> Thanks for sharing your passion for Locomotives...
> The pictures are simply awesome...Your knowledge about them ' La Jawab'
Briha
ENGINEERING MARVEL - INDIAN RAILWAYS!!!
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brihacharan
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Re: ENGINEERING MARVEL - INDIAN RAILWAYS!!!
Hi xl_target,
> Thanks for sharing your passion for Locomotives...
> The pictures are simply awesome...Your knowledge about them ' La Jawab'
Briha
> Thanks for sharing your passion for Locomotives...
> The pictures are simply awesome...Your knowledge about them ' La Jawab'
Briha
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xl_target
- Old Timer
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Re: ENGINEERING MARVEL - INDIAN RAILWAYS!!!
Yes, when I started railfanning in the US, that is what I saw the most of. I've studied them, chased them all over the Midwest and made the most models of them.timmy wrote:XL, thanks for that vid!
May I ask: That's your all time favorite American loco, bar all others?
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” — Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941
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xl_target
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Re: ENGINEERING MARVEL - INDIAN RAILWAYS!!!
Thank you Brihaji, I have spent a lot of time studying them so I can make accurate models of them.brihacharan wrote:Hi xl_target,
> Thanks for sharing your passion for Locomotives...
> The pictures are simply awesome...Your knowledge about them ' La Jawab'
Briha
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” — Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941
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timmy
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Re: ENGINEERING MARVEL - INDIAN RAILWAYS!!!
It certainly is an impressive sounding machine, no doubt, XLxl_target wrote:Yes, when I started railfanning in the US, that is what I saw the most of. I've studied them, chased them all over the Midwest and made the most models of them.timmy wrote:XL, thanks for that vid!
May I ask: That's your all time favorite American loco, bar all others?
“Fanaticism consists of redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim.”
saying in the British Royal Navy
saying in the British Royal Navy
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xl_target
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Re: ENGINEERING MARVEL - INDIAN RAILWAYS!!!
After reading Brihaji's first post in this thread, I started looking at stuff about the Indian Railways. I must admit that I have always taken them for granted. Even though I know that some parts of it were technically very difficult to complete, I didn't realize the magnitude of the problems faced.
In my search for more information, I realized two things.
One: I kinda like that GT46PAC (the Indian built EMD locomotive) and its freight hauling cousin GT46MAC. It might not be the best looking locomotive but it seems to be very reliable, powerful and easy to maintain. It has that EMD rumble and It kinda grows on you.
Two: I have traveled from one end of India to the other on the Indian Railways and I've done many of the speciality lines like the Nilgiri railway, The Darjeeling Railway, The Simla railway, etc. Iv'e even done some of the odd stuff like the narrow gauge Matheran Railway. However, there are many lines that I have missed.
Take a look at this short clip about the Konkan Railway. This was built after I left India.
[youtube][/youtube]
In my search for more information, I realized two things.
One: I kinda like that GT46PAC (the Indian built EMD locomotive) and its freight hauling cousin GT46MAC. It might not be the best looking locomotive but it seems to be very reliable, powerful and easy to maintain. It has that EMD rumble and It kinda grows on you.
Two: I have traveled from one end of India to the other on the Indian Railways and I've done many of the speciality lines like the Nilgiri railway, The Darjeeling Railway, The Simla railway, etc. Iv'e even done some of the odd stuff like the narrow gauge Matheran Railway. However, there are many lines that I have missed.
Take a look at this short clip about the Konkan Railway. This was built after I left India.
[youtube][/youtube]
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” — Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941
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Mark
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Re: ENGINEERING MARVEL - INDIAN RAILWAYS!!!
Are there still any steam engines operating in India on any sort of scheduled basis?
"What if he had no knife? In that case he would not be a good bushman so there is no need to consider the possibility." H.A. Lindsay, 1947
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brihacharan
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Re: ENGINEERING MARVEL - INDIAN RAILWAYS!!!
Mark wrote:
Are there still any steam engines operating in India on any sort of scheduled basis?
> Wow! xl-target, your Indian Rail Journey is worth the envy
> I fondly remember visiting the Hubli (Karnataka/India) Loco Shed as an school boy - the look of the Steam Locomotives was an awe inspiring sight. Most of the locomotive drivers were Anglo-Indians then & the pride they took in driving & looking after them brought nothing but respect and admiration. The way they personally polished the brass name plates (some had even named them...'Betsy' - 'Laura'..... showed their love & attachment...
> Here's some heart rendering information I got from the net...
The last gasp for India's age of steam
Drivers mourn locomotives that united a nation
TIM MCGIRK IN JAIPUR Sunday 19 December 1993
MOHAN SINGH was lighting up the Desert Queen. It had taken nearly four hours. The rusty puffs from the locomotive would soon turn ash-white, and the Desert Queen would be ready to roll, ferrying rich tourists to Rajasthan palaces. He leaned out to admire the gleaming locomotive, its shining brass and copper piping, its painted lions and stars.
'It's pitiful,' said Mr. Singh, 56, as he pulled the long steel bow of the regulator, bringing up a whoosh of steam from the Desert Queen's giant wheels. 'Look at the other engines. Disgrace.' He gestured at the dozen steam locomotives in the Jaipur shed: sooty, exhausted carcasses of iron. 'Before, every engine was as beautiful as the Desert Queen. A driver and his engine were partners for 20 years, and his own money he would spend on dressing it up.'
Today, there is no point in prettying the locomotives. The age of steam engines is ending in India. Within six months, the last whistle will blow on the 175 steam locomotives still working the Western Railway, which, throughout the past century, has chugged across the Great Indian Desert and beyond. By 1996, all of India's remaining steam trains will be replaced by diesel ones, which cost less to maintain and are faster and more muscular.
Mr. Singh, like the old steam locomotives he drives, is due to retire soon. His arms and back still ache from all the years he worked as a fireman. To cover 120 miles through the scrub deserts and parched hills of Rajasthan, he and the other fireman had to shovel six tons of coal. In summer, the temperature might reach 50 degrees - and by the glowing mouth of the boiler it was hotter still. 'The young people don't want to do this job now,' he said with regret in his voice. 'They're too soft.'
When an engine driver retires, he is garlanded with flowers, lifted on to a horse and led home in a festive procession by his workmates. But no ceremony exists when a steam engine reaches the end of the line after 40 years on the tracks. A few can prolong their working life in the shunting yards or at the huge Ajmer railway workshop for steam engines. The locomotives are sold for scrap, at around pounds 4,000 each. But any enthusiast thinking of bringing one back to the United Kingdom would find it an ordeal: an Indian steam locomotive weighs around 80 tons.
My first encounter with one occurred a few years ago at a level crossing at 3am, on a road somewhere in the middle of India. Steam and sound exploded from everywhere; it was like a boiling tea kettle skidding across the kitchen floor. The locomotive's whistle had a mesmeric musicality which cast a spell of silence over cars, insects and people. In India, this is no small feat. The steam train's rhythm was different, too, as intricate as that of a TABLA DRUMMER. Unfortunately, that train speeding by at 3am was one I had hoped to catch.
Riding in a locomotive outside Ajmer, a lake city surrounded by craggy hills, I asked the driver, MAHI PAL, if he liked steam engines better than diesel ones. 'With steam locos you get the feeling of power in your hand,' he said, adding with a grin: 'You can also brew tea.'
For four generations, Mr. Pal's family has toiled on steam engines at the Ajmer railway colony, a huge city-within- a-city where giant sheds and foundries tower over schools, a hospital and a tidy row of garden huts. It has been a good life for the workers. The colony is insulated from the religious and caste suspicions sweeping India today. When the British set it up in the late 1870s, they hired Muslims, Hindus and Christians, giving the better jobs to the Anglo-Indians. There are many among Ajmer's 9,000 railway men whose links to steam trains stretch back as far as Mr. Pal's. They are all sorry to see the locomotives go.
In the ancient repair shed, where mammoth cranes thunder overhead in the blackness like prehistoric flying reptiles, a foreman, BHAG CHAND, explained: 'These are the engines that our grandfathers and fathers worked on. If they go, then the connection is finished.'
India's sense of identity, of nation, was forged largely by the steam engine. In a country as wide as the distance between London and Moscow and as long as that between Helsinki and Crete, with 870 million people speaking a dozen distinct languages and hundreds of dialects, the railway has united India far more than any conquering army. Since the first steam locomotive began the 20 mile run between Bombay and Thane on 16 April 1853, India has been woven together by hundreds of thousands of miles of track. Seen for the first time by farmers in their fields, the steam locomotive was often mistaken for a hissing, living creature.
Now, Indian Railways say they cater for nearly 4,000 million passenger journeys every year, and more than 100,000 potters earn their living just by making throw-away clay tea cups for passengers' chai.
Even today, many British train enthusiasts make pilgrimages to India to ride on the old steam engines. In colonial times, AJMER AND JAMALPUR workshops manufactured more than 500 broad and narrow gauge steam locomotives between 1895 and 1920. But in the post-war depression, engine- building was switched back to the UK to give jobs to Britons.
After independence in 1947, India began building its own steam engines at CHITTARANJAN. More than 3,000 locomotives were hammered together before the last one rolled out of the CHITTARANJAN shed in 1970. Its name, ANTHIM SITARA - 'Last Star' - paid homage to the Evening Star, the final British steam engine, built in 1960 at SWINDON.
Indian Railways seldom sacks its workers, so the steam engine workers in AJMER AND CHITTARANJAN will be given other jobs. Meanwhile, the debate between steam and diesel puffs ahead. Steam engines may be slower and more puny than diesel ones, but they are safer.
Out of every 100 accidents on Indian railways, only two involve steam trains. Diesel drivers are more likely to fall asleep or get drunk, while steam drivers are on their feet, adjusting gauges, torque gears and releasing pressure through the long, S-bend regulator.
But driver Mohan Singh thinks there is another reason: 'Maybe 20 men are sharing one diesel engine, changing always and useless to dress it up.
BUT WITH STEAM LOCOS, ONE MAN SPENDS MAYBE HIS LIFE WITH THE SAME ENGINE. HE CARES. HE FEELS LIKE HE OWNS IT!!!
Briha
Are there still any steam engines operating in India on any sort of scheduled basis?
> Wow! xl-target, your Indian Rail Journey is worth the envy
> I fondly remember visiting the Hubli (Karnataka/India) Loco Shed as an school boy - the look of the Steam Locomotives was an awe inspiring sight. Most of the locomotive drivers were Anglo-Indians then & the pride they took in driving & looking after them brought nothing but respect and admiration. The way they personally polished the brass name plates (some had even named them...'Betsy' - 'Laura'..... showed their love & attachment...
> Here's some heart rendering information I got from the net...
The last gasp for India's age of steam
Drivers mourn locomotives that united a nation
TIM MCGIRK IN JAIPUR Sunday 19 December 1993
MOHAN SINGH was lighting up the Desert Queen. It had taken nearly four hours. The rusty puffs from the locomotive would soon turn ash-white, and the Desert Queen would be ready to roll, ferrying rich tourists to Rajasthan palaces. He leaned out to admire the gleaming locomotive, its shining brass and copper piping, its painted lions and stars.
'It's pitiful,' said Mr. Singh, 56, as he pulled the long steel bow of the regulator, bringing up a whoosh of steam from the Desert Queen's giant wheels. 'Look at the other engines. Disgrace.' He gestured at the dozen steam locomotives in the Jaipur shed: sooty, exhausted carcasses of iron. 'Before, every engine was as beautiful as the Desert Queen. A driver and his engine were partners for 20 years, and his own money he would spend on dressing it up.'
Today, there is no point in prettying the locomotives. The age of steam engines is ending in India. Within six months, the last whistle will blow on the 175 steam locomotives still working the Western Railway, which, throughout the past century, has chugged across the Great Indian Desert and beyond. By 1996, all of India's remaining steam trains will be replaced by diesel ones, which cost less to maintain and are faster and more muscular.
Mr. Singh, like the old steam locomotives he drives, is due to retire soon. His arms and back still ache from all the years he worked as a fireman. To cover 120 miles through the scrub deserts and parched hills of Rajasthan, he and the other fireman had to shovel six tons of coal. In summer, the temperature might reach 50 degrees - and by the glowing mouth of the boiler it was hotter still. 'The young people don't want to do this job now,' he said with regret in his voice. 'They're too soft.'
When an engine driver retires, he is garlanded with flowers, lifted on to a horse and led home in a festive procession by his workmates. But no ceremony exists when a steam engine reaches the end of the line after 40 years on the tracks. A few can prolong their working life in the shunting yards or at the huge Ajmer railway workshop for steam engines. The locomotives are sold for scrap, at around pounds 4,000 each. But any enthusiast thinking of bringing one back to the United Kingdom would find it an ordeal: an Indian steam locomotive weighs around 80 tons.
My first encounter with one occurred a few years ago at a level crossing at 3am, on a road somewhere in the middle of India. Steam and sound exploded from everywhere; it was like a boiling tea kettle skidding across the kitchen floor. The locomotive's whistle had a mesmeric musicality which cast a spell of silence over cars, insects and people. In India, this is no small feat. The steam train's rhythm was different, too, as intricate as that of a TABLA DRUMMER. Unfortunately, that train speeding by at 3am was one I had hoped to catch.
Riding in a locomotive outside Ajmer, a lake city surrounded by craggy hills, I asked the driver, MAHI PAL, if he liked steam engines better than diesel ones. 'With steam locos you get the feeling of power in your hand,' he said, adding with a grin: 'You can also brew tea.'
For four generations, Mr. Pal's family has toiled on steam engines at the Ajmer railway colony, a huge city-within- a-city where giant sheds and foundries tower over schools, a hospital and a tidy row of garden huts. It has been a good life for the workers. The colony is insulated from the religious and caste suspicions sweeping India today. When the British set it up in the late 1870s, they hired Muslims, Hindus and Christians, giving the better jobs to the Anglo-Indians. There are many among Ajmer's 9,000 railway men whose links to steam trains stretch back as far as Mr. Pal's. They are all sorry to see the locomotives go.
In the ancient repair shed, where mammoth cranes thunder overhead in the blackness like prehistoric flying reptiles, a foreman, BHAG CHAND, explained: 'These are the engines that our grandfathers and fathers worked on. If they go, then the connection is finished.'
India's sense of identity, of nation, was forged largely by the steam engine. In a country as wide as the distance between London and Moscow and as long as that between Helsinki and Crete, with 870 million people speaking a dozen distinct languages and hundreds of dialects, the railway has united India far more than any conquering army. Since the first steam locomotive began the 20 mile run between Bombay and Thane on 16 April 1853, India has been woven together by hundreds of thousands of miles of track. Seen for the first time by farmers in their fields, the steam locomotive was often mistaken for a hissing, living creature.
Now, Indian Railways say they cater for nearly 4,000 million passenger journeys every year, and more than 100,000 potters earn their living just by making throw-away clay tea cups for passengers' chai.
Even today, many British train enthusiasts make pilgrimages to India to ride on the old steam engines. In colonial times, AJMER AND JAMALPUR workshops manufactured more than 500 broad and narrow gauge steam locomotives between 1895 and 1920. But in the post-war depression, engine- building was switched back to the UK to give jobs to Britons.
After independence in 1947, India began building its own steam engines at CHITTARANJAN. More than 3,000 locomotives were hammered together before the last one rolled out of the CHITTARANJAN shed in 1970. Its name, ANTHIM SITARA - 'Last Star' - paid homage to the Evening Star, the final British steam engine, built in 1960 at SWINDON.
Indian Railways seldom sacks its workers, so the steam engine workers in AJMER AND CHITTARANJAN will be given other jobs. Meanwhile, the debate between steam and diesel puffs ahead. Steam engines may be slower and more puny than diesel ones, but they are safer.
Out of every 100 accidents on Indian railways, only two involve steam trains. Diesel drivers are more likely to fall asleep or get drunk, while steam drivers are on their feet, adjusting gauges, torque gears and releasing pressure through the long, S-bend regulator.
But driver Mohan Singh thinks there is another reason: 'Maybe 20 men are sharing one diesel engine, changing always and useless to dress it up.
BUT WITH STEAM LOCOS, ONE MAN SPENDS MAYBE HIS LIFE WITH THE SAME ENGINE. HE CARES. HE FEELS LIKE HE OWNS IT!!!
Briha
Last edited by brihacharan on Mon Aug 04, 2014 12:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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brihacharan
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Re: ENGINEERING MARVEL - INDIAN RAILWAYS!!!
Thanks a 'ton' xl-target for sharing the video clip on Konkan Railways....
Took me back to the ride I had with my family on this route from Mumbai to Mangalore a few years ago
Briha
Took me back to the ride I had with my family on this route from Mumbai to Mangalore a few years ago
Briha
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xl_target
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Re: ENGINEERING MARVEL - INDIAN RAILWAYS!!!
Mark,
I think that the Nilgiri and Darjeeling railways still use steam. Even though they are a part of the Indian Railways, they are in some sense an entity to themselves.
Both of them are worth getting a ride on. I don't know how long steam will still continue on them.
[youtube][/youtube]
The Nilgiri Hill Railway
[youtube][/youtube]
The Darjeeling Hill railway
The Kalka-Simla line is now dieselized.
[youtube][/youtube]
The Kalka Simla railway
I think that the Nilgiri and Darjeeling railways still use steam. Even though they are a part of the Indian Railways, they are in some sense an entity to themselves.
Both of them are worth getting a ride on. I don't know how long steam will still continue on them.
[youtube][/youtube]
The Nilgiri Hill Railway
[youtube][/youtube]
The Darjeeling Hill railway
The Kalka-Simla line is now dieselized.
[youtube][/youtube]
The Kalka Simla railway
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” — Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941
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estousandy
- One of Us (Nirvana)
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Re: ENGINEERING MARVEL - INDIAN RAILWAYS!!!
Nilgiri hill railway system is the lifeline for Ooty, is a UNESCO world heritage protected entity & runs on brand new oil fired steam engines, in selected stretches, built here in India itself.
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/an ... ia-219483/
Read the comments too for more details.
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/an ... ia-219483/
Read the comments too for more details.
with guns we are citizens, without we are subjects
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xl_target
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Re: ENGINEERING MARVEL - INDIAN RAILWAYS!!!
Thanks for the details, estousandy.estousandy wrote:Nilgiri hill railway system is the lifeline for Ooty, is a UNESCO world heritage protected entity & runs on brand new oil fired steam engines, in selected stretches, built here in India itself.
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/an ... ia-219483/
Read the comments too for more details.
I was unaware that the locos were made in India. I thought they used Swiss locos like the Simla train.
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” — Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941
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estousandy
- One of Us (Nirvana)
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Re: ENGINEERING MARVEL - INDIAN RAILWAYS!!!
Yes they used the SLM X class locos till some years back in their original configuration, but then some got converted to oil firing & rest went to museums & displays. The new ones are copycat of the X class for the most part.
A wiki page says this.
"Four new oil-fired steam locomotives have been ordered to ease the load on the existing X class locomotives. They are basically the same design as the older locomotives. The first of these, No. X 37396, arrived in Feb 2011 and entered service on March 24, 2011. The second oil fired steam engine, No. X 37397, was rolled out at Golden Rock in Feb. 2012, and is to enter service on NMR in March 2012. The third indigenous steam engine built by Goden Rock Workshop, Trichy, X 37398 entered service in March 2013. The last of four oil fired steam engines of X Class 0-8-2T rack and pinion compound engine bearing road number X 37399 was rolled out on March 5, 2014 at the Central Workshop, Ponmalai, Tiruchirapally. It is expected to join the fleet after trials on the rack railway.
One locomotive, No. 37395, was modified from being coal to oil-fired in 2002, another has been modified and the Railway is looking to retro-fit further locomotives to oil-firing. Conversion to an oil-fired system has the potential to reduce the danger of forest fires that could be caused by ashes flying out from the locomotive. Additionally, the effort involved in the manual lifting of coal and putting it into the boiler is eliminated. The current oil-fired locomotives need only one fireman to accompany the driver, while coal-fired engines need two firemen. However, X 37395 was reconverted to coal-burner in August 2009 for unknown reasons, as documented by V.M. Govind Krishnan, Author of Book: NMR-FROM LIFELINE TO OBLIVION"
Much more pics & details from foreign tourists can be seen here.
http://andrewstransport.smugmug.com/Ind ... &k=xmL3str
A wiki page says this.
"Four new oil-fired steam locomotives have been ordered to ease the load on the existing X class locomotives. They are basically the same design as the older locomotives. The first of these, No. X 37396, arrived in Feb 2011 and entered service on March 24, 2011. The second oil fired steam engine, No. X 37397, was rolled out at Golden Rock in Feb. 2012, and is to enter service on NMR in March 2012. The third indigenous steam engine built by Goden Rock Workshop, Trichy, X 37398 entered service in March 2013. The last of four oil fired steam engines of X Class 0-8-2T rack and pinion compound engine bearing road number X 37399 was rolled out on March 5, 2014 at the Central Workshop, Ponmalai, Tiruchirapally. It is expected to join the fleet after trials on the rack railway.
One locomotive, No. 37395, was modified from being coal to oil-fired in 2002, another has been modified and the Railway is looking to retro-fit further locomotives to oil-firing. Conversion to an oil-fired system has the potential to reduce the danger of forest fires that could be caused by ashes flying out from the locomotive. Additionally, the effort involved in the manual lifting of coal and putting it into the boiler is eliminated. The current oil-fired locomotives need only one fireman to accompany the driver, while coal-fired engines need two firemen. However, X 37395 was reconverted to coal-burner in August 2009 for unknown reasons, as documented by V.M. Govind Krishnan, Author of Book: NMR-FROM LIFELINE TO OBLIVION"
Much more pics & details from foreign tourists can be seen here.
http://andrewstransport.smugmug.com/Ind ... &k=xmL3str
with guns we are citizens, without we are subjects
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brihacharan
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Re: ENGINEERING MARVEL - INDIAN RAILWAYS!!!
CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS OF PAMBAN RAILWAY BRIDGE
The centenary celebrations of the PAMBAN RAILWAY BRIDGE were inaugurated by Bharat Ratna Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India at Pamban railway station in Ramanathapuram District on 28thJanuary, 2014.
The historic and famous PAMBAN RAILWAY BRIDGE has almost completed 100 years of existence. It was constructed between August 1910 and December 1913. The 2054.35 m long bridge consists of 145 spans of 40 feet steel girders and 1 span of 218 feet steel truss consisting of 2 lifting type of cantilever trusses. This span has been named after Scherzer, the Engineer who designed and executed this span. A unique feature of this span is that it can be opened for the movement of boats by lifting the cantilever span for a maximum of 81 degrees in vertical plane.
Connectivity to Sri Lanka
With the help of Pamban Railway bridge, railway line reached Rameswaram island and extended up to Dhanushkodi, a place of pilgrimage at the eastern tip of Rameswaram island. Shipping services were operated between Dhanushkodi and Talaimannar, a terminus of Sri Lankan Railway System. Regular steamer services were operated as a part of Railway System to carry passengers and goods between India and Sri Lanka.
A unique safety feature
An Anemometer fixed at 56th pier over the bridge records the velocity of the wind and whenever the velocity of the wind exceeds 58 kmph, trains are not allowed over the bridge. This is ensured by suitable connectivity to the approach signals from the anemometer.
The humid atmosphere coupled with a high degree of salinity in the region demands constant monitoring and maintenance of the steel girders of the bridge. All efforts are being taken and requirements met to keep the bridge fit. This grand old bridge which remains sturdy & braving the elements for a century is surely one of its kind.
The PAMBAN RAILWAY BRIDGE, an engineering marvel – Is the pride of Indian Railways!!!
Briha
The centenary celebrations of the PAMBAN RAILWAY BRIDGE were inaugurated by Bharat Ratna Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India at Pamban railway station in Ramanathapuram District on 28thJanuary, 2014.
The historic and famous PAMBAN RAILWAY BRIDGE has almost completed 100 years of existence. It was constructed between August 1910 and December 1913. The 2054.35 m long bridge consists of 145 spans of 40 feet steel girders and 1 span of 218 feet steel truss consisting of 2 lifting type of cantilever trusses. This span has been named after Scherzer, the Engineer who designed and executed this span. A unique feature of this span is that it can be opened for the movement of boats by lifting the cantilever span for a maximum of 81 degrees in vertical plane.
Connectivity to Sri Lanka
With the help of Pamban Railway bridge, railway line reached Rameswaram island and extended up to Dhanushkodi, a place of pilgrimage at the eastern tip of Rameswaram island. Shipping services were operated between Dhanushkodi and Talaimannar, a terminus of Sri Lankan Railway System. Regular steamer services were operated as a part of Railway System to carry passengers and goods between India and Sri Lanka.
A unique safety feature
An Anemometer fixed at 56th pier over the bridge records the velocity of the wind and whenever the velocity of the wind exceeds 58 kmph, trains are not allowed over the bridge. This is ensured by suitable connectivity to the approach signals from the anemometer.
The humid atmosphere coupled with a high degree of salinity in the region demands constant monitoring and maintenance of the steel girders of the bridge. All efforts are being taken and requirements met to keep the bridge fit. This grand old bridge which remains sturdy & braving the elements for a century is surely one of its kind.
The PAMBAN RAILWAY BRIDGE, an engineering marvel – Is the pride of Indian Railways!!!
Briha