Steam
Locomotives of India
~
the
complete site on Indian steam
LETS
START WITH PHOTOS OF INDIA'S GREATEST STEAM ACHIEVEMENT - THE WP
CLASS 5'6" GUAGE LOCO.
This
is a shot done on May 6, 2000 of the WP 7015 on the Doon Centenary run between
Dehradun and Harrawala in Uttar Pradesh.
This bridge is 5 km from D'dun and I did this photograph as a silhouette to
get the thundering clouds and the power of the WP.
Specs: Nikon F3, 28mm f2.8, TMax 400, 1/250 f8
The
WP 7015 in black & white. Steam lends itself beautifully in B&W.
These are done
on the Nikon F3 with TMax 400 and TriX 400 film processed with D76 in 1:1 dilution.
I have overexposed and underdeveloped to get details in the shadow areas.
Then I'd Like to
take you through the B CLASS SADDLE TANKS of the
DARJEELING HIMALAYAN RAILWAY.
These
B class beauties have been shot on a trip to Darjeeling in March 2000. The line
is on the brink of a shut down in terms of steam. Luckily, for us, the Railway
Minister has'nt found time to inaugurate the diesels on the section.
The
B class being prepared for the daily run at New Jalpaiguri. At least 8-10 men
take over 2 hours to get it ready. These shots are done at the coaling bay early
in the morning.
For
colour work I normally use Ektachrome EPP which
gives me natural colours and details in shadow areas. Sometimes when I need
to enhance colour I use Fujichrome ProviaF which
saturates the greens and the blues.
This smoky one
on the right is the Ghoom Special which travels
between Darjeeling and Ghoom. It is hauled by the 779 B - the oldest loco
in the DHR stable today.
The day was cloudy and misty and light was very poor when I did this shot
with an Nikon F90x.
Another
beautiful mountain railway is the Nilgiri Mountain Railway.
I visited the Nilgiris in November. Here are some of the images I got...
The NMR has
some of the oldest and most fantastic locomotives in the World.
The X class
rack system locos are stocky and powerful and make beautiful 'models' to a
photographer' s sensibilities.
On the right
is an elegant portrait of an X class at Mettupalayam yard.
This photo (on
the right) was done on my 4x5 wood field camera with
a 135mm Schneider Xenar lens.
I
did some colour shots too. But I still prefer my b&w stuff.
I used ProviaF for this because of the dull gray weather.
This
is one of my favourite photos of the X Class Rack locos. It looks really industrial
and so much a machine !!
Now
we go thru some of the Steam specials that run in India. These include Fairy
Queen the oldest running loco in the world.
