I went to school in Ajmer, staying at a hostel from 1979 to 1988. The very large school campus was bordered on two sides by railway tracks.
Now these were glory days for metre gauge. Ajmer was situated halfway on the important Delhi – Ahmedabad section.
I recall our cross country run route would cross the railway tracks, and there was a steam loco graveyard situated adjacent. Those were still heady days for steam, and we would, in our childhood innocence, consider them lesser mortals, and were glad to see them go. The school organised our journey to and from our places of residence for the summer and winter breaks. There were teachers accompanying student parties to Delhi and then to Calcutta and Guwahati, as well as to Ahmedabad and then on to Bombay.
On our journey home, for the first few years The Delhi and onward bound students would all be accommodated on a “Mayo Special” of about 8 coaches, steam-hauled much to our consternation while we noticed many lowly freights with diesels up front. The very elegant YP or YG class locomotives would do the honours. We travelled in wooden seated 2 tier coaches, with about 20 of us occupying a space meant for eight. We would likely stay awake most of the night, sleeping in bits and pieces, bidding adieu to a friend who would de-board at Nim-ka-Thana, before pulling in to (very freezing in winter) Delhi Jn very early in the morning. Most students would take the over bridge while some of us accompanied the baggage hauled by coolies in very large trolleys. These were taken down by the ancient electric lifts placed at every platform. We crossed platforms using strange rat infested tunnels and take the lifts back unto the correct platforms. Quite an adventure in itself. We would then get on board the Kalka Mail for the latter part of the journey, happy to have individual reserved berths. In the later years, the special was taken off and we all would get on the Aravalli Express, which would in those originate at Ajmer.
The return trip was definitely better. Kalka Mail would get us to Delhi, and we would change platforms over to the metre gauge side to get on to the Ahmedabad Mail. It was a lovely train in those days. Well maintained like every other 1 Up 2 Down pair would be. I would relish the journey, getting a feeling it was soon to end when the familiar sounding stations like Gegal Akhri, Ladpura and Tiloniya would go by.
We had strict instructions to keep doors locked so no outsiders could enter the coaches. I recall once aboard the Mayo Special, a very determined person clung on to the door as the train started, and in the freezing weather hung on for dear life as the train picked up speed. The teacher accompanying us finally told us to let him in!
We would get a bit of money to spend on the journey. At times some packed puris and sabzi was organized on the Mayo Special. The rest we had to fend for. The variety on the Ajmer – Delhi section was very limited. There were vendors with ‘kakdi’, sliced and spiced, and sellers of very colourful bhel-puri like mixtures with a medley of fruits, fried stuff and spices, which would of course be as much a riot to our stomachs as they were of hues. Phulera Jn would serve rather tasty bread-omelettes in those days.
I also distinctly remember getting a chance to get on board the footplate of the steam loco that hauled us, most probably at Phulera. Unfortunately, I had to head back to my coach before the journey resumed.
The stars of the Delhi – Ajmer route were the earlier-mentioned 1 Up / 2 Down Delhi – Ahmedabad Mails. And of course the Pink City Express with its special liveried coaches, which would travel only till Jaipur. A portion of it was later extended to Ajmer as the Gharib Nawaz Express. There was also a Delhi – Ahmedabad Express apart from the Aravalli.
But the train which we spoke of in hushed tones was the one that passed through in the middle of the night – about 0135 hours on either direction. It was simply known as the Superfast. Never seen, just spoken of. So a few of us intrepid explorers broke bounds (during our board exams), and walked the three miles to the station. In the brightly lit surroundings we got a glimpse of the Ashram Express. My curiosity was piqued and I decided my final trip from school back home would be on board this. And so tickets were booked accordingly and after my class 12 board examinations, I spent the day at a friend’s house and had him drop me to the station after dinner. The Rajdhani-liveried train with a matching loco swooshed in, rather majestically if I may add. I found my coach and entered and almost got off, thinking I was in the wrong coach. You see, on those days only some air-conditioned coaches had fluorescent lighting. This very special train had such lights even in sleepers. It’s sister train, the Mandore Express, would run from Delhi to Jodhpur. In the earlier days, the two would be amalgamated or separated, as the case may be, at Phulera. They would run combined, double-headed, on the Phulera Delhi section.
The awe was justified.
This article was originally penned for the inaugural issue of the Rail Canvaz magazine, a Train Trackers initiative.