Train Journeys
I love train journeys and am extremely inquisitive about the engine,how it works,the people who man the engine,the guard,his van...etc
As a child my earliest memories of the steam engine were my trips to a place called Sirpur Kaghaznagar in Adilabad Dist,where my aunt(peddamma) used to live and work as an English teacher.How our faces used to be covered in soot by the time we arrived at our destination via Kazipet(We-my sister and I, used to look like clowns).Winters especially were a special time for these train journeys as the warmth or rather the heat from the engine,actually used to give us a sense of fright on one hand and lots of warmth on th other.The other time was our summertime travel to Bangalore.The train used to start at around 10 pm(so going to he station itself used to be an ordeal) from Kacheguda in those days ,which is where it starts from now also.
WQe used to reach Bangalore at 4pm the next day,after a soid18 hour journey.Come to think of it,after Independence,we have added only some 15,000 km or maybe slightly more,of railway lines,whereas the British had already given us more than 35,000 km of railway lines before Independence(what a shame free India-our own country).This is true in most areas viz., Political System,Judicial System,Education System,Administration,CPC......etc
The engine used to have 2 guys,1 driver and one guy for putting water and coal,which would then generate steam.The whistle/hoot of the engine was a wired string,again connected to the steam output,thereby releasing steam,and creating a whistle sound.At every station a large wooden ring,like a hoopla used to be exchanged to signify that the train had passed such and such a station at so and so time.
Good fun we used have.
"Those were the days my friend,we thought they'd never end"
As a child my earliest memories of the steam engine were my trips to a place called Sirpur Kaghaznagar in Adilabad Dist,where my aunt(peddamma) used to live and work as an English teacher.How our faces used to be covered in soot by the time we arrived at our destination via Kazipet(We-my sister and I, used to look like clowns).Winters especially were a special time for these train journeys as the warmth or rather the heat from the engine,actually used to give us a sense of fright on one hand and lots of warmth on th other.The other time was our summertime travel to Bangalore.The train used to start at around 10 pm(so going to he station itself used to be an ordeal) from Kacheguda in those days ,which is where it starts from now also.
WQe used to reach Bangalore at 4pm the next day,after a soid18 hour journey.Come to think of it,after Independence,we have added only some 15,000 km or maybe slightly more,of railway lines,whereas the British had already given us more than 35,000 km of railway lines before Independence(what a shame free India-our own country).This is true in most areas viz., Political System,Judicial System,Education System,Administration,CPC......etc
The engine used to have 2 guys,1 driver and one guy for putting water and coal,which would then generate steam.The whistle/hoot of the engine was a wired string,again connected to the steam output,thereby releasing steam,and creating a whistle sound.At every station a large wooden ring,like a hoopla used to be exchanged to signify that the train had passed such and such a station at so and so time.
Good fun we used have.
"Those were the days my friend,we thought they'd never end"
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