Archive for 2015
The Evergreen Nilgiri Mountain Railway
The Ever Beautiful Nilgiri Mountain Railway
The nilgiri mountain railway , one of the oldest lines running down the south located north of coimbatore .
Reaching Mettupalayam
There are 2 ways in which you may reach Mettupalayam first is by train . There is only an express from Chennai and a set of passenger to coimbatore which is operated in this line .Mettupalayam Can be reached by rail by boarding THE NILGIRI EXPRESS from Chennai (12671/72) . It departs Chennai at 21:15 (9:15pm) and arrives Mettupalayam at 6:15hrs in the morning .
The Other way to reach Metupalayam is to reach coimbatore by rail or flight and take a bus or a cab till mettupalayam . As coimbatore is well connected by rail and air with the other parts of the country , tourist prefer reaching CBE and taking a cab till MTP rather than reaching MTP by boarding the nilgiri express from Chennai .
The Nilgiri Mountain Railway
The nilgiri mountain railway is operated between Mettupalayam and Ooty (Otherwise known as udhagamandalam) . The railway is known for its scenic route as it travels through the dense forest of the nilgiris . The section is only 46.2kms climbing a gradient of 2200m (totally) . The major Hub all trains is the connoor (ONR) which is the heart of the nilgiri mountrain railway , located at the height of 1700m from sea level at a distance of 27km from mettupalayam . The NMR Can be segregated as two parts . The first part is the Mettupalayam - Connor (MTP-ONR) and the second is Coonoor - ooty (ONR-UAM) .
The first part of the ride is hauled by an X Class steam locomotive Manufactured by Swiss locomotive and machine works . The loco is maintained by Ponmalai Diesel loco shed , Tirchi . This is an unique section as the train uses Rack and pinion system as the gradient is too steep to climb .
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| YDM Pushes the UAM Bound Passenger near keti , this location is some 3kms from keti station . trekking is the only way to reach this place . |
The second part of the ride is hauled by an diesel locomotive from Golden rock shed , a YDM4 . The loco is changed at ONR (Coonoor) and the journey is further continued till Ooty .
There is only a Passenger from Mettupalayam till ooty , it departs Mettupalayam at @7:10am and reaches ooty @12:00 noon . Advance reservations can be done for this train , the ticket costs are very low so it wont be a problem .
The Return Passenger from Ooty Departs @14:00hrs (2pm) and reaches Mettupalayam 17;35hrs (5;35pm) in the evening . it acts like a connecting train to Nilgiri express .
For Railfanning Purpose /Photographing the Train
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| Beautiful Ketti station |
For railfanning purpose this place is a heaven as you wont feel much strain , because of the climate this place has . The best season to do railfanning here is the winter (Mid Oct - Feb) . This is the time when there will be maximum fog . If you are willing to capture the NMR Trains i would suggest you to take a 3 day stay at Ooty .
Day1&2
The first day will be like travelling in the passenger from MTP to UAM and then exploring UAM town . The Very next day , leave to some station in UAM - ONR section in the morning itself (Before the 7:45 ONR - UAM Passenger leaves coonoor) . there are so many good locations there enroute . Rather than pointing out locations , i would suggest you to take a note of the the locations while travelling in Mettupalayam - Ooty Passenger . spend a day capturing the YDM hauled Passenger trains in coonoor - UAM section . Retiring rooms at UAM are good and cheaper (Available also) . So Accommodation won't be a big issue in ooty .
Day - 3
The Third Day , You may leave ooty and travel down to the town of Connor and take a bus to some station which in the Mettupalayam - Coonoor section (will be easier if you take a note of the location while travelling in MTP - UAM Passenger on day1) . Using google maps you can actually know where the location is , how far it is from road . The ONR - MTP section is the most scenic section in this route as it has many tunnels , bridges , curves and gradients which are so beautiful that you will never feel bored how many times you capture the train at the same location .
This section can be covered the best by using a 2 wheeler or a car . the Album Which is at IRFCA gallery can throw some more light on this (Click here) . It is recommened to visit this place along with 5 or 6 members to capture the train at different spots .
NOTE : Getting permit to photograph trains is mandatory for safety purpose , Happy Railfanning :)
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