After two days' holiday, I was back to college on Tuesday. The exams seemed to be never ending, and a new chapter was just unfolding! I reached Kurla as usual at around 0811. My train towards Thane was 0818 Badlapur Fast. The train pulled in dot on time! The journey to Thane was just normal with no major spottings! The EMU pulled into Thane at 0849. The FOB was too crowded, and I decided to wait for the crowd to thin. By this time, the EMU went out, the starter went red, and after some minutes it was back to green! I knew the reason and decided to wait!
The starter was for the Bangalore bound Udyan Express...She came in...
...with WDP4 #20028. As is the normal practice, the Lucknow bound 2533 Pushpak express followed Udyan express. Her loco was....
...WDP4 #20032! Interestingly, the Dippy of Udyan was working Short Hood, while the one of Pushpak was Long hood! So by a matter of chance, I could see both the hoods in a matter of about 3 minutes!
I rushed to college after these spottings. The paper turned out to be easy, and we had a 1.5 hours paper instead of the usual 1 hour paper. The paper got over by 1300, and I was out at the bus stop by 1330. I reached Thane at around 1400. The first spotting of the noon session was WCAM2 #21864 from Valsad with a south bound Tanker rake. The paint job of the loco looked very shoddy. Just as the south bound tanker cleared the platform, WDM2 #18354 of Kalyan pulled through with a north bound Tanker train. The station slipped into silence. The main line platforms remained silent for a long time then onwards, until the Mangalore bound Matsyagandha pulled in with WDM2A #18455 of Erode. Ever since this train stopped sharing its locos with Netravati, WDM2s are coming this way! Earlier it was a prestigious WDM3A link! Just as Matsyagandha was waiting for her starter, a BCNA rake hauled by WCG2 duo (lead by #20125, and #20145 trailing) crawled through towards Kurla. Matsyagandha moved out at around 1435, and there was silence in the station for the next 3 minutes! At 1438, the Chennai bound 6011 Express pulled in with WCG2 #20142 of Kalyan. I decided to call it a day, and decided to take the 1447 Fast towards Kurla. The First class coach that I boarded was quite crowded, and there was no chance of moving in! I made it to Kurla at around 1510 or so. A Belapur bound EMU was already pulling in! I had a mad dash and made it to the train. Just minutes into the run, I got an SMS from IRFCAn Ranjeet that he spotted the KR4 passenger with an Ernakulam WDM2!!!
After about 30 minutes of running from Kurla, my train slowly neared the Belapur outer only to see this:
The starter was for the Bangalore bound Udyan Express...She came in...
...with WDP4 #20028. As is the normal practice, the Lucknow bound 2533 Pushpak express followed Udyan express. Her loco was....
...WDP4 #20032! Interestingly, the Dippy of Udyan was working Short Hood, while the one of Pushpak was Long hood! So by a matter of chance, I could see both the hoods in a matter of about 3 minutes!
I rushed to college after these spottings. The paper turned out to be easy, and we had a 1.5 hours paper instead of the usual 1 hour paper. The paper got over by 1300, and I was out at the bus stop by 1330. I reached Thane at around 1400. The first spotting of the noon session was WCAM2 #21864 from Valsad with a south bound Tanker rake. The paint job of the loco looked very shoddy. Just as the south bound tanker cleared the platform, WDM2 #18354 of Kalyan pulled through with a north bound Tanker train. The station slipped into silence. The main line platforms remained silent for a long time then onwards, until the Mangalore bound Matsyagandha pulled in with WDM2A #18455 of Erode. Ever since this train stopped sharing its locos with Netravati, WDM2s are coming this way! Earlier it was a prestigious WDM3A link! Just as Matsyagandha was waiting for her starter, a BCNA rake hauled by WCG2 duo (lead by #20125, and #20145 trailing) crawled through towards Kurla. Matsyagandha moved out at around 1435, and there was silence in the station for the next 3 minutes! At 1438, the Chennai bound 6011 Express pulled in with WCG2 #20142 of Kalyan. I decided to call it a day, and decided to take the 1447 Fast towards Kurla. The First class coach that I boarded was quite crowded, and there was no chance of moving in! I made it to Kurla at around 1510 or so. A Belapur bound EMU was already pulling in! I had a mad dash and made it to the train. Just minutes into the run, I got an SMS from IRFCAn Ranjeet that he spotted the KR4 passenger with an Ernakulam WDM2!!!
After about 30 minutes of running from Kurla, my train slowly neared the Belapur outer only to see this:
EMUs terminating at Belapur have to cross the UP Line in order to enter Platform 3 which is used as a terminus. In fact, Platform 3 lies on the main line, while trains arriving from Panvel enter Belapur on Platform 2, then use a change over point to enter the main line. So when a train is occupying Platform 2, then a Belapur EMU has to wait at the outer signal! After a few minutes of waiting...
That was a Panvel-CSTM EMU which made us wait! The EMU crossed my coach a few seconds later, and we finally crossed the Parsik Tunnel, and the train crossed over on to the UP Line. There is a speed restriction of 15 KMPH for trains entering Platform 3, and our train slowly crawled in, and I finally made it to my home at around 1600 or so!
That was a Panvel-CSTM EMU which made us wait! The EMU crossed my coach a few seconds later, and we finally crossed the Parsik Tunnel, and the train crossed over on to the UP Line. There is a speed restriction of 15 KMPH for trains entering Platform 3, and our train slowly crawled in, and I finally made it to my home at around 1600 or so!
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