Onboard 6127

22712 AJJ/6127 (first AJJ monster in 700 series), pf 4 @ MS. D5-95604, 49 WS right side front facing. SP 0806 GDY 0808 TBM 0825/0828/0832/0835 GI 0844 SKL 0852 CGL 0858/0902/0910/0913 OV 0918 PTM 0922 KGZ 0930 MMK 0933 PQM 0937 MLMR 0940/0943 ACK 0946 TZD 0950 KSGL 0954 OLA 0956 PCLM 0959 TMV 1002/1006/1007/1009 2606/20* dirty wam4 in TMV loop MTL 1016 NMO 1022 PEI 1024 VVN 1028 MYP 1032 VM 1036/1040/1100/1104, 22712->20046 CEF, 21266 in yard, 3 new pfs almost ready @VM KDMD 1116 TVNL 1126 2636 was in loop, sleep ULU 1132 sleep VRI 1150/1152, huge UR crowd in at VRI. D5 being 2S res coach in middle - next to URs, gone galeej... TLNR 1201 some pass twds VRI in loop PNDM 1207 ICG 1209 ICGH 1210 MTUR 1214 SNDI 1218 VER 1220 OTK 1223 ALU 1229/1232 SLTH C/O 1238 KLGM 1246 KKPM 1251 PMB 1253 KTTR 1259 doorplate begins LLI 1302 MAND 1304 VLDE 1305 UKV 1310 SRGM 1311/1312/1316 (Further travelled in 857SR TPJ-ED passr to KLT from TP. 857SR gets heavy smoker 16853 ED wdm2 LHF)

Trip to Nalgonda in 2603

Collection of all messages sent to the gang, whilst traveling:

22516 LGD/2603 pf8, met Vivek. Dep MAS 1647 BBQ home 1650/1700 BBQ 1705 passed @ 30 KOK 1708 TNP 1709 TNPM 1711 TVT 1715/1717 pf loop line, main line was free!! WCN 1724 arr starter danger slowed to 10 kmph dep 1726 KVM 1732 EN 1734 creek 1736/1737 CD/20 kmph AIPP 1741 AIP 1742 nandi Halt 1743 MJR 1745 anup 1746 PON 1750 precedence over GDR passr / 23112 ET wag5 kavar 1754 going to cross border... GPD 1800 good speed elavur 1804 aramb 1810 TADA 1813 ripped at MPS. LGD proves its monsterousciousness. SPE 1823/1825 poli 1836 nayu 1845/1848 GDR 1917/1922 - late 2078/22002 @ GDR pf 1 an exp (krishna 7406?) crossed @ 1925 venkatachalam 1937 some exp (hwh-ypr 2863?) crossed @ 1940 vedayapalem 1943 Nellore south 1946 NLR 1948/1952 pf 1 - late by just 5 mins, LPs have stripped the clothes of GDR-NLR section with a sharpened pair of scissors. We literally flew. Though a die-hard ED wappie fan, I wish 'God Bless Lallaguda'. Though physically dirty - has raw power, like labourers in harbour quays. Wow.. Alluru Rd 2015 BTTR 2021/2023 late by 6 mins. Not losing time in BZA section is a himalayan task! Well done, CLP & ALP. Prec over a passr at srivenkatesapuram @ 2030. It was hauled by a moustached baby - BZA wam4. KVZ 2039/2041 late by 10 mins. High speed crossing w/274SCR TPTY passr @ 2049. Tettu 2151... 3351 crossed @ 2057, ulavp 2058 singarayakonda 2104/2106 unsch halt at TNR 2120/2130 km 280 surareddipalem 2141 km 284 2145/2152 ONG 2200/2202 late by 25 mins.. Got precedence over the culprit freight rake that slowed us, at karavodu(?) - bloody he got main line and we crawled through loop to overtake - 24010 JHS. Next stn @ 2220, prec over twin wag-5 hauled bcn rake. Uppugunduru crossed at 2228, slowed down @ km 318 @ 2232, CD/~35 kmph/km 319/2235 Chinnaganjam. Station after c.ganjam @ 2238 smelled brake shoe iron theenja vaasanai @ 2242 (can someone store that eternal dhaeva gandha sugandha vaasanai in a kuppi to store it for posterity??) - slowed down from 115+ to pass vetapalem @ 2243 @ 60 kmph. Km 340 CLX 2249/2253 PA for VSKP-TPTY 7488 Tirumala exp / pf 2.. Gained momentum all of a sudden - flying again after Chirala!! Stn after CLX @ 2259 CD/80 BPP 2304/2306 22516 has clear diesel trumpets as HT :) mediocre run through Appikatla @ 2314 - more like "my Home-He also has gone to a kutch slum". NDO 2324/2326 - late by 20+ mins as per Working TT. Modukuru? 2330, Tsunduru 2335 flying again... Slowed down CD/75 before TEL, TEL 2344/2350 pf 5. 21341 ET/CBE-JP blasted non-stop through pf 4 twds BZA @ 2349. Nice twin tones!! As always - a bottle of mango juice & a pack of lays to keep me busy!! Took GNT line. Enter FESL territory from FEDL -- Anga??uru 2358, next stn 0006 - our spouse 2604 was waiting in the loop. LED 'proceed aspect' discs guiding us only to stop at GNT outer 0019/0023 saw 2 policemen chasing 2 thieves in the adjacent street, while at GNT Outer. GNT 0030 - walked to front... Could hear him!!! 22516 LGD detached w/thx 0034, making way for 'The Majesty' to take over the sengOl. LHF Dippy attached @ 0040, #20039 KJM. Curious onlookers for the fucking ceremony as usual... Dep 0045 after a delay of 35 mins. Let us wait & see what the dippy has to offer! Nallapadu Jn 0057 to 0059, very slow pass-by. Crossed a train w/4 AC coaches @ end just after Piduguralla @ 0224, NDKD Jn 0232/0234 Pondu*** 0246 Krishna girder bridge ripped apart @ 0255 VNUP 0258/0259 kondr*** 0310 MRGA 0315/0317 - very good speed run in this stretch - NLDA 0345. Courtesy CTT buffer, we were mostly ontime as per Working TT. Subham.

Return trip jottings: 20041 shf - 2604/S7 WGSCN 05312. Tipparthi 1914 MRGA 1929/1935 VNUP 1955/1956 Krishna bridge crossed @ 2000 Pondugula 2008 NDKD 2015/2020 Piduguralla 2043/2045 Full coasting + MPS ride begins as we descend the Deccan Plateau crossed 13560/bcn @ 2055 km 59 ex-GNT, SAP 2116/2118. Peddakondavalu? 2031 negotiated a long stretch CD~35 Linganguntla 2136 MPS again next stn 2138 Bandarpalle 2144 Nallapadu Jn 2152/2155 GNT pf 1 2207/2240. 20041 gave way to 22569 GZB - a surprise link instead of the regular LGD wappie! Vejendla 2300 - took loop to allow 17508 MLY shf/RAL-SC Passr. Went to sleep after that - heard Nellore station aapka swagath kartha hai PA, saw SPE flying by, 0525 TNP 0553 MAS pf 4 brakes applied - 2 mins BT in BZA-MAS section through night. Overall, both Dn and Up journeys were very good. Hope you enjoyed the trip messages. Thx to KK & Sriram for forwards. Ara. :)

O/N parade - 3

Yet another trip through the NESL (in VSP's terms, Non-Electrified Single Line territory) jungle between VM and VRI - this one, though being a partial parade, was nevertheless interesting!

Tickets booked in 1063 MS - SA/Mettur Dam Express. Train was parked in Pf 7 at MS. Power was 22697 AJJ.

Dot departure at 2320 with a familiar "ungal payanam inidhaaguga' from the PA system. Having stopped at PV for unknown reasons and having done a close race with a unit from PV to TBM, we entered TBM at 2355 / 2357 into pf 9. Did power sleeps all along (eyes closed, ears wide open to synthesise the sound) from TBM. Lower berth advantage helped me as I had to just peep out to see what is happening where... CTM 0011 SKL 0016 PWU 0018 CGL 0028/0030 pf 6.

No action to watch around, it was just a dry run through OV 0036 PTM 0040 KGZ 0045 MMK 0047 and PQM 0051. Stopped at MLMR 0055/0056 only to continue this dry run further through ACK 0100 TZD 0105 OLA 0110 PCLM 0114 TMV 0121/0122 MTL 0135. Finally the parade started at Perani (PEI) courtesy: 0632 MDU-LTT Special Express / 17684 TNP LHF waiting in east loop for us to cross. VVN 0145 MYP 0149 and then on to VM arrival 0155 - pf 3.

Naveen , the awesome chap and an expert in mid-night railfanning, was waiting in VM. We saw 22697 being cut off and 18534 ED that had brought in 1064, being attached to 1063. 1064 that was waiting in pf 2 was dispatched soon with 22295 ED that took 2631 out the previous night. A long wait at VM meant that we had time to buy snacks and eat them slowly over a chat on all things under that moon. It went on for 20 minutes. We saw 6178 pulling itself into pf 1 like a long rope (24 coaches!). Bid bye to Nav as we got the starter sharp at 0212, 1063 rolled out at 0215 with the deemer whistling a long one.

Amazing to see that the Janakipuram gate is no more a gate but a flyover, I just noticed that feathers were lit at KNDM home for us to take the west loop. Happy to see a crossing there, I came to the door. Here is what that happened:

0228 - Entered Kandambakkam (KNDM)
0229 - Kreeeeech and brakes applied
0230 - Advanced starter turns proceed towards VM, split second follow-up by the starter
0231 - A serpent called 6108 spotted - atleast 1.5 kms before its KNDM home
0232 - 6108 crossed with 11193 SHF
0234 - Advanced starter turns proceed towards TVNL, split second follow-up by the starter turning amber
0235 - 1063 starts rolling out!!

What a coordination! The Section controllers deserve a standing ovation!

A side note on what are the loco links at VRI end as of Apr. 24, 2009:
6101 - VRI - 6178, 2631 - VM - 1064, 1063 - VM - 2632, 6177 - VRI - 6714

We got the east loop at TVNL - Dippy!! 0245 - arrival, 0247 - proceed towards VM in mainline, 0250 - unmistakeable hood end horn of a dippy heard, 0254 - 20042 dippy cr0ssed LHF with 2638 Pandian, 0255 - starter off for 1063 towards Parikkal, 0256 - 1063 rolled out of TVNL!

I went to sleep after noting down Nellai's crossing at ULU. Got up at ETP 0603 / 0605 only to find that the train is running 1 hr and 20 mins late. The entire stretch in VRI - SA line is excellent with s.o.art station buildings, neat stations, neat platforms and layout, lush green scenery everywhere even in April, mountains in background, wow!!

VGE 0614/0615, APN 0636/0637 (both have no loops), SXT 0646/0648 - both the platforms here are pefrect like athletic tracks and is aptly used by a lot of e.m joggers. Came under wires just after SXT. Salem Market 0653, SA 0700, late by 1 hr.

Return was by 1064 - was very tired and not much to note down!

Power - 17594 ED LHF
SA 2210 (1 hr 10 mins late) SXT 2215/2216 ETP 2250/2252 ATU 2300/2302 CHSM 2318/2320 VRI 0100 dep crossed 2631 at PVN, VM dep 0210, MS arrival 0445 - 5 mins BT :)

O/N Parade - 2

I would love to witness as many overnight parades as possible in the Chengalpattu Jn. (CGL) - Kanniyakumari (CAPE) single line BG section hauled by a monster diesel locomotive.

I had booked my tickets in 2662 Pothigai Express from Dindigul Jn. (DG) to Chennai Egmore (MS) - I got S9 1 LB, fellow railfan Vivek's reaction was how did you manage to get a berth in 2662 under pooled quota! I was blessed with a lowerberth with window on the east side (where most crossings happen), even I can just walk upto the wash basin next bay (berth # 1) to watch live action along the rails by keeping the door open - this side, it will be hidden behind the berths.

So, I arrived DG at around 2115 hrs. Soon, Tuticorin (TN) - Mysore Jn. (MYS) Express rolled in. All major arrivals and departures are handled through Pf 2. Starting West to East, there are 3 loop lines without platforms (westmost being a goods yard), followed by island pf 1 & 2 (2 is the through line), 3 & 4. 5 & 6 handle MG services towards Palani (PLN). MYS express had an ED 18419.

My brother-in-law had his tickets booked in H1 of 2638 Pandian Express, Train Enquiry showed it was running late by 5 mins as against a scheduled 2155/2200. Sharp at 2155, a long BCNA rake was let go ahead of 2638. At the same time, the unmistakeable Hood-end horn of the dippy arrived. I told that 2638 is on its way, some 3 or 4 kms away from DG... even though, no announcements were made at that time. The countdown began - my heart was racing to see the LH of the dippy - a beautiful sight when you see from a distance, at night. A just-in-time message from Dilip ("look out for 20040") helped me raise my collar by getting the loco number out of thin air :)

Closely following was an on-time 2632 Nellai Express, again with a dippy LHF. An amazing 10-second long hood-end horn was more than what I was praying for!! It got dispatched to the next block in style - I will not forget the speed at which the last two compartments rolled out, superb pickup.

The next visitor was an on-time 2634 Kanniyakumari Express. Lots of UR passengers boarded this train as 2638 and 2632 had just 4 coaches each and they were full to the brim. My patient wait continued as an MG passenger rolled in at 2300 into pf 6. Soon, announcements were made that 2662 was about to roll in - it was 5 mins BT at DG! A surprise for me at that point was 2662 got WDM-3A #18555 ERS instead of the usual dp3a link of GOC!

So, the journey began - I checked with the TTE why the link was changed, he gave me a puzzled look and told, "enakku theriyadhunga" (Boss, I do not know). Listing of what I noted down follows:

*DG 2332 dep
*Tamaraipadi 2345
*Vadamadura 2352 - CO 25 meant we were crawling through the mainline platform
*Ayyalur 0000 - exact midnight, this station has OHE masts
*Kalpatichatram - 0011 / 0017, pulled into the NW loop for the first & expected crossing with 2633. The down train got an ED dm2. Good speed. When I travelled in 2633 once, it pulled into the SE loop. This time the SE loop was occupied by the BCNA rake that departed from DG at 2155 - headed by WDS-6 #36012 GOC GHF.
*Vaiyampati 0025
*Chettiapati 0029 - good speed from here - excellent acceleration (2633 / 2632 happens here)
*Manaparai (MPA) 0033
*Samudram 0040 (2633 / 2638 happens here)
*Kolatur 0045 GOC wdg3A with a BCNA rake in SE loop towards MPA
*Punggudi 0051
*Tiruchchirappalli Jn. (TPJ) Home 0056 - rolled into Pf 1 - 0101/0106. TJ DMU was in pf 3, 6123 was at its home / WDM-2 #14125 ERS LHF
*Ponmalai Golden Rock (GOC) 0113
*Tiruchchirappalli Town (TPTN) 0118
*Kaveri River was 1/4th full
*Srirangam (SRGM) 0122/0130 received in east loop, 2693 Muthu Nagar / WDP-3A #15517 GOC with blinking Guard/SM exchange light indicators fitted.
*Kollidam River was 1/5th full
*Uttamar Kovil 0135
*Bikshandar Kovil (BXS) 0136
*Valadi (VLDE) 0139, BCNA in south loop towards TPJ
*Lalgudi (LLI) 0144 - platform literally torn into pieces with continuous horns and amazing speed (I should have missed spotting 6101 here)
*Kattur (KTTR) 0150/0155 - rolled into west loop for 2665 HWH-CAPE Express / WDM-2 GOC
*Pullambadi (PMB) 0206/0211 - put in west loop for WDP-3A/2661 the counterpart!
*Kallakudi Palanganatham (KKPM) 0220 - 2631 was waiting in east loop with 20033 dippy SHF - jet speed run continues...
*Kallagam (KLGM) 0225 - goods rake in east loop
*Sillakkudi 0231 - 2637 Pandian was waiting in east loop with a dippy LHF
*Ariyalur (ALU) 0236 - simply blasting through, platform torn into pieces
*Ottakovil 0241
*Sendurai (SNDI) 0248 (2661 / 2632 happens here)
*Mathur (MTUR) 0252 - the train was blasting all the way, literally flying upto MTUR advanced starter!
*CO 25/30 brought this train to a slow pace for a few kilometres, followed by a back-to-form speed run
*Ichchangadu (ICG) 0300 - 2661 looked like it was swaying, rocking and dancing to the tune and horns of 18555
*Talanallur 0310/0317 - pulled into east loop to allow 6177/ED 3D 11101. Also, it meant I had missed 6107 in the fray... most probably at Pennadam.
*Vriddachalam Jn. (VRI) 0326/0329 - I ended my overnight RF here - in favour of my sleep at the cost of the last crossing with 1063 MS - SA / Mettur Dam Express

When I got up, the train was just rolling into CGL (0612/0615). This train reached 15 mins BT at MS. It was an amazing run all along.

Titbits - 18555 is ex-GOC. It can be seen in GOC livery in the movie 'Run' in the scene when Madhavan comes to MS in Pallavan Express (Courtesy: Ramesh).

I am sure you have enjoyed reading this post.

Ara.