wp report

Before , starting the narration I would like to convey my sincere thanks to Rakesh Sir , & other IR officials for making the steam run a reality & success.

At SBC & pre-departure description :

It was the morning of August 23rd & I was really excited as I was going to see/travel by a broad gauge steam loco hauled train for the first time in my life. These WP class steam locos have a good reputation as high speed steam locos. So with all excitment , I left my house at 7am.
I left my house at 7am. Caught a 'Jana Priya Vahini ' & reached SBC by 8am . I bought a plfrm tkt & had breakfast at the canteen . Then I proceeded to PFno.8 . As I crossed across the tracks , I saw an assortment of electric & diesel locos . But , for once they failed to attract me;-)
I was only thinking abt the WP . At PF 8 the rake named ' Heritage Special ' was parked scheduled to depart at 10am. The red livery rake had 4 II class chair car & two SLR .
The WP was yet to be attached . The rake was fully decorated above the windows . It gave the impression that it was to carry a 'baarath' ( marriage party ) !! All the coaches had a loud speaker tied up at one corner. Each Coach was 'reserved' for particular group of people . For children , press , invitees , rail officials . The SLR were to be for public . But , it is a different matter all together wether this neat arrangement was followed once the train started !!
PF8 track was being fully washed & cleaned off all the filth .

Meanwhile , I went to have a look at the WP . It was parked in the mini shed of SBC. It was about 5 sidings away from PF8 & was receiving last minute touches . It was fully decorated with flowers . Suddenly , the loco shot out steam from top. The steam raised to abt 10m high , seemed to be like a fountain . There were a group of photographers standing at the far corner . So I delightfully pulled out my camera & mingled away with the press !!

Around 9am I met up with fellow IRFCAites Mr.Srinivas, Mr.Ravi & Mr.Manoj . It was a happy feeling of oneness to witness the memorable occasion. The crowds were just beginning to pour in . Around 9:15 am the WP whisitled & moved....woosh-woosh... . It is a unique pleasure to see those huge wheels & crank rods moving up & down (raw power.....). With in a few minutes it was coupled to the rake. Meanwhile we were all clicking away & for today the RPF was going to stay away . I saw some people using camcorders too !! But , I saw that some RPF guys & public thought I was from the Press. One guy even asked me I was from which TV , to which I bluffed that I was from an internet agency :-)
Around this time a 'band' arrived a were playing out some nice music . All the public (around 300) was admiring only the loco . Now as it was time for minister to arrive the RPF had to keep the crowd at some distance .

Meanwhile lots of goodies(eatables) were being loaded into the coaches. It was supposed to be distributed to the passengers (all complimentary) . This was supposed to be 'IR 150 years Birthday Party' celebration by SBC division . The seats of all the coaches were being sprayed with perfume ! & the clean toilets were receiving last minute inspection !! Around 10am the minister arrived . The train staff were all present in full uniform to greet him . Meanwhile all the coaches were packed to capacity ! Probably the IR did'nt expect this . At 10:15am the WP whistled & took off . We irfcaites quiclky boarded the 'rail officials' coach & occupied the doors. But this too was a packed coach:-)!!!!!

The journey..............

Run through SBC-YPR-YNK >>

As train left SBC , people & passengers were cheering & waving hands . One could see smiles all around . The loco then picked up speed (around 40kmph) & chugged towards malleswaram . As , the train whistled along , the traffic on the neighbouring main roads came to a stand still . The two wheelers braked to a stop so that they could admire the train . The public was not along the tracks (like in Mumbai) because the event was publicised only two days in advance. But ,just as the loco used to whistle by , people just stopped their work , & came rushing out of houses , shops , classrooms, factories....... just to wave & cheer us & one could see them smilling with glee . Just for a moment the people had forgotten their daily tensions . Let me tell you , even a VIP convoy would not have evoked such a spontaneous feeling of happiness for the public !
Truly the steam loco & railways in general has some 'spiritual' pulling power in it !!

As we neared YPR one signal failed near a LC gate , so train stopped there. Immediately I got down & took a snap of the loco one coach ahead . After the snap , I was still admiring the loco from far . But , suddenly WP blew whistle & took off ! Then I ran a few meters & clinged onto the door of a packed SLR . Though the door was overflowing with people , they were courteous enough to give me some space to place my foot on the footboard ! For the next 4mins , I was dangling out until arrival at YPR .

At YPR there were lots of people & hundreds of school children . Just as the train came to a halt people rushed to the loco & took snaps. Many climbed into the cab & pulled the whistle . This was the trend at all the stations we stopped . Meanwhile some officials got off the train , the minister A.K.moorthy suddenly appeared outside the door where I was standing & distributed toffees , there was quite a scramble. Today , the security was quite easy , so I really did'nt feel that I was standing next to a minister !!

After a 4mins halt the train left YPR & chugged towards Lottegola halli . Meanwhile goodies were being distributed . I think there was some shortage due to the train being 'over-subscribed' & we did not receive any type of goodies too. Anyway, at each stop I was jumping out & switching coaches ! So, I never new exactly what was going on inside !!
Also the steam loco kept my stomach quiet :-)
Meanwhile a live musical group had parked themselves in the last coach & were playing out songs through the loud speakers . But one negative aspect was , that one could not hear & enjoy the WP sound . We reached Yelehanka around 11:10am . Well behind schedule. Here a KJM WDM2 was waiting to be connected to the rear , because the train had to reverse to go towrads CSDR-KJM . After a 10mins halt the train left YNK . The ever-reliable WDM2 reached CSDR (my home) in 15mins & hence we made up lot of the lost time . Also , now the officials had instructed that halt times be reduced to 2mins from scheduled 5mins .So , I had to quickly run to a spot which I had chosen one week in advance to take a snap . As the train departed , I went off to an SLR to take snaps on the very sharp KJM curve .

KJM-SBC & footplating experience :

At KJM , WDM2 was disconnected . The WP tender was filled up with water from a water lorry . After 10 mins the train chugged out . After halts at BYPL & BNCE , the train entered the gradient at BNCE . Here , I took out my walkman recorder & recorded the train sounds upto Bangalore cantt. But one bad thing was , that the loud music from the loud speakers , messed up with the melodious WP sounds.
Later , at BNC myself & Mr.Ravi got a chance of a life time to footplate to SBC about 10mins journey . Actually the WP & tender are two seperate vehicles with a part of the tender going underneath the loco . So, the cab forms a junction between tender coach & loco .
Footplating was a good learning experience for me too . As the loco started I could feel the wheel slip vibrations . As loco reached to abt 40kmph I could also feel the hammer blows from the crank rods . Due to lack of space , I was standing in such a position that I was leaning on to the tender while my feet were on the loco . As a result my feet were moving in all 3-dimensions . So, It was like a dancing floor & good exercise to my waist too:-) But one thing for certain , a steam loco cab is quite an uncomfortable place for long journeys. The modern day diesel & electric drivers are just nothing in comparison to the steam guys. I salute the steam drivers as they are true hard workers !! Meanwhile , I recorded the WP sounds till we reached SBC . At around 1pm , we whistled away into SBC & were the synosure of all eyes on plfrm 1. I was really proud of this royal treatment because usually the prestigious Brindavan exp (running behind us) gets Plfrm 1 , but for today it was put to plfrm 3 .

After we got down from the Loco , we thanked a few IR officials & bid good bye to the great WP. For me , the footplating experience was the icing on the cake after a memorable 3 hour journey . Although I was satisfied , I felt a bit sad that I could not see the WP run from the outside . Personally I feel , seeing a WP in action from the outside is more enjoyable than travelling by a WP hauled train. It is a thrill to see the raw power of huge wheels & synchronous movements of crank rods & steam puffing out .

Thanks for the patient reading !