Report of a visit to the only surviving steam loco shed of Indian Railways:
9th July – We were all set to go to Simla – not really for the hill station but to experience the narrow gauge Kalka-Simla railway. For the Delhi-Kalka trip we were booked on to the Howrah Kalka mail – 2311 up and I was checking its progress since morning. It was running nearly 3 hours late and was unlikely to reach Delhi before 11 pm – which meant it would reach Kalka after the connection’s - 251 Kalka Simla passenger - depature. By 5 pm, Kalka mail was running 4 hours late and it was really looking bleak. Besides I was dead tired and was not feeling upto driving on NH1, with all the news of flooding in Ambala and Chandigarth earlier in the week. So it was the moment of truth – and we decided that there was too much uncertainty to go ahead with the trip. Painfully logged on to irctc.co.in and cancelled the tickets.
The feeling was exactly the same as when you have relaxed your muscles before settling down in a chair and chair is removed from under you, and you fall– all the time conscious of going down and not being able to do much about it, as your tailend continues to expect the chair but meets the hard floor. As the mind was already in that anticipatory mode of going away on a journey, one thought of alternatives and Rewari came readily to mind. We had already marked Rewari for the next outing. Could we substitute the now abandoned Kalka-Simla with a trip to the Rewari steam loco shed? Google earth was probed – it showed us the layout of Rewari – photographed on 9 March 2010 with the steam loco shed north east of the main Rewari station. And it was just off NH8 - 100 odd km from Noida. So it could be done as a day trip. And the decision was made
10th July – We were off at 8.30 am from Noida, after taking on a tank full of diesel. The traffic was fairly thin on the ring road but as we reached the Gurgaon expressway, there were enough of right lane slugs, to get one thinking about a lot of things – from wondering at the width of the range that homo sapiens present, about possibility of imposing criminal liability on such drivers, who put others in danger forcing others to navigate from the left, about painting a message at the rear – “ Beds are for sleeping and cars are for driving – don’t be confused!”.
After negotiating a traffic jam at Bhiwadi, we went past the regular bypass from NH8 to Rewari and decided to take the alternate road a few kilometers down the road. And we missed the turning as a flyover is under construction there. So we took a u-turn, came back and then I used my understanding as derived from the sat image to first reach the rajesh pilot circle, then the bus workshop, and a left turn onto the only double road in Rewari. This road turned out to be a simulation of volcanic landscape with large craters in which even buses could be seen disappearing from view, before emerging again on the other side. Following this road, we reached the outskirts of the station and decide to park the vehicle and walk to the steam shed, which was on the other side of the railway tracks. But as we made way through a scooter-motorcycle market, I had this dread of leaving the car so close to this motor spare parts market, so we again got into the car and took it to the station parking and left it there. It was 10.45 am.
The station was clearly under renovation. This station has a foot over bridge with ramps instead of stairs, going up- so we could see people riding their cycles, scooters and rickshaws using the foot overbridge, along with passengers. There was also a large bull on the foot over bridge and though we enquired politely, he declined to give us any inkling of the train he was waiting for. As we passed over the bridge, Garib Nawaz express from Sarai Rohilla to Bandra T was just pulling out – it looked pretty with its green paint.
On the other side, there is this railway colony with small cottages for railway employees – with large grounds, leafy trees all around – making the heat and humidity just a wee bit bearable. So I and Vikas, following that sat image in our heads went in the general NE direction, past the new Indian Oil fuel depot and saw the loco shed. It is actually a shed with a high roof, with two massive doors and 4 sets of tracks – 2 BG and 2 MG running through it. It’s a stone construction, which has now been whitewashed- so while it looked kind of clean, but whitewashing a stone structure robs the building of character as nothing else does.
We were duly stopped by an RPF fellow stationed there, who asked for our antecedents and Vikas had to clarify that the amber coloured liquid in the bottle he was carrying was lemonade (made with unrefined sugar) and not what he was imagining! So there I took my first photograph of the morning. We first entered the broad gauge section of the shed, where this huge steam crane with a very special number 19/24666 was standing. It seemed a very formidable piece of equipment, though a tag – of not being serviceable- disappointed us. Perhaps it will never work again.
Then we came alongside the WL 15005. This huge loco was built in UK by the Vulcan Foundry in 1955. The naming of the engine must have happened before the current convention in practice came up – with W standing for broad gauge and L for light – which means that it was meant to haul passenger trains and was thus designed for speed and not for pulling heavy load. It seemed under heavy repair with a gaping hole in the front, where workmen were busy working on its innards. Later we were to learn of its rather sordid tale.
The next engine in the shed was the WP 7161 – P for passenger – much younger than the 15005. And made in India at CLW in 1965. It could do a top speed of 100 kmph – very cool for a steam loco of that vintage. It seemed in decent working order and work was going on to repair its transmission – connecting rods etc. Of the 4-6-2 wheel arrangement – the large wheels were almost as tall as I am and the whole thing looked very awe inspiring. The name “Dooar’s Queen” seemed a bit strange for a steam loco, also considering that its sibling the renowned WP 7200, -of Rang De Basanti fame- out on a jaunt to please Mamta Bannerji in Bengal is called “Shahenshah”. 7161 will be under testing soon in a few weeks time, we were told.
Then we went over to the other side of the broad gauge side and saw the AWE 22907 “Virat” clearly older than the WPs of Chittranjan Loco Works. Its plate tells a story – it was manufactured in Philadephia in 1943! (How did they get it here? Probably by ship!) It was meant to haul goods –so its top speed of 75 kmph seemed adequate. And in the American tradition, key things like wheels, steam injectors, coal tender, safety valves and steam boiler were listed as accessories! All the dimensions on the plate, except for the gauge were as per the FPS system – another American oddity. Standing back-to-back with Virat was the XE 3634. The name plaque was unnamed.
A helpful soul told us about the loco shed foreman’s office and his name – Mr. Shyam Bihari. So we went over to the other part of the shed which had the metre gauge engines and the offices. 4 Y class engines were standing there – Y stands for metre gauge as W does for broad gauge.
Two of these YG 3438 and YG 4252 were manufactured by TELCO – now known as Tata motors and justifying why Tata Motors was known as TELCO – Tata Electric and Locomotive Company. Vikas had a good time by climbing on top of YG 4252 and clicking the top side of the engines which you hardly get to see of the steam locos. 4252 was clearly in service during the Rajiv Era with Mera Bharat Mahan slogan of Nehru centenary year emblazoned on the side of the loco. As these were smaller gauge engines, their top speed was hardly impressive at 65 kmph, unless you gave a thought to the tones they hauled at that speed!
Vikas also got a very good photograph of the user interface of YG 3438. Hardly to set the pulse racing with large, unsymmetrical, and levers and wheels placed without much thought. Also, if you don’t know what does what, you could be lost just counting the control levers and valve controls. – all painted in lurid green – but so engineering focused - on function over form and on outcome over beauty – you have to see the beauty of what it achieves and the ugliness of the interface seems utterly inconsequential. The speedometers in these engines were a bit quaint - with a clock at the centre of the dial! Then we met YP 2151- the only metre gauge passenger engine in the shed- and YG 3415 with the name – Rewari Queen and walked out of the shed on the other side.
The tracks led to a gigantic turntable, which can be used to change the direction of the locomotive and its so well balanced that it takes only 2 men to turn the engine around. Vikas saw a rat snake here – and the snake obliged by showing a trick or two by standing on its tail and looking over the wall of the enclosure before deciding to climb over the wall to the other side!
And this was the end of the loco shed tour, we thought. As we reached the shed back again, we saw one of the crew calling to a resident dog to share his lunch with her. We liked his gesture and in any case, we are partial to any soul who has affection to towards the symbiots in our life. So he asked us about what had brought us there. And we told him. So he took us towards 15005, which had its front end opened up and you could peer into its hollow and dark interiors. He told us his name – Kanwar Singh. Kanwar Singh asked us to climb into that dark hollow. We followed his lead and he showed us the fire pipes, the boiler interiors, the steam inlet valve and the pipes leading –one each - to the cylinders on either side – the huge cylinders which house the pistons that push the wheels.
For the first time, pressure cooker system of the steam engine became evident to me – this was the highest point of my visit. And then Kanwar Singh pointed out one of the fire pipes which had developed a leakage and told us about the super heated steam which had gone back to the furnace and had exploded out as a mix of steam and super hot coal onto the driver and the inspector who had been incinerated in an instant – a grisly accident in 2002. It had led to an enquiry and the shed had been shut down for 3 long years, with no steam powered engine venturing out on rails till all had been declared completely fit. He also explained the key controls of the steam engine – the accelerator is a rod fitted horizontally, which controls the steam valve inside the boiler, the reverse control wheel, the gauge which shows the water level, air brake controls etc.
Now the 15005 was being completely overhauled – all the pipes in the boiler were being removed and replaced and re-welded –and after the checks and testing, 15005 would be seen back again on the move. I have heard of pressure cookers with faulty safety valves exploding in the kitchens – this was no ordinary pressure cooker and no ordinary kitchen fire – in a way it was hot hell on wheels.
With somber thoughts, we walked towards the office of the foreman. He warmly welcomed us and introduced us to the contractors who have been mandated to convert this heritage loco shed into a tourist attraction in time for the Common Wealth Games in Septmeber. Looking at the shed and the way it was, and knowing how such things work in the government and railways, I was a bit incredulous but I did not let it show. However the contractors themselves talked about only giving it their best shot and were not too confident to commit either! Then Mr. Shyam Bihari told us quite in a matter-of-fact manner that he is a poet! And while this was quite a big surprise, he surprised us even further by reciting a few lines about the loco shed! And then he went away with the contractors to discuss the beautification plan.
We decided to hang about for a while and then return back. So we left the shed. When we reached the gates, the guard told us that Mr. Shyam Bihari had asked us to wait for a cup of tea, while he came back in an hour. We did not want to wait but did not want the invitation to lapse. So we went back across the tracks and decided to try and get the car to this side. This was not going to be as easy as it may appear. There were no level crossings nearby and the one next to the station was permanently closed. So we fortified ourselves with a Thumsup and went over a half completed flyover – the only one in Rewari - and then over two level crossings and into the bylanes of Rewari to reach the Railway colony and then the loco shed.
Mr. Shyam Bihari was back and we exchanged phone numbers and he told us about how Shahenshah WP 7200 was away at Calcutta with its crew awaiting orders from the powers-that-be about a heritage train that was to run in the honor of Mamta Bannerjee – the current railway minister and West Bengal’s chief-minister-in-waiting. He also told us about his rebirth as a poet – Gautam Allahabadi – his pen name, which happened during the period of enquiry after the 15005 accident- when there was no activity in the shed. We had a good time discussing the meter to which the dohas and kundalis need to be written and he read out quite a few of his creations – some philosophical and some for fun. And all this while he continued smoking from a filterless cigarette. Promising to come back as soon as one of the babies under his charge comes back to life, we took his leave.
While driving back to Delhi, I and Vikas, kept speaking about the shed, about Gautam Allahabadi, Kanwar Singh and our date with the black beauties. A day well spent. The story does not end here…
Checked the trainenquiry.com after reaching back home. Kalka Express had made it to Kalka by 8 am and the Kalka Simla 251 had left at 9 am! Damn. We should not have cancelled the plan – even if it would have given us 2 hours in Simla! But as Agha said in “Padosan” – “Jab jab jo jo hona hai, tab tab wo wo hota hai!.”
9th July – We were all set to go to Simla – not really for the hill station but to experience the narrow gauge Kalka-Simla railway. For the Delhi-Kalka trip we were booked on to the Howrah Kalka mail – 2311 up and I was checking its progress since morning. It was running nearly 3 hours late and was unlikely to reach Delhi before 11 pm – which meant it would reach Kalka after the connection’s - 251 Kalka Simla passenger - depature. By 5 pm, Kalka mail was running 4 hours late and it was really looking bleak. Besides I was dead tired and was not feeling upto driving on NH1, with all the news of flooding in Ambala and Chandigarth earlier in the week. So it was the moment of truth – and we decided that there was too much uncertainty to go ahead with the trip. Painfully logged on to irctc.co.in and cancelled the tickets.
The feeling was exactly the same as when you have relaxed your muscles before settling down in a chair and chair is removed from under you, and you fall– all the time conscious of going down and not being able to do much about it, as your tailend continues to expect the chair but meets the hard floor. As the mind was already in that anticipatory mode of going away on a journey, one thought of alternatives and Rewari came readily to mind. We had already marked Rewari for the next outing. Could we substitute the now abandoned Kalka-Simla with a trip to the Rewari steam loco shed? Google earth was probed – it showed us the layout of Rewari – photographed on 9 March 2010 with the steam loco shed north east of the main Rewari station. And it was just off NH8 - 100 odd km from Noida. So it could be done as a day trip. And the decision was made
10th July – We were off at 8.30 am from Noida, after taking on a tank full of diesel. The traffic was fairly thin on the ring road but as we reached the Gurgaon expressway, there were enough of right lane slugs, to get one thinking about a lot of things – from wondering at the width of the range that homo sapiens present, about possibility of imposing criminal liability on such drivers, who put others in danger forcing others to navigate from the left, about painting a message at the rear – “ Beds are for sleeping and cars are for driving – don’t be confused!”.
After negotiating a traffic jam at Bhiwadi, we went past the regular bypass from NH8 to Rewari and decided to take the alternate road a few kilometers down the road. And we missed the turning as a flyover is under construction there. So we took a u-turn, came back and then I used my understanding as derived from the sat image to first reach the rajesh pilot circle, then the bus workshop, and a left turn onto the only double road in Rewari. This road turned out to be a simulation of volcanic landscape with large craters in which even buses could be seen disappearing from view, before emerging again on the other side. Following this road, we reached the outskirts of the station and decide to park the vehicle and walk to the steam shed, which was on the other side of the railway tracks. But as we made way through a scooter-motorcycle market, I had this dread of leaving the car so close to this motor spare parts market, so we again got into the car and took it to the station parking and left it there. It was 10.45 am.
The station was clearly under renovation. This station has a foot over bridge with ramps instead of stairs, going up- so we could see people riding their cycles, scooters and rickshaws using the foot overbridge, along with passengers. There was also a large bull on the foot over bridge and though we enquired politely, he declined to give us any inkling of the train he was waiting for. As we passed over the bridge, Garib Nawaz express from Sarai Rohilla to Bandra T was just pulling out – it looked pretty with its green paint.
On the other side, there is this railway colony with small cottages for railway employees – with large grounds, leafy trees all around – making the heat and humidity just a wee bit bearable. So I and Vikas, following that sat image in our heads went in the general NE direction, past the new Indian Oil fuel depot and saw the loco shed. It is actually a shed with a high roof, with two massive doors and 4 sets of tracks – 2 BG and 2 MG running through it. It’s a stone construction, which has now been whitewashed- so while it looked kind of clean, but whitewashing a stone structure robs the building of character as nothing else does.
We were duly stopped by an RPF fellow stationed there, who asked for our antecedents and Vikas had to clarify that the amber coloured liquid in the bottle he was carrying was lemonade (made with unrefined sugar) and not what he was imagining! So there I took my first photograph of the morning. We first entered the broad gauge section of the shed, where this huge steam crane with a very special number 19/24666 was standing. It seemed a very formidable piece of equipment, though a tag – of not being serviceable- disappointed us. Perhaps it will never work again.
Then we came alongside the WL 15005. This huge loco was built in UK by the Vulcan Foundry in 1955. The naming of the engine must have happened before the current convention in practice came up – with W standing for broad gauge and L for light – which means that it was meant to haul passenger trains and was thus designed for speed and not for pulling heavy load. It seemed under heavy repair with a gaping hole in the front, where workmen were busy working on its innards. Later we were to learn of its rather sordid tale.
Then we went over to the other side of the broad gauge side and saw the AWE 22907 “Virat” clearly older than the WPs of Chittranjan Loco Works. Its plate tells a story – it was manufactured in Philadephia in 1943! (How did they get it here? Probably by ship!) It was meant to haul goods –so its top speed of 75 kmph seemed adequate. And in the American tradition, key things like wheels, steam injectors, coal tender, safety valves and steam boiler were listed as accessories! All the dimensions on the plate, except for the gauge were as per the FPS system – another American oddity. Standing back-to-back with Virat was the XE 3634. The name plaque was unnamed.
A helpful soul told us about the loco shed foreman’s office and his name – Mr. Shyam Bihari. So we went over to the other part of the shed which had the metre gauge engines and the offices. 4 Y class engines were standing there – Y stands for metre gauge as W does for broad gauge.
Two of these YG 3438 and YG 4252 were manufactured by TELCO – now known as Tata motors and justifying why Tata Motors was known as TELCO – Tata Electric and Locomotive Company. Vikas had a good time by climbing on top of YG 4252 and clicking the top side of the engines which you hardly get to see of the steam locos. 4252 was clearly in service during the Rajiv Era with Mera Bharat Mahan slogan of Nehru centenary year emblazoned on the side of the loco. As these were smaller gauge engines, their top speed was hardly impressive at 65 kmph, unless you gave a thought to the tones they hauled at that speed!
The tracks led to a gigantic turntable, which can be used to change the direction of the locomotive and its so well balanced that it takes only 2 men to turn the engine around. Vikas saw a rat snake here – and the snake obliged by showing a trick or two by standing on its tail and looking over the wall of the enclosure before deciding to climb over the wall to the other side!
And this was the end of the loco shed tour, we thought. As we reached the shed back again, we saw one of the crew calling to a resident dog to share his lunch with her. We liked his gesture and in any case, we are partial to any soul who has affection to towards the symbiots in our life. So he asked us about what had brought us there. And we told him. So he took us towards 15005, which had its front end opened up and you could peer into its hollow and dark interiors. He told us his name – Kanwar Singh. Kanwar Singh asked us to climb into that dark hollow. We followed his lead and he showed us the fire pipes, the boiler interiors, the steam inlet valve and the pipes leading –one each - to the cylinders on either side – the huge cylinders which house the pistons that push the wheels.
For the first time, pressure cooker system of the steam engine became evident to me – this was the highest point of my visit. And then Kanwar Singh pointed out one of the fire pipes which had developed a leakage and told us about the super heated steam which had gone back to the furnace and had exploded out as a mix of steam and super hot coal onto the driver and the inspector who had been incinerated in an instant – a grisly accident in 2002. It had led to an enquiry and the shed had been shut down for 3 long years, with no steam powered engine venturing out on rails till all had been declared completely fit. He also explained the key controls of the steam engine – the accelerator is a rod fitted horizontally, which controls the steam valve inside the boiler, the reverse control wheel, the gauge which shows the water level, air brake controls etc.
Now the 15005 was being completely overhauled – all the pipes in the boiler were being removed and replaced and re-welded –and after the checks and testing, 15005 would be seen back again on the move. I have heard of pressure cookers with faulty safety valves exploding in the kitchens – this was no ordinary pressure cooker and no ordinary kitchen fire – in a way it was hot hell on wheels.
With somber thoughts, we walked towards the office of the foreman. He warmly welcomed us and introduced us to the contractors who have been mandated to convert this heritage loco shed into a tourist attraction in time for the Common Wealth Games in Septmeber. Looking at the shed and the way it was, and knowing how such things work in the government and railways, I was a bit incredulous but I did not let it show. However the contractors themselves talked about only giving it their best shot and were not too confident to commit either! Then Mr. Shyam Bihari told us quite in a matter-of-fact manner that he is a poet! And while this was quite a big surprise, he surprised us even further by reciting a few lines about the loco shed! And then he went away with the contractors to discuss the beautification plan.
We decided to hang about for a while and then return back. So we left the shed. When we reached the gates, the guard told us that Mr. Shyam Bihari had asked us to wait for a cup of tea, while he came back in an hour. We did not want to wait but did not want the invitation to lapse. So we went back across the tracks and decided to try and get the car to this side. This was not going to be as easy as it may appear. There were no level crossings nearby and the one next to the station was permanently closed. So we fortified ourselves with a Thumsup and went over a half completed flyover – the only one in Rewari - and then over two level crossings and into the bylanes of Rewari to reach the Railway colony and then the loco shed.
Mr. Shyam Bihari was back and we exchanged phone numbers and he told us about how Shahenshah WP 7200 was away at Calcutta with its crew awaiting orders from the powers-that-be about a heritage train that was to run in the honor of Mamta Bannerjee – the current railway minister and West Bengal’s chief-minister-in-waiting. He also told us about his rebirth as a poet – Gautam Allahabadi – his pen name, which happened during the period of enquiry after the 15005 accident- when there was no activity in the shed. We had a good time discussing the meter to which the dohas and kundalis need to be written and he read out quite a few of his creations – some philosophical and some for fun. And all this while he continued smoking from a filterless cigarette. Promising to come back as soon as one of the babies under his charge comes back to life, we took his leave.
While driving back to Delhi, I and Vikas, kept speaking about the shed, about Gautam Allahabadi, Kanwar Singh and our date with the black beauties. A day well spent. The story does not end here…
Checked the trainenquiry.com after reaching back home. Kalka Express had made it to Kalka by 8 am and the Kalka Simla 251 had left at 9 am! Damn. We should not have cancelled the plan – even if it would have given us 2 hours in Simla! But as Agha said in “Padosan” – “Jab jab jo jo hona hai, tab tab wo wo hota hai!.”
Im happy to read your blog, took the renovation of this shed as a project.
ReplyDeletedo visit the official site of the shed
rewaristeamloco.com
best wishes,
Vikas.
Sr.Div.Mech. Engineer.
Northern Railway.
Thank You and that i have a nifty provide: When To Renovate House home reno contractors
ReplyDelete