A goods train being hauled by bullocks! Jumbos pushing wagons at a shunting yard! These and some other rare photographs on display at the old main entrance to Visakhapatnam railway station are drawing curious glances from passengers.
Mahatma Gandhi standing at the doorway of an old compartment, a worker pouring water on the coal load in the rear of the locomotive, steam engine-drawn trains, old railway stations, workers standing with buckets of drinking water to quench the thirst of passengers are sure to bring back nostalgic memories among those who had seen them during the early 1970s, 1960s, or in earlier years.
A foreign woman drinking water from a tap, bending her head and collecting water in her cupped palm at a railway station reminds us of the good old days, when one could drink water from a public tap or a storage tank.
The younger generation can also imagine the development of the railways during the last 160 years.
The only thing that was missing in the display was that most of the pictures do not have a caption, perhaps, to keep passengers guessing on the date and place, where a particular picture was taken.
Those who had seen the National Railway Photo Exhibition, organised to mark the 160-year journey of the Indian Railways, in August 2014 in Visakhapatnam, can recollect having seen some of the pictures.
The wagons of a goods train on the narrow gauge railway from Dabhoi to Miyagam were hauled by a pair of bullocks.
The ‘bullock train’ was operated in 1860. Bullocks were used to pull single wagons on a mono rail and elephants were used to push wagons at a shunting yard.
Art gallery
“This is only a beginning. Our idea is to set up an art gallery and we are experimenting with the lighting and the background. We plan to put up more photographs and also encourage local artists to display their works. This would not only draw the attention of visitors but also provide an opportunity to budding artists to showcase their works,” Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Waltai Division Mukul Saran Mathur told The Hindu.
