Roland: Nicely written but IMHO some artisitic licence taken a bit too liberally.
"It was as if they wanted to leave their footprint on the Indian landscape much after they were gone . . ." The British had no intention of leaving India. re: Canadian railways "Every mile of track that the Chinese built had the blood of three of their men. Taken by tigers and animals while working in broad daylight,. . . " Tigers in Canada? Canadain trains vs Indian trains I have travelled on both. The rail cars in Canada are better but the rails they ride on are not. Indian rails, I feel, are much better laid and allow for faster speeds. Regards Tim de Mello ---------------------------------------- > Date: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 19:07:45 -0700 > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Subject: [Goanet] The Joy of the Journey > > There was a time when long distance travel on the Indian Railways was an > event to be looked forward to. If British achievement in India was to be > measured on only one criterion, it would be the the excellent network of > railways they built. Often sacrificing shorter routes and therefore lower > track laying costs, British engineers and rail planners opted for the scenic > and more costly equivalents instead. It was as if they wanted to leave their > footprint on the Indian landscape much after they were gone and to ensure > that their mark on rural India would never be easily forgotten. > > Rolling stock was built in the finest English foundries, and locomotives bore > the name of Sir Roger Lumley a British general from an illustrious noble > family and an Indophile. Railway cars sported brass and fine teak wood and > lavatories were cleaned, burnished and sanitized as often as was needed and > at least more than three or four times during a single trip, even if not > called for, by the Indian complement. > > Anglo Indians and Goans kept on-time operations smooth and almost faultless. > Farmers needed no clocks or time pieces, since they could better rely on the > passing of the Cooch-Behar Mail or the Trichinopoly Express for that. > Starting to work from the age of 17 or 18 as lower rung assistant drivers on > coal locomotives whose duties were ceaselessly stoking the furnace in the > hottest temperatures and summer ambience of the Deccan plains, they climbed > the ladder to drivers, divisional chiefs, general managers and even members > of the Railway Board. In those high positions they knew what they were > talking about and what was needed to improve it. During its heyday, the > Indian Railways was a model of comfort, efficiency and operating success for > any country contemplating building of their own rail network. > > Looking at it today, you could hardly imagine that what exists in the present > form would have degenerated so much as to make it impossible to imagine what > it once was. But to people who have lived through it, the vision blurs as if > from a clear sun of a crispy noon to a heavy rain and mist laden dusky > evening. But one can say that of India as a whole. > > The Canadian rail system was built on the Indian model magnified larger than > life so as to cover the enormously wider areas. Financed by Scottish bankers > and laid by Chinese coolie labor, its mighty reach makes up for the network > of many independent lines that colonial India laid. Every mile of track that > the Chinese built had the blood of three of their men. Taken by tigers and > animals while working in broad daylight, they sweated and worked to a man > with little pay except the reward of making the new land their home. > > Its a joy to ride on the VIA Rail extending from Atlantic Canada through > Quebec and Ontario through to the Prairies and to the Rockies and the > Pacific. The seats are infinitely more comfortable than those on an > international airline. The first class is not much better than the economy > which is a compliment to the economy standard, not an insult to the first. A > regular Canadian railway car has all the comfort that an Indian Maharajah > Express or the Palace on Wheels and better service to boot. Its almost like > British colonial India travel with all the modern technology included. > > Roland. > Toronto.
