Nice image

My guess is that this loco has overshot the semaphore signal at danger and come to grief in the de-railment dead end pit.

Yes. This, indeed, is S. It has a sharp curved platform with Cavery river bridge on both sides - S is an island with the river Cavery splitting into two branches and the joining again as one at a point called "Sangama".

It is a real challenge to build the second BG line (doubling) with a sharper curve.

This is a BG loco. The Boat Mail in that era must have been MG.

Is this today's Shrirangapattana (with a rare single letter station code - 'S')?

Why did Royapuram platform have such high walls? Do these walls survive even today? How is this view shot (which is the high vantage point in the area) and which side the harbour?

This is the Boat Mail accident of 1928. I dont remember the exact date. There is a chapter on this accident in the book "Southern Railways, 150 Glorious years" by Sri. R.R Bhandari

lovely pic!!

Apurva is right - this train is headed towards Pune. I assumed from the barrenness (see next picture) that the train is headed away from Pune City!

Many thanks, Harsh, for this super album.
Images of a time long gone. It is good that someone took to trouble to take pictures of such scenes.