WP Class 4-6-2s
The WP Class Pacifics were introduced in 1947, a development of the pre-war GIPR XP Class, with bar frames and a larger boiler and firebox. A total of 755 had been built when production ceased in 1966. They could be found all over India but by the 1980s had largely been relegated to secondary passengers.
Mixed Trains
Mixed trains were a practical method of conveying both passenger coaches and goods traffic on lines where it would be difficult to justify the expense of running separate freight and passenger trains. They were common on Indian narrow gauge lines in the 1980s but could also be found on metre and broad gauges.
Passenger Trains
In the 1980s India's passenger trains spanned the gamut from comfortable air-conditioned sleepers linking the major cities to painfully slow and overcrowded all stations passengers and the delights of the narrow gauge. It was still possible to find steam haulage but generally on the less prestigious trains.
South Eastern Railway
The South Eastern Railway succeeded the former Bengal Nagpur Railway in eastern central India, linking Calcutta with Nagpur on the route to Bombay and Waltair on the route to Madras. It was principally a broad gauge operation with some significant narrow gauge lines and still used some steam in 1986.
Narrow Gauge
In the context of India, narrow gauge refers to lines of less than metre gauge, principally 762mm and 610mm gauges. These varied from short branches to extensive networks hundreds of km in length. Steam operation was a feature of many lines into the 1980s and 1990s with a wide variety of loco types in use.
Raipur
Raipur is located on the SER's broad gauge main line from Nagpur towards Calcutta but the photos here are mainly from the 74km long narrow gauge line running south to Dhamtari and Rajim. This line used CC Class Pacifics dating from 1906 to 1908 on all services well into the 1980s.
CC Class 4-6-2s
These 762mm gauge Pacifics were built by North British between 1906 and 1908 for the Bengal Nagpur Railway as C Class, becoming CC Class when they were superheated. They remained in service on several SER lines for many years and were still going strong on the Raipur NG system in 1986.
Steam Locos
Indian Railways was still a major steam user into the 1980s and some steam working continued well into the 1990s. Most early locos were British built but European, Japanese and American builders were represented in later years. Indian built locos dominated new construction from the 1950s onwards.
BS Class 2-8-2s
The BS Class was superheated version of the earlier B Class 762mm gauge 2-8-2. 29 BS were built for the Bengal Nagpur Railway by Nasmyth Wilson, NBL and Yorkshire Engine between 1915 and 1924 and a number remained in service on the South Eastern Railway into the mid-1980s.
sheds and workshops
As India's railways modernised, steam workings became harder to find and visits to sheds were often a good way to fill the gaps between trains and to find some of the older or rarer classes. The depots themselves varied enormously, from large roundhouses to tiny sheds looking after one or two locos.
WG Class 2-8-2s
The WG Class 2-8-2 was India's standard broad gauge main line freight engine, introduced in 1950. Although many builders were involved, almost 80% of the 2450 WGs were built at Chitteranjan in India with production continuing until 1970. The last examples remained in service into the 1990s.
Broad Gauge
Most of the Indian network was built to a broad gauge of 1676mm or 5'6" after an 1850 directive from the East India Company, concerned about the stability of trains in high winds. This included most major routes and many connecting lines. Many MG and NG lines have also been converted to BG in recent years.
ZE Class 2-8-2s
The ZE Class 2-8-2 was an IRS design, introduced in 1928 for 762mm gauge lines. A total of 65 were built in the UK, France, Germany and Japan, the majority post-independence. They saw use on various NG lines with many working the Satpura lines around Nagpur and Gondia in central India.
Gondia
Gondia Junction is an intermediate station on the SER broad gauge main line, around 100km east of Nagpur on the route to Raipur. There was still a little steam on the BG in 1986 and more on the 762mm gauge lines heading north and south, known as the Satpura Railway, but dieselisation was underway.
Nagpur
Nagpur is an important junction in central India, on the cross country route from Bombay to Calcutta. It's also the starting point of the extensive Satpura NG network. There was steam on both gauges in late 1986 with WP and WG classes photographed on the broad gauge and BS Class on the NG.
India is a vast country with a rail network to match. Nowadays electrified broad gauge lines are the norm but in the mid 1980s there was still plenty of metre and narrow gauge as well. Not only that, there were still a large number of steam locomotives on all gauges. Most of these pictures were taken on a 1986 trip.
- India
- galleries updated : 2024-10-19
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