ALL PHOTOS HAVE BEEN TAKEN BY ME UNLESS
OTHERWISE STATED.
Welcome to a journey through some of the colours of India, from the South to the North, from 1980 to 1992.
Indian trains epitomize the ways and habits of the land. They are indeed a microcosm of the whole country, and are as colourful as the land itself. These pictures attempt to portray the hues and colours of the IR from Madras (Chennai) in the South to Delhi in the North.
Enjoy your trip, and come back soon for more!
ALL PHOTOS HAVE BEEN TAKEN BY ME UNLESS
OTHERWISE STATED.
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| 1. Southern Colour: The Southern Railway metre gauge line south of Chennai ( then Madras) has been electrified since 1931. However, in 1980 steam locomotives still shunted and even worked some main line trains which ran to destinations on non-electrified branches. Here shunter MAWD 1593 shows the SR colours at Madras Beach in November 1980 as monsoon clouds brew in the background. This Macarthur 2-8-2 sports a centre-headlight, and the class was later replaced on these shunting duties by YG 2-8-2s. |
| 2. East Coast Colour in the Krishna River delta area as WDM1 arrives at Gudivada Jn with 43 Madras-Kakinada Circars Exp. A SCR WP waits to continue on to Vijayawada with a passenger from Naraspur in January 1984. |
| 3. More East Coast morning colour as a SER WP with silvered smokebox crosses the causeway at the northern end of Chilka Lake with 202 Palasa to Puri passenger in January 1987. |
| 4. Tropical Colour from the setting sun as a YDM4 arrives at Vasco da Gama ( Goa) with 298 Mandovi Passenger from Miraj in December 1983. This line has been recently converted to broad gauge and made available for passenger trains on the very scenic Braganza Ghat. |
| 5. West Coast colour as CR WCM5 30190 arrives at Lonavla with 305 Bombay-Pune Deccan Express, 28 December 1981. Note the hectic platrorm life: passengers, vendors, hangers on and others, freely jaywalking the tracks. |
| 6. More West Coast colour: Later on the same morning 2' gauge 0-6-0 MLR 740 is in CR blue and cream livery as it hauls a holiday extra from Neral to Matheran. |
| 7. One year later, all steam working on the remarkable Matheran Railway had ceased. Here CR ZDM1 506 ( originally a 2'6'' loco of the NR ) nears the summit of the steep climb from the plains below. 20 December 1982. |
| 8. And still more West Coast colour but of a different hue as WR dual current WCAM1 21819 departs Vadodara in January 1992. |
| 9. Eastern Railway colour as a WP arrives at Patna Jn with a crowded passenger train. January 1982. Baskets and parcels are hoisted up, people start rushing: the whole platform suddenly springs to life and total bedlam ensues when a train arrives in India. A WP kicks up some action as she arrives in Patna in Eastern India with a passenger train. The majestic, bullet nosed WP Pacifics were almost synonymous with trains in India. At least four are preserved. |
| 10. Desert Colour. WR YP 2196 pauses at a wayside station while working 44 Ahmadabad-Udaipur Express as the crew obtain a load of firewood. 3 January 1982. |
| 11. The most colourful train on the metre gauge network? On six days a week the Udaipur-Delhi Gharib Nawaz Express was combined at Jaipur with the Pink City express. Dressed in appropriate colours for the route through Rajasthan YDM4 6657 and 6674 depart Jaipur in January 1992. The second carriage is a composite Air Conditioned Two Tier/ Air Conditioned Class Car. Air India adopted similar decorative touches for the livery of some of its fleet of 747s. |
| 12. No, this YG is not rostered to work the Pink City Express. This Jaipur YG shunts the Gharib Nawaz stock to release its YDM4 to double head the train in the previous photo. |
| 13. The setting sun colours the walls of the Agra Fort as a NR WG 2-8-2 restarts 7 Toofan Express on its climb to Agra Cantt. station in January 1987. |
| 14. Electric colour: WAM4 20487 stands at Delhi Jn in January 1992. |
| 15. Two WDM2 power a Superfast Express past Humayun's Tomb on the outskirts of New Delhi on the morning of 24 December 1982. |
| 16. The most colourful BG train of all in steam days, the New Delhi-Agra Taj Express of the Central Railway, shortly after dawn in December 1980. The 11 car blue and cream rake included a restaurant car, and a luxurious AirConditioned First Class Chair Car, pictured here in second position behind the locomotive. A few days later CR WP 7713 covered 90 kms in 58 minutes. The loco on the Up train returned with the Toofan Express on the down.Two years later the rake was painted in standard colours and hauled by a diesel. |
Sadly, scenes such as these will never be repeated again. Steam is well and truly on its way out in India. Indian Railways is well on the fast track, pursuing the technology trail.
High tech razzmatazz, heavy haul trains, super expresses, computerization: these are the by-words of the Indian Railways today.
A computerized train ticket in India
Yet, the colour stays on. Indian Railways is still one of the most colourful railway systems in the world. Crowded, yes. Chaotic, yes.Confusing, yes. But colourful, colourful, colourful!!
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images, esp. steam, visit my sister site STEAM MASALA Go to: http://www.oocities.org/TheTropics/Bay/7942/steam_masala.htm |
| But for a really colourful view of the Indian Railways in all its facets, visit S.Shankar's many splendid pages. Go to: |
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