SDAH/Kolkata Sealdah (19)

It was yet another AWESOME and ENJOYABLE RF Meet today during the process of a journey from Sealdah to Howrah via Kharagpur. A rather quixotic manner of commute from one terminus to another separated by a distance of just 4/5 kms by covering a distance of nearly 250 kms. The BRAIN behind the event was as usual our admin Sabyasachi Ghosh and the rest of the gang consisting of 5 others, viz. BG, Dipyaman Basu, Sourabh, Wrik and of course the narrator, merely fell in line with his meticulous arrangements. I shall outline the highlights of the day's rail-fanning adventure and leave it to the rest to share the snaps and other minute details of the RAILFANS' DAY OUT.
> It was the first time that the newly employed Sealdah-Kharagpur ACC link via Bhattanagar and Andul was explored by a group...
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of railfans, from IRI or elsewhere, during the day time. The journey by sunlight enabled us to grasp the intricacies of a maze of railway tracks crisscrossing the suburbs of the metropolis and providing interconnecting links to one another. It was precisely with this end in view that Sabya booked sleeper tickets for 5 us, excepting BG, who was a most welcome LATE ENTRY to the event. And the train he chose was appropriately the 03101 SDAH-Puri special which departed at 1235 from PF8, powered by a HWH WAP4. It hit the throttle immediately after it departed and raced through the temple town of Dakshineswar and the imposing Bally Bridge over the mighty Ganges at top speed. But then as it eased into the ACC link to SER territory, it slowed down considerably as these tracks traditionally belonged to freight trains and not SF Mail/Expresses. No wonder we were on the tracks for more than 65 mns before we reached Andul, a mere 13 kms from HWH.
> After reaching KGP, 3 hours later at 3.35 pm,we had a sumptuous repast at the newly opened FOOD PLAZA there. Meanwhile at 4.30 pm the UP Chennai-bound Coromandel entered PF3 at KGP after an awesome run of 116 kms in just 100 mns.
> We also saw the Bhubaneswar New Delhi Rajdhani berthing at PF2 and undergoing a loco reversal with a HWH WAP4 before resuming its journey to the national capital.
> While waiting for our return train we also sighted a rare WAG5 belonging to the BKSC shed.
> On our return to HWH we boarded the 22893 SNSI-HWH weekly SF Express led ably by a WAP1 owned by the Ghaziabad shed.
The hallmark of the return journey was the musical touch imparted to it by two of the members who belted out half a dozen Bollywood numbers of yesteryear before calling a halt, lest other passengers start offering coins, or better still, currency notes.
I shall now hand over the thread to the other participants to share their own impressions of the day's events.