THE AMAZING RAIL FANNING

Hello everybody!!

You must be thinking about the topic of this blog. What this topic mean? What is so amazing in this.
I should tell you that the way people are crazy about Shahrukh khan, Katrina kaif, Sachin Tendulkar, etc..I am the one about the trains in this case.

Rail fanning is an unofficial term given to the activity done by railway maniacs like me. It is clicking photographs of different infrastructures of railways and beautiful scenes, learning about railways and locomotives from anyone possibly.

There is an amazing rail fanning incident i want to share with you all. It starts on an afternoon when i got down the college bus at Vastrapur railway station to see the time of the trains to Ahmedabad junction. Vastrapur railway station was at walking distance of 10-15 min. from my residence in new Ahmedabad.

After seeing the time table i was in dismal that there was no train suiting my timings, missing a great opportunity of rail fanning on meter gauge. Still i had hopes of rail fanning in the evening when i had to board a train to Ratlam from Ahmedabad Jn. locally called as Kalupur railway station. I started walking on the tracks of the meter gauge line towards my home with my earphones on. It was a sunny day i was thirsting.

Suddenly i got struck with an idea that there is a nice opportunity of rail fanning on the very track i am waking. Immediately turned on my camera and started clicking the pics of signals of old fashion, track in different views. I was more than happy to do those things which many people may consider as madness. I was very much indulged in listening to my favorite song and perform the dearest task to me. As i started walking again, I felt as if something is tapping my feet from the ground.

Within a few seconds a i realized, it was a train on the track. But when I saw, it was nowhere in front of me. It was actually behind me. My heart was almost through my throat. With trembling feet I stepped aside to realize that I am still alive after the incident and listening a few bad words from the loco pilot (train driver) and some people around.

When my heartbeats settled, it struck to my mind that another opportunity of clicking the train pics was going far away with the train. I felt as if somebody has looted me of my ancestral rights. I had to move on. Reaching home, taking rest for sometime, I packed my bags. Train which was taking me to Ratlam was the ill famous Sabarmati Express.

Reaching the station was like rising up on a very beautiful morning thinking of getting a Ferrari in hand. As I entered, the main station, Garibrath Express was waiting for me to be assaulted by rail fanning. I took a few pics of Garibrath which was without its loco. People stared at me in suspect. It was not the first time I was experiencing this. I have been through many embarrassing incidents while rail fanning. But I think the true railfan is the one who does not give up even after such incidents.

At 8.30pm, I boarded the S5 of Sabarmati Express, the toilet of which was stinking like hell and unfortunately my berth was on the corner. I desperately waited for the train to start, which was 20 minutes from then. I got a few nice people to talk to and time passed away quickly. The train started very slow, it ran at the same pace for about half an hour and then gained its full speed. I reached Ratlam at 3:45am, the right time of Sabarmati Express, which was an uncommon incident and as a railfan I was very happy about it.

The next train I was to board to was from Ratlam at 6am. I took the ticket, had breakfast at 4.30 in the morning and again came back to the station. I found that the train was already there at the station. It was dark and cold. I grabbed a comfortable seat and went to sleep until I could see the sunrise.

I was in a dilemma as the time was 5.58am and the train was to leave at 6am. I wanted to take some pics of the train and my boogie was 6th. If i went to take pics and the train would have started, I would have missed the train, plus my luggage. I went back to my seat after taking some pics at the other side of the platform where the other trains with WAP4s and WAG9s were standing. They looked really marvelous.

Next, I was in Neemuch, where I went to the loco pilot and asked him for allowing me to take some pics, on which he agreed and to my surprise, he asked me to board the loco if I amso crazy about it. It was WDM 3 (ABR) The situation was like never before. I felt like in heaven.I took my small luggage I had and then went to a lifetime trip. From Neemuch to Nimbahera in a locomotive!!

The journey ended after a 30 km. I thanked the loco pilot for his generousness towards a rail fan. This was my story of an amazing rail fanning. I will be back with some interesting facts about the rail fans and their behaviors. Till then, enjoy rail fanning.

Yours

Vaibhav Upadhyay

The Railway Mania

The Railway Mania

A late boomer, a deep sleeper, a lazy creeper and much more of a boy when stands upright on a cold morning with a fresh smile not fussing with the parents to sleep 5 minutes more, it would not be a day as everyday. He has to board a train that day, yes, a train.

When you ask a common man to join army, he would say i have my family to look after, if I die fighting for my country which I am not afraid of for myself but for m family. He will definitely add on a statement of getting a very less income from the army.

At the same time when you ask a person to join railways, he would say the same with the fact of death laying behind. He will feel to say the same as in case of army for the income.

Through this blog I would like to share with all the readers, my experience, my madness, my thoughts, my believes, my attitude, my concern, my relation and my affection to the railways be it any country. But the most as I live in it is my home, my motherland India. Yes, my friends, THE INDIAN RAILWAYS.....

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I woke up at 4 in the morning to board the train. The train was to depart from a nearby small station at 5 am. I prepared tea for my parents and had it myself. At 4.30 am a company van was to carry our family to the station. We were praying for our safe journey. It is a tradition in our family, in fact many families in India to pray before they do any new work or a journey.

We reached the railway station at 4.50 am and we got to know that the train was late by 15 minutes. Waiting for a train is for most of us is a very boring job to do. But, for me it was an opportunity to trouble the dogs on the platform and inquire about every bit of railways. why this happens why doesn't it happens and lablabla.

Oh!

Wait a minute, I forgot to tell you my age of which I was talking of. Otherwise you will guess me as nuts. I was at an age of 6 that time. Till the train arrived my father would worry that I and my brother don't go towards the track. But we didn't listen to him. It was a craze for me to go near the track , have a look at it and go around the platform.

When the train arrived I feared the horn of the Loco. It was frightening as if you are sitting in a sweet temple with a very quite environment and somebody blasts a bomb nearby. Well the train of questions didn't end when I boarded the train. It was a meter gauge line and a single line too. I asked my father, why the train stopped so much for another train to come and the train which came later went first. This drove me nuts. I was quite excited about everything that happened. Everyone, especially young boys like to step down on the stations wherever the train stopped. It was a great opportunity when the train meets with a problem(technical) to get down of the train nobody missed it. Even if the train had a toilet, people got down and served there call of nature in the farms.

It was always a great experience to travel in trains specially in India. You see new people, you see nature, trees running by side and a loads of noise of tracks, wheels and people. It was always pathetic as well as exciting to get down of the train at the destination station. On one hand I was to meet my relatives and on the other hand I had to leave the train. Yes! for me this was like something like leaving a very good friend of yours.

The Railway mania became more and more proficient and more intense as I grew up through the teenage. I used to read about the trains in the newspaper in the magazines, in the encyclopedia's, etc. You can know till now, how crazy I am with the Railways. The intensity as I said grew as I was 16. I had started travelling alone by this time. I used to gather more and more information about the railways from anybody I met. Most of the time it so happened that some or the other elderly started talking about railway rules and procedures when the train stopped for crossings. These were the moments of full time pass and a great source of false or true knowledge for me.

This obviously turned me on. But to my dismal whenever I spoke anything, I was sidelined and was in great embarrassment till the talk ended. During the two years of my stay at Kota, whenever I travelled to my hometown Nimach which was 200km from Kota by train, it was a good opportunity for me to discuss any railway official about the railway systems as Kota is one of the largest junctions on the Delhi-Mumbai line. I watched each train going by and saw the way its locomotive worked.

Now after going through a tough life at Kota, I was getting prepared for a college life which I got but not as I expected and most of my college buddies may think like this. But still I am loving my college life now and the enjoying part of college life is still active in 2nd year. Of course the quest of knowledge about railways is also continuous with getting some of friends like me. Now I have got Internet to get my things of Railways. Now I am in 2nd year of B.Tech(Electronics and Communication) and I am thinking of pursuing my career in Indian Railways as an Class A Engineer through IES(Indian Engineering Services) in EC department.

At this moment I am writing this blog. My first blog, which I hope who reads it fully would like and match it with passion of his or her and see the behaviour which was mine is theirs too for their passion. With this hope and guess I complete my post here. Do write comments so that I can improve upon any fact of the blogs including grammar and other aspects which are essential for essence of a good blog.

Thank You

Yours lovingly

Vaibhav Upadhyay