IRFCA Mailing List Archive


Messages 2321 - 2340

From: Auroprem Kandaswami <kandaswa@apple.email

Subject: Coimbatore Junction

Date: 18 Mar 1998 03:59:00 -0500


Sundar,

Historically, before Coimbatore City was well-developed as a modern,
commercial city (and the leading industries in the city as well -
such as Textiles and other areas), it was another station
which was serving the railway needs of the city - and that is
Podanur Junction (sorry, cannot remember the station code. if you
could find it during your trip, it will be great!) Podanur actually
happens to be a suburb of Coimbatore (#2 city in Tamil Nadu), located
approximately to the South-West of the centre of the city (downtown).
All major trains on Chennai-Ernakulam/Mangalore route used to merely
stop in Podanur for the people of Coimbatore. If you get a chance
to visit Podanur Junction, you'll be surprised that it looks like a
major station (looks grander than Coimbatore Junction, with 4-5
platforms),
though it is a very small town, just outside of Coimbatore. It is also
a station where the BG and MG lines intersect. MG line is from Coimbatore
to Dindigul (via Pollachi-Palani).

With the city developing fast, there was now a need to create a
new line connecting people into and through the heart of Coimbatore
City and that is how Coimbatore Junction came up. As a result,
trains serving Coimbatore city (or Junction) had to travel extra
10-12 kms into the city and again out. Layout is as shown :

X (Irugur Junction)
(Coimbatore North Junction) X ^ N
-|-
(Coimbatore Junction) X |
|

X (Podanur Junction)

Some major trains, like the Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram Mails just
bypass Coimbatore city by taking the Irugur-Podanur chord. They
do not stop at either one of these stations (basically, do not
serve Coimbatore at all). Another train which takes this
"short cut" is H. Nizammuddin- Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani Expresses,
skipping Coimbatore altogether. (Interesting, eh? This train
stops at Palghat 45 kms south of Coimbatore, but doesn't even
stare at Coimbatore!)

There are some trains, which will bypass Coimbatore, but stop
briefly at Podanur (2 minutes) - e.g. Chennai-Mangalore Mail,
Chennai-Allepey Express.

All other trains, get diverted from Irugur into the city station
and out, such as Kerala Express, West Coast Express, etc. While
most of these halt only at Coimbatore Junction, there are some
which halt both at Coimbatore and Podanur.

My understanding is - Podanur-Irugur chord line and theline thru'
Coimbatore Junction are both single lines. There was some plan in
the recent past to double Podanur-Irugur chord line.
(Anybody, who has recently visited the area could comment on that)

Enjoy your trainspotting in Coimbatore !

Auro
















>Hello junta,
>
>If the Ahmedabad Cochin Express gets diverted thro' Konkan Railway, its
>route would most probably be Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Surat-Vasai and then the
>Vasai-Diva chord and from Diva to Roha and onwards. Now the point is -
>the train would be running on the Kalyan-Mumbai trunk for a few hundred
>metres between Dombivli and Diva! It won't touch Diva and move away on
>the bypass heading south before the station. Well it would be a unique
>experience to watch the train move like a mountain snake - it rushes on
>the overbridge over the main line, takes a U and touches the main-line,
>but before the entire train can become straight, another set of points
>divert the engine back into KR territory. I'm waiting for this
>experience!
>
>Can anybody brief on the way Coimbatore station junction works.. the
>Bradshaw shows many trains stopping there, but a lot more bypassing the
>station? I wonder how the route is. I'll probably make a trip &
>investigate in the next few weeks..
>
>Sundar
>
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From: Sundar Krishnamurthy <coolsundar@hotmail.email

Subject: Re: Track changes

Date: 18 Mar 1998 08:47:00 -0500


Hello Raghavendra

> recently when i had been to mantralayam by hyd. exp, i was
> thinking on this matter. and i cudnt reason out a convincing
> answer.

Well, Mantralayam is a great place with the breathtaking Tungabhadra
bridge immediately taking over after the station. Its famous for the
Raghavendra Ashram.. you'll obviously know better ;-)

> when an electric engine changes track, how does the
> electric contact over it get changed over to the
> other cable ?

I spent (wasted?) four precious years of my life studying electrical
engineering, but we learnt electric traction only in the final year!
I'll try to be as non-technical and user-friendly as possible...

> a request: let the answers be in plain english please (not with
> too many acronyms) since i am too new to this list to catch
> up the acronyms used around here.

The electric traction system employing overhead conductors is
technically called the "catenary" system. It usually employs two wires -
the top one for support and the bottom one for feeding power. The bottom
one tries to be absolutely straight while the top one widens a little at
the supports. Both the wires are at the same potential and are connected
through narrow sturdy copper contact wires. The wires are taut and
maintained under heavy tension. The wires are powered at high voltages -
and the iron rails act as the return earth path for the circuit to
complete at the sub-station. (Am I getting too technical? Okay ...) The
electric wires may support one of the two electric traction systems
prevalent in India - the 1.5 KV DC or 25 KV AC system. The systems are
incompatible and isolated. Of these, the former covers roughly 350 kms
of track in Mumbai. The entire Mumbai railway network is powered by 1500
V DC - a system employed by British
in late 1930's. This includes Mumbai CST - Kalyan, Kalyan - Pune, Kalyan
- Igatpuri, Mumbai CST - Belapur - Panvel (the line will be ready now)
and Churchgate - Virar. The rest of India employs a superior method of
electrification from France - the 25 KV AC system. All the remaining
electrified routes use this system that has superior traction features,
system stability and lesser electrical losses. There is a proposal to
re-energize Mumbai at 25 KV AC..

The locomotive collects power from the overhead cables through a
extensible steel contraption called the "pantograph". The pantograph is
mounted on a spring-support system that pushes it upwards. Since the
catenary is already taut, the contact between the two is always
maintained even with varying height of the wires from the rail level; as
may occur in bridges, level-crossings and tunnels.

Now coming to your question about electric wires at points.. lets
digress to discuss a related issue, that'll make everything clear. Well,
the next time you travel on AC electrified territory, notice the
electric wires on the adjacent track (obviously, you cannot see the one
on your track :-) ). The wire is not single or continous. After a few
hundred metres, another set of wires emerge from a pulley mounted on the
side of one electric support to run parallel to the existing running
catenary. Both of them are connected in parallel through connecting
chord wires near the next electrical support and at the third support
the newer catenary wire emerges as the running wire, while the previous
one disappears into a pulley at the top of the support. The wire drops
below the pulley and is held taut by weights mounted on it - circular
heavy discs stacked like pancakes. Before the wire touches the pulley,
mica/porcelain insulators isolate the energized wire from the pulley and
weights.

Now comes the answer to your question - how does an electric locomotive
negotiate junctions. Well, whenever a point is incident, one or two
supports before the point, a catenary set comes out of the support, runs
parallel till the junction and turns to follow the supports of the
deviating line! The original catenary continues to run straight.. There
is no splitting or switching of the wires! Quite simple.. really. I can
draw a Bitmap and maybe post it .. if you're still unclear.

One doubt that may arise is .. what happens when a locomotive takes
power from two parallel running sets of catenary.. Well, actually since
both the wires are at the same voltage, it does not affect the
locomotive at all! Its like connecting a bulb across a battery with one
wire; or using two wires, running in parallel from each end to the bulb
terminals!!!

I hope this explanation made some doubts clear. I'm sorry if I was too
technical.. I can't help!! (In fact, a lot of times we were scolded by
our professors for not being "technical" enough.. so, there!!!)

A related discussion is the way electric cables are supported on an AC
system.. the supports are very inexpensive compared to their DC
counterparts which were very heavy and costly; for the weight of wire
they had to support.. the AC catenary supports are 45-degree extended of
the type

| / | /
|/---- or |/--
| |
| |

Well, there are two varities to this .. one in which the horizontal arm
is long & extended beyond the track (outer support - former diagram) and
one where it is short (inner support - latter figure) They are usually
placed alternately on a main line.. for proper straightening of the
wire.

Sundar Krishnamurthy

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From: Philip Wormald <PWormald@compuserve.email

Subject: ALCO powered Locomotives

Date: 18 Mar 1998 15:34:00 -0500


Can anyone please tell me lots of info on any Loco's in India with
the ALCO engine, how many are there (I think 1000's).
What model of engine is fitted, anyone got any JPG pictures.

I have a quite good selection of European ALCO powered info and
pictures if anyone wants any.

Many thanks,

Phil Wormald

From: Jishnu Mukerji <jis@fpk.email

Subject: Re: Route question

Date: 18 Mar 1998 15:38:00 -0500


Pushkar Apte wrote:
>
> Jishnu - thanks for the excellent historical information on the Sahibganj loop,
> "Main line" and Grand chord from Caclutta/Bardhamman.

You're most welcome.

> I have a question - there is presently no train that links the stations North and
> North-east of Calcutta to the Mumbai-Howrah main-line via Nagpur. If such a
> hypothetical train were to come from Mumbai/Nagpur via Durg-Bilaspur-Tatanagar
> and head towards New Jalpaiguri/Guwahati - what would be the best (shortest)
> route? The best I could figure out was:
> Tatanagar-Joychandipahar-Asansol-Andal-Sainthia. Is there a better route?

In terms of Kms that might be the shortest, but in terms of travel time
- who knows? Some of that is pretty heavily coal/ore train traficed
track and some of it is definitely not first class track. The fastest
route might still be via Howrah.

--
Jishnu Mukerji

From: Jishnu Mukerji <jis@fpk.email

Subject: Re: Discover India Magazine??

Date: 18 Mar 1998 15:44:00 -0500


> Subject:
> Discover India Magazine??
> Date:
> Thu, 19 Mar 1998 00:18:03 -0500 (GMT)
> From:
> "PROTIP.DASGUPTA" <protip@giasbmc.email
> To:
> irfca@cs.email
> CC:
> hubbert@cww.email
>

Gosh! VSNL (giasbmc.vsnl.net.in) appears to be truly confused about what
time zone they are in! GMT - 5!!! Wish they would set their clocks
straight and say they are GMT +0530 so that mail from VSNL sights don't
appear to arrive before it is time!!

--
Jishnu Mukerji

From: PROTIP.DASGUPTA <protip@giasbmc.email

Subject: Discover India Magazine??

Date: 18 Mar 1998 23:18:00 -0500


Hi All!
This is to bring to your notice, more so to Mr Heinrich Hubberts notice
that the latest issue of Discover India, March 1998 has some crucial,
unforgivable errors in it!
In the issue there is an article written by Mr. Heinrich Hubbert on "100
years of the Blue Mountain Railway" which essentialy pays tribute to the
Metupalyam-Ooty Nilgiri Mountain Railway (SR) in Tamil Nadu! There are 5
photos featured in the issue also taken by Mr. Hubbert and to my horror
all photos...large ones at that, were of the 'YP' class of Steam locos
photographed on the Western Railway system in Gujarat!!!! Not a single
photo relevant to the issue and worse still wrong misguiding pictures of
another region, another class of loco and a different railway system all
together!
I dont know how any magazine can be so unprofessional and misleading and
so careless, especially when it retails at 50/- rupees in India and also
sells abroad for about 3 Pounds!!
I have written a very strong letter to the publishers conmdemming the
issue but dont really see what they will do about it, except possibly
carry an apology in the next issue. It is really sad that such a
publication can think of all its readers as so ignorant and idiotic!
I hope Mr. Hubbert has seen the issue or at least knows about it, if not I
hope he gets to read this!
Regards,
Bharat Vohra

From: PROTIP.DASGUPTA <protip@giasbmc.email

Subject: Patiala Monorail in Steam!

Date: 18 Mar 1998 23:19:00 -0500


Yes, as my subject suggests I did have the good fortune of seeing the 1907
built Orenstein & Koppel Patiala state Monorail in steam only a few weeks
back on the 28th of February this year on my trip to Delhi!
I have made umpteen trips there but this was the first time I ever saw it
in steam!! It does run on a circular route in the National Railway Museum
on Saturdays and Sundays for most of the year!
I got the oppurtunity to chat with the crew between runs and it was a
delightful experience standing next to it and inhaling the steam. It is
the cutest little steam engine Ive ever seen and i thank my stars I saw it
in steam, must have been an amazing sight in its heyday!
It is one of the most sensible things the NRM has ever done, wonder why
they havent publicised it as yet? Did anyone on this network know about
the live run of this monorail at the museum?
For those of you who are in India, do try and catch it in action... at the
Rail Museum, Delhi on Saturdays and Sundays....a ride costs 20 rupees,
although watching it move is an experience in itself.
Regards
Bharat Vohra

From: Sundar Krishnamurthy <coolsundar@hotmail.email

Subject: Re: Track Changes

Date: 18 Mar 1998 19:20:00 -0500


Hello Raghavendra,

I've put up a temporary page on the electric support problem.. it's got
pictures that explain everything.. Visit

<A HREF="http://members.xoom.com/sundar/itg/esupport.html">http://members.xoom.com/sundar/itg/esupport.html</A>

Regards,

Sundar Krishnamurthy

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From: Sundar Krishnamurthy <coolsundar@hotmail.email

Subject: Model Railway Museum

Date: 18 Mar 1998 23:47:00 -0500


Hello All..

Anybody who's been to Pune and railfanned would've surely heard of the
Model Railway Society.. I got an opportunity to join and attend their
meeting in December, but unfortunately, I haven't been able to keep up.
Well, Mr. Bhau Joshi of the society, who's built a mammoth layout on a
rotating circular table has opened the Model Railway Museum! You can
find the website with a lot of pics at

<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Stage/4560/">http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Stage/4560/</A>

Be sure to leave a message at the site!

Sundar Krishnamurthy

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From: Sundar Krishnamurthy <coolsundar@hotmail.email

Subject: Mumbai - Coimbatore!!

Date: 19 Mar 1998 08:14:00 -0500


Hello,

Well, one niggling doubt that rests in my mind.. If 6635 Netravati
starts its KR run in a few days.. and 1081 Mumbai Kanyakumari also
logically, follows the same route.. what happens to passengers going to
Coimbatore from Mumbai?? With the redirection of both services,
Coimbatore loses a direct link to Mumbai!

I think the only solution would be the splitting the Mumbai Nagercoil
express into two sets at Erode - one following the
Karur-Trichy-Madurai-Tirunelveli line to Nagercoil and the other doing
Erode - Coimbatore. As it is, the Nagercoil train may not be diverted
via KR on account of it serving interior Tamil Nadu on BG, and it seems
logical for the same train to send a fragment to Coimbatore.

The 6635 might now be called Cochin Netravathi instead of
Cochin/Mangalore Netravathi. There is no necessity of bifurcating the
train at Shoranur anymore! The strangest thing now for the people in
Kerala is that, previously the 6635 travelled from Shoranur to
Mangalore.. now it goes from Mangalore to Shoranur!! For a Coimbatore
link, the better option can be for the Netravathi to fragment at
Shoranur, with a portion going to Coimbatore via Palghat!

The temporary images detailing Electric supports and junctions would be
available for a few days at
<A HREF="http://members.xoom.com/sundar/itg/esupport.html">http://members.xoom.com/sundar/itg/esupport.html</A>

Sundar Krishnamurthy

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From: Jishnu Mukerji <jis@fpk.email

Subject: Re: Track changes

Date: 19 Mar 1998 13:09:00 -0500


Sundar Krishnamurthy wrote:

... An excellent desription of the French AC catenary support system
elided for the sake of brevity.

The use of weights over pulleys to provide tension to the catenary is
one critical difference between this system and most earlier DC systems.
Constant tension is provided by suspending appropriate amount of weights
at each end of the catenary section, while anchoring the middle support
bracket with anchor wires to make sure that the whole lenght of catenary
does not get diplaced longitudinally in one direction or the other.

The new AC catenaries which use this weight system are "constant
tension", which means that irrespective of the ambient temperature the
tension in the catenary is constant and is determined by the weight.
This is distinct from the anchored catenaries that were used previously,
in which the tension varied with the rise and fall of temperature as the
catenary/contact wires expanded and contracted with the rise and fall of
temperature. Specially in high speed lines, this causes all sorts of
problems because the velocity of longitudinal waves through the catenary
depends on the tension applied to the catenary. Typically one wants to
keep the velocity of these waves considerable higher than the max speed
of trains using the catenary so as to avoid catastrophic mechanical
failure of the catenary or pantograph or both, in what is equivalent of
a sonic boom in the wire, which occurs when the pantograph travels along
the catenary at a speed faster than the speed of longitudinal waves in
the catenary. Constant tension catenaries make it possible to guarantee
that this mode of failure will not occur at a given track speed by
setting the wire tension appropriately. In anchored catenaries one has
to reduce speed limits as the temperature rises thus reducing tension in
the catenary. For example, on the North East Corridor between new York
and Washington DC, Amtrak imposes an across the board 90mph speed limit
when the ambiant temparature goes above 95 degrees (if my memory serves
me correctly).

> A related discussion is the way electric cables are supported on an AC
> system.. the supports are very inexpensive compared to their DC
> counterparts which were very heavy and costly; for the weight of wire
> they had to support.. the AC catenary supports are 45-degree extended of
> the type
>
> | / | /
> |/---- or |/--
> | |
> | |
>
> Well, there are two varities to this .. one in which the horizontal arm
> is long & extended beyond the track (outer support - former diagram) and
> one where it is short (inner support - latter figure) They are usually
> placed alternately on a main line.. for proper straightening of the
> wire.

The zig zag is needed to ensure that the contact surface of the
pantograph wears uniformly acros its entire lenght and does not get
pitted at a single point. Pitting of the contact surface at a single
point can cause the contact wire to get caught in it leading to failure
of the catenary support structure or the pantograph or both.

Jishnu.

From: dheeraj <dheeraj@iitk.email

Subject: Another Railway Minister from Bihar

Date: 20 Mar 1998 10:20:00 -0500


Just heard that Nitish Kumar (Samata Party) has been
allocated Railway Ministry.

Any comments, guesses on what new trains will start :-)

-dheeraj
--------------
Dheeraj Sanghi +91 (512) 59-7077 (Off)
Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering +91 (512) 59-8627 (Res)
Indian Institute of Technology +91 (512) 59-0725 (Fax)
Kanpur - 208 016 (UP), INDIA. dheeraj@iitk.email

From: S Pai <

Subject: Re: Track changes

Date: 19 Mar 1998 14:01:00 -0500


Not related to Indian Railways, but...

>>>> On March 19, at 14:09 (-0500) Jishnu Mukerji wrote:

> For example, on the North East Corridor between new York
> and Washington DC, Amtrak imposes an across the board 90mph speed limit
> when the ambiant temparature goes above 95 degrees (if my memory serves
> me correctly).

All the way up to New Haven, CT, I think.

For folks interested in electric traction, the New York - New Haven section
is especially interesting because it's one of the few (or the only?) places
where trains switch *on the fly* from using 3rd rail (which is I think 750V
DC) to overhead catenary (20 kV AC?) for motive power. I'm referring to the
MetroNorth trains coming out of Grand Central Terminal; the switchover
happens somewhere near Greenwich, NY, I think. I don't know if there is a
dead zone between the two -- there is no appreciable loss of speed as the
switchover is made.

The catenary support seen on the North East Corridor is of the type where
three wires are strung together (I can't draw this in ASCII...) so that if
you took a cross-section perpendicular to the track direction at any point
they're at the vertices of an approximately equilateral triangle
(inverted). The lowest cable is the real catenary; the two upper ones are
simply for support and to maintain the correct height of the lower one. I
don't know the technical term for this kind of arrangement. I suppose in
this system the whole arrangement sags or rises depending on temperature
fluctuations, and the pantograph has to compensate for that?

-Satish

From: Jishnu Mukerji <jis@fpk.email

Subject: Re: Track changes

Date: 19 Mar 1998 16:23:00 -0500


S Pai wrote:
>
> Not related to Indian Railways, but...
>
> >>>> On March 19, at 14:09 (-0500) Jishnu Mukerji wrote:
>
> > For example, on the North East Corridor between new York
> > and Washington DC, Amtrak imposes an across the board 90mph speed limit
> > when the ambiant temparature goes above 95 degrees (if my memory serves
> > me correctly).
>
> All the way up to New Haven, CT, I think.

Actually, the section in New York state has been re-electrified using a
constant tension system similar to the one used on the West Coast Main
Line in the UK. The remainder is still the original New Haven
electrification using the funky triangular catenary you describe below.
Eventually the plan is to replace the rest with constant tension too -
all the way to New Haven. Of course beyond New Haven, the new
electrification to Boston is all constant tension 25kV 60Hz AC.

> For folks interested in electric traction, the New York - New Haven section
> is especially interesting because it's one of the few (or the only?) places
> where trains switch *on the fly* from using 3rd rail (which is I think 750V
> DC) to overhead catenary (20 kV AC?) for motive power.

11kV or thereabouts. The other interesting thing is that the third rail
on Metro North is under-running, i.e. the shoes make contact with the
third rail along the bottom surface of the rail, unlike those used on
Long Island Rail Road or the New York Subway, which have top-running
third rails, where the contact surface is the top surface of the third
rail.

> I'm referring to the
> MetroNorth trains coming out of Grand Central Terminal; the switchover
> happens somewhere near Greenwich, NY, I think.

The changeover used to be just East of Woodlawn Jct. When the New York
section was re-electrified using constant tension catenary the
changeover was moved a few miles further East. Now it is near the Mt.
Vernon station (if memory serves me correctly), but that is still West
of New Rochelle. Greenwich CT is East of New Rochelle.

> I don't know if there is a
> dead zone between the two -- there is no appreciable loss of speed as the
> switchover is made.

No there isn't. There is actually an overlap zone in which the driver
throws a switch which disconnects/connects the third rail shoes, changes
power supply and raises/lowers the pantograph. All this is done on the
fly.

> The catenary support seen on the North East Corridor is of the type where
> three wires are strung together (I can't draw this in ASCII...) so that if
> you took a cross-section perpendicular to the track direction at any point
> they're at the vertices of an approximately equilateral triangle
> (inverted). The lowest cable is the real catenary; the two upper ones are
> simply for support and to maintain the correct height of the lower one. I
> don't know the technical term for this kind of arrangement.

Yup that is the original New Haven design. The upper two wires are
called the catenaries and the lower wire is called the contact wire.
This form is to be found only in Connecticut now.
>From New Rochelle through New York Penn Station and onto Washington DC
(and also Rahway Jct. to Matawan in NJ) the catenary is of the old
Pennsylvania railroad anchored catenary design. There is dual catenary,
in which the contact wire is suspended from a secondary catenary which
is suspended from the primary catenary. The voltage is different too -
it is 12.5 kV 25Hz I think. All the locomotives are capable of making
the change on the fly at a phase gap.
>From Matawan to Long Branch on NJTransit is constant tension catenary
12.5kV 60Hz. The other overhead electrification in New Jersey, that on
the Morris and Essex Division of New Jersey Transit is anchored three
wire, like the Pennsylvania design but 25kV 60Hz. Again locomotives can
all make the change from 12.5kV 25Hz to 25kV 60Hz on the fly as they do
at Kearny Jct. at least 100 times a day.

> I suppose in
> this system the whole arrangement sags or rises depending on temperature
> fluctuations, and the pantograph has to compensate for that?

Pantographs have to be very forgiving on the New Haven line. There is a
drawbridge between Cos Cob and Riverside which has a section with no
catenary. When a train passes this section the panto simply rises up to
its max hight stop and is again lowered to the running level as it
catches the contact wire on the other side.

Well all this does not have much to do with India, but it certainly is a
fascinating collection of catenaries and third rail electrifications
from various eras starting from the dawn of electrified railways.

Jishnu

From: Prakash Tendulkar <prakash@us.email

Subject: Pictures

Date: 19 Mar 1998 18:57:00 -0500


For those who wish to see pictures of Railroads around
NY, NJ, etc., please check
<A HREF="http://www.nycsubway.org/commuter/index.html">http://www.nycsubway.org/commuter/index.html</A>.

For pictures of railroads around the globe, including
India, you may look at <A HREF="http://www.railserve.com/">http://www.railserve.com/</A>

Prakash

Notes Address: Prakash Tendulkar/Santa Teresa/IBM@IBMUS
VM Address: IBMUSM50(PRAKASH)
Internet Address: prakash@us.email
Phone: (408)463-3536
DB2 Technical Consultant, Vendor Partnership Program

From: Sundar Krishnamurthy <coolsundar@hotmail.email

Subject: Re: Another Railway Minister from Bihar

Date: 19 Mar 1998 16:24:00 -0500


> Another Railway Minister from Bihar
>
> Just heard that Nitish Kumar (Samata Party) has been
> allocated Railway Ministry.

> Any comments, guesses on what new trains will start :-)

> -dheeraj

A Patna - Bhagalpur Shatabdi perhaps???

Well, speaking of Bihar, it is home to the Indian Railways Institute of
Mechanical and Electrical Engineers at Jamalpur near Munger. Any idea..
what happens in here? With Samata Party leader George Fernandes' rabid
anti-liberalisation stance, we may see many changes on the railway
front. No more canned Pepsi's or Coke bottles in trains! No western
dishes like sandwiches, cutlets etc...

Sundar

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From: VIRAF P.. MULLA <sncf@godrejnet.email

Subject: Re: Model Railway Museum

Date: 20 Mar 1998 17:47:00 -0500


Hello Sundar,

Welcome to our society. Have you become a member?

Mr. Bhau Joshi's Model railway Museum is almost 98% complete. It is not
yet thrown open to the public. The inauguration will be done by
Mr.Shreedharan of Konkan Railway.

The layout is a mixture of German & Indian Styles. The Tracks are all
Marklin 3 rail HO with Marklin Locos, rolling stock and signals. The
buildins are mixture of Vollmer & Faller kits. There is also a working
Wuppertal monorail on the layout along with a circus, amusement park,
swimming pool and faller working road system. The only thing Indian in
this layout is the module of the Khandala reversing station in the ghats.

Mr. Joshi is also making static models of Indian Railway locos and rolling
stock in 1:50 scale. The models made so far are of WP, WDM4, WAP1, YDM,
etc. and many more planned.If any one interested in these models may
contact Mr.I.S.Anand at 5226163 in Bombay oops Mumbai.
==========================
Viraf Mulla
C-20/14, Jeevan Bima Nagar,
Borivali (West)
Mumbai 400103
Tel: +91-22-8954510
E-mail: sncf@godrejnet.email
==========================

From: sank <sank@telco.email

Subject: Re: Track changes

Date: 20 Mar 1998 18:24:00 -0500




> > For folks interested in electric traction, the New York - New Haven section
> > is especially interesting because it's one of the few (or the only?) places
> > where trains switch *on the fly* from using 3rd rail (which is I think 750V
> > DC) to overhead catenary (20 kV AC?) for motive power.

Btw doesn't something similiar happen to the Paris-London Eurostar TGV-type
trains
when they emerge from the Chunnel and switch over to British Southern Region
750V
third-rail ?

--
Jayant S : IDStudio : TTIL : ERC : TELCO
Pimpri : Pune : 411 018 : INDIA
tel - 91(212)774261 exn 2534
--

From: sank <sank@telco.email

Subject: Re: Another Railway Minister from Bihar

Date: 20 Mar 1998 18:58:00 -0500


> With Samata Party leader George Fernandes' rabid
> anti-liberalisation stance, we may see many changes on the railway
> front. No more canned Pepsi's or Coke bottles in trains! No western
> dishes like sandwiches, cutlets etc...

Just a word on this, on a more sober note: I clearly remember what Mr
Fernandesannounced to the press years ago during his tenure as railway
minister: He
stated his conviction that AC coaches should be abolished !! I am a little
uneasy about
the fact that the gentleman is today in a position to actually influence
railway policy.

I do not know what the economic implication of AC travel are (what is the
level of
subsidy etc. ?), but as a person who can afford and enjoys AC travel
I cannot endorse
what Mr Fernandes believed (believes ?) in. Not to mention the needs of
the sick and
the elderly in the Indian climate.

Also, can anyone imagine the safety implications of running the Shatabdis
or the
Rajdhanis with non-AC stock ??


--
Jayant S : IDStudio : TTIL : ERC : TELCO
Pimpri : Pune : 411 018 : INDIA
tel - 91(212)774261 exn 2534
--

From: sank <sank@telco.email

Subject: Re: Track changes

Date: 20 Mar 1998 19:12:00 -0500




> ......................... They are usually
> placed alternately on a main line.. for proper straightening of the
> wire.

Small addition here: if you look at the main contact cable from a running
train, itis not actually straight, but zigzags slightly from side to side
between posts. The reason is to facilitate even wear on the contact strip
of the pantograph, otherwise it would simply
wear into a groove. This is the likely reason for the alternate placement
of the two
types of horizontal arm........

Otherwise: you put up an excellent and well-written explanation !!

--
Jayant S : IDStudio : TTIL : ERC : TELCO
Pimpri : Pune : 411 018 : INDIA
tel - 91(212)774261 exn 2534
--