I traveled a lot in this train in its ICF form. No AC Economy or First Class then. I don't think 'Soro' was a halt then originally either, though I could be wrong. They also had Shikohabad as stoppage back then for no reason. Good thing to see it has been removed. Ticket booking in this train is a strain though; as the only train connecting LKO to Puri, it has a lot of demand. Government should really look for an alternate train to Puri or extend the Ayodhya one to GTNR atleast.
It...
more... was really fun to see the train crossing the Banaras bridge at night. It had 3 loco changes then. One at LKO NR from electric to diesel, one at MGS from diesel to electric [ both rendered moot now that the section is electrified] and a loco reversal at KGP. Few trains bothered to go to Hijli then. I think Kalinga Utkal was one of the first trains to utilize Hijli as an alternat station to KGP.
Slowly, many trains including this and BBS Rajdhani as well bypassed KGP thus removing the need of Loco reversal.