Muddy boots and wet sandbox (8)

Note : Railway Diaries follows the Number on the Post Title
 

Let me give a little technical background here – Any Loco will have two sand boxes attached to the engine and dry free flowing sand is filled during rainy season so as to avoid wheel skidding. It is operated by pneumatic pressure by the button on the control stand. Sand is injected between the wheel and the rail and with that friction the wheel doesn’t skid instead moves forward. Sometimes when it is raining heavily and in the rain when sand is filled, it gets wet and forms blocks of sand which will not flow through the pipe and that is when it’s a memorable pain for the spinal chord.

It was a trip from Alnawar (LWR) to Ambevadi (AVA) a distance of about 20kms.This route is one train system where until the train has returned from AVA to LWR no other train will be sent in the same route and also it’s a side line. East Coast Paper Mill is located in Ambevadi, the forest range that belongs to Dandeli. Trains carry bamboo and other necessary raw material to the paper mill and from the mill the trains transport finished paper products.

Permanent speed restriction while going to AVA is 25kmph and on return its 30kmph.The road is steep and is a ghat section.

It was around 2200 Hrs when we departed from AVA. The weather was cloudy and the wind was chilling. We had 40 vehicles to carry; I suggested that we carry it in two halves so that we won’t experience any difficulty enroute. But the Driver Mr.S.B.Bhavikatti was confident or rather over confident that the WDM2 Loco would pull that load uphill.

We started with all his prayers to the Gods that he believed in and that which he kept on the control stand. It would have been 3kms that we had crossed and it started raining cats and dogs in the section. For another 2kms he used up all the sand even when it was not required. The sandboxes were empty or clogged when we had crossed 5kms and it was still raining heavily.

I helped myself with some tobacco and had kept the window open to let the breeze hit my face. The engine experienced a jerk and when I put my head out of the window noticed sparks flying of the loco wheels. Immediately opened the extra sand bag stored inside the loco and took out my Tiffin box and filled it with sand. I forced opened the door and the next minute I was running next to the track putting sand on the rail. This took the wheel off the skid and it started moving slowly, but the section was so rough that the horse power of the WDM2 was no good to haul the load. I took out my dagger and pierced a hole at the bottom of the sand bag. With all the strength I held the bar with my right hand and holding the bag in my left stood on the foot board letting sand flow on to the rail. This exercise continued for nearly 12kms in the middle of the night.

Finally we arrived at LWR and from there w headed to UBL. On reaching UBL, I thanked Mr.Bhavikatti for his stupidity and on reaching home, lay dead on the floor.

When I woke up, for a moment I felt I had lost sensation of my back and when I tried hard to wake up from the floor, it was an electric shock that ran through my spine and I collapsed on the floor. My fried Seshagiri helped me sit with my back leaning on the wall and immediately applied Iodex and Moov and I sat there half dead and was not quite sure what had happened to my back.

Thought of calling sick to work that day but my instincts said “don’t escape” and sincerely I reported on time for the next train that I was booked.