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After
a gap of 5 months, finally I had the chance to visit my home town (Chennai). So,
after a lot of thinking about which train to
take, finally decided upon taking the 6124 Ananthapuri
Express leaving TVC at 16.20 hours. Reservation status was RAC 31 on 29 June
2007, went ahead and booked it through IRCTC (e-ticket)
On the D-day (04 July 2007) had been to the office at 0600 as usual.Checked the status of my ticket at 1000 ¡V
RAC 6 - chart not prepared; at 1200 RAC 2 - chart not prepared; at 1330 S1,
19 – chart prepared. I had already arranged for friend to drop me off
at TVC Central (a smooth 16km drive from Technopark).
So left office at 1510 went home to pick my bag and dashed to the station. My
friend dropped me at the new entrance (East or West I am not good in
directions) took the FOB and had to walk across the stabling lines at TVC and
reached Platform 4 where 6124 was getting ready to start is 800km journey.
There was 1 upgrade in the S1 coach to B2 rather an empty B2 (more than 45
berths were free)
I
reached the station with just a few minutes to spare and since S1 was at the
far end from the loco couldn't check the same at TVC. Was expecting a WDP3A
at the helm, but I was in for a disappointment as it turned out to be a Baldie WDM3A #14055 in my opinion, this was the worst
looking loco I have ever seen ¡V dirty, paint peeling off, not so good
to even ride (feeling) behind it! But I must admit that the loco did a
wonderful job with the 18 coach rake.
On
the contrary, the coach WGSCN #04307 was in wonderful condition. Had magazine
holders and foldable bottle holders (able to hold a 2ltr bottle) for every
berth, cool plastic switches for the fans and lights, rubberized-foam covered
child restraint for every upper berth, and the night lamps had illuminated
berth number indicator. I had an interesting novel for company during the evening.
At NCJ, went over to see the loco reversal and had a chat with the Asst. loco
pilot. They were due for a crew change at TEN, 1.5 hour journey from NCJ. The
Loco pilot ran to the guard¡¦s
compartment to attend nature¡¦s call
just before we got the starter at NCJ. Not courageous enough to ask for a footplating chance though. The platform work has been
completed and looked neat and clean though many of the shops are yet to be
back on full swing. Nothing much you get there other than tea/coffee and
packed snacks. There is a VLR stall on Platform 1 but not sure about the
quality. While moving out of NCJ, I spotted loads of new MACL signaling
equipment stored near the cabin. Assuming the semaphores in this region would
soon be history! In the meanwhile ordered for dinner (meals) delivered at Tirunelveli. We left NCJ at 1810 with a 15 minute delay.
We reached Aralvaymozhi (AAY) at 1830, Valliyur (VLY) at 1850, and Nanguneri
(NNN) at 1905. Here the CBE-NCJ passenger was waiting for us to cross. It
came up so suddenly I couldn't note the loco number or type. We left in a
minute and had unscheduled halt at Senkulam 1922.
We finally reached TEN at 1942 ¡V before time! (6124 has 1 hour to do
the NNN-TEN section a distance of 28 kms). At TEN
we will have to wait for the 6127 MS-GUV express to arrive which it did at
1955 behind ED WDMx 11108 (3D?). But our train did
not get the starter though it is now the time to leave. We waited for another
10 minutes, and Tuticorin-Tirunelveli passenger
arrived behind another ED WDMx 11105 at 2005. Still
no sign of our train’s departure. Had a small talk with the food
vendors at the platform and learnt that an unfortunate soul had locked
himself in the toilet in coach S5 and the RPF are breaking open the door and
the train would not leave until he is free! What a place to get oneself
locked!!! Meanwhile the food vendors in the platform were happy to sell all
their stuff before our train finally left at 2018. One last train is supposed
to arrive later Kanyakumari ¡V Nizammuddin Special no idea about this train
Trivia to note here: At Tirunelveli (TEN) station you get ONLY vegetarian food
not even an egg at any time of the day.
We reached Maniyachi Jn
(MEJ) at 2043 and Kadambur (KDU) at 2057. Here we
waited for the crossing of ED-TEN passenger hauled by GOC WDMx
#18317; we left just after a minute. Reached Kovilpatti
(CVU) at 2130 now late by 10 minutes. Reached Satur
at 2148 and Virudhunagar Jn
(VPT) at 2215. We left after 2 minutes. We stopped at Thirumangalam
(TMQ) at 2240 for a minute and reached Madurai Jn (MDU) at 2258 before time again!! We had a ten minute
stop here and the platform was bustling with activity with loads of people
boarding our train. Spotted a sole WDM7 of TNP shed but couldn't get the road
number. Once we moved out of MDU, a couple of RPF boarded my coach and wanted
me to switch off the lights. So, decided to call it a day and went to sleep.
I woke up at 0625 at Tindivanam (TMV) now late by
20 minutes. WAM4 #20479 was hauling our train. Reached Melmaruvathur
(MLMR) by 0645, Madurantakam (MMK) at 0657, and Chengalpattu (CGL) at 0720 and left in a couple of
minutes. We crossed the MS-PDY passenger hauled by a WAP4 and overtook the
WAM4 hauled VM-TBM passenger at Maraimalai Nagar Kamarajar. Plasser machine was parked at Vandalur
and we crawled across Perungalathur. Finally
reached Tambaram at 0800 delayed by 32 minutes! I
alighted here and changed over to Chennai Beach bound EMU as I have to get
down at Pazhavanthangal station nearest to my home.
I missed one EMU before I managed to get over to the suburban platforms. Took
the next EMU, which left Tambaram at 0810. Crossed
the MS-GUV express at Pallavaram at good speed with
ED WDM3D #11152 doing the honors. Got down at my place and was promptly
stopped by a ticket checker! Showed him the e-ticket and he took his time to
read it and handed it back to me. Honestly!! Took an auto rickshaw to home
just before we
moved, the Kanyakumari - Nizammuddin
Special blasted past me behind a WAP4!
The return journey on 14 July 2007, onboard 2695 MAS-TVC Super fast hauled by
an AJJ Barbie doll WAM4 #21338 was an experience in a different kind after a
VERY long time ¡V not the rail-fanning type. But more on friendship
with the fellow travelers! A nice family with 3 kids made up the evening that
I did not feel like going to the door looking out for train spotting. Not
many people dare talk to the fellow travelers nowadays :-( I got down only at
Katpadi to buy a pack of playing cards to add to
the fun. The train was ahead of schedule in most of the stations¡K
one that I distinctly remember is at Erode Jn (ED)
we reached at 2105 a full 25 minutes ahead of schedule. Slept through the
night and got up at Tiruvalla where the family
disembarked.
I was in a state of half-sleep I did not do much of railfanning¡K
We crossed the Venad express headed by ERS twin
diesel and JS by single ERS WDMx and twin GOC WDX
hauled freight. We reached bang on time at TVC at 0730 in the morning
Thanks a ton for your patience in reading this full report I am glad
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