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The railways has fascinated people
for more than a century and half
now, ever since the first commercial
train chugged between
Victoria...
more...

Terminus (today’s
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus) in
Mumbai and suburban Thane in 1853. With
time, this fascination has acquired a new
name – railfanning – and a whole new set of
rules. And one of railfans’ favourite states:
Odisha.
Sections of un-electrified tracks, the verdant
Eastern Ghats, the movement of prestigious
trains such as the 12841/42 Coromandel
Express and the 12839/40 Chennai Mail are
some of the reasons for Odisha’s popularity
among die-hard rail enthusiasts, and the
proof of that lies in the countless videos and
posts on social media sites of trains such as
the Samaleswari Express maneuvering tunnels
in the dense sal and teak forests of western
Odisha. The state also scores high on
‘monsoon rail tourism’ and is on a par with
what the more famous Konkan railway route
has to offer.
Being a railfan is so much more than the
staid definition of ‘a person who is interested
in the recreational capacity of the railways’
would have us believe. A railfan in Rajasthan
wouldn’t bat an eyelid while making his way
to Rayagada or Byree here to catch a particular
train or locomotive in action. It is no easy
job. Capturing a train passing through a tunnel
or as it navigates a bend in the tracks
requires in-depth knowledge of locomotives,
signaling, routes, zones that offer the best
views, timings and advanced photography
and videography skills. The alphabets and
numbers on the body of the engine – referring
to its horse-power, type (electric or
diesel) and shed – are a code that only a true
railfan can decipher, as are the whistles or
horn codes used by loco-pilots.
For railfans in the state, there is no better
stretch to indulge in their hobby than that between Khallikot and Rambha stations.
With the Chilika on one side and the Eastern
Ghats rising sharply on the other, this stretch
of the important Howrah-Madras line is also
the most picturesque. One of the best trains
to travel this section is the 12703 Howrah Secunderabad
Falaknuma Express as it races
through this area between the scheduled
halts of Balugaon and Brahmapur at its maximum
permissible speed during sunset. A
railfan would add that the mean machine
drawing the train is a WAP 4 engine sourced
from the Howrah or Santragachi shed (see
box).
“Such is the passion for trains running by
the Chilika that John Lacey, an Indophile
Australian railway expert, captured many
shots of steam trains running along the
lagoon,” recalls Samit Roychoudhury, an
independent design professional and creator
of ‘The Great Indian Railway Atlas’. Lacey,
who was also the president of the DH
Lawrence Society of Australia, passed away a
few years ago but his pictures are still available
on the website of the Indian Railways
Fan Club. In one, a WP (steam) locomotive in
standard South Eastern black/red livery
skirts the Chilika with a short local passenger
train against the backdrop of cashew
plantations.
“The trains, the timetables, the locomotives,
the signals, the routes, the priorities,
the maintenance – it is all a great adventure Indian Railways is the very microcosm of our
country and one of the best ways to understand
it,” says Abhijnan Ray, a software professional
working in Infosys in Bhubaneswar
and a railfan for 20 years.
“Railfans can hear locomotive horns and
tell you which train it is. We observe almost
everything – locomotive class, loco numbers,
off-link locos, rake compositions, rake type,
manufacturing year of the coach and so on,”
he adds.
For anyone with a love of curvy tracks and
tall viaducts, however, the Koraput-Rayagada
route is the way to go. Covering a large section
of south-western Odisha, it is still mostly
un-electrified (with the exception of the bit
from Koraput to Damanjodi).
The Koraput-Rayagada line was built as
part of the Dandakaranya-Balangir-Kiriburu
project of the railways and was completed
around 1998. The branch line between
Koraput and Rayagada is connected to
the Raipur-Titilagarh and JharsugudaTitilagarh
routes. The railway network in
this part of the state opens up its mining
fields to the port of Visakhapatnam, via
Vizianagaram, as well as to the thermal
power plants. The 173-km stretch between
Koraput and Rayagada is one of the most
stunning routes of the railways and can boast
of 36 tunnels. The longest is almost
1600m.Important landmarks on the route
include the Kolab reservoir, the Laxmipur
Pattangi hill range (roughly between Koraput
and Tikiri) and the Rayagada-Kashipur hill
range (from Tikiri to Singapur Road). Rauli,
a quaint station after Tikiri, is especially
interesting as it has tunnels on both ends. A
good train to undertake the journey is the
Jagdalpur-Howrah Samaleswari Express.
“There are many photographs on the internet
highlighting the beauty and grandeur of
steam engines hauling trains through
Odisha. Railfanning and documentation is at
its peak now. Thanks to the internet, railfans
across the state are sharing updates and technical
information regularly,” Ray sums up.
Acknowledging the beauty of the Eastern
Ghats, the country’s first Vistadome coach,
with see-through walls and ceilings, was
introduced in April this year for tourists travelling
between Visakhapatam and Araku on
the Visakhapatnam-Kirandul Passenger.
The decision, in fact, had led to heartburn
in neighbouring Koraput district. As the
Kirandul Passenger passes through both
Koraput Junction and Jeypore stations after
leaving Araku, locals had demanded that the
Vistadome coach remain attached to the train
till Jeypore. Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra
Majhi had even promised to take up the
matter with the Centre.
With majestic diesel engines climbing the
slopes of the Ghats and the dense forests
making for an awe-inspiring site, it is no
surprise this stretch is a tourist magnet and a
railfan’s delight.