Train Talk (Chai & Choo Choos)
Mention of Ranchi reminds me of a visit my wife and I made there in 1982- I to photograph the narrow gauge trains that ran to Loghardia and she because she did not know any better although going to see the Jagannath temple somewhat soothed her!At that time, being only my second visit to India, I had not realised that parts of Bihar are somewhat lawless and riding round the countryside in a rickshaw was probably not very wise.
We had booked to stay at the South Eastern Railway Hotel. What a gem of a time capsule this proved to be! It had that wonderful ambiance of the faded end of the raj era. The rooms were of the typical colonial style - ground floor off a long veranda and the doors secured with the ubiquitous bolt and huge padlock. The rooms themselves were rather spartan and the bed covered with a very moth-eaten mosquito net. Not to worry as we had a family of gekos living behind the faded pictures and they did their best to even up the odds although we ended up getting well bitten in spite of my efforts to beat off the intruders who got through the holes in the net.
As I recall,the staff wore the original livery of the pre-nationalisation railway and much of the crockery and cutlery were from the same era and marked as such.The staff uniform of off- white/grey [it had once been white] was set off with a colourful cumerbund.
We ate in the large restaurant with fans swishing overhead. I vividly recall that there was a wide variety of insect life in the room after dark, some of it quite large. One evening we ate with a Sikh businessman who dressed smartly for dinner.We made civil and polite conversation but, as the whirling fans were taking their toll on the insect clientelle, we were constantly showered with insect body parts that landed on the white tablecloth and even in the soup. It was one of those moments for which the British are well equipped -we ate on without comment or alarm rather like the scene in ' Carry On Up the Khyber' where the dinner guests continue to dine while the room around them is demolished by the rebel tribesmen's cannon fire.
Ah - such fond memories!
We had booked to stay at the South Eastern Railway Hotel. What a gem of a time capsule this proved to be! It had that wonderful ambiance of the faded end of the raj era. The rooms were of the typical colonial style - ground floor off a long veranda and the doors secured with the ubiquitous bolt and huge padlock. The rooms themselves were rather spartan and the bed covered with a very moth-eaten mosquito net. Not to worry as we had a family of gekos living behind the faded pictures and they did their best to even up the odds although we ended up getting well bitten in spite of my efforts to beat off the intruders who got through the holes in the net.
As I recall,the staff wore the original livery of the pre-nationalisation railway and much of the crockery and cutlery were from the same era and marked as such.The staff uniform of off- white/grey [it had once been white] was set off with a colourful cumerbund.
We ate in the large restaurant with fans swishing overhead. I vividly recall that there was a wide variety of insect life in the room after dark, some of it quite large. One evening we ate with a Sikh businessman who dressed smartly for dinner.We made civil and polite conversation but, as the whirling fans were taking their toll on the insect clientelle, we were constantly showered with insect body parts that landed on the white tablecloth and even in the soup. It was one of those moments for which the British are well equipped -we ate on without comment or alarm rather like the scene in ' Carry On Up the Khyber' where the dinner guests continue to dine while the room around them is demolished by the rebel tribesmen's cannon fire.
Ah - such fond memories!
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I read the short story in Hindi in my teens. I didn't realize it was transcribed Panchlight in English. When I was growing up in Patna the author P.N.Renu was something of a local celebrity. After the film तीसरी क़सम (Teesri Kasam) based on his short story मारे गये ग़ुलफ़ाम (Mare Gaye Gulfam) was released (I think it was in 1966) he became a national celebrity.
Originally Posted by narendra.d 
I don't know if it was a movie or a short film kind of program. It was a long time ago. Really well made with all the nuances of village life, language, accent and thoughts brought out.
I don't know if it was a movie or a short film kind of program. It was a long time ago. Really well made with all the nuances of village life, language, accent and thoughts brought out.
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That was originally a long narrow-gauge line (Purulia-Kotshila-Muri-Ranchi-Lohardaga) It was built to carry bauxite from the mines at Lohardaga to the aluminium smelter at Muri. sometime in the early sixties (I can look it up) a broad-gauge line was built from Chandrapura to Kotshila via Bokaro Steel City (still a greenfield site then) and the Kotshila-Ranchi section of the narrow-gauge line was converted to broad-gauge.* Construction on the Ranchi-Rourkela line started about that time too. For several years after that bauxite was transported on the remaining narrow-gauge line from Lohardaga to Ranchi and there the wagons were shunted onto a kind of rack with broad-gauge wagons on the lower level. There the floors of the narrow-gauge wagons opened and the ore dropped into the broad-gauge wagons and thence to Muri.
Originally Posted by Scousermick Mention of Ranchi reminds me of a visit my wife and I made there in 1982- I to photograph the narrow gauge trains that ran to Loghardia and she because she did not know any better although going to see the Jagannath temple somewhat soothed her!At that time, being only my second visit to India, I had not realised that parts of Bihar are somewhat lawless and riding round the countryside in a rickshaw was probably not very wise.
We had booked to stay at the South Eastern Railway Hotel. What a gem of a time capsule this proved to be! It had that wonderful ambiance of the faded end of the raj era. The rooms were of the typical colonial style - ground floor off a long veranda and the doors secured with the ubiquitous bolt and huge padlock. The rooms themselves were rather spartan and the bed covered with a very moth-eaten mosquito net. Not to worry as we had a family of gekos living behind the faded pictures and they did their best to even up the odds although we ended up getting well bitten in spite of my efforts to beat off the intruders who got through the holes in the net.
As I recall,the staff wore the original livery of the pre-nationalisation railway and much of the crockery and cutlery were from the same era and marked as such.The staff uniform of off- white/grey [it had once been white] was set off with a colourful cumerbund.
We ate in the large restaurant with fans swishing overhead. I vividly recall that there was a wide variety of insect life in the room after dark, some of it quite large. One evening we ate with a Sikh businessman who dressed smartly for dinner.We made civil and polite conversation but, as the whirling fans were taking their toll on the insect clientelle, we were constantly showered with insect body parts that landed on the white tablecloth and even in the soup. It was one of those moments for which the British are well equipped -we ate on without comment or alarm rather like the scene in ' Carry On Up the Khyber' where the dinner guests continue to dine while the room around them is demolished by the rebel tribesmen's cannon fire.
Ah - such fond memories!
Mention of Ranchi reminds me of a visit my wife and I made there in 1982- I to photograph the narrow gauge trains that ran to Loghardia and she because she did not know any better although going to see the Jagannath temple somewhat soothed her!At that time, being only my second visit to India, I had not realised that parts of Bihar are somewhat lawless and riding round the countryside in a rickshaw was probably not very wise.We had booked to stay at the South Eastern Railway Hotel. What a gem of a time capsule this proved to be! It had that wonderful ambiance of the faded end of the raj era. The rooms were of the typical colonial style - ground floor off a long veranda and the doors secured with the ubiquitous bolt and huge padlock. The rooms themselves were rather spartan and the bed covered with a very moth-eaten mosquito net. Not to worry as we had a family of gekos living behind the faded pictures and they did their best to even up the odds although we ended up getting well bitten in spite of my efforts to beat off the intruders who got through the holes in the net.
As I recall,the staff wore the original livery of the pre-nationalisation railway and much of the crockery and cutlery were from the same era and marked as such.The staff uniform of off- white/grey [it had once been white] was set off with a colourful cumerbund.
We ate in the large restaurant with fans swishing overhead. I vividly recall that there was a wide variety of insect life in the room after dark, some of it quite large. One evening we ate with a Sikh businessman who dressed smartly for dinner.We made civil and polite conversation but, as the whirling fans were taking their toll on the insect clientelle, we were constantly showered with insect body parts that landed on the white tablecloth and even in the soup. It was one of those moments for which the British are well equipped -we ate on without comment or alarm rather like the scene in ' Carry On Up the Khyber' where the dinner guests continue to dine while the room around them is demolished by the rebel tribesmen's cannon fire.
Ah - such fond memories!
As for "parts of Bihar being somewhat lawless", well, it's like in Sicily - there were (are?) other laws in force, not the ones sanctioned by the state.
The hotel was invariably refered to as "BNR Hotel" in those days, even though the signboard said "SER Hotel". But then people of my parents' generation took the GIP or the BB&CI from Delhi to Bombay and never the Central or the Western Railway.
*Purulia-Kotshila too remained NG for quite some time - at least till I left India in 1972.
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Don't worry, I grew up with a wind-up gramophone* and shellac. In the early seventies it was still possible to buy boxes of steel needles for gramophones.
Originally Posted by Nick-H The current terminology is turntables and vinyl. I feel very old fashioned when I put an LP on my deck!
The current terminology is turntables and vinyl. I feel very old fashioned when I put an LP on my deck! Now to get back to the subject of the thread:
On my next trip to India (not before January 2013) I plan to travel on a stretch of steam driven narrow-gauge.
Anyone wish to keep me company?
I just cruised erail and found the following trains:
52181 leaves Dhaulpur at 10:40 and reaches Tantpur at 13:05;
At Tantpur we can watch the engine being turned on the turntable** and then catch the 52182 leaving Tantpur at 13:20 and reaching Bari at 14:30;
At Bari we shall have to wait until 18:12 to catch the 52184 back to Dhaulpur.
We shall have to spend two nights at Dhaulpur.
What do we do at Bari for getting on to five hours?
I don't have any problem killing time at places like these. We can engage the railway staff in conversation and check out the dhabas and tea-shops. We can then write a book called The Train-Lover's Guide to Bari. I'm sure it will sell as everyone will think it's about the city in Apulia with its interesting branch lines.
We shall have to do without the stretch to Sirmuttra as the only train from Dhaulpur to Sirmuttra leaves at 4am.
*with a lid, not a horn - I'm not that ancient, after all!
** I hope they have one there and not a loop!
Last edited by Golghar; Jul 16th, 2012 at 19:48..
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Not at all (e.g. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlA8nk24Ti0)
Originally Posted by Golghar And record-players too?
I fear many under-thirties will be unfamiliar with the term "turntable" in either sense.
And record-players too? I fear many under-thirties will be unfamiliar with the term "turntable" in either sense. 
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I had never heard of these places but Samit's atlas, which is never far from my side these days, shows they are just south of Agra. I think a Chai & ChooChoo thread meetup on a narrow-gauge steam train is a great idea
Originally Posted by Golghar On my next trip to India (not before January 2013) I plan to travel on a stretch of steam driven narrow-gauge.
Anyone wish to keep me company?
I just cruised erail and found the following trains:
52181 leaves Dhaulpur at 10:40 and reaches Tantpur at 13:05;
At Tantpur we can watch the engine being turned on the turntable** and then catch the 52182 leaving Tantpur at 13:20 and reaching Bari at 14:30;
At Bari we shall have to wait until 18:12 to catch the 52184 back to Dhaulpur.
We shall have to spend two nights at Dhaulpur.
On my next trip to India (not before January 2013) I plan to travel on a stretch of steam driven narrow-gauge.Anyone wish to keep me company?
I just cruised erail and found the following trains:
52181 leaves Dhaulpur at 10:40 and reaches Tantpur at 13:05;
At Tantpur we can watch the engine being turned on the turntable** and then catch the 52182 leaving Tantpur at 13:20 and reaching Bari at 14:30;
At Bari we shall have to wait until 18:12 to catch the 52184 back to Dhaulpur.
We shall have to spend two nights at Dhaulpur.
and I'd love to say I'd join you but there are just too many variables to say when my next trip to India will be. January 2013 sounds pretty good though ... 
I am dipping in and out of the Penguin Book of Indian Railway Stories and enjoying some of them a lot. This is why the atlas is always close at hand. I just read Jim Corbett's story Loyalty about the ferry between Mokameh Ghat and Samaria and the change of gauges. I think we were talking about this ferry earlier in the thread? I guess there is a bridge there now.
Another one I liked was by JW Best, 'The Luck of John Fernandez' about a stretch of line which passes through jungle just east of Itarsi. He also mentions the striking view of the Dalla Pahar as the train thunders across the Champa Bridge, which seems to be east of Bilaspur. I like looking these things up
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I had heard of these 2'6" lines but surely they must be diesel hauled by now. I've just looked it up in Marshall's "Indian NarrowGauge Steam Remembered". He makes mention of the lack of any suitable hotel accommodation in Dhaulpur!
Originally Posted by Golghar On my next trip to India (not before January 2013) I plan to travel on a stretch of steam driven narrow-gauge.
On my next trip to India (not before January 2013) I plan to travel on a stretch of steam driven narrow-gauge. I have today booked flights for our next visit to India January 21st to March 3rd and have a plan all ready to go with over 7,000 km of rail travel and taking in the Nilgiri, an overnighter in a First Class (non A/c) and the trip from Ahmedabad to Udiapur in 2AC on the metre gauge. A visit to the Dhaulpur lines would be brilliant. I might have to do some serious work to keep Madame W happy though.
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They might have a turning triangle like Neral. That was fun to watch.
Last edited by Dave W; Jul 18th, 2012 at 12:32..
Reason: typo
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Yes, I mentioned this before in posts #84 and #241. I tried to find out the exact year in which the bridge was built. I can remember it being under construction in 1957 and I'm pretty certain it was in operation in 1961. The only thing I found on the net about the history of the bridge was this:
Originally Posted by JuliaF I just read Jim Corbett's story Loyalty about the ferry between Mokameh Ghat and Samaria and the change of gauges. I think we were talking about this ferry earlier in the thread? I guess there is a bridge there now.
I just read Jim Corbett's story Loyalty about the ferry between Mokameh Ghat and Samaria and the change of gauges. I think we were talking about this ferry earlier in the thread? I guess there is a bridge there now. http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/w...e-lower-ganges
So the British House of Commons was interested in the matter as far back as 1913.
When I mentioned January 2013 I meant "not before Jan. 2013" so it could be anytime later. The other narrow-gauge line in that part of India is from Gwalior to Sheopur Kalan. Dave has already referred to it on this thread. That is of course a 10-hour (ten!) in each direction:
52171 dep. Gwalior Ng: 06:25 arr. Sheopur Kalan 16:25
52172 dep. Sheopur Kalan 06:10 arr. Gwalior Ng 16:25
"Gwalior Ng" is abbreviated as GWO as opposed to Gwalior Jn. which is GWL. I don't recall the exact layout of Gwalior station. I presume the narrow-gauge platform is outside the station proper.
The return journey has a 20 minute stop at Sabalbagh. I presume that's where the up and down trains cross. That's where one can alight and take a video shot of the train puffing* in from the opposite direction.
Of course this trip entails an overnight stop at Sheopur Kalan. I haven't the faintest idea about the availability of accomodation there. This is the area of the Chambal Ravines so a stay there should be quite exciting.
*Or is that line diesel too?
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There is no reserved accommodation on these trains.
Originally Posted by Golghar 52181 leaves Dhaulpur at 10:40 and reaches Tantpur at 13:05;
At Tantpur we can watch the engine being turned on the turntable** and then catch the 52182 leaving Tantpur at 13:20 and reaching Bari at 14:30;
At Bari we shall have to wait until 18:12 to catch the 52184 back to Dhaulpur.
52181 leaves Dhaulpur at 10:40 and reaches Tantpur at 13:05;At Tantpur we can watch the engine being turned on the turntable** and then catch the 52182 leaving Tantpur at 13:20 and reaching Bari at 14:30;
At Bari we shall have to wait until 18:12 to catch the 52184 back to Dhaulpur.
According to indiarailinfo the General Unreserved fares are
Train 52181 Dhaulpur - Tantpur Rs 10/-
Train 52182 Tantpur - Bari Rs 4/-
Train 52184 Bari - Dhaulpur Rs 4/-
This sort of travel really appeals to the Yorkshireman in me although I do wonder why it is cheaper to do the trip in two stages rather than as a oner.
If it is anything like the Gwalior line we will be riding on the roof. (See link in #60 of this thread)
10 hours, 202 km from Gwalior to Sheopur Kalan is an even more tempting Rs 29/-.
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I thought reserved accomodation was for the wimps from the WL/RAC threads
Originally Posted by Dave W There is no reserved accommodation on these trains.
There is no reserved accommodation on these trains. I think I'll have to do a dry run on my own and then act as a guide.
And as for the two parts together costing less than the whole - this is the logic of the railway bureaucrat. Till well into the nineties the fare structure of the German Railways was such that 100km cost significantly less than half of what 200km did. I used to chop up my journey into smaller bits and buy consecutive tickets. And it's not as if this was kept secret. The people at the ticket-office proposed this to you when you asked for a ticket. And the funny thing was that some people refused this offer because they thought they were breaking the law.
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I wasn't complaining (although Madame W might). I might need somebody to explain the etiquette of who gets to sit on the roof, who has to hang on the side of the coach and who I have to bribe to get a seat inside.
Originally Posted by Golghar I thought reserved accomodation was for the wimps from the WL/RAC threads
I thought reserved accomodation was for the wimps from the WL/RAC threads
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Golghar's Chai & Choo Choo Tours. You heard it here first.
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Leave that to me. I still know how to pull rank, caste etc. to get seats inside the train. After all these are the former Dholpur State Railways. I can pretend I am a relative of the Maharaja and you and Mrs.W are the Marquess and Marchioness of Milton Keynes on a state visit.
Originally Posted by Dave W I might need somebody to explain the etiquette of who gets to sit on the roof, who has to hang on the side of the coach and who I have to bribe to get a seat inside.
I might need somebody to explain the etiquette of who gets to sit on the roof, who has to hang on the side of the coach and who I have to bribe to get a seat inside.
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Yes, no coffee served!
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Golghar!
Originally Posted by Golghar L I can pretend I am a relative of the Maharaja and you and Mrs.W are the Marquess and Marchioness of Milton Keynes on a state visit.
L I can pretend I am a relative of the Maharaja and you and Mrs.W are the Marquess and Marchioness of Milton Keynes on a state visit. 
Sssshh! You almost blew my cover. The truth lies about 300 miles further north. Once you have read this you must burn it or eat it.http://www.spanglefish.com/glenmutch...?pageid=261175
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