1992 trip
My first visit in 1992 was a business trip in connection with the commissioning of telecommunications equipment around Delhi for the railways. There's a very brief outline of the amazing seven weeks I spent in India here. I eventually added to that report here, but it's still rather sketchy. Railway highlights were a visit to the National Railway Museum, set up by Mike Satow, and 'hands on' both metre gauge and broad gauge steam locomotives.
Manchester-built Beyer-Garratt (works number 6594/1930) in Delhi Railway Museum.
On a 'WP' from Delhi: applying the vacuum brake as we approach a red signal.
Railway Photographs from the 1992 trip
There are a number of albums of photographs, all scanned from prints taken by a pre-digital ('wet film') Canon EOS.
National Railway Museum, Delhi (1992)
Broad Gauge around Delhi.
Shahdara Junction, Delhi.
Metre Gauge around Delhi.
Driving a 'WP' in India.
2006 trip
My second visit was a very short affair, crammed into my third 'Round the World' Trip. There's a very brief and non-technical description in the post Round The World Three. On Saturday 25th February 2006, I made my second visit to Delhi Railway Museum.
A remarkable 4-cylinder narrow gauge mountain railway locomotive in Delhi Railway Museum.
The following day, I took the 'Shatabdi' broad gauge electric to Kalka, changing there to the 2ft 6in gauge train to Shimla. There's a Wikipedia article on the Kalka - Shimla Railway here.
The Kalka - Shimla Railway.
Railway Photographs from the 2006 trip
Once again, there are a number of albums of my railway pictures:-
National Railway Museum, Delhi (2006).
Northern Railways, India.
Kalka-Shimla Railway.
2009 trip
In 2009, I was back in India, this time staying in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) just one night on my way to Bhutan. There's a short post on Kolkata here. In a rather hectic day of sightseeing, I made a visit to the famous Howrah Railway Station and, close by, Kolkata Rail Museum.
The imposing facade of Howrah Station Building.
Kolkata Rail Museum.
Railway Photographs from the 2009 trip
Howrah Station, Kolkata.
Kolkata Rail Museum.
Books
For an excellent introduction to the variety of railway locomotives which have served India over the years, see Hugh Hughes 4-part work 'Indian Locomotives', which is briefly outlined here.
