Eat-Sleep-Railfanning 🔄 Repeat - Shankar Mehani

A Full Journey Compilation aboard one of the most popular trains of Indian Railways, the Deccan Queen express. The Deccan Queen has been in service for the past 85 years and has been one of the most favorite trains of commuters in the Mumbai Pune section. It is considered the pride of Central Railways, and is one of the finest, most punctual and well-maintained trains of India. The Deccan Queen Express is the only train in Indian Railways with a restaurant type Dining Car where one can sit and eat their food.
The Video covers the entire Journey of this train from Mumbai CST to Pune Jn. The 17 coach Deccan Queen Express passes through the scenic Bhor ghats and climbs...
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a height of almost 550m in a span of over 28kms, and for climbing the ghats, Banker locomotives are attached to the rear of the train at Karjat Jn. The Bankers assist all trains in this section which climb the Bhor Ghats and are detached at Lonavala. Prior to the charging of this entire route with AC current, WCG2 locomotives were doing the banker operations and were often seen with passenger and freight trains as well. Now WAG7 locomotives from Kalyan Shed perform the banker operations.
We depart from Mumbai CST at 17:10hours, right time from pf9. Kalyan WCAM3 21900 was the loco for our train. We departed among drizzles which gave us company all the way till Lonavala. One can see nearly extinct DC locals in the beginning of the video. These are no longer in service as now the Harbor line in which they were operating is charged with AC current. After crossing Masjid station, we pick up speed and rush towards Dadar. All suburban stations such as Dadar, Kurla, Ghatkopar, Thane were dispatched at MPS. Shunters were busy in Dadar and LTT with their task cut out to vacate the platforms of any arrivals and shunt the departures of the evening.
As we cruised past Thane, I caught a glimpse of another DC EMU rake stabled in one of the platforms. As we moved out, a late running Godan express headed towards LTT pulled in led by an offlink WAG5P from Vadodra (BRC) shed. Almost 6 on the clock, we skipped Kalyan; and I got a chance to taste the treats offered by the Queen’s pantry. We later explored the Dining car too.
Post Kalyan Jn., we diverted on the Southeast line towards Karjat. The Queen never slowed down at any place and with supreme command knocked on the doors of Karjat at half past 6. We were allowed into pf1 and our bankers came rolling down the mainline and got themselves coupled to the GSRD at the rear. As we departed, the Balaji express from Nagercoil rushed past led by WDG4 from KYN. Trains that descend the gradient don’t usually stop at Karjat with freights being the only exception, as they require the same banker locomotives to be coupled to the front of the train to act as ‘brakers’ to provide additional braking power.
The ghats were crossed in the twilight and it was a pleasant sight to the eyes of a first time traveler. The town of Khopoli in the base of the Sayadri ranges can be seen after we cross Monkey hill cabin. It is located in Khalapur taluk of Raigad district of Maharashtra. After a steady climb for about 45mins, we finally reached Lonavala where we said goodbye to the bankers, which would roll down the ghats for their next duty.
Lonavala also serves as a terminal for some local trains from Pune Jn. , which were spotted at regular intervals in the 64km stretch of Pune-Lonavala. Post Lonavala, it was a brisk run till Shivajinagar; our penultimate halt. After some crawling over the Sangam bridge, we finally reached Pune at 20:25, having covered the 191kms stretch of Mumbai-Pune in 3hours and 15mins.
Highlights of this video include the spotting EMD hauled trains like Udyan Express, Koyna express and Balaji Express; and the late running Howrah-Mumbai mail via Allahabad led by a WAP4 from Itarsi. Finally after reaching Pune, we spotted the Ahemdabad bound Duronto gearing up for its departure led by an AMUL WAP5 from BRC shed. A ride on the Queen is worth it any day of the year. The experience is a mesmerizing one. Definitely worth a try.
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