Platform7

2007 is all set to end in a less than 30 hours from now! Another new year is round the corner... before welcoming the new year, let me have a recap of the year that really was special! This year started with a bang! I railfanned at Panvel on January 02, to welcome the year in true railfan style! The year had the maximum number of journeys in a year till date beating 2005 hands down! 2005 had 6, while 2007 wins with 8 journeys! I got a brand new camera in June! I completed my graduation, and joined a BPO with 5-figure monthly salary! Flew again after a long gap (the last air journey was in May 2005) This post came a day early instead of December 31 since I am not very sure if I would be able to make a post tomorrow! Anyways... Wishing everyone a very happy and prosperous New Year! Happy New Year 2008

Finally the trip is done! The last long distance journey of the year that had many of them! The down journey was by 2163 Dadar-Chennai Express. My coach was A1 (01052A based at Dadar). The locos that hauled my train were WCG2 #20151 from Dadar to Pune, then WDM2 #17541 of Guntakal from Pune to Renigunta, and finally WAM4 #21297 of Arakkonam from Renigunta to Chennai Central. The train was more or less on time at most stations. We reached Chennai Central at 1941 as against the scheduled arrival time of 1935! The trip from Chennai to Bangalore was by road, in my Brother's Innova. We left Chennai at around 1530 and reached Bangalore some time after 2130. The traffic snarls in Chennai made things really bad. We were put up at Adayar, and the journey from Adayar to Sriperumbudur was painful! The run from Sriperumbudur to Bangalore was a breeze. We left Sriperumbudur sometime after 1800, and still made it to Bangalore by 2130. The traffic was moderate, and the car rarely went above 1

Another winter, another trip! Another railfanning this winter! I am leaving for Chennai tonight by 2163 Dadar-Chennai Express. Will be back to Mumbai on December 30 in the afternoon by flight from Chennai. A detailed Itinerary is posted here .. SO do tune in for regular updates, right here!

A rather long dream of railfanning at a location which does not have the menace called wires was fulfilled today! I got an off at office after about three weeks of holiday less work. So decided to utilize it in the best way a railfan can - finding out a new railfanning point! I called up IRFCAn Deep to find out if he was free. He came down to Panvel at 1045, and we left towards Panvel. We ran through Panvel Bye-pass and got straight to Somatne. We then took a turn and entered the road towards Rasayani. The track runs almost parallel all the way, and we then decided on a good location for railfanning. Our place was at Village Narpoli. We caught three trains there, and the highlight of all was the Trivandrum bound Netravati Express with the WDM3A! (Seen below) After being there till about 2PM, we rushed to Panvel station. We had some light snacks, and got back to railfanning. Panvel was at its best after a long time, and there were regular freight movements throughout the time we wer

Sunday, December 16, 2007: This Sunday, unusually, was a working day at my office. I had grand plans for the evening, and the working announcement made me sad. But, later on, I informed my immediate superior that I would be reporting late to office and I made my way to Panvel to receive my dad who was returning from Kerala. I reached the station sometime after 1500. I took a Platform ticket and slowly walked into the Platform 1. The platform was deserted. The Mangalore bound Matsyagandha Express is scheduled to arrive at 1515, but there were no passengers! An announcement was played that the train is arriving shortly on Platform 3. I rushed over to Platform 3, and there were a good number of passengers there! I decided to capture the loco from the foot over bridge, and the loco was WDM2 #18598 of Erode. A plain WDM2 for a 21 coach train! Another train was pulling in on the main line from the Karjat side - that was a BCNA rake with... ...WDG3A #13382 of Kalyan in charge! This is pr

December 08, 2007: The number of railfanning events in this year seems to be bell-shaped. It was low in the beginning, then picked up, and now back to lower levels. Ever since I joined my job (in October), I never have had time for railfanning, or the likes. My dad was to go to Kerala on an urgent work on Saturday (Dec 08, 2007). The tickets were booked on Friday in Tatkal quota. A small mess up during the reservation ensured that the boarding point selected was Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, and this strategic point was noticed shortly after 1100 by my mom. The train departs from LTT at 1140, and my home is atleast 45 minutes away from the station! Finally, we decided to face whatever be it and take a chance. Myself and my dad left home shortly after 1145, and picked up the tickets from my Mom's office. My mom too joined us. I drove down the Sion-Panvel State Highway and reached Panvel station shortly after 1230. The KR4 Ratnagiri-Dadar Passenger was running late by 20-25 minutes, a

Sorry for not publishing anything for quite some time now! I was actually busy at my office (My timings changed to 1500-2300 now!), and my net connection was down since the last Sunday (December 03 onwards). In the duration, I had two railfannings - the reports of which are lines up and will be published in the days to come

Nov 30, 2007 : After a tiring day at office, I back at home by 0800 (I was working in a night shift which commences at 2300, and gets over by 0700, I generally reach home at 0800), I was once again offered a chance to railfan - this time at a place which is poorly covered for the fear of getting caught in the act (of photographing) - Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, fondly called as CST, or CSTM in the railway parlance. My sister in law was returning to Bangalore after a week long stay here. My dad was going to CST to send her off. She was leaving by the 6339 Nagercoil Express. I decided to grab this chance, and I got ready for the journey. We left home shortly after 0945, and headed straight to Vashi. My sis-in-law rushed to purchase tickets, while I parked the car. We took an EMU from Vashi to CST. We reached CST at around 1115. Our train was taken on Platform 1. We walked over to the Mainline section, and purchased platform tickets. We then rushed off to Platform 18, where the