IRFCA Mailing List Archive
Messages 5081 - 5100
From: Sridhar Shankar <>
Subject: Re: KR Freights!!
Date: 16 Jan 1999 06:42:01 -0500
It is good to note that KR is looking into ways to make some more money
(they need it). However, I am curious about a certain things. Here an
equivalent service is called Trailers of Flat Cars (TOFC) and COFC for
containers. It works fine because of the container/trailer concept.
How would this work on KR? Would they only take containers or will they
also accept our regular rigid trucks as well? Where will the truck's
crew be accomodated during the transit?
-Sridhar
****************************************************************
Sridhar Shankar 1616 E. 50th Place, Apt.13A
GSB MBA '99 Chicago, IL 60615
University of Chicago (773) 752 1131
*****************************************************************
On Sat, 16 Jan 1999, Shankar wrote:
> Hello.
> I'll second that. It should increase the speed of transit too, as the
> road on the coastal belt is continuously through steep hills.
> Only, roll on roll off is for ferries.
> Truck transportation by rail is commonly known as 'piggyback'
operation.
> Its most common in the US and Australia.
> In the UK and Australia, there is also an interesting variation. There
> is an express train which comprises half of sleeper cars and half of
> flat freight cars. You drive up to the station, book your car, which
is
> loaded onto one of the flats, and then travel in the sleeper car as a
> normal passenger. At your destination, you get off, collect your car
and
> drive off. This is called the Motorail service.
> In Australia, it operates near Alice Springs, where the roads are
> particularly bad.
> Beat regards.
> Shankar
>
>
> SHRINIVAS V. JOSHI wrote:
> >
> > Hi!
> >
> > KR is moving really in great direction. Yesterday's Times of India,
KR has
> > published one advt. regarding it will carry 60 trucks on a train of
30
> > carriages from Kolad, near Roha upto Mangalore. So, it will not only
help
> > in reducing the time the trucks normally take on the road but save
fuel as
> > well.
> >
> > This they call it Roll On - Roll Off. service. Must be the same is
in
> > practice in other countries. But KR , here in India takes the lead.
> > Hats off to KR!!
> >
> > Shrinivas
>
From: Rajan Mathew <>
Subject: Does it have vestibuled coaches?
Date: 16 Jan 1999 11:01:08 -0500
It should interest you, Vijay, that the Punjab Mail gets the most royal
treatment. It always has brand new (sparkling) coaches (the coaches keep
getting changed every few months) - since at least two-three years now
from
the time they brought in the "air break rakes", fully vestibuled
equipped
with a composite HA coach (HA is a combination of AC First and AC 2 tier
Sleeper for the uninitiated), an AC 2T coach and two AC 3T coaches, one
of
which is for Tatkal Reservation upto Delhi and beyond.
The Pushpak also has good coaches and is fully vestibuled though not as
outstanding as the Punjab Mail - I see these trains when I commute to
work :
on the way to office I pass the Pushpak and on the return I see the
Punjab
Mail getting set on Platform 9 in CST.
Infact most good trains now have vestibuled coaches and it now is the
trend
to have trains with vestibule connections. All classes from AC First to
Sleeper class and Pantry are linked up. There are very few if not none
where
in a "long distance composite train of this type" that vestibules link
up
the GS - general second class with the rest of the train.
Actually this has to do more with the speed of the train and the
importance
given to wayside stations by way of halts or quotas. Trains like Kurla
Howrah Express or Dadar Amritsar and even Madras Mail/Mumbai Chennai -
these
two trains share rakes have GS coaches distributed in between sleeper
coaches. The good trains always have the GS coaches at both or any one
end,
and all the upper class coaches connected up by coaches.
As a general thumb rule, the upper classes - sleeper and upwards require
reservations while Second Class is unreserved
CR has recently been taking good care of its rakes. Almost all trains
have
well newly painted sign boards, and one will make out a CR rake by the
bright yellow board with bold letterring in black - be it the Punjab,
Pushpak, Kanniyakumari, Mahalaxmi etc.
>> Do you remember whether the Pushpak Exp. was vestibuled? I would
assume
>> that it would atleast have vestibuled coaches after being upgraded to
>> superfast status.
>>
>> How about the Punjab Mail? Does it have vestibuled coaches?
>>
>> Vijay
>
>
>
>
From: Rajan Mathew <>
Subject: Re: SUPER TRUNK ROUTES
Date: 16 Jan 1999 11:10:12 -0500
>The superdeluxe trains are a start in the right direction but why make
their
>run-times so pathetic? The Dn. trains can easily cover the
Kurla-Bhusaval
>stretch in 6 hrs. 50 mts. (a whopping 35 mts. less than the present
time)
>giving them a Kurla-Nagpur running time of about 13 hrs. Igatpuri as
a
>passenger halt is another nail in the coffin :-(
>
I was quite disppointed the last two times when I went to Nagpur with
the
speed of the train. The Wardha - Igatpuri section whole needs to
rajan
From: Donald L. Mills, Jr <>
Subject: Re: KR Freights!!
Date: 16 Jan 1999 14:34:01 -0500
In the U.S. we also have a similar system that goes from Lorton, VA to
Florida called the Auto Train. It functions the same way the train does
in
UK and Australia. Don in WV
----------
> From: Shankar <shankie@emirates.email
> To: SHRINIVAS V. JOSHI <smg@godrej.email
> Cc: irfca@cs.email
> Subject: Re: KR Freights!!
> Date: Saturday, January 16, 1999 9:09 AM
>
> Hello.
> I'll second that. It should increase the speed of transit too, as the
> road on the coastal belt is continuously through steep hills.
> Only, roll on roll off is for ferries.
> Truck transportation by rail is commonly known as 'piggyback'
operation.
> Its most common in the US and Australia.
> In the UK and Australia, there is also an interesting variation. There
> is an express train which comprises half of sleeper cars and half of
> flat freight cars. You drive up to the station, book your car, which
is
> loaded onto one of the flats, and then travel in the sleeper car as a
> normal passenger. At your destination, you get off, collect your car
and
> drive off. This is called the Motorail service.
> In Australia, it operates near Alice Springs, where the roads are
> particularly bad.
> Beat regards.
> Shankar
>
>
> SHRINIVAS V. JOSHI wrote:
> >
> > Hi!
> >
> > KR is moving really in great direction. Yesterday's Times of India,
KR
has
> > published one advt. regarding it will carry 60 trucks on a train of
30
> > carriages from Kolad, near Roha upto Mangalore. So, it will not only
help
> > in reducing the time the trucks normally take on the road but save
fuel
as
> > well.
> >
> > This they call it Roll On - Roll Off. service. Must be the same is
in
> > practice in other countries. But KR , here in India takes the lead.
> > Hats off to KR!!
> >
> > Shrinivas
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: Does it have vestibuled coaches?
Date: 17 Jan 1999 00:14:25 -0500
Rajan Mathew wrote:
> It should interest you, Vijay, that the Punjab Mail gets the most
royal
> treatment. It always has brand new (sparkling) coaches (the coaches
keep
> getting changed every few months) - since at least two-three years now
from
> the time they brought in the "air break rakes", fully vestibuled
equipped
> with a composite HA coach (HA is a combination of AC First and AC 2
tier
> Sleeper for the uninitiated), an AC 2T coach and two AC 3T coaches,
one of
> which is for Tatkal Reservation upto Delhi and beyond.
The HA class seems to be a clever idea. I suppose there is not enough
passengers for
the 1st AC to justify and entire coach, while the 2 AC and 3 AC
passengers are usually
are excess.
> The Pushpak also has good coaches and is fully vestibuled though not
as
> outstanding as the Punjab Mail - I see these trains when I commute to
work :
> on the way to office I pass the Pushpak and on the return I see the
Punjab
> Mail getting set on Platform 9 in CST.
>
> Infact most good trains now have vestibuled coaches and it now is the
trend
> to have trains with vestibule connections. All classes from AC First
to
> Sleeper class and Pantry are linked up.
Is there a trend to bring the pantry car next to the higher class
coaches ? Many
trains out of Pune have AC sleepers right at one end and the pantry in
the middle. I
would assume that the higher classes are always marshalled near the exit
of the
station (usually at 1/3, 2/3 of the platform for platforms other than 1,
the platform
1 usually has an exit right in the middle.)
> There are very few if not none where
> in a "long distance composite train of this type" that vestibules link
up
> the GS - general second class with the rest of the train.
We were in the 17th coach of the 9032 Up GIM - MCT Kutch Express and I
wanted to make
a note of the loco before getting off at Dadar last week. So I walked
through the
vestibules towards the train. It was connected till the 8th coach, then
a blank end.
After that non vestibuled coach, it was once again through vestibuled
till the first
coach. The new type of vestibule covers (UIC type says the ICF / RCF -
what does the
UIC stand for ?) are very effective indeed. The vestibule covers are 2 -
3 " diameter
rubberized tubes which has been formed in a 'Pi' shape over the
vestibule door.
Apurva
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: WDM 2 sounds
Date: 17 Jan 1999 06:01:56 -0500
Gang !
I have just uploaded some WDM 2 sounds in MP3 format. Please go to my
site and check
them out. Get back to me with your comments. Definitely tell me if they
work properly
or not with your computer.
Go to:
Apurva
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: WDM 2 sounds
Date: 17 Jan 1999 06:04:57 -0500
SORRY - I forgot to give you the URL !
Gang !
I have just uploaded some WDM 2 sounds in MP3 format. Please go to my
site and check
them out. Get back to me with your comments. Definitely tell me if they
work properly
or not with your computer.
Go to:<A HREF="http://members.tripod.com/~ApuB/index.htm">http://members.tripod.com/~ApuB/index.htm</A>
Apurva
From: Rajan Mathew <>
Subject: Re: I'm back!
Date: 17 Jan 1999 07:18:21 -0500
The Mumbai - Hyb / MAS / SBC line must be completely doubled and
electrified. The importance of a doubled 605 km Mumbai - Wadi stretch is
the
most clear. Trains can be speeded up and true superfast trains with
really
good running times can be introduced. Imagine trains hauled by WAP's and
bridging distances in really good time... a great dream ... achievable
when
politics gets out and priorities get in.
>> > The Hussain Sagar Exp. is a pathetic version of the classy
>> Minar Exp. that
The Minar used to be a really good train for its time. Now with track
upgradation - remember that the HYB - Wadi section has been in a process
of
Upgradation over a few years now (SCR taking due care !!) and the route
used
by the NZM -SBC Rajdhani exp., the train if restored should run at least
two
hours faster than its current run. Most of this stretch is now doubled.
( I
am a frequent traveller to HYB so I've observed closely)
A few years back, when the Karnataka based Jaffar Sharif was the Rly
minister, there was this belief that a superfast train (maybe the
Re-incarnation of the Minar) was on the cards, and was not implemented
under
pressure from the bus lobby.
>> > used to be superfast till the early 90s. The Minar Exp.
>> was the ONLY train
>> > in the single line Daund-Gangapur Rd. section that would
>> not halt for any
>> > crossings. In fact, the working TT indicates that the
>> Karnataka Exp. has a
>> > halt for the Minar Exp. crossing.
>>
>> Why is this section so pathetic? Single lines and Max speed of 90KMPH
>> (Vijay can you check on this). If I had to guess it would be lack of
>> freight traffic (which brings in the $$) and perhaps lack of
>> political clout (these districts appear to be backward areas of AP
and
>> Karnataka).
>>
The other sad or pathetic thin is the security in this region DD -
Kurduwadi - SUR wheretrains and passengers are attacked/looted by local
bandit folk. The railway, inspite of the magnitude of problem, have not
taken the security issue seriously.
>
>The max. speed on this section for all exp./mail trains is 100 kmph.
and
the
>booked speed is 90 kmph. Politics must have its dirty hands in the
gross
>neglect of this section. However, in the July-Aug. issue of IR it was
>mentioned that Daund-Bhigwan doubling would be completed in the next
few
>months and doubling of Bhigwan-Gangapur Rd. would be completed by March
>2000. This would imply that the entire Mumbai-Wadi stretch would be a
>double line by March of next year - seems too good to be true!
The gradual doubling is having one good effect - the trains bound
hailing
from South are now running more and more punctually, apart from the fact
that a few trains are diverted to the KR.
>
>Vijay
From: Shankar <>
Subject: Re: WDM 2 sounds
Date: 17 Jan 1999 07:51:38 -0500
Hello Apurva,
Brilliant!
# 1 does not work: # 2 & 3 do.
Thanks!
Shankar
Apurva Bahadur wrote:
>
> SORRY - I forgot to give you the URL !
>
> Gang !
>
> I have just uploaded some WDM 2 sounds in MP3 format. Please go to my
site and check
> them out. Get back to me with your comments. Definitely tell me if
they work properly
> or not with your computer.
> Go to:<A HREF="http://members.tripod.com/~ApuB/index.htm">http://members.tripod.com/~ApuB/index.htm</A>
>
> Apurva
From: Sridhar Shankar <>
Subject: Re: WDM 2 sounds
Date: 17 Jan 1999 08:22:04 -0500
Apurva,
Great job. #1 is incredible - wdm2 must have the sweetest sounding horn
anywhere. They all worked fine, I had some trouble getting #1 to work.
Also had to download winamp player.
Thanks a lot,
-Sridhar
On Sun, 17 Jan 1999, Apurva Bahadur wrote:
> SORRY - I forgot to give you the URL !
>
> Gang !
>
> I have just uploaded some WDM 2 sounds in MP3 format. Please go to my
site and check
> them out. Get back to me with your comments. Definitely tell me if
they work properly
> or not with your computer.
> Go to:<A HREF="http://members.tripod.com/~ApuB/index.htm">http://members.tripod.com/~ApuB/index.htm</A>
>
> Apurva
>
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: WDM 2 sounds
Date: 17 Jan 1999 09:50:57 -0500
Try the file WDM2_1.mp3 once again. I have re-uploaded it, and it seems
to work ok now.
That is the best sound file amongst the three !
Shankar wrote:
> Hello Apurva,
> Brilliant!
> # 1 does not work: # 2 & 3 do.
> Thanks!
> Shankar
>
> Apurva Bahadur wrote:
> >
> > SORRY - I forgot to give you the URL !
> >
> > Gang !
> >
> > I have just uploaded some WDM 2 sounds in MP3 format. Please go to
my site and check
> > them out. Get back to me with your comments. Definitely tell me if
they work properly
> > or not with your computer.
> > Go to:<A HREF="http://members.tripod.com/~ApuB/index.htm">http://members.tripod.com/~ApuB/index.htm</A>
> >
> > Apurva
From: SHRINIVAS V. JOSHI <>
Subject: KR Freights!!
Date: 18 Jan 1999 00:21:27 -0500
Hello!
The advertisement, mentions specifically the trucks & not containers. In
that case, they may be providing some carriage for the truck drivers,
cleaners to ride this leg of the journey. The drivers & cleaners may
indulge into some card playing sort of games !!
Bye
Shrinivas
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: [Fwd: Help
Date: 18 Jan 1999 04:51:15 -0500
Can we help out Vinay ?
Apurva
From: Harsh Vardhan <>
Subject: Re: Help
Date: 18 Jan 1999 07:08:08 -0500
Broad Gauge
1. Fairy Queen(b-1855) Express between Delhi and Alwar, twice every
month
till February 1999. Can be chartered for special runs. Some other BG
locos(WP/WL/Y-2/XE etc.) can be chartered for special runs. Contact
Director, National Rail Museum, New Delhi.
Metre gauge
1. Base - Jetalsar shed WR
331/2 Jetalsar - Dhola Passenger
387/8 Jungarh - Dhari Passenger
Special chartered trains can be made to run.
2. Base - Mhow Shed WR
Banking operations(steam loco pushes from behind while the one in front
is a
diesel) at Mhow-Palapani-Kalakund Ghat section. Four trains a day
uphill.
Chartered trains can be run on the opposite direction(towards Ratlam and
Ujjain) hauled by steam. The regular train 87/88 to Ratlam ceased in May
'98.
3. Base - Wankaner Shed WR
All trains on the Wankaner-Morbi Jn.-Maliya Miyana section are currently
steam.
4. Mettupalayam - Coonoor - Udgamandalam(Ooty) SR
All trains in the rack section are steam.
5. Royal Orient is powered by YG locos between Delhi Cantt. and Rewari
Jn.
every Wednesday between September and April. NR
Narrow Gauge
1. Darjeeling Himalayan Railways are completely steam powered. NFR
Harsh
-----Original Message-----
From: P.S. SHYAM <flicks@bom2.email
To: iti@giaspn01.email <iti@giaspn01.email
Date: Monday, January 18, 1999 4:45 PM
Subject: Help
>Dear Mr. Bahadur,
>
>I am a production designer working for a film production company in
>India. I saw your page on the net and was wondering if you could help
>me. I need to know if there are any broad or meter gauge lines running
>steam locomotives as of today. Do you know where I will be able to get
>this information at one central location.
>
>Vinay Narkar
>Production Designer
>FLICKS Motion Picture Co. Pvt. Ltd.
>
>
>
From: Harsh Vardhan <>
Subject: great news
Date: 18 Jan 1999 07:12:17 -0500
Forwarded by Harsh
Today while travelling to work place I spotted the famous WDM2
18233 (the first WDM2 to be built at DLW and released on 3rd jan
1964 by Sri Lal Bahadur Shastri). It is now allocated to the ANDEL
Diesel Loco Shed on the Eastern Railway. Today I had the rare
honour of travelling behind it from Newjalpaiguri to Jalpaiguri on the
Haldibari Passenger.
On the cab side a plate was depicting the following words
BUILT AT THE
DIESEL LOCOMOTIVES WORKS VARANASI
IN COLLABORATION WITH
ALCO PRODUCTS INC. USA
The loco is in a poor shape. The short hood head light was missing
and the cab condition was poor. I think this pioneer locomotive
needs to be preserved. I will be very happy if you can talk to the
Director NRM regarding this.
From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>
Subject: Re: KR Freights!!
Date: 18 Jan 1999 08:03:02 -0500
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Donald L. Mills, Jr [mailto:dmills@MARSHALL.email
> Sent: Saturday, January 16, 1999 5:34 PM
> To: shankie@emirates.email
> Cc: irfca@cs.email
> Subject: Re: KR Freights!!
>
>
> In the U.S. we also have a similar system that goes from Lorton, VA to
> Florida called the Auto Train. It functions the same way the
> train does in
> UK and Australia. Don in WV
>
I have traveled on the Auto Train from Sanford, Florida to Lorton,
Virginia.
It is composed of 45 coaches/freight cars and travels at a top speed of
70
mph. It has no passenger halts in between but has two commercial halts
at
Florence, SC and Richmond, VA. It was neat to see how the cars were
being
loaded into and unloaded from the freight cars. Plenty of shunting
action.
Check out this train at <A HREF="http://www.amtrak.com/trip/autotrain.html">http://www.amtrak.com/trip/autotrain.html</A>
Vijay
From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>
Subject: Re: Does it have vestibuled coaches?
Date: 18 Jan 1999 08:21:54 -0500
> > with a composite HA coach (HA is a combination of AC First
> and AC 2 tier
> > Sleeper for the uninitiated), an AC 2T coach and two AC 3T
> coaches, one of
> > which is for Tatkal Reservation upto Delhi and beyond.
>
> The HA class seems to be a clever idea. I suppose there is
> not enough passengers for
> the 1st AC to justify and entire coach, while the 2 AC and 3
> AC passengers are usually
> are excess.
>
The composite 1st AC - 2nd AC 2T coach has been on the rails for over 20
years. When the Bombay - Jammu Tawi superfast exp. was introdued in
1977 it
had two of these coaches. The last time I spotted the Tamilnadu Exp. at
Itarsi (summer of '95) it had one such coach (in addition to two more AC
2T
coaches)
Vijay
From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>
Subject: Re: WDM 2 sounds
Date: 18 Jan 1999 08:28:13 -0500
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Apurva Bahadur [mailto:iti@vsnl.email
> Sent: Sunday, January 17, 1999 9:02 AM
> To: IRFCA
> Subject: WDM 2 sounds
>
>
> Gang !
>
> I have just uploaded some WDM 2 sounds in MP3 format. Please
> go to my site and check
> them out. Get back to me with your comments. Definitely tell
> me if they work properly
> or not with your computer.
> Go to:
>
> Apurva
>
You have done a great job, Apurva. This is cool! WDM2_1.mp3 is my
favorite
as well. In addition to the loco. sounds, I also love the rhythmic
sounds
of the wheels on the track - clearly indicates that the train is
accelerating.
Vijay
P.S. I would love to have WAM4 sounds as well.
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: [Fwd: Is it a WDG2 ?
Date: 18 Jan 1999 08:46:01 -0500
What is this loco that he sighted ?
From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>
Subject: Re: SUPER TRUNK ROUTES
Date: 18 Jan 1999 08:50:24 -0500
> >The superdeluxe trains are a start in the right direction
> but why make
> their
> >run-times so pathetic? The Dn. trains can easily cover the
> Kurla-Bhusaval
> >stretch in 6 hrs. 50 mts. (a whopping 35 mts. less than the
> present time)
> >giving them a Kurla-Nagpur running time of about 13 hrs.
> Igatpuri as a
> >passenger halt is another nail in the coffin :-(
> >
> I was quite disppointed the last two times when I went to
> Nagpur with the
> speed of the train. The Wardha - Igatpuri section whole needs to
>
> rajan
>
Your mail seems to have chopped off. When did these trains get
introduced?
What is the rake composition? Did your train pass through Akola,
Badnera
and Wardha without halting?
Vijay