Ooty - The Queen of Hill Stations

Trip Report: Madras Central-Ooty
Date: Dec. 15, 2004

It was a typical humid and breezy evening when me (my family) left for Madras Central (MAS). We reached MAS around 1950 hrs., well in time for the 2100 departure of 2671 Nilgiri Exp. to Mettupalayam (MTP). The idea was to have a light repast at Central's food court, which was heavily patronized as usual. I made sure that we got a table with a view of the platforms, and I could see the WAP-4s catching some well needed rest after hauling in the evening's arrivals from various places.

Soon after dinner consisting of some Sambar Vadas and fluffy Parottas with kurma (south Indian style), we made our way to the waiting Nilgiri exp. After the usual deposit of luggage in our coach, I checked my watch: 2020. Enough time to do a bit of rail fanning. Adjacent to our train on pf 9, was the Coromandel from Howrah, powered by the customary beast from LGD, 22264 WAP4. This had come in only at 2030, against a scheduled arrival of 1735!!! Silently cursing the BZA-Gudur stretch of SCR, I proceeded to check the coach composition of the Corro: 22264-SLR-II-II-HA1-A1-AS1..AS3-P-S13...S1-II-SLR=24 coaches. On pf 7, the 2681(!!!) Alleppey exp. was waiting with ED WAP4 22261. (Looks like SR will soon run out of numbers in the 26xx series, going by the speed they are upgrading trains to SF status!) Over the PA system, announcements were being made about arrivals of Brindavan, Kovai, and Mysore-MAS shatabdi. In the meantime, I made it up front to say hello to the commander-in-chief 22559 from ED. Also I noted the composition of the Nilgiri rake:

22559-SLR-S10...S4-II-SLR-RMS-H1-A2-A1-AS3...AS1-F1-S3...S1-II-SLR : 22 coaches

Now, there a few interesting things to note about this rake:

1. Classes of accommodation: 1A, 2A, 3A, FC, SL, II. One of the very few trains, offering First Class accommodation.
2. One of the few trains with an RMS coach: so technically speaking, a mail train; how does Nilgiri Mail sound? Nostalgic, I would say.
3. The rake is split at Coimbatore Jn. (CBE): from the 1st 8 coaches not including the middle SLR. So only the remaining 14 coaches make it to MTP.
4. This train has a full 1AC coach. I guess only Pandyan exp. to Madurai and Bangalore mail has a full 1AC in SR area (except Rajdhani).

Finally, it was time to depart MAS. After a long and contended(to me!) horn, we set off at 2106, the 6 min delay due to the shunting of HWH mail rake into MAS from the Basin Bridge(BBQ) yard. We crawled past BBQ at 2110, crossing the incoming Kovai exp. from CBE, proudly led into the home stretch by 22258 ED WAP4, running to time. After crossing BBQ, the (right time) 2008 Shatabdi went past quite fast, as if the WAP4 at its head wanted to overtake Kovai before reaching Central!! Nilgiri exp. in the meantime took its time to change into the fast line towards Arakkonam (AJJ), before 22559 let it rip. And rip it did! At Perambur (PER), we were notching up to 70+ and was making MPS by Villivakkam. Never did the chief slacken the pace anywhere till we reached someplace near Avadi, where we slowed to a double yellow first and then switched tracks to the left most, a consequence of the quadrupling up to Tiruvallur. Again, after settling in the new line, all stations were a blur. Tiruvallur was crossed soon and it was green all the way to AJJ, which arrived a few minutes before 2200. After that I decided to hit the sack, for I knew I had a busy morning ahead on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. All I could recall was that 2671 ran furiously interspersed with a few halts. When I finally woke up, we were approaching CBE and pulled into pf 3(?) at 0438, a full 22 minutes before time. I guess the slack time given between Tirupur and CBE helped.

At CBE, AJJ WAP4 22617 was parked dead, probably to take the 2680 Intercity to MAS. The 1014 express to LTT waiting with ED WDM3D 11108.
Coach composition: 11108-SLR-II-AS3...AS1-A1-S11-P-S10...S1-II-SLR: 20 coaches.
Pretty unearthly dep. time for this train at 0500!! At dot 0500, the WDM3D let out a long hoot and was off. This hoot was kind of different and so was the engine noise. I had two locos side by side for ready reference, and the youthful 3D seemed to purr while the senior WDM2 wheezed. The DM2 was from ERS 18319 ACD fitted and was attached to the Nilgiri, which reverses at CBE.

What a fine sight, early in the morning, with just a hint of dawn in the east, and two diesel locos in adjacent platforms, belching a little smoke each, waiting to get on with their journey, one to faraway Bombay (LTT), across many cities and rivers and mountains and cultures; the other to MTP, hardly 35km away, but calling on the longest mountain range south of the Himalaya (the western ghats, specifically the Nilgiri hills) and the little train that ascends the mountains in just 46km, the UNESCO recognised Nilgiri Mountain Railway! Only at sublime moments can one comprehend the immensity of IR, and the variety of places it interconnects.

The sharp horn of the WDM2 interrupted my thoughts and I made my way back to my coach. It was 0515 and the Nilgiri pulled out of CBE slowly and at Coimbatore North (wonder why the Jn. suffix was removed from this station), we brached off into the line north to MTP. The line back to MAS curved to our right, as we began to accelerate. Soon, we were doing 70 or 80 and that seemed to be the MPS. Not much action on this route, only the Nilgiri exp. seems to travel this line. We reached MTP 0554, some 20 min. before time.

0600 Hrs. Venue: MTP, Setting: A beautiful moonset (as opposed to sunset) behind the Nilgiri hills and an equally awesome sunrise from the east (opposite to the Nilgiri). In between lies the quaint little station called Mettupalayam, which contained all of 2 platforms, a few loop lines, a BG coach yard which exclusively serves the Nilgiri exp. and an MG yard which exclusively served the Nilgiri Pass. In addition, there is a MG steam shed which could hold 2 locos. In this backdrop, the 2671 arrived on PF 1 (BG), and on PF2 (MG) was parked the darkened rake of the Niligiri Pass. All we had to do was to alight from 2671 and walk across the (island) platform and deposit our luggage in the little MG rake. In the meantime, the Nilgiri exp. loco was shunting the rake so that the RMS/parcel van was abreast of the station master's office (NMR still uses the term Station Master going by signboards here). Then the luggage began to be transferred to the passenger (yes, this little train carries parcels too!!). By then, one of the steam engines in the shed began to puff out towards its charge for the day, drawing curious glances from all over. After all the steam is what makes this line so famous!!

I, in the meantime, found a place to get some breakfast. Early though the hour was, I was a little hungry (rail fanning me hungry more often :)), and I felt we would not get any proper breakfast later on, and Ooty would be reached only at midday. So I treated myself to some hot and fluffy idlis, and my second coffee of the day. Soon, I was ready to catch some steam and positioned myself on the door.

Meanwhile, the steam locomotive was attached to the rake, and I went over to take darshan. Before all train trips, I try to watch this ritual, as it seems to be satisfying in a way I cannot describe with words. After the loco is attached, I observed the loco. The road number was X37395 (strange!), and it was called 'Nilgiri Queen'. I found a plate at the bottom of the loco, saying that it was a oil-fired steam locomotive, which was modified by the Regional Engineering College, Tiruchirapally (TREC-STEP - it said on the loco faceplate). Hence, the coal tender was done away with. One thing worthy of mention: the steam loco, though it faces the direction of motion while going up, is attached to the rear of the train. The control is at the other end of the train, where a person sits and uses the brake as and when needed (no other speed control is required, as it is steep uphill). While coming downhill, the loco leads, but still faces the rear, i.e. on neither trip does the loco face the front of the train as we all know it. Thus, we never get to see the loco's face when we watch it from outside. But the journey by steam makes up for this.

Soon, the Nilgiri Passenger decided to start on its journey into the mountains. With a nice whistle (modern locos horn, steam locos whistle :)), we slowly start. With the typical 'steam' souunds, we (really!) chug out of the station. We cross the MTP car shed, and the steam trip shed, and soon we are out of the station! I am sitting in the fisrt class cabin of the 'FS1' coach, which means, that I can the see the track ahead from my seat! Of course, the 'guard' is sitting up front, controlling the brake, and also waving red or green flags for the benefit of the driver in the rear. The track here is very peaceful, and overgrown with grass, and the surrounding country is waking up with the typical morning chores. Radio blaring here, a cow or goat mooing (or bleating) there, a senior citizen reading his morning paper in the charpoy in front of his house accompanied by the inevitable coffee...India of its villages, seen up close, and in detail, as the train does not cross 20kmph. We cross the river Bhavani, and the town of Mettupalayam is far behind. The passenger are mostly tourists, and are chattering excitedly. Meanwhile, to maintain the mood, the oldie at the rear hoots his whistle every now and then. The Nilgiri mountains loom up in front, taller than ever. Looking up at the mountains, I feel like saluting those engineers who laid this line more than a hundred years back (1899 to Coonoor)!

Presently we arrive at Kallar, KM 12 from MTP. This is a small stop for the elderly loco, before he assaults the mountainous route, and all the folks get down too. The 'mountain' part of the NMR officially starts here (there is a welcome board here). Soon, the engine hoots and all of us clamber aboard. We set off, on the only rack railway in India, laid on the steepest incline on IR (ruling gradient 1:12.5). We enter green forests, and the train starts using the rack and pinion arrangement. We feel as though somebody pushes us and lets go, and again pushes and lets go. That is how the system works. The steam loco has a wheel, which holds on to the rack laid in between the rails of the track. The loco pushes the train, and holds on to the rack, releases and pushes and again holds the rack a few feet away. Like this, incrementally, we keep moving, very slowly (we hardly cross 15kmph!). But we gain height very quickly, and the surrounding views testify to this. I can soon see Mettupalayam laid out before me and endless vistas sparkling due to the early morning winter dew. A must see sight indeed!

We climb for a while, and only surroundings are dense green trees and shrubbery. No sign of humans (of course, you must excuse the train ;-)). Then, after some amazing photos, we suddenly cross a water pipe, standing by itself. A minute later, my guess proves right, and we stop for some water. All of us get down to stretch our legs, and shoot some pics. Some 10 minutes later, we are back on track, hooting away blind curves and tunnels. After sometime, a familiar rumble in my stomach announced my hunger. This, after the breakfast at MTP!! But my prayers were answered in the form of a water tank, announcing Hillgrove. We reach our second station on NMR, Hillgrove, which is the second watering stop for our elderly gentleman. Here, two people were operating a makeshift canteen, surrounded by two huge cans of tea and coffee, and two huge (and I mean huge!) mounds of steaming bondas and vadas! With almost a war cry, all passengers descend on this canteen, and in a space of 10 minutes, then mountains of delicacies we reduced to plains! Hungry Kya? In the chill air, we contentedly ate our snack, washing it down with coffee. I can still recall this scene as it happened yesterday! Refueling done, I started on business. Hillgrove was a proper station, complete with a tall semaphore (note: only two trains per day here), a station cabin with a slanting roof so common in these parts, and a station attendant, and of course, our god-level canteen! In addition, there is a branch line, which acts as a siding (unused), and plinthed in the middle of the platform, a wheel used in the rack and pinion arrangement. I quickly photograph all of these things, and get back to the train, which is now ready to leave.

We were again off, having successfully gained an elevation of 1100m above MSL. More viaducts, tunnels, and awesome scenery follows. All the train is an excited chatter, having been recharged by Hillgrove Canteen. We soon cross another station, which our train disdainfully skips. It is called Runneymede (was it not Runneymeade?), and has been abandoned. We continue on, till we reach the next watering stop (not a station). After the usual routine of stretching legs and taking photos, we again set off. Soon, we reach Coonoor (ONR), the first major station.

Coonoor was the terminus for the NMR initially (1899), as the line further up to Ooty(UAM) materialized only some 10 years later (1908). Hence, it has a weird arrangement. The line from MTP stops here, and the line to UAM starts adjacent to the station, and gains height from the station itself. This means that to go from MTP to UAM, one has to enter the station, reverse back to the UAM line, and then proceed towards UAM. Also, sadly, ONR is the end of line for steam, and we bid adios to the senior. From here, our indefatigable Golden Rock (GOC) YDM4s take over. To accomodate the loco change, ONR is a longish halt. Also, ONR has many day services to UAM, making it more active than the line from MTP to ONR, which has only two trains a day. Hence, we had to wait for a train coming down from UAM to ONR, before we could proceed. No problem! I had the activity of the steam shed of ONR (yes, the steam puffing gentlemen are homed here!), and also the diesel trip shed, to occupy my time. In the shed, a GOC YDM4 was waiting for us with another second class coach attached. Soon, I heard another horn (note: no whistle), and the down train from UAM arrived at ONR, reversed onto the adjacent line to my train(there is no platform there!) and disgorged its passengers. This stretch seemed to have good patronage, with locals travelling all day. Once this train was in, the waiting diesel proceeded to attach himself to my train. Soon that was done, and the extra coach was also filled up. ONR presents a busy face, but sadly did not offer much for refreshments. Otherwise it was a nice, quaint, and a very well maintained station.

Soon, our train pulled out and reversed in the yard onto the UAM line. A point worth noting is that diesels also push up till UAM, and pull down till ONR, but there no issue of facing the front or rear like in steam (LHF/SHF remember?). Since this stretch is not so steep, there is no rack and pinion arrangement, and so diesels are used. But for the rack system, diesels would have been used right from MTP, banishing steam forever on SR. Now that it has a 'World Heritage' status, IR can think of bringing back steam, inspite of spending more on maintenance. I wish that would materialize, as this line is anyway making a loss, and IR can now afford it (the world knows that they made a good operating profit!). They can explore sharing the operating costs with the TN government's Tourism Dept. as this has a lot of tourist value. Well, all of these are my thoughts and not the government's! So let us get back to my trip :)

After ONR, the line is easy and the diesels do not find it a strain. We quickly gain more height, and in the process, crossed Wellington (associated with the Indian Army, home of Madras Regimental Centre, many boarding schools, etc.), Aravankadu, where we had more refreshments, and Ketti. Movie buffs would recall that Ketti station was the site of the Kamal Hasaan movie 'Mundram Pirai' ('Sadma' in Hindi). An hour after ONR, we reached Lovedale, the last halt before UAM. After Lovedale, we crossed the highest point on NMR, near the closed Fernhill railway station.

After Fernhill, it was downhill for a few minutes, till we arrived at Udhagamandalam, a.k.a. Ootacamund, and locally, Ooty. It was midday, and the trip lasted five full hours. Five hours of steam, diesel, forests, amazing scenery, and history. This line is a trip not just for railfans; it is a treat for everybody. Ooty was beautiful, though a bit crowded. No trip to Ooty (or Simla or Darjeeling) would be complete without the train trip.

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