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Russell's viper is one of the most venomous snakes in India....it was a chance encounter in its wild mood....taken in Nayachar, West Bengal, India
The Bardhaman–Katwa line is a 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge branch line connecting Bardhaman and Katwa in Purba Bardhaman district of West Bengal. It is under the jurisdiction of Eastern Railway. The line was a narrow gauge line, before its gauge conversion began on 2010. The gauge conversion was done in two phases along with electrification and the full broad gauge line was thrown open for public again on 12 January 2018.[2]
Burdwan-Katwa Railway connecting Bardhaman (earlier known as Burdwan) and Katwa in now Purba Bardhaman district, West Bengal was opened to traffic on 1 December 1915. The railway was built in 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge and total length was 53 kilometres (33 mi).[4]
The engines chugged along at the maximum speed of 30 km per hour.[5][6]
Somewhere,
someplace between,
those lines of clarity,
and the mind of dreams.
Beyond its time,
the Iron Horse still steamed.
Did nothing change for decades?
Placed here by the will of the colonialists.
Invaders,
then driven out.
Now long gone,
their evidence here remained, retained.
And loved and cared for in the end,
to the end.
How could you not?
This thing here,
through time gained
its sense of permanence,
an encompassing life form.
No longer just transportation.
No, through time it became.
This thing here,
it has become.
So much more now
than timeless steel wheels
rolling over steel rails.
Another West Bengal morning. Bagnall 0-6-4T, BK 1 of 1914 pulls away from Nizoram Halt, two stops into its journey, hauling the 07:05 train from Katwa to Ahmadpur.
December the 12th 1992.
After a somewhat traumatic journey overnight from Katwa we arrived at New Jalpaiguri to find the early morning departure to Darjeeling had long gone. We quickly negotiated with a nearby taxi driver for the hire of his taxi for the day. He seemed to be aware of exactly what we needed, a fee was agreed, and off we set in hot pursuit. He was a good guy and we were able to catch the little train up before Tindharia. Here the train is passing through the town of Mahanadi, after a loco change at Tindharia. Loco is 'B' class No. 782, A Sharp Stewart product of 1899. The train is the 07.15 from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling.
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BK no.3, a Bagnall 0-6-4T of 1916 runs through Katwa's railway colony on its final kilometre into the narrow gauge terminus with a lunchtime arrival from Ahmadpur. Many people have already jumped off and more prepare to do so, common practice here.
In this poverty stricken part of West Bengal sanitary drinking water was not available, only small cups of tea or bottles of highly coloured, sickly sweet fizzy pop. With such a high sugar content it was not a good thing to drink too much of this so I remained thirsty. Until I had taken this that is.
I was approached by an off duty driver who had seen me about over the past days and he offered a drink. Why not? He led me to a hand pump and extracted a glass full from the ground below. Well it was too late to refuse now. But this is one of those turning moments, the water was cool, clear and tasted good, and it had no adverse affect. I figured it had come from quite deep down, you can get some idea by seeing how long you have to pump until the water flows.
I was to spend several weeks in the less developed areas of North India and after this always drank from the hand pumps. The risk of dehydration was greater than that of dysentery and as it turned out I never got sick.
December the 14th 1992.
First train of the day at Ambalgran, and the first stop out of Katwa with the 07:05 for Ahmadpur. The crew cover the station with a smoke screen as it pulls away with Bagnall 0-6-4T no. BK 1 of 1914 vintage.
December the 12th 1992.
Kodachrome 64 inside a Nikon FG, fronted with a Sigma 70 to 210mm f4 zoom set at 70mm, 1/250 @ f4
BK 2, from the first batch of 0-6-4T locos ordered from Bagnalls of Stafford in 1914, smokes out from Katwa Junction station bunker first with the mid afternoon train for Burdwan. The station is crowded, the inbound lunchtime departure from Ahamadpur will soon arrive and then return just before four PM. The narrow gauge station was directly alongside the broad gauge line from Calcutta's mighty Howrah terminus to Azimganj, its footbridge towers behind the train. Today these platforms are for Burdwan only and the footbridge crosses all lines. And all the lines are electrified, the narrow gauges have been converted to broad gauge, whilst the Ahmadpur line uses the existing broad gauge alignment up to its first station after the Ajay river bridge, a few kilometres west of the town.
December the 14th 1992.
BK no.1, an 0-6-4 tank engine from Bagnalls of Stafford in 1914 takes the first train of the day for Ahmadpur away from Katwa on the 14th of December 1992.
Eastern Railway of India 2'6" gauge locomotive AK16, taken on 5 February 1979 while I was travelling on the first train of the day between Burdwan and Katwa.
Part of a cancelled order built for the Egyptian Delta Light Railways by Bagnall (Wks no. 2029 of 1916) it was sold to the Kalighat-Falta Railway operated by McLeods Light Railways and later transferred to the Katwa operations.
V200_1_047
The midway stop for the 07:05 Katwa to Ahmadpur is at the village of Kirnahar and here the crew take advantage of the water crane whilst the passnegers take advantage of the lengthened stop to escape the dusty cramped carriages and stretch their legs. This passing loop was signalled on the inbound directions and it was used, that recently passed can be seen in the distance by the trees on the right, and the return journey saw this train crossed by BK 2 hauling the 12:00 from Katwa bunker first.
BK 1, a Bagnall 0-6-4T of 1914, taken on the 12th of December 1992.
Kodachrome 64, Nikon FG with a Sigma 70 to 210mm zoom set at 70mm, 1/250 @ f5.6.
The day begins at Katwa Junction, West Bengal. The 07:05 to Ahmadpur leaves behind BK 1 whilst bunker first BK 2 waits with the 07:10 for Burdwan. The locos are both 0-6-4 tank engines from William Bagnall of Stafford, built 1914 and running on the two foot six inch gauge. The numbering of the locos began BK or AK which implied the lines they operated on, though of course this was far from set in stone!
Katwa Junction sits on a secondary line running close to the Bangladesh border from Calcutta's Howrah terminus up towards the North of West Bengal and Assam. From here ran two narrow gauge lines originally run by Mcleods and Co. of Calcutta and not handed over to the Eastern Railway until 1967. BK 1 is heading west to Ahmadpur whilst BK 2 will run south to Burdwan five minutes later, both lines running through rural farming village communities and linking to the main broad gauge lines heading out from Calcutta north west and westward. Now, both lines have been converted to broad gauge.
December the 13th 1992.
The 15:52 for Ahmadpur leaves Katwa Junction behind 2-6-2T AK 15. These locos were known as Delta tanks and first came from Bagnalls in 1916. though this one is a product of 1930. Originally sent to the Kalighat Falta Railway, also a Mcleods railway in West Bengal. this line closed down in 1957 after which its remaining four locomotives transferred here. These locos have smaller cabs than the other Bagnalls on the line, also their side tanks extend beyond the smokebox, a popular feature in India where water supply could be a problem. The name given, Delta, refers to the fact that they were originally added onto an order of similar locos for the Egyptian Delta Light Railways. By the time I visited there were only two operable left here, and this was the only time I saw one moving. I have had to take it early because two men are walking towards the train below me, a problem sometimes in India, and their top halfs are imminent at the bottom of the composition. And two impoverished young lads by the loco are carrying away coal taken out from the ashpits, I am taking this photo from the depot entrance.
December the 12th 1992.
Route Driverted Via Katwa-BDC.12344/Darjeeling Mail
দার্জিলিং মেল दार्जिलिंग मेल Slowly Skipping Hooghly Ghat Towards Sdah led Siliguri WDP4D#40325.😍😍❤️❤️
Video Link-https://youtu.be/6ZSA0J4sLI8
Signalling is one of the most important factors to ensure that the trains run safely and smoothly. Signals at Howrah are a little more special, as they also show which platform it is going to be placed on and which track/line it is going to take, to every incoming and outgoing train respectively.
This photograph is an example of the latter, where signal HWH S-23 shows morning service 37911 Katwa local that it's going to take the Up Main (denoted by M) via Bandel.
A little way out of Katwa, 2ft 6in (762mm) gauge BK3 is pictured with the 16.40 Katwa to Ahmedpur.
This line, 53 kilometres in length, was started in 1917 and closed on 13 January 2013 for conversion to Broad Gauge.
Rake number 4017-4018 (12 coach EMU) belonging to TRS Howrah running as 37919 Howrah Katwa Fast Local furiously skips Rishra (RIS) station at good speed in a hot & sweaty summer afternoon ! This rake is a Western Railway transferred EMU (to Eastern Railway) made by ICF !
Location : Rishra (RIS), Eastern Railway, West Bengal.
Date : 8 th April, 2017.
Rolling back to Katwa. BK1 trundles its four carriages across the lower Ganges plain, returning with the lunchtime train from Ahmadpur.
On this day I had arranged a taxi through the hotel staff to chase out the 07:05 from Katwa to Ahmadpur and back. It did not work out too well, this was not the type of fare they had carried before. But the driver had brought a friend with him. He was not the navigator, this trip would double up as a driving lesson for him. And they would not put more than was deemed absolutely necessary in the fuel tank.
Frequently.
Every time we passed a dispenser.
It was almost empty all of the time.
Of course eventually the inevitable happened and we ran out of fuel, though by then we were not to far from reaching Katwa. We waited by the roadside for a truck to pass by which already had people hitching a lift on its roof, a common practice in a land with low car ownership. And so the apprentice driver climbed up carrying a jerry can, I paid up with the taxi driver and climbed up after him, returning to Katwa a fair bit earlier than if I had waited otherwise.
Chasing a train was never really for me, sometimes it can work, but to chase one relentlessly, well I found that in most cases this put quantity before quality. One good picture is worth many half decent ones. We did manage to get this before the petrol ran out, which was the best result after chasing around for the best part of a day!
Somewhere not too far from Katwa, Bagnall 0-6-4T no. BK1 trundles its four carriages above harvested rice fields with the 12:15 Ahmadpur to Katwa.
Slam door stock, open door stock! Yes, it was a pleasure to sit in the doorways with your feet resting on the running board, on all gauges.
West Bengal.
December the 13th 1992.
I hate to wake up early, and miss the charm of the morning, everyday. But last Friday I decided to have a morning tour with my bike. I went to the ever known embankment of our lovely river. The path was covered with mystic fog.It was so charming, I rediscovered the my lovely place again.
After Katwa came the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and, on our first day, this is 0-4-0T No.782 arriving at Darjeeling after a journey from New Jalpaiguri lasting several hours.
53001/Howrah - Azimganj Passenger (UnReserved)
হাওড়া - আজিমগঞ্জ প্যাসেঞ্জার हावड़ा - अज़ीमगंज पैसेंजर towards Katwa led Katni WDM 3A.😘😘❤️❤️
BK no.1 sets off from a village halt as it makes its way to Amadhpur with the 07:05 from Katwa. I am riding this train and have seen that the pond will make a decent foreground for a photograph so have run across to it to make this departure shot. This was my technique for the narrow gauge lines in India and it worked well, except on the Darjeeling line where the guards objected, though that was not the main problem there. The gamble was that the train would slow as it passed by me, and they didn't on the Darjeeling line! This would allow me to jog alongside and jump up, grab a hand rail and swing myself on. After all, the footplate crew are well aware of what I am doing, and the relaxed way of life on the narrow gauge will allow for this.
I was invited, no, I was told to ride in the guards compartment right from the beginning at Katwa, he did not really understand my motives and would rather I stayed put for the entire journey, for, as he put it, the train will be very busy. But overall the loco crews in particular seemed to enjoy the difference I bought to their day. As this journey went on, I chose to jump up onto the first available open doorway, the train was busy but the passengers made good company, they were not sat there complaining.
Here, the train is near Ahmadpur and I didn't make a note of the stations name as the morning extended on for some reason, maybe I grew tired of doing so, maybe I got distracted, maybe there was no station name board. So I never know where this was taken. That is until now with the assistance of technology. A look at satellite mapping reveals undoubtedly, despite a build up of properties, such as the school that now occupies the land on the left, that this is the village of Chauhata which just over four kilometres from our journeys end at Ahmadpur.
December the 12th 1992.
A Richard's pipit (Anthus richardi) was caught seeking for the tiny soil insects inside a well plugged paddy field. Sitting upon the elevated soil dumps it was scanning the arthropods for the taking while I was optimistically after it with a heavy tele in hand. It only allowed me a frame from a distance. Pics was taken from a village in Katwa, West Bengal, India.
Every day a different WG 2-8-2 would be found stabled at the north end of Katwa Junction station, which was also surrounded by fetid pools. Kids played on the ashpits but never in the water. I never did ask but I doubt very much they held the redeeming qualities as that of the Ganges.
WG 10014 smokes lazily at Katwa Junction,
December the 14th 1992.
Kodachrome 64 in a Nikon FG with a 70 to 210mm Sigma Zoom set at between 85 and 135mm, taken at 1/30 @ f 14.
Former Burdwan Katwa Railway #BK-4 sits on display outside Rambagh Palace in Jaipur. This engine was built by British manufacturer W.G. Bagnall in 1914. The palace was built in the early 1900s and served as the main residence of the Maharaja of Jaipur. It is now operated as a hotel by Taj, which purchased this locomotive along with a set of passenger coaches and converted them into a restaurant.
BK1 departing Katwa in West Bengal with 07.05 to Ahmadpur.
The early morning mist/pollution thankfully cleared not long after this departure.
Stark figures congregate soon after dawn along the railway at Katwa Junction where loco BK1 simmers upon coaches to later depart on the 07.05 dep to Ahmadpur Junction.
5th February 1994
We had one full day on the Katwa narrow gauge (2ft 6in/762mm) system in West Bengal and it did not begin too promisingly. This was early morning and a mixture of pollution and fog made visibility and photography very difficult.
This is tank AK16 shunting in the yard of Katwa station.
ছোট সরালী/সরালী/গেছো হাঁস/পাতি সরালী/Lesser Whistling duck/Lesser Whistling Teal
(Dendrocygna javanica)
Parulia, Katwa, West Bengal, India.
16.04.2023
Groups of kids could be an annoyance when out photographing in India. It all depends upon your approach, engage with them and give them some time and it turned out they were friendly and curious, after all, what is the westerner doing here with that camera?
A good approach to take, particularly in Pakistan, where groups of boys playing cricket knew exactly what kind of reaction they could get, and then jump up and down waving in front as the train went by! Some desperate photographers would bribe them with money to not do it, clearly counteractive for all parties involved. Spend a bit of time answering their questions and play a bit of cricket, then it was different, you had earned their respect.
These kids were playing in the ashpiles alongside stabled WG 2-8-2 10506 one evening at Katwa Junction. They had a wooden spinning top and a stick with a string of leather and they taught me how to use it. Wrap the spinner up in with the leather string until it is tight up against the stick, then release it outwards and downwards with a deft outward flick, arm followed by wrist. It should then be spinning upright and rapidly, and can then kept going by whipping it with the string, not an easy skill to master in half an hour or so!
Here they pose for a photo on the front of the WG. One day quite soon they will notice that their playground is no longer inhabited by these beasts, a dawning realisation that they have not seen one here for a while now.