My Childhood Dream of Travelling in a Rail Engine

Day 1

Dudhsagar Falls

Throwback to one of my most memorable experiences. Aug 16 2014.

5:07 PM - Over a Thousand people fighting for 2 Unreserved Compartment doors. Life is never supposed to be fair. As the Vasco-Yeswantpur express slowed down at the non existent railway station of Dudhsagar, I knew it was about to be a mad fight to get into the train. I had a camera bag, a tripod and a laptop bag on both sides of my body. There was a possibility, I would not fit into the train. There was a minor possibility, I would head butt my way in. I did it and even found a side lower window seat to sit by. Just when I did, I saw a JhalMuri vendor, across the track trying to sell me a portion of Murmura along with some nice hot tea. It was the best I could ask for, along with a window seat. 6 hours back, I never imagined what I was to do that afternoon, when I woke up at 11 am. This is the story of what changed in the next 6 hours.

I had gone on a solo trip at the height of the Goan Monsoon. It was raining on and off. I woke up lazily at 11 am at Kulem, the nearest railhead to Dudhsagar. I was staying in a jungle lodge. I had used the earlier day, to wander off into the jungle and click some long exposure shots of small waterfalls. I had done what I needed to in the village of Kulem, and I had to get to Dudhsagar. I had overslept and missed by 8 AM trek start target. It was 11 am, I had no clue of how I wanted to spend the day. I walked up to the Kulem railway station, checking out of my jungle lodge. I had 2 options.

Option A- Start the 7-10 km trek to Dudhsagar at 1145 AM. I could reach there by 4 pm and then I would have 30-45 minutes to enjoy Dudhsagar, and I would need to board the unreserved compartment of the Bangalore train at 5 pm at Dudhsagar, so that I get into my reserved coach from Londa.

Option B- I could take an unreserved train (goods train) at 12 noon to that would pass by Dudhsagar. For that I need to speak to the engine driver, requesting a favour. I would be there in 45 minutes, and I would have 3-4 hours at my disposal before I would board the 5 PM Bangalore train.

Option C- Had expired. Original plan was to start the trek to Dudhsagar at 8 am and start back by 2 pm so that I am back at Kulem by 430 pm to catch the Bangalore train. Touch and go, it would have been. But having got up late had not booked train tickets back I wanted to get to Dudhsagar at 12 pm.

So Option B seemed better!

It worked. It worked because, there was another couple who had the same idea as me. If it were 2 guys, the engine driver would have not let us in. A lady in the midst, made it possible.

I got into the engine and it started raining. As the train thundered through the mist rain and the enormous forest cover, I could see that the view the driver had was an enormous 150 degree view of the valley.

When I was a kid, I was fascinated seeing big railway engines pull trains across cities, and had longed to drive an engine so that I could see a place before everyone as a driver. That wish 🤞 had a closure of sorts. Here I was, with an engine driver, crossing the most pristine of views! I felt blessed! The view of the track and the valley felt like seeing longitudinal lines go away from us (iron rods) as the rain kept pounding on the beast pulling through the valley. It would slow down from time to time, and some trains require 2 engines to pull the load in this railway gradient of the South Western Railway.

The engine was dark and it did not have enough places to comfortably sit. The 3 of us adjusted when we wanted to sit, but we stood to just watch the journey in amazement. As we approached Dudhsagar, we saw a swarm of people waiting on the tracks, looking alarmed that a train chose to stop their view of the valley. The driver slowed down, and I knew my joy ride was about to be over. The waterfall view was flowing in slow motion through the window of the engine. A part of the broken window, made the view look even more beautiful. I was staring at it in poetic motion, until the driver and his attendant requested me to get off, as I was not supposed to be on the train, and they did not want any one to see me using the engine. I got out with a triumphant view of the valley, looking down at the crowd that had gathered near the tracks. They must have thought I must have been a railway employee looking at my confidence, but the shorts, T Shirt and camera bag (with a tripod), would have given it away that I was just one among them.

After 3 hours observing the waterfall, I had seen the place to my heart's content. It was time to get back to Bangalore. The hoot of the upcoming engine across the valley told me, I had 6-8 minutes to gather and wait at the right place. In those 6 minutes, the dynamics of the place changed. There were over a thousand people queuing up to board the train.

Over a Thousand people fighting for 2 Unreserved Compartment doors. Life is never supposed to be fair. As the Vasco-Yeswantpur express slowed down at the non existent railway station of Dudhsagar, I knew it was about to be a mad fight to get into the train. I had a camera bag, a tripod and a laptop bag on both sides of my body. There was a possibility, I would not fit into the train. There was a minor possibility, I would head butt my way in. I did it and even found a side lower window seat to sit by. Just when I did, I saw a Jhalmuri vendor, across the track trying to sell me a portion of Murmura along with some nice hot tea. It was the best I could ask for, along with a window seat. Even that went away in the next 15 minutes when an old couple asked me for my seat. The next place I found was between the toilets, looking at the closed compartment door sporting a big X. For the next hour or so, I slept peacefully, until a jerk and a rush of people outside the unreserved compartment happened. I could get out and search for my S6 compartment on the train back to Bangalore.

If you enjoyed rewinding Monsoon Goa memories, you would love some of my other Goa Content on Tripoto

Rewinding Dil Chahta Hain and the love for Goa

Exploring South Goa in 10 Drone Shots

Exploring Goa's Last Beach-Polem

Exploring Butterfly Beach in Goa

On how I narrowly missed the base of Dudhsagar Waterfalls

Meeting the Goan Monsoon in Dudhsagar