IMG0969-Bhusaval-steam-crane=43938
Bhusaval, India, 23 January 1980
We visited Bhusaval 3 days after landing at Delhi, our first steam shed bash on our trip. We'd ridden the Rajdhani from Delhi to Bombay the first night, spent the day in Bombay and then it was overnight on the Amritsar Express to Bhuasval.
The Rajdhanis were and are all air conditioned, but the Amritsar Express only non-AC cars. We were in 1st class and bedding is not included in the fare. We'd forgotten to book bedding, which would not have been a biggie, except as we climbed the ghat, it got cold. I'd left most of my luggage and spare clothing in left luggage in Delhi as we would be returning to Delhi in a couple of days, so tried to bundle up in what little extra clothes I had as I shivered in an upper berth. To make matters worse, I had bad heartburn and there was a mosquito buzzing around the compartment. Not my best night on a train!
We arrived early in the morning and watched, but did not photograph (our photo permits were not yet sorted out) a WG trying to get a roll on a heavy coal train on the dew covered rail. Quite the steam and smoke show with the engine losing its feet, but we didn't want to run afoul of the authorities by whipping out the cameras.
After breakfast, we walked to the shed to ask the foreman how we could get permission to take photos. He directed us to the division superintendent down the road. We walk to the superintendent's office, explained our situation, showed our passports and the superintendent gave us a letter saying we could take photos on the railway at Bhusaval and have access to the shed. He also gave us his car and driver for the day!
We rode back to the shed and the foreman welcomed us like long lost relatives with the permission letter. He, or an assistant showed us around and made us most welcome. At the time, there were over 100 steam locomotives assigned to Bhusval and a lot were on shed that day.
Something I only recently realized is that WP 7000, which was up on jacks with its wheels removed and whiting on the frame to check for cracks, was the first WP of over 700. I don't know that any of us remarked on this at the time.
The freight engines were coaled by small steam cranes. The passenger engines were coaled by people picking out lumps of coal, throwing them in a basket and then running up a ramp to the tender and throwing the contents of the basket in the tender.
A big hook with a painting of a tiger was being used to lift heavy loco components. A narrow gauge engine was in for repairs. Goats and school boys wandered through the yard.
After several hours at the yard, food and drink were in order. The shed foreman had fed us tea, so we'd stayed hydrated, but as we had the superintendent's car, and driver, we asked him to take us to the best bar in town. The food and beer were good.
At some point, we wandered around town. We spent the evening at the station, and I got some photos there with the 120 roll film camera that I still need to scan.
My camera case, and old briefcase, broke and I was trying to figure out how to fix it when a Railway Protection Force officer, with a bayonet fixed on his .303 Enfield saw my plight and found a piece of string. Nice young man, and ready in case he had to face down a riot with his .303. :-)
We left town late at night on the Punjab Mail, in AC 1st again and slept a lot better.
It was my 23rd birthday, and one of the most memorable.
IMG0969-Bhusaval-steam-crane=43938
Bhusaval, India, 23 January 1980
We visited Bhusaval 3 days after landing at Delhi, our first steam shed bash on our trip. We'd ridden the Rajdhani from Delhi to Bombay the first night, spent the day in Bombay and then it was overnight on the Amritsar Express to Bhuasval.
The Rajdhanis were and are all air conditioned, but the Amritsar Express only non-AC cars. We were in 1st class and bedding is not included in the fare. We'd forgotten to book bedding, which would not have been a biggie, except as we climbed the ghat, it got cold. I'd left most of my luggage and spare clothing in left luggage in Delhi as we would be returning to Delhi in a couple of days, so tried to bundle up in what little extra clothes I had as I shivered in an upper berth. To make matters worse, I had bad heartburn and there was a mosquito buzzing around the compartment. Not my best night on a train!
We arrived early in the morning and watched, but did not photograph (our photo permits were not yet sorted out) a WG trying to get a roll on a heavy coal train on the dew covered rail. Quite the steam and smoke show with the engine losing its feet, but we didn't want to run afoul of the authorities by whipping out the cameras.
After breakfast, we walked to the shed to ask the foreman how we could get permission to take photos. He directed us to the division superintendent down the road. We walk to the superintendent's office, explained our situation, showed our passports and the superintendent gave us a letter saying we could take photos on the railway at Bhusaval and have access to the shed. He also gave us his car and driver for the day!
We rode back to the shed and the foreman welcomed us like long lost relatives with the permission letter. He, or an assistant showed us around and made us most welcome. At the time, there were over 100 steam locomotives assigned to Bhusval and a lot were on shed that day.
Something I only recently realized is that WP 7000, which was up on jacks with its wheels removed and whiting on the frame to check for cracks, was the first WP of over 700. I don't know that any of us remarked on this at the time.
The freight engines were coaled by small steam cranes. The passenger engines were coaled by people picking out lumps of coal, throwing them in a basket and then running up a ramp to the tender and throwing the contents of the basket in the tender.
A big hook with a painting of a tiger was being used to lift heavy loco components. A narrow gauge engine was in for repairs. Goats and school boys wandered through the yard.
After several hours at the yard, food and drink were in order. The shed foreman had fed us tea, so we'd stayed hydrated, but as we had the superintendent's car, and driver, we asked him to take us to the best bar in town. The food and beer were good.
At some point, we wandered around town. We spent the evening at the station, and I got some photos there with the 120 roll film camera that I still need to scan.
My camera case, and old briefcase, broke and I was trying to figure out how to fix it when a Railway Protection Force officer, with a bayonet fixed on his .303 Enfield saw my plight and found a piece of string. Nice young man, and ready in case he had to face down a riot with his .303. :-)
We left town late at night on the Punjab Mail, in AC 1st again and slept a lot better.
It was my 23rd birthday, and one of the most memorable.