1980_02_09-0100-Erode-roundhouse
Erode and Trip to Trichy, 9 Feb 1980
February 9, 1980 ·
The next stop after the Nilagiri line on our 1980 trip to India was the loco shed at Erode in Tamil Nadu.
Erode had the only roundhouse we visited in India. Other depots had turntables, but only Erode's was surrounded by a roundhouse.
Erode also had AWC 2-8-0s, American built WW2 engines similar to the S-160s used in Europe, such as the one that was running on the Worth Valley in England at the time.
There were also some XE1 heavy 2-8-2s of the 1920s IRS standard design at Erode.
Erode also had an allotment of WL light 4-6-2s, one of which pulled our train that afternoon on the run to Tiruchirappalli.
As happened all over India, the shed staff welcomed us like long lost relatives and gave us a great tour of the place.
Our afternoon all stops local on the run to Tiruchirappalli was pulled by a WL 4-6-2. The light Pacific was used because of the lighter rail on this line. We rode in the second class car right behind the engine, to enjoy the full sound of the the 4-6-2.
At one point, we had a meet with a westbound train and I was inspired by an H Reid photo of Virginian passenger trains meeting in my framing of the eastbound train with the running gear of our train in the foreground.
At another station, a bunch of elementary school kids boarded. The train would take them back to their villages, much like a school bus. They used our group to practice their English, and spoke it very well.
Our engine was a bit low on water, and women who expected to get how water from the injector overflow were disappointed when the fireman did not have any to spare. Not sure why we were sent out low on water. I'd seen photos of women doing the same thing in Gerry Best's "Mexican Narrow Gauge".
Although the train was passenger only, not mixed, its relaxed schedule and many rural stops were right out of Mixed Train Daily, and if the spirits of Beebe and Clegg ever rode the Erode-Tricky line in Tamil Nadu they would have felt right at home after their trips through rural Georgia in the 1940s.
1980_02_09-0100-Erode-roundhouse
Erode and Trip to Trichy, 9 Feb 1980
February 9, 1980 ·
The next stop after the Nilagiri line on our 1980 trip to India was the loco shed at Erode in Tamil Nadu.
Erode had the only roundhouse we visited in India. Other depots had turntables, but only Erode's was surrounded by a roundhouse.
Erode also had AWC 2-8-0s, American built WW2 engines similar to the S-160s used in Europe, such as the one that was running on the Worth Valley in England at the time.
There were also some XE1 heavy 2-8-2s of the 1920s IRS standard design at Erode.
Erode also had an allotment of WL light 4-6-2s, one of which pulled our train that afternoon on the run to Tiruchirappalli.
As happened all over India, the shed staff welcomed us like long lost relatives and gave us a great tour of the place.
Our afternoon all stops local on the run to Tiruchirappalli was pulled by a WL 4-6-2. The light Pacific was used because of the lighter rail on this line. We rode in the second class car right behind the engine, to enjoy the full sound of the the 4-6-2.
At one point, we had a meet with a westbound train and I was inspired by an H Reid photo of Virginian passenger trains meeting in my framing of the eastbound train with the running gear of our train in the foreground.
At another station, a bunch of elementary school kids boarded. The train would take them back to their villages, much like a school bus. They used our group to practice their English, and spoke it very well.
Our engine was a bit low on water, and women who expected to get how water from the injector overflow were disappointed when the fireman did not have any to spare. Not sure why we were sent out low on water. I'd seen photos of women doing the same thing in Gerry Best's "Mexican Narrow Gauge".
Although the train was passenger only, not mixed, its relaxed schedule and many rural stops were right out of Mixed Train Daily, and if the spirits of Beebe and Clegg ever rode the Erode-Tricky line in Tamil Nadu they would have felt right at home after their trips through rural Georgia in the 1940s.