6 train journeys and 6 hours of train spotting at 135 mph

In the last two years, I have been traveling regularly on SEPTA R5 and R7 lines as well as the NJTransit's NEC and Morris and Essex line. But I have never been able to go train spotting as well as travel by Amtrak trains. Karan Desai was in Philadelphia and he informed me about his plan to go to Princeton Junction along with other IRFCA members to spot Amtrak trains including the Acela Express at high speeds. It was decided that we would catch the 9.45 train from Philadelphia to Trenton and then catch the 11.00 NJTransit train to Princeton. We had Karan, Sri Ram and me coming from Philadelphia and John Garcia coming from New York. Jay Balakrishnan would drive down from Atlantic City and we had our small rail fanning group ready.

Over the next few hours, we spotted two Acela Expresses, many Keystone services and North East Regional Services trains to and from New York running at high speed. Also spotted was an Atlantic City Express service running towards NY. This train runs with an Electric loco at one end and Diesel loco at the other. This ensures there is no time spent in reversing at Frankford Junction near Philadelphia. The line from Philadelphia to Atlantic City is a non-electrified section, hence the need for Diesel loco. The tunnel below the Hudson river to enter New York Penn station prohibits entry of Diesel hauled locos, hence the need for Electric loco.

The tracks for 3 miles on either side of Princeton Junction are straight and this station is really a haven for watching trains run at mps of 135 mph. Of course, a 24 coacher hauled by a 5000 hp WAP4 at 110 kmph is more exhilarating to watch than a 8 coach hauled by a 7000 hp AEM7 at 220 kmph due to the sheer length of the train. But it was really great fun to see the Amtrak trains coming and going at 220 kmph. After 6 hours of train spotting, we caught the NJTransit to Trenton and then caught the onwards SEPTA R7 to Philadelphia.

I have never been on an Amtrak here. So when I found Karan was catching the Amtrak Keystone train back to Exton PA, I too decided to join him in this journey. A quick check at the time table to find a return train journey told me that there was a wait over of 15 mins at Exton before heading back to Philadelphia. However on second glance, Karan informed me that this train runs only on weekdays. The return train from Exton to Philadelphia would make me have a halt at Exton for two hours. So I got a ticket from Philadelphia to Paoli from where I would catch the SEPTA R5 back to Philadelphia.

Our SEPTA R7 reached 30th street station 5 minutes before the departure of the Keystone service to Harrisburg. I finally had my first Amtrak journey from Philadelphia to Paoli, a 19 mile journey covered in 25 minutes with a halt at Ardmore. And I couldnt help but compare the Amtrak train with our trains in India as well as the SEPTA/NJTransit trains that I have traveled in the last two years. We were slow till Ardmore and then covered the 11 miles journey from Ardmore to Paoli in 8 minutes. After getting down at Paoli, caught the return R5 to Philadelphia. This was my sixth train journey in the day. A 45 minute journey got me back to 30th street station, happy and satisfied after a long day of rail fanning.

The Amtrak trains are quite comparable to Shatabdi trains. Of course, since this was a passenger service having many halts, we never did that high speeds. But the sitting configuration inside is quite good. The seats are quite wide and the leg space is more than in Chair Car on the Shatabdi. The only down side about these trains is that the windows are quite small. Both Karan and I were wishing for LHB size windows to enjoy breezing through the country side.

A sincere thanks to Karan, Sri Ram, John and Jay (and of course Amtrak) for making today really wonderful. Had a wonderful time today.

Happy New Year

As 2009 draws to an end and 2010 begins, here's wishing everyone a very Happy and Prosperous New Year where everyone's wishes come true...cheers

A Rainy Day in New York

This Saturday, I was going to New York and was planning to meet Tanay, Tanu, Teju, Sriram and Kashmira there. So we were meeting after a long time. And of course, we were planning to do some sight seeing. But as is the usual case when I am in New York, the heavens opened up. So in this cold and damp weather when the best thing to do is to eat Kanda Bhaji and garam chai, we still decided to brave our souls and venture out. Over the next few hours, we ended up visiting Rockefeller Center, Apple Store near Central Park and Times Square.

The weather was bad, but the spirit and the fun of the occasion just more than made it up. It was really fun chatting at the coffee shop near Rockefeller Center as well as the McDonalds at Times Square. And so a wet and horrible day in New York was made wonderful by my cousins. I really had a great time. Thanks a lot...

The snow storm

I returned back from Badminton on Friday and got to know about the snow storm that was supposed to happen on Saturday. Immediately checked weather.com and found the snow storm heading towards South East Pennsylvania. There was prediction of 4-6 inches of snow on Saturday. Well, just stocked up the larder for Saturday and went of to sleep. Got up on Saturday morning to see a nice layer of white snow everywhere. And suddenly, it just started snowing cats and dogs (well, not really cats and dogs, but almost). Went to the front door and was just lost in the amazing spread of snow everywhere. Went out and walked in foot deep snow. It was really amazing to see the foot go deep down into the fresh snow. You actually feel you are walking on desert sand, such soft is the fresh snow. We put a coffee cup onto the snow and it just went six inches inside. Saw the emergency vehicles trying to keep the roads clear of snow for safe driving conditions. But when the snow falls at the rate of 3 inches an hour, its very difficult to make the roads snow free. Finally, the snow fall stopped on Sunday morning. By this time, it had snowed almost two feet. Snow everywhere was a sight to cherish. It literally felt as if the clouds were resting on the earth's surface, such was the mesmerizing effect of it.

Best Indian Sporting moments in the last two decades

I was seeing the special episode commemorating 21 years of NDTV. The show was called Best Indian sporting moments since 1988. Thinking about it got me started on compiling the best Indian sporting moments in the last two decades. So here is my list.
1. Abhinav Bindra winning India's first individual gold medal at Beijing Olympics in 2008.
2. Indian hockey team winning the gold medal at the Asian Games in 1998 after 32 years.
3. Vishwanathan Anand winning the World Championship in chess.
4. Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi reaching the finals at all the grandslams in 1999 winning the French Open and Wimbledon.
5. Sachin single handedly winning the Coca-cola Cup at Sharjah in 1998 beating the Aussies with Operation Twin centuries.
6. India coming back from the dead to win the Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in 2001.
7. Saina Nehwal reaching the top 10 in womens badminton.
8. Rajyavardhan Rathore winning the silver medal at Athens in 2004.
9. Anju Bobby George winning the first and so far only medal at World Athletics Championships in 2003.
10. India qualifying for 2011 Asian Cup in football.

Mumbai Local Trains...

The other day, I was on my way to Edison from Philadelphia. The plan was to take the 6:00 local to Trenton and take the connecting NJTransit from there to Edison. As the local was entering the 30th street station, I was reminded of waiting at Dadar station for the 6.35 Dadar Borivali local. As soon as the Trenton local started, I was back at Dadar station comparing and contrasting the two journeys. The similarity between the two ended as soon as the train entered the station. There was no commotion to enter the train. Disembarking passengers first got down. Then everyone took their own sweet time to board it. And though the platform appeared crowded, every one got a place to sit. Of course, there is no way comparing a crowd of 200 people (estimating on the higher side) to the 2000 people waiting to board the Dadar Borivali local.

Much as the journey on the SEPTA local was comfortable, it still lacked the charm of traveling in the peak hours on any of Mumbai's local trains. Mumbai locals are a world in themselves. If you catch the same train regularly, then you get a group of people who become your friends over time. When I was in Somaiya, I had three group of friends. Somaiya friends, train friends and other friends. Travel on the 9.01 Goregaon local and you will have a group of people who will sing bhajans and distribute prasad to the entire compartment. Once this train reaches Churchgate, everyone goes towards their own destination. But in the train, its like a one big family. I am really lucky that I got a chance to travel by Mumbai local trains every day for six years during my Jr College and Engineering days.

Just as Statue of Liberty defines New York and the Golden Gate Bridge defines San Fransisco, its the local trains of Mumbai that define the city. Many people claim that the Bandra Worli Sea Link is a monument representing Mumbai. Many others also say that its the Gateway of India, but if any thing defines Mumbai aptly, its the local trains which have become an integral part to the millions of people who use it. MUMBAI LOCAL TRAINS rock...

Sachin Tendulkar - Bas balla hi kaafi hai

The first time I remember watching him bat was in the 1992 World Cup in Australia. As a 6 year old, I was just getting addicted to cricket and I was lucky that the first cricketing hero I had was Sachin Tendulkar. And now, as he completes 20 years in international cricket, I really salute him. And his achievements are not just restricted to the cricket field. I cant recollect any other celebrity who has spent 20 years in public eye without one controversy. He knows only one way of replying back to his critics. Let the bat do the talking. This is why, I really feel good to call him my role model. 15th of November will always be an important date in both our lives. Its my birthday and its the same date 4 years later that Sachin first played against Pakistan.

Over the past 17 years, I have seen many knocks of Sachin. Here are some of my favorite test innings
1. 155* vs Australia at Chennai, 1998.
India were trailing Australia on the first innings. Sachin had perished to Warne quite cheaply in the first innings trying an expansive shot. So the pressure was on him. He responded by hitting 155 of just 191 balls. The reason why I rate this innings quite high was not only the high rate of scoring, but he made Warne look like a fool. The image of Warne bowling round the wicket and Sachin cross hitting him for six to midwicket boundary will always remain in my mind.

2. 155 vs South Africa, Bloemfontien 2001.
This was the first time we saw him playing the cut shot above the wicket keeper and the slip cordon. South African pacemen had blown the Indian top order apart and it was left to Sachin and Sehwag to give the Indian innings some respect. Sachin's counter attack left the Proteas with no choice but to accept their fate. India lost that match after horrible performance in the second innings.

3. 76 and 65 vs Australia, Mumbai 2001.
I still remember Tony Greig's comment while Sachin was batting in the first innings. First there is Sachin Tendulkar, then there is day light and then there are the rest. What I liked the best about this innings was his incredible straight hitting. He hit Fleming for four boundries straight down the wicket. Till he was at the wicket, it looked like it would be a close match. But he got out and the Indian team collapsed like a deck of cards.

4. 136 vs Pakistan, Chennai 1999.
A year after Operation Warne Thrashing, Sachin was back in Chennai. India needed 271 in the fourth innings to win the test. Sachin was suffering from back pain the entire test match. With a painful back, he still scored 136 runs of the highest quality. Its a big shame that the last 3 Indian wickets couldnt score 17 runs between them. Their failure has prevented this innings to be one of the greatest the game has ever seen.

5. 169 vs South Africa, Cape Town 1997.
India again were in big big trouble when Sachin and Azhar made batting look very very easy during their partnership. Sachin looked all set for a double century when he fell to a once in a life time catch by Adam Bacher. It took that brilliance to get him out. Allan Donald came fuming in and Sachin just hit nonchalantly for four through the covers. Simply an amazing innings. His best as captain of the Indian team.

I missed some of his early centuries as I was too young then. But from what I hear, the one at Old Trafford as well as Perth and Johannesburg should definitely feature in this list.