Monday 5 December 2011

Chug! chug! chug......Train Ride Through Dream Town




Koooooooo! 
 Koooooooo! 
 Chug! Chug! Chug! 
Chug a train 
Chug a train
 Noisy little chug a train 
Winding through the hills and trees 
Chug a train, take me please 
Oh! Please take me

 What fun it is to sing this song, holding the arm of your friends, forming a chain and moving like a train, up and down the obstacles in the path.

 Do you like to go travel by train, car or plane?

 Well, my all time favorite is to travel by train.

 I like to see the train chugging through the vast fields, I love to see the waterfall rolling down the hill during rainy season and most of all all I like the train stopping at lonely stations in the middle of the night and what I love the most is drinking tea in those clay cups and eating at all odd hours.

 Have you tried that?

 Have you travelled to Matheran by that little toy train that winds slowly through the hills, so slow that you can actually walk alongside by it?


This extremely lightweight (1.5 tonnes) railcar was used on the Neral-Matheran line on the Central Railways. Power to the wheels is transmitted by a chain, and the wheel arrangement is rather peculiar. (can you see that in the picture?) With a wooden body and a fuel tank capacity of 10 gallons, the car could seat 12 passengers. Like all other cars-on-rails, this one is provided with a hand brake as well.


I am specially fascinated by this car-train

  This 1925 model Austin, originally an automobile was made for running on road. It was later sold to scrap dealer. A railway employee brought this car from scrap dealer and restored it. However, he made few major changes to the car. He fitted rail wheels to the car and removed the steering. Thus began its journey as railcar. It was used for carrying inspection officials on track. It could carry six people. It is the only one of its kind in world still in running condition.


This crane tank you are likely to see at the railway workshops serving the dual purpose. As steam locomotives, they could be used as work shunter, moving vehicles within, and in and out or workshops. In their spare time, they could be used as cranes within the workshops, for lifting vehicles off their undercarriages etc.

Such machines were popularly known as 'crane tanks'. The engine is fitted with three cylinders: two to power the locomotive, and one for the crane.


"Sir Leslie Wilson" of the GIPR was one of the first electric locos to work in India. It was built in 1928 and was retired in 1974 as 'EF' class No.1-20027 The EF/1 class were later renamed class WCG1 and were all retired from service a few years ago.

The locomotives better known as 'Crocodiles' were built at the Metroplitan Vickers works and their mechanical portions came from the SLM, Winterthur.


This unique steam monorail was built in 1907. This unusual train is based on the "Ewing System", and connected Bassi with Sirhind (6 miles). This was designed by Col. Bowles. The unique train system consists of a track of single rail. See that? This mono track, the load-carrying wheel are run while one big iron wheel at other side to balance it and to keep the train upright. This train as built by Orenstein & Koppel of Berlin. This train ran till October 1927.


Fairy Queen'...the oldest preserved steam locomotive in the country is currently out on the mainline running the special tourist trains to Alwar and back!! The EIR loco was built by Kitson Thomson & Hewitson of Leeds, UK in the year 1855 and is still in operation today!! This loco weighs 26 tons and has a 2-2-2 wheel arrangement.


Many people consider ‘WP’ no 7200 as the best looking steam locomotive built anywhere in the world, which was built in the year 1947 and spent its entire working life on the Central Railways! Built by Baldwin this loco retired in May 1987. It weighed 103 tons and had a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement.


'Decauville' was a WG Bagnall built steam locomotive and worked on the Decauville Railway in the North West Frontier. Built in 1902 this loco weighed 15 tons and had a 2-4-2 ST wheel arrangement


One of the more recent additions to the National Railway Museum is the 'WL' class of locomotive. Built by the Vulcan Foundry in 1955, this loco worked on SR before being sent to the NR and still bears its Ferozpur shed markings on it!


An engine of 1950, Vulcan Foundry built 'HPS' class No.24467 that stands with a GIPR saloon on the grounds of the National Railway Museum. The loco first worked on the EIR and retired on the NR. Weighing 75 tons it had a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement.


Loco featured is an Ajmer Workshops built, 'F' class No.734 of the Rajputana Malwa Railway (RMR). This metre gauge loco was built in 1895 and was one of the first locos ever to be built in India. It had a 0-6-0 wheel arrangement and weighed 38 tons.


There are some engines which are fireless steam locomotive, that is similar to a conventional steam locomotive, but has a reservoir, known as a steam accumulator, instead of a boiler. This reservoir is partly filled with water and charged with steam from a stationary boiler. The locomotive can then work on the stored steam until the pressure has dropped to a minimum level, after which it must be recharged.European fireless steam locomotives usually have the cylinders at the back, while American ones often have the cylinders at the front, as in a conventional locomotive.


Over the years a great variety of engine have been made and if you are in Delhi you might want to visit the National Railway Museum which is spread over 10 acres of land. The museum has a wide and varied collection of rare and antique steam locomotives, carriages, saloons and other railway artifacts. It has both live exhibits as well as working/non-working models in its indoor gallery.

 The museum also runs a toy train around its grounds on regular days. On some days the Old Patiala State Steam Monorail is steamed up and runs on its track around the museum.

 Okay lets sing the song again......

  Koooooooo! Koooooooo! 
 Chug! Chug! Chug! 
Chug a train 
Chug a train 
Noisy little chug a train 
Winding through the hills and trees 
Chug a train, take me please 
Oh! Please take me


 Toy train at Baroda source

My Published Books for Kids

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