• Mega Block Blues – Part 1

    Being the crazy railfan that I am, I had decided upon another sleep-killing trip 😛 – to Pune this time instead of Manmad; to know what I am talking about, please visit the blogs of my last trip: https://ashwinkumar1989.online/2018/03/03/half-a-day-and-300-miles-away-from-home-part-1/ and https://ashwinkumar1989.online/2018/03/04/half-a-day-and-300-miles-away-from-home-part-2/ . Coming back to this trip, it started with an overnight journey to Pune by 51033…

  • Half a Day and 300 miles Away From Home – Part 2

    There was nothing for me to do at MMR station, except for trying (in vain) to get some sleep; while sitting in the waiting room on Platform 2. The constant announcements (useful for the passengers of course, though! ) didn’t help. At 04 45, I washed my face and brushed my teeth – at one…

  • Half a Day and 300 miles Away From Home – Part 1

    A weird title for a blog – this ; but then, this “trip” itself was weird – involving a sleep-killing overnight journey to Manmad by 11015 LTT GKP Kushinagar express, which starts from LTT at 22 45 and reaches MMR at an unearthly time of 03 10 – involving a distance of 245 km. The…

  • A Sunday Excursion to Pune – Part 2

    I had a short but memorable outing of Pune; during which I had lunch at Sagar Restaurant (near the station), bought Shrewsbury biscuits from Naaz Bakery in East Street, and had a brief railfanning session in Kasarwadi (This video captures it in essence 😉 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms7pwCmqF_M ). The local I took from Kasarwadi (to return to…

  • A Sunday Excursion to Pune – Part 1

    For a change (after all those big trips 😀 ), I decided to have a one-day railfanning trip to Pune. I was to take 11029 Mumbai Kolhapur Koyna express on Feb 25th. Being a Sunday, I would normally have got up around 9 am; but this time I had to wake up at 06 30…

  • The end of a whirlwind trip – Part 2

    Time for me to wrap up my account of the last leg of the whirlwind trip – the journey by 11028 Chennai Mumbai Mail. Where had we left off? The change-over from electric to diesel at Wadi. For the first part, refer https://ashwinkumar1989.online/2018/02/14/the-end-of-a-whirlwind-trip-part-1/ . Our diesel power was APU-fitted Pune WDM3A 14093R. We departed at 15…

  • The end of a whirlwind trip – Part 1

    A whirlwind trip (which involved at least 70% of travel) was coming to an end. I had travelled from Mumbai to Chennai by 11027 Mumbai Chennai Mail (taking 2 nights and a day), met my grandparents and a close friend at Chennai, travelled to Trichy (by taking the overnight 12653 Rockfort express) for my BFF’s…

  • The start of a whirlwind trip : Part 3

    This is a continuation of yet another trip of mine by 11027 Mumbai Chennai Mail, starting on Jan 25th. Here is Part 1 https://ashwinkumar1989.online/2018/02/06/the-start-of-a-whirlwind-trip-part-1/ and Part 2 https://ashwinkumar1989.online/2018/02/08/the-start-of-a-whirlwind-trip-part-2/ . The trees on the East end of Wadi provided a shady canopy. There was an interesting ‘Stop’ board attached to the old (1994 made) front SLR of our…

  • The start of a whirlwind trip : Part 2

    To refresh your memories, it is the continuation of my previous blog post   https://ashwinkumar1989.online/2018/02/06/the-start-of-a-whirlwind-trip-part-1/ – detailing my journey by 11027 Mumbai Chennai Mail, starting on Jan 25th. As we left SUR, I saw three self-propelled Auxiliary Tool Vans. There was a PSR of 15 kmph. It was a pleasant surprise to see a navy blue…

  • The start of a whirlwind trip : Part 1

    It was a whirlwind trip, planned only a month in advance. My BFF’s baby shower was happening in Trichy on Sunday Jan 28th. This involved a stopover at Chennai for a day, before taking an overnight train to Trichy. Why do I call this trip “whirlwind” ? Because almost 70% of the trip was spent…