IRFCA Mailing List Archive
Messages 7081 - 7100
From: Anand Krishnan <>
Subject: Re: A Traveller's Tale - I
Date: 13 Jul 1999 11:41:42 -0500
>I am not sure if you can travel on express train on part of the
>journey on a "passenger" ticket. You may need to pay the difference
>for those sectors on which you are travelling by express.
>
This is very interesting. GUess the clerk just to this of hand
without
some serious look into this. Is it possible to get a refund of the
excess
fare that was charged for the passenger part of the journey. This would
save
almost Rs60 for the three tickets that i got.
regards,
Anand
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From: Vijay Balasubramanian <>
Subject: Re: Train between Bangalore and Calicut.
Date: 13 Jul 1999 13:21:06 -0500
There is no direct train but a couple of through coaches (Ist-cum-2nd
sleeper and 2nd sleeper) for direct service between Bangalore and
Mangalore - so this would provide a direct connection between Bangalore
and Calicut. From Bangalore you would take the 6526 SBC-Kanyakumari
Exp. and be transfered to the 525 Coimbatore-Mangalore Fast Pass - the
Bradshaw does not indicate the transfer point - could be at Coimbatore
or Palghat (someone with a recent SR TT, please confirm!). Dep.
Bangalore 9.00 pm, arr. Calicut 12.50 pm (next day) with a layover of
about 2 1/2 hrs. From Calicut, you would board the 6684
Mangalore-Tiruchi Exp. and be transfered to the 6525 Kanyakumari-SBC
Exp. - the transfer point could be Palghat, Coimbatore or Erode. Dep.
Calicut 11.15 am, arr. SBC 4.40 am (next day) with a layover of about 4
hrs.
Hope this helps,
Vijay
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Karthik Giddu [SMTP:gidduk@bom5.email
>Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 1999 1:42 PM
>To: irfca@cs.email
>Cc: iti@vsnl.email
>Subject: Train between Bangalore and Calicut.
>
>Hello folks,
>Is there any direct train between Bangalore and Calicut introduced this
>July. If not what could be the best alternate route.
>Thanks in advance.
>Karthik
><A HREF="http://members.tripod.com/gidduk/">http://members.tripod.com/gidduk/</A>
>+91-22-8014919
From: Deepa Joshi <>
Subject: VIRUS WARNING-CALIFORNIA
Date: 13 Jul 1999 13:58:22 -0500
Dear Friends,
We have been informed of a new virus
_____
û WOBBLER. It will arrive on email
titled CALIFORNIA. IBM and AOL have announced that it is very powerful,
more
so than MELISSA, there is no remedy. It will eat all your information on
the hard drive and also destroy Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet
Explorer. Do not open anything with this title and please pass this
message
on to all your contacts and anyone who uses your email facility.
Best Regards
From: Jayant S <>
Subject: Re: VIRUS WARNING-CALIFORNIA
Date: 13 Jul 1999 19:42:14 -0500
Deepa Joshi wrote:
> ....WOBBLER. It will arrive on email
> titled CALIFORNIA. IBM and AOL have announced that it is very
> powerful,
> more
> so than MELISSA,........
I should point out to all listmates: this one is a
known hoax. For details, check the Symantec website,
and don't pass on the warning any further.
--
JS
--
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: More on travel
Date: 14 Jul 1999 01:58:30 -0500
Anand Krishnan wrote:
> Hi all,
> Interesting facts on reservations on IR. Thanx Dheeraj bhai for
your
> inputs. Coming back to my journey, i was quite pleased to see the MG
rakes
> being kept spic and span. The TPT-DMM-GTL route is a MG route and the
rakes
> maintained by the GTL division. The floor was kept clean, fan switches
were
> meant for fans only. I always had the impression that passenger grade
trains
> always had low priority when it came to being maintained properly. But
it
> was'nt so this time or may be it was indeed a "prestigious" passenger
train.
> The 16 rake train was hauled by a GTL YDM4 (6425). I was amazed at the
speed
> it picked up as soon as it left the station.
I would second you on this. I remember having got off for filling
drinking water
at a station between Belgaum and Miraj on the MG many many moons ago.
The train
started moving, and I thought I would catch the train easily being used
to the
BG sense of acceleration. But no, this train took off, and I had to run
and take
serious risks to get aboard on a coach much after the one I was
traveling on.
All the water I had with me got finished staving off the thirst after
the
desperate run.
> Maybe 20 to around 60 in 15
> seconds or something(just a wild guess). Joydeep your help needed in
telling
> us which among the deisel locos provide rapid acceleration. There were
armed
> RPF constables for every coach. The Chitoor-Madanapalle-Kadiri stretch
was
> known for its occassional dacoits. Can someone in the list tell which
are
> the sections in IR that have such protection. Have anyone come across
such
> protection. It would be nice if we have an idea of this so that when
we
> travel we could take additional precautions.
Pune Daund Wadi section is notorious for dacoits. As Porus recently
confirmed,
the RPF who travel with the train force the passengers to close the
windows at
night and also do not encourage people going out on platforms more than
necessary. The Pune - Kolhapur section has had its spate of robberies.
The
robbers cut off the wires to the upper quadrant signals, forcing the
driver to
stop. Only once the police party actually fired on the robbers killing
one of
them. There was some police presence on the Mumbai - Wankaner,
Gandhidham -
Mumbai trains when we visited WKR in Jan 1999. My guess is all the night
trains
carry some police party on them.
There was a time that the trains traveling through Bihar would get
robbed
EVERYDAY without fail. There were rumours that the real reason for these
robberies was one political person showing his rival how much clout he
had or
how ineffective his rival was.
Apurva
From: Anand Krishnan <>
Subject: More on travel
Date: 14 Jul 1999 02:20:23 -0500
Hi all,
Interesting facts on reservations on IR. Thanx Dheeraj bhai for
your
inputs. Coming back to my journey, i was quite pleased to see the MG
rakes
being kept spic and span. The TPT-DMM-GTL route is a MG route and the
rakes
maintained by the GTL division. The floor was kept clean, fan switches
were
meant for fans only. I always had the impression that passenger grade
trains
always had low priority when it came to being maintained properly. But
it
was'nt so this time or may be it was indeed a "prestigious" passenger
train.
The 16 rake train was hauled by a GTL YDM4 (6425). I was amazed at the
speed
it picked up as soon as it left the station. Maybe 20 to around 60 in 15
seconds or something(just a wild guess). Joydeep your help needed in
telling
us which among the deisel locos provide rapid acceleration. There were
armed
RPF constables for every coach. The Chitoor-Madanapalle-Kadiri stretch
was
known for its occassional dacoits. Can someone in the list tell which
are
the sections in IR that have such protection. Have anyone come across
such
protection. It would be nice if we have an idea of this so that when we
travel we could take additional precautions.
Kind regards,
Anand
______________________________________________________
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From: Royston Ellis <>
Subject: Membership
Date: 14 Jul 1999 06:45:09 -0500
Hi gang!
Thrilled to see a message from Samit Roychoudhury as a new member of the
group. Mike Booker gave me the irfca contact address a long time ago but
I
had to wait until I got a telephone to my isolated cottage in Sri Lanka
(where, as Shankar now knows, I live within the sound of train whistles
and
the smell of coal from the occasional steam loco), before I could sign
on.
So I'm happy to have been able to return the favour and pass on the list
address to another Indian railways enthusiast. It was Samit who provided
depth to the third edition of INDIA BY RAIL.
So, could someone tell me how many members there are in IRFCA?
Royston.
From: Samit Roychoudhury <>
Subject: Re: Membership
Date: 14 Jul 1999 08:53:35 -0500
hello mr ellis
and thanks for the warm welcome... am soon going to send you the details
(and to everyone else too... some interesting things) about my trip.
till then
samit
From: Rajan Mathew <>
Subject: Re: Train between Bangalore and Calicut.
Date: 14 Jul 1999 09:56:16 -0500
I'm not aware of any new train on this route.
The transfer point is Palghat - all other details are correct.
PGT 6526 arr. 0640
525 dep. 0915
Details in SR TT - 15 Aug 98
Rajan
> There is no direct train but a couple of through coaches (Ist-cum-2nd
> sleeper and 2nd sleeper) for direct service between Bangalore and
> Mangalore - so this would provide a direct connection between
Bangalore
> and Calicut. From Bangalore you would take the 6526 SBC-Kanyakumari
> Exp. and be transfered to the 525 Coimbatore-Mangalore Fast Pass - the
> Bradshaw does not indicate the transfer point - could be at Coimbatore
> or Palghat (someone with a recent SR TT, please confirm!). Dep.
> Bangalore 9.00 pm, arr. Calicut 12.50 pm (next day) with a layover of
> about 2 1/2 hrs. From Calicut, you would board the 6684
> Mangalore-Tiruchi Exp. and be transfered to the 6525 Kanyakumari-SBC
> Exp. - the transfer point could be Palghat, Coimbatore or Erode. Dep.
> Calicut 11.15 am, arr. SBC 4.40 am (next day) with a layover of about
4
> hrs.
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> Vijay
>
> >
> >Hello folks,
> >Is there any direct train between Bangalore and Calicut introduced
this
> >July. If not what could be the best alternate route.
> >Thanks in advance.
> >Karthik
> ><A HREF="http://members.tripod.com/gidduk/">http://members.tripod.com/gidduk/</A>
> >+91-22-8014919
From: Rajan Mathew <>
Subject: Re: More on travel
Date: 14 Jul 1999 09:58:05 -0500
Some of my observations on safety ...
As mentioned by Apurva, Pune - Daund - Kurduwadi - Solapur section is
quite
unsafe and thefts and attacks are frequent.
But the real experience was in 1993 when I travelled from Sealdah to NJP
on
the Darjeeling Mail (enroute to Darjeeling) where infact there was a
robbery
in my own coach. My friend complained that he thought he saw someone
moving
around where we slept ...
On the return, we boarded the Sealdah bound Darjeeling Mail and by the
time
we settled down to sleep, the TC told everyone to down all shutters
unless
they wanted their skulls cracked. Around Malda, late in the night, the
train
was actually pelted with stones ...
With the region being close to the Bangladesh border and a very fragile
situation, attacks are bound to happen.
Rajan
> Anand Krishnan wrote:
>
> > Hi all,
> > Interesting facts on reservations on IR. Thanx Dheeraj bhai
for
your
> > inputs. Coming back to my journey, i was quite pleased to see the MG
rakes
> > being kept spic and span. The TPT-DMM-GTL route is a MG route and
the
rakes
> > maintained by the GTL division. The floor was kept clean, fan
switches
were
> > meant for fans only. I always had the impression that passenger
grade
trains
> > always had low priority when it came to being maintained properly.
But
it
> > was'nt so this time or may be it was indeed a "prestigious"
passenger
train.
> > The 16 rake train was hauled by a GTL YDM4 (6425). I was amazed at
the
speed
> > it picked up as soon as it left the station.
>
> I would second you on this. I remember having got off for filling
drinking
water
> at a station between Belgaum and Miraj on the MG many many moons ago.
The
train
> started moving, and I thought I would catch the train easily being
used to
the
> BG sense of acceleration. But no, this train took off, and I had to
run
and take
> serious risks to get aboard on a coach much after the one I was
traveling
on.
> All the water I had with me got finished staving off the thirst after
the
> desperate run.
>
> > Maybe 20 to around 60 in 15
> > seconds or something(just a wild guess). Joydeep your help needed in
telling
> > us which among the deisel locos provide rapid acceleration. There
were
armed
> > RPF constables for every coach. The Chitoor-Madanapalle-Kadiri
stretch
was
> > known for its occassional dacoits. Can someone in the list tell
which
are
> > the sections in IR that have such protection. Have anyone come
across
such
> > protection. It would be nice if we have an idea of this so that when
we
> > travel we could take additional precautions.
>
> Pune Daund Wadi section is notorious for dacoits. As Porus recently
confirmed,
> the RPF who travel with the train force the passengers to close the
windows at
> night and also do not encourage people going out on platforms more
than
> necessary. The Pune - Kolhapur section has had its spate of robberies.
The
> robbers cut off the wires to the upper quadrant signals, forcing the
driver to
> stop. Only once the police party actually fired on the robbers killing
one
of
> them. There was some police presence on the Mumbai - Wankaner,
Gandhidham -
> Mumbai trains when we visited WKR in Jan 1999. My guess is all the
night
trains
> carry some police party on them.
> There was a time that the trains traveling through Bihar would get
robbed
> EVERYDAY without fail. There were rumours that the real reason for
these
> robberies was one political person showing his rival how much clout he
had
or
> how ineffective his rival was.
>
> Apurva
>
>
>
From: S.Shankar <>
Subject: Re: More on travel
Date: 14 Jul 1999 11:27:01 -0500
Hello,
The Daund-Solapur-Wadi is another dacoit infested section.
Best regards.
Shankar
Anand Krishnan wrote:
>
> Hi all,
> Interesting facts on reservations on IR. Thanx Dheeraj bhai for
your
> inputs. Coming back to my journey, i was quite pleased to see the MG
rakes
> being kept spic and span. The TPT-DMM-GTL route is a MG route and the
rakes
> maintained by the GTL division. The floor was kept clean, fan switches
were
> meant for fans only. I always had the impression that passenger grade
trains
> always had low priority when it came to being maintained properly. But
it
> was'nt so this time or may be it was indeed a "prestigious" passenger
train.
> The 16 rake train was hauled by a GTL YDM4 (6425). I was amazed at the
speed
> it picked up as soon as it left the station. Maybe 20 to around 60 in
15
> seconds or something(just a wild guess). Joydeep your help needed in
telling
> us which among the deisel locos provide rapid acceleration. There were
armed
> RPF constables for every coach. The Chitoor-Madanapalle-Kadiri stretch
was
> known for its occassional dacoits. Can someone in the list tell which
are
> the sections in IR that have such protection. Have anyone come across
such
> protection. It would be nice if we have an idea of this so that when
we
> travel we could take additional precautions.
>
> Kind regards,
> Anand
>
> ______________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: Membership
Date: 14 Jul 1999 12:09:45 -0500
>
> So, could someone tell me how many members there are in IRFCA?
By what the listmaster Anurag said a couple of months back, there are
over 100 members
in 11 countries.
Apurva
From: S Pai <>
Subject: Re: GM vs Alco
Date: 14 Jul 1999 20:11:09 -0500
Jayant,
> Incidentally, is there a list somewhere of all the steam
> builders who supplied to the Subcontinent ?
Your best bet is Hugh Hughes' books. There are other compilations but
Hughes' books are probably the most accessible. I'm not aware of
anything
that is accessible online.
> (Small query here: Did Alco steam ever run in India ?
> In the form of any AWE or WD wartime locos ?
Yes, several of the metre-gauge WD class locos supplied by the US Army
Transportation Corps just before and after Independence were made by
Alcos.
I'm not sure what "AWE" stands for -- could you please clarify? Is it a
class of loco or a maker's abbreviation?
--Satish
From: Marcelo Benoit <>
Subject: Re: Passenger stock from Argentina
Date: 14 Jul 1999 23:25:26 -0500
>Are there any models of Argentinan stock that
>could presumably be modified to pass for IR stock ?
Unfortunately, the only model of Argentinian passenger car that is built
locally is from a suburban Fiat car. If someone is interested I could
send
diagrams and photos of them. I don´t know why the model firm doesn´t
build
models of long distance cars (sleepers, pullmans, first and tourist
class
and baggage cars).
It could be modified to look like a first or tourist class car (the non
climatized cars behind the locomotive in the Argentinian photo).
Regards,
Marcelo
ESTACION CENTRAL TERMINAL DE TRENES
<A HREF="http://members.tripod.com/lfu1/index-8.html">http://members.tripod.com/lfu1/index-8.html</A>
From: hvc <>
Subject: AWE (was Re: GM vs Alco)
Date: 15 Jul 1999 00:46:34 -0500
AWE is the American built equivalent of the IRS class XEs. Iam not aware
if
AWE has and expanded form. AWD were often called as `American War
Department' locos but basically they too were the Yankee XDs. Canadian
examples were called CWD.
Harsh
-----Original Message-----
From: S Pai <s_pai@bigfoot.email
To: Indian Railways List <irfca@cs.email
Date: Thursday, July 15, 1999 7:11 PM
Subject: Re: GM vs Alco
>
>Jayant,
>
>> Incidentally, is there a list somewhere of all the steam
>> builders who supplied to the Subcontinent ?
>
>Your best bet is Hugh Hughes' books. There are other compilations but
>Hughes' books are probably the most accessible. I'm not aware of
anything
>that is accessible online.
>
>> (Small query here: Did Alco steam ever run in India ?
>> In the form of any AWE or WD wartime locos ?
>
>Yes, several of the metre-gauge WD class locos supplied by the US Army
>Transportation Corps just before and after Independence were made by
>Alcos.
>
>I'm not sure what "AWE" stands for -- could you please clarify? Is it
a
>class of loco or a maker's abbreviation?
>
>--Satish
>
>
>
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: Passenger stock from Argentina
Date: 15 Jul 1999 03:21:04 -0500
Jayant S wrote:
> <A HREF="http://members.xoom.com/atodotren/">http://members.xoom.com/atodotren/</A>
>
> Amazing how the coaches in the train picture
> on this page resemble IR stock, right down to
> the almost-DQ livery.
This site contains many images which are hauntingly like the
IR. I guess the similar loading proportions and the 5'6" gauge
has much to do with it. Many lovely pictures of diesels. One
more criteria I think often about is that the third world
railways (main line, not branch line) achieve an aura of that
is got only be repetitive hard work. The IR and the
Argentinean railway both share this look.
Apurva
From: Vijay Balasubramanian <>
Subject: Info. from the online timtable
Date: 15 Jul 1999 08:41:06 -0500
Hi Folks,
Looked at some of the new trains and schedule changes from the online
timetable at the IR official site. Assuming that this is authentic
info.,
some observations -
1. Mumbai-Bhusaval trains now halt at Igatpuri for 5 mts. but the times
at Nasik Rd. and beyond remain unchanged. Does this mean that
WCAM3s are now being used on all trains between CSTM/CLAT
and Bhusaval?
2. The Kolahapur-Tirupati exp. has been named Haripriya exp. and
follows the predicted Miraj-Hubli-Gadag-Bellary-Guntakal-Renigunta
route.
3. The Chennai Egmore-Guwahati Exp. shares schedules with the
Howrah-Tiruchi Exp. between KGP and Egmore. It skips Howrah
and follows the KGP-Tata-Asansol-Andal-Sainthia route to get
to Malda and beyond. Although, Tatanagar has not been indicated
in the halt list, the timings between KGP and Asansol suggest that
it goes via Tata and not Bankura. This must be a boon to
Tata-Chennai
commuters who, until now, had to depend on the Borako-Alleppey
'crawler' exp.
4. Rediff indicates that the Chennai-Tirupati Shatabdi is only once a
week
suggesting that it may be sharing rakes with the Mysore/Coimbatore
Shatabdis.
It halts at Renigunta for 15 mts., so the loco. must be changing
ends - no Push Pull here.
5. The Pune-Ernakulam exp. goes via Miraj-Hubli-Arsikere-Bangalore(not
indicated)-Hosur-
Salem. The shorter route would be via KR; Castle Rock-Kulem is the
missing piece.
When is this being opened to passenger traffic?
6. Besides TAAG, are any other zonal TTs out yet? I am eager to find
out the complete
schedule of the Kurla-Patna superfast exp.
Vijay
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: Train between Bangalore and Calicut.
Date: 15 Jul 1999 09:34:24 -0500
>
> PGT 6526 arr. 0640
> 525 dep. 0915
> Details in SR TT - 15 Aug 98
I have the SR TT dated 1st December 1998. Does this mean that the SR
along with its
new look TT would be offering updated TTs three to four times every year
? It seems
that the SCR tt for 1999 is likely to be on similar lines as the SR
item.
Apurva
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: Info. from the online timtable
Date: 15 Jul 1999 09:46:18 -0500
Vijay Balasubramanian wrote:
> Hi Folks,
>
> Looked at some of the new trains and schedule changes from the
online
> timetable at the IR official site. Assuming that this is authentic
> info.,
> some observations -
>
> 1. Mumbai-Bhusaval trains now halt at Igatpuri for 5 mts. but the
times
> at Nasik Rd. and beyond remain unchanged. Does this mean that
> WCAM3s are now being used on all trains between CSTM/CLAT
> and Bhusaval?
The 'pure' DC powers are dissapearing fast. I doubt if the WCM 1s and 2s
will even see
the turn of the century. Apart from maybe preserving one in the NRM, I
think we will
never see a more stylish locomotive series on the IR. So the duty is
handled today by
WCAM 3s (there are over 60 of them in the Mumbai division). As this
train terminates
closeby at BSL, a new WAM 4 is not justified. The mail/ express powers
get new locos
at Igatpuri though. Or do you see a change of timings in these as well ?
> 5. The Pune-Ernakulam exp. goes via
Miraj-Hubli-Arsikere-Bangalore(not
> indicated)-Hosur-
> Salem. The shorter route would be via KR; Castle Rock-Kulem is
the
> missing piece.
> When is this being opened to passenger traffic?
I have been hearing 'next month' for the last two years.
> 6. Besides TAAG, are any other zonal TTs out yet? I am eager to
find
> out the complete
> schedule of the Kurla-Patna superfast exp.
Not yet, I would soon go to Pune Jn. and find out.
Apurva
From: Vijay Balasubramanian <>
Subject: Re: Info. from the online timtable
Date: 15 Jul 1999 09:55:41 -0500
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Apurva Bahadur [SMTP:iti@vsnl.email
>Sent: Thursday, July 15, 1999 12:46 PM
>To: Vijay Balasubramanian
>Cc: 'irfca@cs.email
>Subject: Re: Info. from the online timtable
>
>
>
>Vijay Balasubramanian wrote:
>
>> Hi Folks,
>>
>> Looked at some of the new trains and schedule changes from the
online
>> timetable at the IR official site. Assuming that this is authentic
>> info.,
>> some observations -
>>
>> 1. Mumbai-Bhusaval trains now halt at Igatpuri for 5 mts. but the
times
>> at Nasik Rd. and beyond remain unchanged. Does this mean that
>> WCAM3s are now being used on all trains between CSTM/CLAT
>> and Bhusaval?
>
>The 'pure' DC powers are dissapearing fast. I doubt if the WCM 1s and
2s will
>even see
>the turn of the century. Apart from maybe preserving one in the NRM, I
think
>we will
>never see a more stylish locomotive series on the IR. So the duty is
handled
>today by
>WCAM 3s (there are over 60 of them in the Mumbai division). As this
train
>terminates
>closeby at BSL, a new WAM 4 is not justified. The mail/ express powers
get
>new locos
>at Igatpuri though. Or do you see a change of timings in these as well
?
>
>
By Mumbai-Bhusaval trains, I meant ALL trains running on the
Kalyan-Bhusaval section,
including those that go beyond Bhusaval - sorry for the confusion. Many
of these seem
to halt at Igatpuri for only 5 mts. leading me to believe that WCAM3s
are being used.
VIjay