A vintage crane, which is over a century old, is the new attraction on the Gnanapuram side of the Visakhapatnam Railway Station.
This 10-tonne crane, which is sure to evoke nostalgia among old-timers, would have found its way to the scrap yard but for the initiative of Divisional Railway Manager Mukul Saran Mathur, who got it here all the way from Rayagada in Odisha. Built by Ransomes and Rapier Ltd. at Ipswich in Suffolk, England, in 1908, it was procured by the then Bengal Nagpur Railways (BNR).
The classic crane was in the Accident Relief Train (ART) formation at Rayagada till about six months ago. It had outlived its utility and was planned to be sold in the scrap market. Mr. Mathur felt that the crane would fetch no more than a couple of lakh rupees in the scrap market and it would be a better idea to convert into a permanent relic on the Gnanapuram side of Visakhapatnam Junction for the benefit of posterity.
The crane was refurbished and given a fresh coat of paint in yellow, green and white. An elevated platform was specially erected, close to the Gnanapuram-entry, and the crane was placed on the rails. A park was developed around the crane with a few trees and grass on the mound. Flood lights have been provided all around for a better view at night.
Many choose the Gnanapuram entry due to wide approach roads from Chavulamadhum junction as also from Gnanapuram Main Road, easy access to motorists coming from Old Town, Gajuwaka and Kancharapalem, as also to those coming from Railway New Colony, Dondaparthy and Dwaraka Nagar areas.
Unlike at the more popular main entrance on the eastern side of the railway station, autorickshaws are allowed close to the entrance on this side. One can walk right onto the platform (PF-8) along with his/her luggage after alighting from cars or autorickshaws. There is ample parking space for cars and two-wheelers as also other vehicles.
RTC buses also stop close to the entrance unlike at the main entrance, where they have to walk for quite some distance from the bus stop to the entrance.
