ENGINEERING MARVEL - INDIAN RAILWAYS!!!

[brihacharan]

This Railway was built by Indian Engineers from JAMMU TO VAISHNODEVI.
The newly built station is as good as an airport. This bridge... is almost 85mtrs in height.
An engineering marvel!!!!





Briha

[estousandy]

A marvel indeed. Still, wish we have better looking locomotives for passenger movement.

[xl_target]

What? You don't like this one?


http://www.emdiesels.com/emdweb/interna ... t46pac.jsp

Check out the specs in the link:
4000 HP and it's got a proven and super reliable EMD 710 engine.It has radial trucks with AC traction motors.
I.6 million Kms before bogie overhaul. Complete self diagnosis. Microprocessor controlled.
It's another engineering marvel and it's built in India.

A thoroghly modern locomotive.
It's not built by IOF, of that you can be sure.

I'm a big fan of EMD locomotives that ply the rails here in the USA.

[essdee1972]

I'd be scared sitting in the train! Not only are the railways construction guys great engineers, they must also be pretty brave men!

[estousandy]

What? You don't like this one?

Well, we all know how crudely built & maintained these Indian locos are. It definitely is a beast but it's sad finishing commands ZERO value in Indian manufacturing.
Even our red electric locos look 10 year old after just 10 months.

Why can't we go for something sleeker like this with much less external pieces to fall off, atleast for regular passenger movement & reserve the crude ones as freighters. Civilized world over does it like that only.



In comparison, the vastly used 50's EMD F-series were very brutely pleasing to look at. The above amtrak GE P42DC follows similar lines too.

[timmy]

Briha: absolutely spectacular! Thanks for posting those!

We mustn't talk about locomotives -- it's too addictive, isn't it?

[shooter50]

Thanks for the pictures Briha. Proud to be an Indian. For the young man who made the post above. There is no doubt that we really need to improve a lot of things in the Railways and in many other areas as well, but i would like to tell him of a little incident that took place with me in Switzerland. We all know that the Swiss pride themselves on their efficiency and claim that you can set the time of your watch by the arrival of the train on the platform. It is true and I complimented them on it, but a Swiss train carries fewer passengers than an Indian bus!!!. When i told the Swiss railway boss that trains in India move with more people than an average Swiss town he refused to believe me. I arranged for an invite to him and one visit to Bombay VT convinced him for good!!. I.3 Billion people with a 13% minority population and we still move is nothing short of a miracle.

[estousandy]

Exactly! The way we operate is nothing short of a miracle. I mean the whole country. A foreigner in the machinery won't even get to second leg due to absence of SOPs. It works, when it works that is.

But it's time to move people in class. If the bloated China can, we too can, atleast in areas like this.

The thing works, no disagreeing that. All i wish is to put some aesthetics too into the Indian picture. Peace.

[Katana]

I hate to put a spanner in the works, Briha, but none of these pics are from the Kashmir railways! These pics have been circulating in the media and someone seems to have done a copy paste job without applying his brains!. Except, the last one, which is from the Konkan Railway on the Western Ghats.

[xl_target]

The difference between the P42DC and the Indian locomotive is vast, with the GT46PAC Loco pictured being almost a whole generation ahead of the General Electric P42DC.
If you want it to look pretty, you can just add sheet metal to the outside but operationally that gains you nothing. The sheet metal cowl also make maintenance more difficult. That is one of the reasons that American and other freight locomotives don't have the fancy sheet metal on the outside. The full cowl of the P42DC also make is more difficult for crews to transition from loco to loco when operating the train.


Here is an American EMD SD70ACe locomotive.
Notice some of the similarities in the radiator section, the dynamic brake section, the radial trucks, etc. The SD70ACe also has AC traction motors unlike the DC traction motors of the previous generation. AC traction motors are more efficient and durable than DC traction motors.

[xl_target]

The first photo is the Bridge of Immortals, Huangshan, China.
The second photo is from Brazil. Link
The third photo is the Landwasser Viaduct Filisur, Switzerland.

That is not to say that India doesn't have some impressive railway engineering.
When I was younger, I traveled all over India by rail and the Indian railway system, as a whole, is quite an impressive achievement.
As shooter50 says, the fact that it even works and is able to move such vast numbers is also an impressive achievement.

[brihacharan]

That is not to say that India doesn't have some impressive railway engineering.
When I was younger, I have traveled all over India by rail and the Indian railway system, as a whole, is quite an impressive achievement.
As shooter50 says, the fact that it even works and is able to move such vast numbers is also an impressive achievement.

Well said xl_target!!!
Here's an authentic report....
Press Information Bureau Government of India Ministry of Railways - 04-July-2014 12:56 IST
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Flags Off First Train from Newly Constructed Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Katra Railway Station

History
In 1898, Maharana Rana Prathap Singh first explored to connect Jammu with Srinagar. But due to lack of co-ordination and other reasons, it stopped. After Independence, it came into light, but due to financial problem of country it stopped. This line was later proposed in 1983 under Indira Gandhi rule and work was started. In April 2005, this line was completed up to Udhampur from Jammu side and up to Banihal from Srinagar side. Pirpanjal railway tunnel was completed and tests were being conducted in 2012.
This rail link was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 4, 2014.
Passenger Amenities
The Ground Floor of Katra railway station has Escalaors, Lifts, Current reservation, Second Class booking, Train enquiry section, Pilgrim guide Tourist assistance, VIP lounge, Fully air-conditioned hotel with a shopping lounge, Multi-cuisine Restaurant, Cloak Room, Waiting hall, Book stall, Tea stall, Toilet blocks and Catering area and the first floor accommodate 8 retiring rooms and a cafeteria. A huge parking place also constructed to accommodate cars and passenger buses.
An estimated 10 million devotees visit the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine every year.
The line to Katra has seven tunnels and over 30 small and big bridges. Katra station has been completed with modern facilities, including tourist guide counter, cloak room, waiting hall, VIP lounge, escalators and lifts and parking space on either side.
These images say it all....





Briha

[estousandy]

@xl_target Very valid points there especially that maintenance part. P42DC was just an external design reference & i was talking about passenger locos only.

And back to topic, Katra is a great achievement & a reminder & stepping stone to even greater things we need to achieve asap.

[xl_target]

estousandy,
I wasn't being deliberately dense. I got what you were trying to say about the aesthetics of passenger locomotives.

Though their styling seems dated today, I stll like the looks of the EMD E and F units and also the ALCO PA's


EMD F unit's in the Santa Fe's "Warbonnet" paint scheme.


an ALCO PA ABA set in the Santa Fe's "Warbonnet" paint scheme.
image from here

However, my all time favorite American locomotive is the EMD SD40-2, especially in the SOO LINE's later "Candy Apple Red" paint scheme.
There is nothing quite like the sound of several SD40-2's, working hard and running by at full throttle.
It shakes the ground for a long ways and you can feel the throbbing of the engine.
After the SD40-2's, most of the models were heavily muffled and didn't give the same sensation of raw power.

[youtube][/youtube]
image from here

[timmy]

XL, thanks for that vid!

May I ask: That's your all time favorite American loco, bar all others?