Adarki, again!

A trip report:

What? Adarki again! pretty much sums up my Mom's reaction when I broke to her the plans of yet another trip to Adarki, located 109 KM from Pune on the Pune-Satara route. Both my previous trips to the place had been primarily railfanning trips, but this time it was the calmness of the valley that urged me to go there. So, a plan was hatched and 2 of my friends were to join me on what would be a fitting way to recharge after the hectic work-week.

So, Sunday morning saw the 3 of us at Pune's PF.2 waiting to board the 1609A Pune-Satara Passenger. A freshly painted Pune's WDM3A was in charge of the 410 tonne 9 car passenger, this loco., as the Assistant LP mentioned, would be the link for the Kolhapur-Mumbai Sahyadri Express later that day. Shortly after the appointed hour we pulled out of Pune.The journey was marked by excellent chilly weather and a complete lack of traffic enroute. Save for the beautiful sunrise at Saswad Road, the scenic curvacious route and the last remnants of the token system (yes! it exists but not for too long), the rest of the journey was pretty uneventful in terms of trainspotting.

Breakfast comprised of Sandwiches picked up from Comesom (Pune Station) and some Wadas (Medu and Batata) bought at Nira. At 10:10 AM, we pulled into Adarki and surprise! a crossing lay in store for us. The hillock facing the Adarki station seemed pretty inviting as a good vantage point to capture the crossing, and we wasted no time in climbing it. Halfway up the hillock, we settled for a good view of the action that would soon follow. The Assistant LP of the 1609A had predicted the crossing of the Pune bound 1610 Passenger, but it wasn't to be. The characteristic sound of the horn easily gave away the approaching WDG4. Shortly, the freight train appeared, and doing about 40 KMPH, it crossed the stationary passenger. It was a pleasure to see the GM loco. take on the horse shoe curve and the still silence of the valley ensured that the passing train could be clearly heard from far away. Soon, the passenger made its usual smoky start from Adarki, and silence descended upon the valley again.

We now began our 10 KM walk to Wathar, from where we were to catch the Pune bound Koyna express in about 2 Hrs time. The sun beat down heavily upon us but the scenic route made us forget the heat. On our way, we spotted remnants of the old MG line, and also noticed that the Semaphores had been torn down recently and were strewn all over on the ground. Semaphore signalling seems to have died in this section. At the 111 KM mark, yet another characteristic sound of a horn warned us of an Approaching WDG4, and sure, it came along, this time moving faster and looking smart in its Green livery. Next, we found ourself crossing the 158 metre long tunnel and then into the rock cuttings. The 1610 passenger was due any moment now. I was reminded of how 5 among us were trapped in the tunnel on our 15th August trip. This time, no such thing happened.

Running really late, Guntakal's WDM2A crossed us with the passenger in tow, while we were passing through a longish rock cutting. The train approached us on a curve and the Loco. Pilot did not see us until very late, which prompted him to shout angrily at us as the train whizzed by. Soon we approached KM 116, the very same spot from where we opted for road transport to Wathar, on our Independence day trip. This time, we were going to walk our way to Wathar. Wathar war reached at 12:42 PM, exactly the same time as Koyna's departure is listed in the TT! Though, we were on time, the Koyna wasn't, and it gave us just enough time to purchase tickets for the return journey.

Wathar serves as a base kitchen for koyna, and about 20-25 lunches were loaded on to the train. We boarded a reserved Chair Car coach, and upgraded from our general seats by paying a fee of RS.15 per head, to the TTE. This seemed legal to me as we were given proper railway receipts for the amount paid. At 1.00 PM, the Kazipet WDM2A hauled Koyna pulled out of Wathar. The return journey was mostly spent in the pictures and videos from the trip and glancing over Samit's Atlas. The KOP bound Koyna was crossed at Rajewadi (insted of the usual place, Jejuri), and Pune was reached at 3.25 PM, marking an end to a refreshing Sunday trip.

Ashwin