Glimpses of the meter gauge lines from Rajasthan. Sections we covered during our five days sojourn in the Land of Kings include Jaipur -> Churu, Churu -> Sikar, Sikar -> Loharu, Sadulpur -> Hanumangarh and Ratangarh -> Sardar Sharh -> Ratangarh.
Mad rush! Loharu-Jaipur passenger sees heavy patronage each day. (Harish Kumar)
Sikar, is one the very few MG Junctions in the country to see such tight actions each day. Here to my left is the Jaipur bound passenger on PF#3, Jaipur - Loharu Express on PF#2 and Sikar - Churu Passenger on PF#1. (Harish Kumar)
Most often, during a halt, men, women, children or elders disembark on either sides of the train. (Raghu Jayaraman)
Loharu is probably the last railway junction in Haryana to see active MG actions today. (Raghu Jayaraman)
Sleepy side of Loharu Junction: As Ben mentioned earlier, things got worse at Loharu as Express train from Jaipur, was received directly on to the stable line, in total darkness, while the rake in pic was put on the platform line. (Harish Kumar)
While on the BG side, its action time. The Rewari - Hisar Passenger arrives at Loharu Junction. We would take this train to our next MG connect at Sadulpur Junction. (Harish Kumar)
Destinations reachable from Sadulpur (BenHur)
Phulera based YDM-4 #6728 would take us to Hanumangarh Town with the morning passenger. At Sadulpur we see the MGs given their due respect with 2 active platforms and direct entry from the town side. (Harish Kumar)
Sweeper on demand: He's not an ordinary sweeper, we find cleaning the station premises or the platform. Rather he sweeps out the inch-high sand that gets accumulated on the rolling stock.
Just as the train began to accelarate out of Tehsil Bhadra, sharp braking and blaring horns, prompted us to step out and see these bovines casually walking across the railway line. (Harish Kumar)
Often, these men not only have to brave the heat, but also the dust! (Raghu Jayaraman)
Lesser traffic at the back of gauge conversion means loop lines in many way stations have already started yielding to elements of nature (BenHur)
Waiting for their connect! Location: Gogameri (Raghu Jayaraman)
At Gogameri, a beautiful MG station, blessed with blossoms, we crossed the Sadulpur bound Passenger, powered by Phulera Shed's YDM-4 #6651.
The Sadulpur bound passenger takes a loop (BenHur)