ETHOS- THE REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY

The Gunners are a breed apart. A phlegmatic bunch of men, they are not given to any uncertainties. Their professional attitude, work ethics and training regimen prepares them to face any contingency which may evolve in their flexible fire plan. Gunners exude confidence and infuse the same among others. This ability is reflected in their motto SARVATRA, IZZAT - O - IQBAL to provide fire-power for all eventualities, where-ever required, in whichever form required.

SERVE WITH HONOUR- THAT'S THE MOTTO OF THE OTA

IF A PERSON SAYS HE IS NOT AFRAID TO DIE, HE IS EITHER TELLING A LIE OR HE IS A GORKHA!

SMILES ALL AROUND

Travelling in Sleeper Coaches...Sharing my experiences...by Praveen Kumar

Having travelled in the 'Shayanyan Shreni' (Sleeper Class) for a considerable distance on many trains, I have gathered some usefull tips which might be of use for others. (These are strictly my observations.. other might have views different than those of mine)
Booking Berths
To start off: While booking your ticket, in the reservation form mention 'Mid-Coach-Inside-LB', in the preferences column of the form. (That is, only when you know that sufficient berths are available, and you can have the luxury of choice.) Also keep in mind, that if you do not mention any preference, you might even end up with berth no: 72(SUB), even if you happen to be one of the first guys booking your accomodation.
Why 'mid-coach'? (Berths 25 to 40 etc)?
The light from the corridors will not affect your night's sleep (if you are undertaking a night journey); the light from the coach ends invariablly illuminates the first and the last bays (1 to 8 and 65 to 72), much against our wishes.
There are chances that your luggage might be much more safer, if you are, in the middle of the coach. (Any person, near the door can walk off coolly with your belongings, at any roadside station, before you can blink an eye). Many of my friends lost their shoes, hand bags etc, just because they happened to be booked on one of the side berths towards the end of the coach, and were not careful enough. In any case, it is always better to secure your luggage with the help of a safety chain.
The smell from the toilets might not bother you that much, if you happen to be in the middle of the coach. Toilets do tend to stink badly within a few hours of commencement of journey, and this can be terrible.
Why 'Inside-Lower-Berth'?
An inside berth is much more comfortable, and is lengthier than a side berth. And for a tall person like me, side berths especially the side uppers are a strict no-no. And then you will not be quite disturbed, by the movement of people in the corridor, if you happen to be on an inside berth.
Lower berth: Well, you can catch up on some railfanning during the night. If its a full moon night, it would be even better. The sight of a WAP-4 or a WDM-2/WDP-4 zooming away, the twin headlights piercing the darkness of the night, those all clear green signals a few miles away, all these can be a treat to watch. Of course, invariably, you will get a request from a co-passenger to down the shutters. It is a safe practice to down the shutters before you hit the berth. If it's an overnight journey, and you have had a tiring day at work, then the inside upper berth would be more suitable, as you would get an unhindered night's sleep, not to be disturbed by the lights of the passing stations, the announcements etc.
It has been observed that during day time journeys, short distance passengers board SL coaches, and make themselves comfortable on our berths. I follow a simple procedure. I pull up the middle berth, and spread out my bedsheet and air pillow across the berth and stretch myself out lazily. This would deter many a short distance traveller from sitting on my berth. After all, why am I paying the SL class fare? (Let me hasten to say that this might not work under all circumstances.)
Beggars, Wandering Mendicants, Urchins, Hawkers, Eunuchs -- a common sight
Beggars. They are ubiquitous. Ignore them. The blind couple types, who sing an apology-for-a-song, as they go about begging for alms... The women with crying babies-in-arms, who try to evoke your sympathy, with fervent 'please...' for milk, food for the little one. The floor-cleaner-urchin types... With a rag in hand, the small fellow will clean your compartment floor and then beg for alms. Some do it diligently, others just put up an act. The singing-balladeers: A small girl/boy with a couple of stones in hand, sing a popular movie song accompanied by the clackety clack of the stones. The card-droppers: A man or woman will quickly go through the coach handing you cards, that urge you to donate towards some orphanage, etc. and then come back, requesting for 'donations'. Don't be fooled! Eunuchs: Some 'request' money in a mild tone, others tend to get aggressive. Ignore them.
Food
In almost all of the long distance pantry cars, you get dinner, lunch, etc., in casseroles. Some might be good, and others might be quite bad, depending on the base kitchen from where they have been obtained). You can either order the food from the PC, or best, get down at the major stations and check out the food stuffs available. Most of them are good; you get hot puris, or say any other food stuff, which is made minutes before the train pulls in to the platform. Omelettes, etc. - wash them down with a glass of fruit juice. (At Sholapur, you get some real good Paav Bhaji And Vada Paav, at Visakhapatnam, you get hot puris, dosas, etc.)
Toilets
Toilets -- They stink most of the time making the journey a bit uncomfortable. What can be done?
Well at many of the big stations, you do have the sanitary staff clean the toilets with the mechanized toilet cleaner, but then again, as the train proceeds further, things are back to square one. Blame it, more often than not, on the passengers themselves, who do not flush the toilets properly.
All of you might not like it, but do what I do. Carry a bottle of Domex or scented phenyl with you. This might sound ridiculous, but believe me, it does save you from stinking toilets. Or just close your nose, and pretend that the smell never existed!
Miscellaneous
Also carry an old newspaper with you. Upper berths (or any berths or seats for that matter) can get quite dusty, and require a proper dusting. Safe drinking water is a must. You cannot trust even bottled mineral water nowadays, but then compared to the water available at stations, they seem a better bet. And a first-aid kit with medicines for stomach ache, headache, nausea, disinfectants, cotton, etc., might prove handy in unforeseen circumstances.
To conclude, travelling by sleeper class can be a pleasure or a pain. It's up to you how you take it.

Regards,
PVS

FIT MEN ARE THE BEST MEN

THAT'S THE MOTTO- ONE BULLET ONE ENEMY

212 RKT REGT GIVING A SMALL DEMO OF ITS MASSIVE FIREPOWER

Frontier Mail

The Frontier Mail was flagged off on Sep. 1, 1928, from Colaba Terminus, the main station on the BB&CI (later Western Railway). It was a replacement for the earlier Mumbai-Peshawar Mail. In winter (Sep. - Dec.), the Frontier Mail started from Ballard Pier (Mole Station) to connect with P&O steamships; this is the portion referred to as the "Duplicate" section of the Frontier Mail in old railway schedules and articles.
Leaving from Mole Station the train ran for a short while on tracks of the Bombay Port Railway and the GIPR via Bandra Jn. finally reaching its home tracks of the BB&CI Railway. For the rest of the year the train terminated at Colaba, but a separate train ran to Ballard Pier for the steamer connection. There were also times when the train ran this extra bit on some days of the week alternating with the normal route.
The train's route took it through Baroda, Ratlam, Mathura, Delhi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, and finally to Peshawar. (The section beyond Delhi was run by the North Western Railway as train No. 3.) Peshawar was close to the frontier of British India in those days, hence the name of the train. It used to be the fastest long-distance train in the subcontinent.
Originally the BB&CI introduced it to rival the Punjab Limited of the GIPR, which also went from Bombay to Peshawar. The train had a reputation for being unusually punctual. Originally the rake had 5 coaches and a luxury dining car cum lounge car. As a prestige train of the BB&CI, the train offered plush conveniences on board, and the passengers had access to luxurious retiring rooms at stations along the way. It had air-cooled cars (using ice blocks) from about 1934.
After Independence, it went only up to Amritsar, via Delhi, from Bombay. The train has now been renamed "Golden Temple Mail".

The Grand Trunk Express

This train, affectionately known as the 'GT' started running in 1929 just after the construction of the Kazipet-Balharshah section, which was the last link in the Delhi-Madras route. Initially it ran from Peshawar to Mangalore and took about 104 hours, one of the longest train routes. Later this service was changed to Lahore-Mettupalaiyam. In 1930 it reached its present status while running between Delhi and Madras.
As a prestigious train, it was one of the few to have the early methods of air cooling by ice blocks. It also carried a parcel van for urgent consignments. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the train used to run with a completely air-conditioned rake (First AC and AC Chair Car) on two days of the week, and with its usual rake on other days, and hence was sometimes known as the AC/GT Express. The train had a 21-coach rake in the 1980s, later extended to 22 and finally 24 coaches. Its first-class coaches were of the corridor type with extra large windows. The GT's coaches (along with those of other premier trains in the 1970s) also had noticeably better suspension as well.