has the notch lever gone? Where is 22692? Where is WDP4 20019? Oh gods please save me- I am responsible for that loco”… 

TTTTTTTTttttttttttttrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggggggggg… TTtttrrrriiinnnggggg…. Trrrinnnggg… trriinnggg……..

“Oh was it a dream…. Oops who is calling? +3444- what is that number? Who is calling me? Is it real world?”  I was puzzled. Then I figured out where I was sleeping and what happened earlier night- everything in a fraction of second and finally I remembered that I asked Anil to call me up as I was sleeping close to mid night and I had to catch Mandovi Express that day. “Fine- let me cut and WhatsApp him” and without second thought- I cut the call.

I recalled the moments of the dream- Yes Bangalore Bound Rajdhani Express at CST Mumbai. I was loco pilot of Rajdhani powered by an EMD. What was Rajdhani doing at CST? May be what I though the previous day was being true in my dream- may be.

I woke up Goutham and we  got ready at speed of light and so did the time run. After having a casual chat with TTE regarding upgradation of our ticket to Sleeper Class or Three Tire AC, we decided against upgradation and we head to check our power even after having known Udyan had come with KJM WDP4B 40015 previous night. A customary power check and we were back to our seats, when the chief decided to trigger the throttle and let the “10103 Chhtrapathi Shivaji Terminus Mumbai – Madgaon MANDOVI Express” begin its journey of the day.

This part of the junket was the one what I awaited as a foodie. Both of us hoped that it was Ahuja catering that day and we bought one plate of Samosa. Hot hot samosa, with onion & garlic chutney. The smell of the chutney itself said “Ahuja is your caterer” but just for a confirmation, we asked the one who sold us the Samosa.

“Contractor kaun hein?”

“Ahuja sir”

“Badiya, kaafi kuch suna hein uske bare mein. Aaj toh khoob khana hein”

He grins and leaves. He leaves couple of what can be called best samosas I’ve ever taken. The onion & Garlic chutney was amazing and there was an instance where we fought for that chutney.  The train was hitting top speed, crossing numerous trains and skipping many local stations and everything went unnoticed as the hot hot samosas in our hand didn’t let us think about the other stuff. And no sooner we finished eating samosas, Seera Upma awaited to enter our stomachs. The chief stops the train at Dadar and serenity of the bay is slightly lost as couple of passengers come and occupy their seats. The train gently moves out of Dadar and slowly picks up pace. We were competing few locals and finally we hit the top speed. The train was trashing local stations with the chief giving continuous honk of the deadly WDP4, hitting the calmness to a very huge six just like how Chris Gayle does. Meanwhile in the coach, we were totally busy in enjoying the delicious Seera Upma, and the taste of Seera gave me a strong reminder of Bellary, where in all marriages, this is a customary sweet at the breakfast or evening snacks.

Thane comes and our bay is overcrowded. We decide to hit the doors and we do it after finishing our breakfast, which we ate at very slow pace. A quick look up on web regarding the train we would cross- “Kerala Sampark Kranthi- WDP3A, Coimbatore Bikaner AC Special, Mandovi, Dadar Janshatabdi, Karmali Shatabdi and Konkan Kanya- the major ones” I read out. Pratik Shetty confirms off-link to Coimbatore Bikaner Express- PUNE ALCo. Karmali Shatabdi had different ideas, as its earlier service crossed it before Panval, which meant one crossing was preponed. Yes Karmali Shatabdi of that day was rescheduled at 13:30 hours. A quick halt at Panvel and we head towards KR-SWR.

We wait for a passenger at unknown station and I almost fall down from a running train. Yes, the ladder under the steps broke and I was safe enough, the last step was strong enough to carry me. I sat at the door carefully and then came the board “WELCOME TO KONKAN RAILWAYS- KONKAN RAILWAY AAPKA SWAGAT KARTA HEIN!” Then a Masala Dosa seller comes and I grab one quickly. I eat it at the door and just enjoy the beauty. It was expected- we were traveling in wrong season and we expected Yellow Konkan. The chief is no mood to slow down and he hits MPS. Being fourth from loco- the roar of the lion pulling us was audible and every time it honked- it gave me goose bumps.The wanderlust I had to travel across Konkan was coming true.

The atmosphere was a bit cold but that didn’t stop me from door plating. The clacking sound of steel clashing with steel along with the roar and shout of the GT46 PAC adds up to the beauty of The Mighty Western Ghats, along with Garam Chai- which makes it perfect atmosphere for a person- err, a ferroequinologist, at least. We expected ourselves to wait for Kerala Sampark Kranthi but KR stopped it for us. Goutham who was busy with his Bread Omlette- missed out as I just got a good glimpse at the WDP3A, a rare property of Indian Railways. It was waiting with Chandigarh bound Kerala Sampark Kranthi Express and it was waiting for us at Roha. We skipped Roha like a boss as the chief gave a honk which I can never forget. The blazing honk of WDP4B in LHF with two flags out for exchanging signal with station master, and I envied each and every one who was on platform, and I felt sad as they couldn’t figure out that it was something special to some species on earth.

We were busy in finding out the location Natarajan Chandra Sekaran and Ujjawal Kashyap did trainspotting, as we knew we were nearing Mangaon. We came to halt at Mangaon and for better part of next twenty minutes, we were motionless as we waited for north bound Mangala Lakshwadeep Express. As soon as Mangala went, our train was given clearance and once again, the EMD GT46 PAC showed its aggressiveness. We were hitting top speed at very short time and then came the first tunnel. Sudden Blast of pitch black darkness with sound produced by tons steel clashing together- all that with the roar of the GT46 PAC. Few things in life cannot be missed under any circumstances and very few of them come in darkness. No exceptions for this, this one was totally priceless to me- the one which I awaited. The loud sound of steel clashing and the re-sound of the very same sound made it music which I awaited since many days. It made me deaf even to myself. For the first couple of tunnels, I couldn't stop shouting out loud of joy.

Few areas and tunnels were negotiated at a very low speed as we could notice the reason for deceleration- yes the track works were going on. Then after touching top speed for the umpteenth time, we noticed something very strange. A triangular board with “110”, which means trains are allowed to maintain 110 KMPH? This is something very exceptional on KR’s part. It’s a very rare spotting, considering the terrain on which the route is built.

And when I was thinking of all this, suddenly yet another tunnel came and yes- yet another out of world experience, in the darkness. The sound which comes when a train is hitting 110 KMPH with WDP4B in the lead is a mixture of what I imagined in my childhood. The roar of an EMD, clickey-clack of steel wheels on polished rails and the reverb of everything- making it a perfectly amplified sound, by the tunnel itself. I have been into tunnels at places like Shiradi Ghats, Braganza Ghats, but in all places, the speed was 30 KMPH. Negotiating a tunnel running under mighty hill on you at speed of 110 KMPH was something I cannot describe in words.

And all in this- Goutham asked me if I wanted watermelon- my favorite fruit. My instant answer: “YES”. I grab few watermelon slices and the chief was in no mood to slow down. We slowed down at couple of instances but only for making sure we weren’t over speeding in regions with temporary speed restrictions.

The food vendor comes to take order for food- and we ask what all are available. He spoke out a very big list of what was available and we decided to take two veg dum ki biryanis.

The train finally slowed down after very long time and it was scenic Diwan Khavati- where a local vendor of cucumbers said “Netravati ke liye rukhegi.” So its GOC v KJM time folks! We took our positions of capturing the train, and we waited for good 20 minutes and finally WDP4D came out of a tunnel- with its head lights on. “Err- mine won’t be focusing” I though in myself and glad the LP switched off the head lamp, allowing me to film a clip of it without any additional bokeh in it. GOC WDP4D #40099 it was.

We rushed to our coach and we finally entered our coach. All these unscheduled halts meant we were running behind time and by the time we entered Khed, it was almost one hour late. After Khed, we got our food served. After Chiplun, our coach was half empty and the EMD wasn’t disappointing us. A stop just before Ratnagiri and we crossed the Mumbai bound Mandovi Express leadby my favorite loco WDP4 20019 from Krishnarajapuram diesel loco shed. Ratnagiri was done which meant the loco pilot changed- and yes Panval Viaduct was something we were waiting for. There were two more bridges which come before Panval Viaduct, so it is obvious for a first timer to get confused and come to know that it is not Panval Nadi Viaduct at the last moment and we were no different to show that excuse. Two bridges, of which one read Pomendi Viaduct and after that- yes- Panval Nadi Viaduct.

The passengers in the coach were sleeping without any tension, but they didn’t know that they were on something which was placed on hollow erected piers. The train negotiated n number of tunnels and bridges and there was a time when the only pattern of the journey was “Bridge-Tunnel-Bridge-Tunnel……” Yet another 110 KMPH mark and we lost our minds once again.

The chief then halts for the Dadar bound Janshatabdi to cross us and the sun was hitting his destination. Yes we were running late by close to two hours and it was Vaibhavwadi Road, where the Janshatabdi Crossing was scheduled, for that day. The location was simply superb- it was totally filled with yellow. And in addition to that, it was golden hour. It was the situation where I decided to take wee bit of risk and jump into bushes so that I get one nice video of Dadar bound Janshatabdi Express. I went deep into bushes, got my camera and everything set perfectly. A honk somewhere far off with our EMD roaring- yes the train was approaching. Gradually it got louder- I got confirmation call from Goutham as well.

Slowly I could hear the iron horses working and in few moments, I could feel the vibrations as well.

Three

Two

One

“Record”

The Dadar bound Janshatabdi is pulled by Ernakulam DieselLoco Shed’s locomotive with bald head looks.

I entered into train and it was getting dark. And it was time for sunset. Sun setting from two hillocks was too much to ask, considering we were moving at high speed but that was something I’d really reject if I get to capture it. I was ready, awaiting for the perfect moment. And I clicked few pictures, which didn't turn out to be good, but watching sun set amidst two hills- it was just a text book sunset.

The train was running late by 2.5 hours and we were asked to stay back at Kudal. The Sawantwadi Dadar Rajyarani Express was on the other platform but both continued to be motionless. Then we were expecting that Trivandrum bound Rajdhani might have got late and may be it is overtaking us. But no- it was Ernakulam bound Mangala Lakshwadeep Express, which overtook us at Kudal, taking off reputation for the Mandovi for that run. It was like a fire ball approaching to burn the Mandovi black and blue.

As if the overtakes and crossings weren't enough, we had scares of loco failure as well. But glad it was a chain pulling prank and we could march ahead to our destination. Mandovi was signaled to wait for three crossings- CST Mumbai bound Konkan Kanya Express at Pernem, Kochuveli-Hazrat Nizamuddin AC Special at Thivim and for Lokmanya Tilak bound Matsyagandha Express at Karmali. Finally, we made a move from Karmali- with a good 3.5 hours delay, which meant we would have yet another night with very less sleep. After Karmali, there was no looking back, as Mandovi was given total preference. We had to hunt for a retiring room or else a night accommodation at Madgaon and we had to catch Mumbai CST-Mangalore Junction Super Fast Express next day. I saw the places where I visited in June 2013- Majorda Junction to Madgaon- which consist of Suravali. Finally, Mandovi dropped us at Madgaon at 22:00, a good 3.5 hour delay.

A thankyou to you if you have read it till here :) .

-Prithvi.