[ASHISHPALLOD]

Originally Posted by Guderian

the Solapur area had the Barsi Light Railway - Narrow gauge and so on !

Line to Nowhere:

Are those pics of barshi light narrow gauge?

The narrow gauge from miraj to latur is converted to BG and extended upto latur-road station connecting parbhani-udgir-bidar-vikarabad BG.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

Are those pics of barshi light narrow gauge?

Hi Ashish,
No they aren't the remanents of Barshi Light...
Any guesses anyone ?

[Mysticeyes]

Originally Posted by codelust

Had driven it solo, going down was easier, broke they journey for a few days in Goa, but coming back up did it in 4-days (TVM-BLR-PUNE-UDAIPUR-DEL). It was fun, but quite crazy too.

lucky chap

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi Mysticeyes,
Rarely does one come across such nostalgia dripping write ups these days. Thanks for the walk down the memory lane.
Reminds me of all my train journeys on the medium and narrow gauge trains. Bangalore-Miraj in the days gone by was a medium gauge, the Solapur area had the Barsi Light Railway - Narrow gauge and so on !

Great snaps too. If you don't mind posting couple of snaps from my collection of disused railway equipment and bearing an abandoned, ghostly look !

thanks for sharing the pics buddy. more are welcome

Originally Posted by Dicky_GT

This is such a beautiful thread, really wish i could travel these places, glued onto this one for now. Not to forget amazing pictures.

thank you Dicky. please do drop in.

abandoned corridor at Thenmala Station. wondered how the sound & silence would have been before & after the last train pulled in & left? the final moments before the bell, the final whistle and then..


One of the most beautiful & lasting legacies of the ‘British Baj’, the ‘Kannara Bridge’ on the Punalur-Shenkottai rail line stands as a monument today..flanked by Kazhuthurutti river & Shenkottai higgway on one side and the mountain on other side, it’s a treat to watch as the train roll by. I’ve heard from my dad about the thrill of travelling through the route in the steam locomotives of yesteryears - By the end of the journey, you would be covered with soot and would be sticky. But that won’t kill the feel of the slow chug along the jungle route, the hoot whistle, dark tunnels, the traders, the animals, vegetables..all rolled into one for the journey and the final opening onto vast expanse of farmlands on the Tamilnadu side. The meter-gauge service had its own charm, even in the final days. I haven’t got into it even once and would remain a loss forever. New broad-gauge is expected soon, but still, some old charms would remain as never-to-be-matched-charms​ forever.








the punalur-shenkottai passenger atop the Kannara Bridge during one of its runs in August 2010. we were planning to take the pics of the train crossing bridge from a vantage point. but we arrived late and as soon as we got out of the car, the train had almost crossed the bridge

[Dry Ice]

What an awesome log Mysticeyes! Thanks for sharing. I don't know why or how, but the deserted stations somehow remind me of RK Narayan's Malgudi.

Do keep posting.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Mysticeyes

1. thanks for sharing the pics buddy. more are welcome
2. abandoned corridor at Thenmala Station.

Hi Mysticeyes,
1. Thanks.

2. That one photo was enough for me to stop and stare. And keep staring. Spoke a million words. And delightfully touched with sepia tint too.
What it spoke to me was about the lives and times of a period gone by. Something the ravages of time has left behind.
May be it is age - but can't help getting misty eyed and mushy.
A huge hand from the past tapped on my shoulder - and thanks for that...
I sincerely hope that they don't demolish the beauty and some new, tasteless apparition comes up there.

[raju2512]

Wonderful thread. I had always wanted to do this stretch when the MG train was running. There is travelogue about this line IRFCA. I will try to get the link

[Mysticeyes]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

What an awesome log Mysticeyes! Thanks for sharing. I don't know why or how, but the deserted stations somehow remind me of RK Narayan's Malgudi.
Do keep posting.

May be the artistic images that we've seen in various books. Often the Malgudi Days came with sort of rustic village images

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi Mysticeyes,
2. That one photo was enough for me to stop and stare. And keep staring. Spoke a million words. And delightfully touched with sepia tint too.
What it spoke to me was about the lives and times of a period gone by. Something the ravages of time has left behind.
May be it is age - but can't help getting misty eyed and mushy.
A huge hand from the past tapped on my shoulder - and thanks for that...
I sincerely hope that they don't demolish the beauty and some new, tasteless apparition comes up there.

Eventhough I haven't made the MG journey, something always connects me to the MG trip, people and places along the line. May be, it was the effect of hearing the MG stories from my dad during childhood days He used to be a frequent traveler in the MG route.

Present situation at Bhagavathipuram Station, the penultimate station in Punalur - Shenkottai route - often referred as the 'most beautiful station in India built by Britain' for its simplicity and old world charm.


tracks removed for auction - near Aryankavustation


'numbered days'..awaiting auction

[ampere]

The pain and the essence of the track life coming to an end is real bad.
Hope this route is resurrected well.

[Nutty Nair]

Mysticeyes - Beautiful boss, just beautiful. I had the good fortune of travelling in this route before they closed it down for the conversion. It was such a wonderful experience. The train, the vistas, the people, all combine to make it an unforgettable experience. Thanks for sharing this wonderful journey. But I also feel sad seeing the stations being ripped down like this, especially the Bhagavatipuram station. It was such a beautiful station. I also had planned a trek through the rail lines from Thenmala but have not been able to do it till now. Your log has stoked the fire once again.
PS: Rating this 5* for the title itself.

[jazzrockz]

Brilliant! Poignant! Awesome post. Amazing tribute to a dying era... loved it with a knot in the stomach. Truly beautiful post.
Thank You so much.

Majority of my railway travels have been in the meter gauge. And the initial ones by Steam engine...Solapur Hubli route. Soon after 4 wheels became the norm.

[Mysticeyes]

Originally Posted by Nutty Nair

Mysticeyes - Beautiful boss, just beautiful. I had the good fortune of travelling in this route before they closed it down for the conversion. It was such a wonderful experience. The train, the vistas, the people, all combine to make it an unforgettable experience. Thanks for sharing this wonderful journey. But I also feel sad seeing the stations being ripped down like this, especially the Bhagavatipuram station. It was such a beautiful station. I also had planned a trek through the rail lines from Thenmala but have not been able to do it till now. Your log has stoked the fire once again.
PS: Rating this 5* for the title itself.

Nutty - lucky chap. We kept on planning, planning and planning for the train ride, but you executed it how about a trek together?

Originally Posted by jazzrockz

Brilliant! Poignant! Awesome post. Amazing tribute to a dying era... loved it with a knot in the stomach. Truly beautiful post.
Thank You so much.

Majority of my railway travels have been in the meter gauge. And the initial ones by Steam engine...Solapur Hubli route. Soon after 4 wheels became the norm.

again, a lucky guy. well, the truth is that I had to drive on the same meter gauge route yesterday for some reason and felt so much tempted to get off the car and keep walking on the rail line. I had always wondered why some people love train journey so much and now, I got the answer.

waiting for someone/ something who/ which would never come again..


an abandoned home near the 13 Kannara bridge


reminiscing the old journeys


enroute to bhagavathipuram station

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Mysticeyes

waiting for someone/ something who/ which would never come again..


an abandoned home near the 13 Kannara bridge


reminiscing the old journeys


enroute to bhagavathipuram station

Hi Mysticeyes,
Beautiful. I can almost smell the place.
A request - the snap of the moldy bench in perpetual wait...could you please sepia tint it and repost ? That should get the goosebumps going again !

[W.A.G.7]

Fantastic thread!! Makes you feel as if you are in that era , you can almost hear the steam engines, bells and sounds of a meter gauge station. Super photography too, you have covered everything.

And oh, I wish the government would do something to keep the old British legacies still alive.

[aryasanyal]

This is an awesome thread and brings all my nostalgia right back. Thanks much!!

I traveled extensively on meter gauge during my growing up years in the north-eastern part of the country.
There are magnificent vistas on offer and some lines are still meter gauge out there. But most have been converted to BG and the remaining are in the queue to get converted.

[crazybiker46]

Nice tribute to the Punalur - Shenkottai Meter Gauge Rail
Pics are just awesome capturing the present & past

I always wanted to visit the place and had an opportunity after attending a friend's wedding at punalur , but only managed to see kannara bridge

This thread has made me think of planning a drive to here soon to visit rest of places

A pic of kannara bridge from my side,i climbed atop the bridge (had fun and was scary downhill)