[Mysticeyes]

Originally Posted by arvi86

Mysticeyes - In one word, AWESOME! Keep it coming man. As of now, I am glued to this thread. Your write-up, the snaps, the railway stations, the 13 pillar bridge, the adjacent road, the fields and everything in this thread literally makes me feel as if I am traveling in this stretch right now, sitting in the comfort of my bedroom.

Sadly, I have only lusted after but have never traveled in this beautiful stretch even once. Nevertheless, this thread turns me nostalgic and takes me back to those times when I traveled a lot in the MG Pallavan Express and Rockfort Express between Trichy and Chennai. Thanks for bringing those sweet childhood memories man.

glad you liked it arvi. please share your experiences

some more clicks from the route

[Nutty Nair]

Originally Posted by Mysticeyes

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

I actually had two treks planned on the 11th and 15th of this month. One was to Pandipothu near Bonacaud and the other one was this Thenmala railway tracking. Unfortunately for me I was down with viral fever and couldn't participate in these treks. The worst part was when my friend came back from the trek and told me about the beautiful vistas and the wild life he encountered.
But I am still hell bent on going to these places once I am back to my old self once again. I would be delighted if you could also join me.

[Mysticeyes]

Recently, I got a message from a gentleman who had innumerable train trips in this route from his childhood. He thanked me for having uploaded the pics from this route, especially the image of a bench from the Aryankavu station and he shared with me some of his experiences and how ‘waiting’ made the journey beautiful.

he said that the ‘wait’ used to begin in this same bench which has been there since his childhood. His description gave me an image of a li’l boy sitting in his dad’s lap on this bench which would be filled by the falling ilanji flowers. As he waited and waited, he would be watching the people/ characters around him, who would be ‘waiting’ for ‘steam monster’ to chug in through. As he grew up, nothing much had changed except that the ‘steam monster’ were replaced by diesel locos.

As years went by, he grew up as a man who would again ‘wait’ in the same bench for the train to arrive. With the age, his fascination for the ‘steam monster’ turned into admiration for the incredible journey and finally into love. The train became an eternal enchantress for him and he would ‘wait’ for the sorceress to arrive and let her take him through the magical sights & sounds in the route.

For him and for us, she has disappeared.. yet the bench remains, the floral shower continues and the magic in the route remains. According to him, she has indeed left her mystic aura & legacy and keeps us waiting/ wanting for more like a certain haunting song (malayalam). I listened to the song he mentioned and was awed by the way in which even I could relate each and every word/ line to the journey even though I haven't had the luck for such a journey.

[chinchu.c]

The Punalur-Sengottai line is fully active now, with passenger and express trains plying on the route.

Stations have received upgrades in terms of platforms and new signanges


The 13 Kannara bridge is an awesome sight, as it always had been.


And some old charm still remains, such as the trees in the old Bhagavathipuram station.