Delhi Sarai Rohilla - Jaipur AC Double Decker Express/09722⇒12986

Continued from PART I PART II PART III
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**An approach by two: The Double Decker Blog** - PART IV
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After munching on overpriced and undercooked burgers, we started concentrating our attention on what LHBs are known for – Speed. The markings on the coaches suggested the speed barrier (obviously) to be 160 kmph but we were aware of the limitations of the Red Beast from TKD, and hence our own. Trying to feel comfortable in our Shatabdi liveried chairs (but only a pale shadow of them), we waited for it to gather speed as it cruised smoothly out of the National Capital Region, not forgetting to halt a couple of times for the soldiers and...
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corporate bosses. However, the loco pilot was quite determined to thwart all our attempts at registering a speed in excess of ten times a dozen as he consistently dropped the speed each time after flirting with three figures. An unscheduled halt of 15 minutes further proved detrimental to our ‘Speed’ desires.
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The partial emptiness of the deck and the necessity of a charging point forced us to split after dinner and soon, despite being only 4 seats away, we were talking to each other using a fast spreading mobile application which ironically is depicted by a telephone against a green backdrop. The train was doing good speeds now but I was more interested in arranging my exploits at DEE neatly into separate folders in the phone. Suddenly, I received a screen shot of a speedometer app which said ‘113 kmph’ which, I am sure would have been a result of the LP’s ‘negligence’.
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The black windows then started to fill up with sparkling dots which gradually increased in number and made us aware of the fact that the destination was approaching and we were about 300 kms south-west of where our parents thought us to be. The delay with which it was running was halved to 20 mins and it entered into Jaipur Junction like a crown prince. Feeling a bit cheated, we stepped out of the train to land our feet on the ‘Royal’ Land of Palaces and Kings but the reignited fire of rail fanning at the sight of a railway station was soon extinguished by calls from home and we were left to ponder as to what explanation to give about the sweet voice of the lady announcing trains and platforms………
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To be continued………

Continued from PART V
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Part VI (The Conclusion)
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The storm was averted and we were left with precisely two and a half hours at a place which is not known much as a Railfan's Spot. The backup batteries were in place and hundreds of pictures were clicked. Some notable trains were spotted as mentioned in the Penultimate Part and as soon as a shining Ahmedabad Rajdhani made its way out, nothing much was left to do and the arrival time of our return train started inching closer. I doubt if either of us had any energy remaining to capture another snap.
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We came back to pf#1 and waited for our ride back home. The pride of Jodhpur, 12462 Mandore Express arrived in tow of BGKT WDP 4D 40094. Sleep was getting the better of us and without giving a thought about how clean and well maintained its rake was, I found my seat and fell into a deep slumber as my co-passenger, who missed an EMD in the previous journey chose to appreciate the power of the loco incharge.
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I woke up only in the morning, half an hour before its scheduled arrival time at DLI. Since it was the terminating station, I found no harm in squeezing another 20 minutes of sleep. Next I remember was a visibly troubled Zahaib trying to wake me up in an empty coach with the time well over 06:30 and us standing a chance of a trip to the train yard. A memorable trip could have ended in a much unwanted manner.
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THE END

Part III: Continued from the second part
With the sparkling red-cum-yellow rake placed, the rake of Maharaja Express being shunted and an excitement all around, it'd take a railfan real digging up to hunt for a reason to stay gloomy.
The TKD alco was the incharge and the EMD was missed right till the end. The poorly maintained station had excited passengers posing near the dual-window-vehicle, confused passengers searching for their seats, busy passengers with dark formal outfits entering at the last minute still busy with the bluetooth headsets in their heads, and composed families getting themselves seated well in time.
The revolutionary concept that graced the IRI forums with an intense discussion some time back, was in front of us.
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Lower deck, two seats on the left.
Winning the war for the charging points, check.
Installing the GPS Speedometer on a crawling network, check.
Trying to push the seats back, ch... oh wait. -.-
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And then one does not simply stay in train before its departure. Trusting our bags on the angels of railfanning, here were we exploring DEE only to get back when it initiated dynamics.
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'Burger, Sand which, Bread Cutlet, Bread Omelette' started to echo as the train crossed the Delhi suburb.
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What can be more innocent than two hungry low-on-budget guys getting fascinated by the distinctive alluring smell of fresh burgers?
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"Two of them" said I while digging for the 50 buck note in my wallet.
The poor fellow hadn't been even discovered to confront this cruel world when the lightening landed over him which as decoded in Hindi sounds like '80 ho gaye'.
I glanced back firstly on the two pieces of buns with potatoes in the middle which had lately lost all aroma and charm, followed by one on the richer neighbours of the fifty buck note which were dying at a massive scale. The only way to avoid a scene with the porch gentry and a vendor with an are-you-alright? face around was another murder. Sorry buddy. Rest in peace.
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The post cremation story continues in Part IV.

Continued from the fourth part
Part V (Penultimate segment)
The red LEDs read something on the positive of twenty two hours and we were facing the toughest of the situations one can face on being at Jaipur Junction. A quiet and lonely environment.
Having the privilege of holding a reserved ticket for the train departing three hours later, we were allowed to flee in the sleeper class waiting room, at JP.
But before a 'Ji, dinner karliya, matar paneer khaya tha' could begin a
"May I have your attention please, train number 1..." interrupted forcing my reflexes on a lightening fast speed to stop my finger...
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from sliding the 'Accept' button.
Three missed calls later we discovered heaven in the washrooms of the retiring room. By then the time lag between subsequent calls getting diminished to quantities as small as our stay in the city were a subtle prophesy of a ferocious interrogative conversation to follow.
Fifteen minutes of interaction extracting the best of our convincing techniques had to end with 'Ok gotta sleep now, Bbye'.
During this 'sleep', we travelled the length and breadth of Jaipur junction spotting HW Mail, ADI Raj and some very VERY crowded UDZ bound trains. Some exam had forced people on the roofs and not only on the roofs but every corner that can be used to get hung at and this rush went to an altogether different level when we had a glance at the Shalimar express...
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With the details, the tale ends with the 6th part of the Double Decker blog.