Fascination means the power to fascinate someone. This power is possessed only by a few. For a railfan the power of being fascinated lies in being charmed by the charisma of a train, hearing the sound of a moving train and its horn and finding out time to capture endless photos and videos. The same applies to me as well. I have been mesmerized seeing trains all around me since my childhood, few of them leaving an everlasting impression on my heart. One such train is Vikramshila Express. I have been a regular Passenger in it. Earlier, I used to take it for short distances, from Jamalpur to Bhagalpur/Patna & vice versa but since the last few years, time spent onboard it has increased as it became my de-facto train for Delhi. But since the past 1 year, I haven't been taking Vikramshila as...
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regularly. Since, the turn of 2015, I have travelled in 12367 only thrice while my last trip in 12368 dates back to October 2014. All this while I have been preferring Patna Rajdhani while also taking Bhagalpur Garib Rath (twice) and Sampoorna Kranti & Howrah Rajdhani (once each) only to due to punctuality issues. The legendary status of Vikramshila Express is degrading day-by-day. But that doesn't mean my likeness and love for it has faded away. It still remains one of my favorite & I always try to find time to follow it- be it in the form of capturing, tracking, etc. I just hope to see it in Red Avatar running at 130kmph very soon , thus resolving its punctuality issues.
One such incident happened on 2nd November 2015. I was enroute to the market with my mom and grandfather when I suddenly heard the announcement of 12368 arriving at Platform 1 being made. Music to my ears! After Hearing the announcement, I went into the state of chaos, thinking what to do now, actually forgetting that I had reached market in the meanwhile. Hurriedly, I made up my mind and told my mom that I'd be back within 20 minutes. Swiftly, I ran towards the station, scrambling my way past all the hurdles. Just after reaching the station premises, I saw Vikramshila entering the platform with JMP WDM 3A in tow. My eyes lit up. Standing awestruck, I gazed at the shiny & sparkling coaches of the slow moving train; without the blink of an eye. Suddenly, I realized that I have my mobile with me & started taking snaps of the coaches, reaching the front end where I also took pictures of the Loco and #TB. I then decided to take photos of all the coaches & hence ran all the way to the rear end to capture the rest of them. All this while people were staring at me, thinking be to be some sort of a mad person, but I didn't care an inch. I completely ignored them & kept focusing on my work, thus completing the #RakeCapture. Unwillingly, I then bid adieu to it with a heavy heart & proceeded towards the market where my mother and grandfather were waiting for me.
#HA