AMJ Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 BBC4 will be showing this 3 part series starting on Thursday 12 March http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b055tn14 From a clip I saw the other day it would appear the Nepalese line looks like the Janakpur-Jaynager line which I rode on a few years ago. Other lines include the train to Bangladesh which used to be the directroute to Assam from Calcutta I fancied doing that but a tour operator suggested this would be too complex to do. The other line mentioned is the one to Pakistan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supaned Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 if this is anything like their previous Indian documentaries it will be excellent. Many thanks for the heads up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 Just had a check and this series is brought to you by the same team who produced previous Indian Railways series - Monsoon, Hill, Mumbai and Hospital train. http://www.gerrytroyna.com/filmography.php Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhBBob Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Not forgetting the narrator, the excellent Bernard Hill Real human stories from Gerry Troyna. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supaned Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I've watched the preview on the BBC website - thursday can't come soon enough , and this one will be another must-see without doubt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted March 11, 2015 Author Share Posted March 11, 2015 Bump - on BBC4 tomorrow Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tetsudofan Posted March 11, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 11, 2015 ...and hopefully on iPlayer shortly afterwards..... Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talltim Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Caught most of it. I really enjoy the way these programs are about the people, with the railway as the element that links them Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhBBob Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Repeated on Monday 16th March at 8 pm for those who missed it... Well worth watching ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
backofanenvelope Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Yes, a very well put together program and a fascinating and humbling insight. Would to see more of the railways of Asia there is obvious interest with the likes of this and GBRJ & GCRJ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
station cat Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 I thought it was a great programme, with lots of insight into the people and the railway Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I enjoyed it. I thought that they got the balance just about right between the railway operation, including some very interesting characters and the politics. It could have easily drifted too far in either direction. Bernard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 I have been on the line into Nepal which is on this week. It's an unofficial way into the country as there is no border check.The line is being converted from 2foot 6 to 5 foot 6. [Edit] Remove a typo when posted on mobile version of site. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
station cat Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I really enjoyed the Nepal episode but I was very sad at the way that such a vital transport link had been able to get into such a mess - I hope the new broad gauge railway brings prosperity to the area Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 I'm glad I did the line a few years ago and managed to get a trip behind a Hunslet steam locomotive. Must find the image to add on here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Storey Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Absolutely brilliant programmes, showing a great empathy with the people as well as the railways. Very sad to see the Nepal line is to be shut for three years whilst it is broadened, leaving 150 people and all those who relied on the line (for purposes we would question in any other circumstance but highly understandable here) with a very uncertain future. At least Indian Railways are coming to the rescue in the long term, but it is so sad to see another narrow gauge line disappear. I wonder what will happen to the dozen or so British-built steam locos rotting away in the old sheds. Some preservation societies would relish having a few of those, but I would guess the cost of transporting them would be horrendous, even if any of them are in a salvageable state. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0rris Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 The fate of the narrow gauge steamers interested me as well, a quick trawl of the internet has not revealed any clues. It'd be nice to know whether they have survived the upheaval. All in, I thought the Nepali episode was the best of all of the indian railway documentaries we have seen yet. Truely fascinating. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 See the IRFCA site as this has details for the Nepalese steam locomotive. In the UK there would only be Statfold and Welsh pool able to use them. Boilers were a bit worn from what I remember in 2003. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted March 21, 2015 Author Share Posted March 21, 2015 Sticking to my promise to include some photos when I visited the Nepal line. Pashupati - one of the HE 4-6-0T WD locomotives built after WWI 1537/1926 at Khajuri taken in December 2004 7 "Shree Bishnu" 0-6-2T 2'6" Hunslet Engine Co 3684/1949 Above photos are on my Leeds Engine Site taken by me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted March 21, 2015 Author Share Posted March 21, 2015 One of the Beyer-Garratt locos at Khajuri Below what it's like to ravel by train - as above all taken by me in December 2004. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted March 21, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 21, 2015 The Garratt seen on shed in the programme is Beyer-Peacock 6736 built for Nepal railways in 1932 It is a 2-6-2 + 2-6-2 wheel arrangement and 762mm (2' 6") gauge IMHO definitely a candidate for repatriation! Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 Both of the BP Garratt's were still at Khajuri when I visited in 2004 along with many 0-6-2T of Hunslet build plus some 0-8-0 OK products. As some locos have fairly recently come back to the UK from India I presume if they were placed into ISO containers they could be quite cheaply shipped to the UK. Obviously the big BP's would need to be split into engine and boiler units. All that is needed is a person with a large bank balance to buy and ship these back to the UK. See IRFCA page for steam survivors in Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh. http://www.irfca.org/docs/locolists/steam-pbn.html Interestingly there is one East Pakistan (Bangladesh) steam loco in an Indian museum at Howrah and the note claims it it still technically belongs to Bangladesh Railways but it was in India when the boder was shut to rail traffic and it has remained there since. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben racey Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 A very good, but heartbreaking, report on the line is here: http://www.internationalsteam.co.uk/tales/nepaltales01.htm Regards Richard. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted March 26, 2015 Author Share Posted March 26, 2015 The link to Pakistan from India is tonight on BBC4. Another challenging line politically. One year I was on a sleeper in India a very pretty young Indian lass started talking to us. She mentioned she was in the army as was her husband. He had served with UN as a peace keeping force and mentioned they had all got on with the other nationals and he was still in email contact with some Pakistani soldiers. It's just the politicians that argue not the men on the ground. If you get a chance to see the boder closing ceremony between India/Pakistan on the road between Lahore and Amritsar it's well worth doing. There was a clip in Palin's Hmalya trip.See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9y2qtaopbE Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted August 19, 2015 Author Share Posted August 19, 2015 24th August at 2100 on BBC2 sees the start of India season. There is an hour long programme on Indian Railways. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02xtt6j It features the commuter services into Mumbai - I have done these and they are such fun. The wallahs taking the tiffin tins into Mumbai for the workers before lunch. Plus steam on the Darjeeling Himalaya Railway. When the weather is right I have sat on a station bench enjoying the sight of the Himalayas with steam shunting the station, memories of steam, curry and beer........ Before I went to India on the first trip I knew I'd not get to eat pork or beef but at one hotel in Darjeeling they served roast beef and Yorkshire's on a Sunday and another day they served a Nepalese pork dish. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02xtt6j/broadcasts/upcoming Has programmes on Monday to Thursday at the same time - all are about Indian Railways. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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