Every love story is made up of memories. My love for trains and locos too started with memories from the past. As a young boy, I had to travel kilometers and kilometers to reach my grandparents who lived in the northern district of Kerala, India. My parents always chose the railways, because it was more comfortable for our budget than the roadways.
In my memory, the train which we would take to reach there was Maveli express, named after a generous king from the myths. But in fact, it was not the first train I boarded and that train is not even in my memories. So, let me tell you why I love the railways.....
1. THE MIGHTY LOCO
As you know, most of the Indian trains are hauled by diesel and electric locomotives. But for me, it all started with the diesel locos. This majestic diesel heads can haul 18+ compartments to their destination. Have you ever heard how a train reaches a station? Once it is approaching a station, the loco pilot will honk the horn. My internet research told me that the train horn has a range of 5-8 miles, but it would change with climate and time. The horn is at a time an announcement and a warning, as a lot of Indian railway passengers would like to cross the tracks to reach the other platform. As it passes you, you can hear the sound of the gigantic engines working inside. If you do not watch your step, most probably you will be a column in next days newspaper. During our long journeys, I would eagerly look at every locomotive that would pass over us or that is being halted at a station. Back then I was not aware that these majestic machines had names!
2.THE SOUND
If you have traveled on a train, you would know that a train has different sounds. for example, the sounds of the:
a. Locomotive.
b. Horn.
c. train when it changes the track.
d. train when it crosses over a bridge.
e. whistling of the guard...
every sounds that those journeys offered was pleasing to my ears. If you are traveling in the night, you could hear the whistling of the ground staff of the railways. I think it is a signal from which tells everything is fine and wish you a happy journey.
3.THE COLOUR.
Indian locomotives have different colors. But when it comes to colors, I always admired the color of the compartments. My memory disk is filled with the blue colored coaches, which is known as ICF coaches. The railway has chosen a pale yellow color to repaint the blue coaches.
4.THE SIGHTS
If you travel by a train you will get the glimpse of both the rural and urban life in India. As you are passing through a village, your eyes will be delighted to see the green pastures, grazing cattle, and the hardworking farmers in their fields. Meanwhile if you are passing through an urban area, there will be concrete sky scrappers, slow moving traffic, busy markets...
There are a lot of other reasons to love the railways but still I am searching to find out how dear it is to me. This blog will be dedicated to my long and short journeys on board different trains with beautiful pictures and experiences on the track.
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