Last train on DC power on Western Railway, Mumbai

Last DC power EMU train on Bombay's Western Rly

Spot the cake with candles saying 84. (DC locals were introduced in 1928--84 years ago)

The pantograph and the motor coach

The old signages and Jessop windows

The power horn 

The motor coach, once again

Bowing out of Churchgate station, for ever...

The ceremonial board

The model of an older rake at the exhibition on the occasion.

Masts of Bombay's first electric being removed

Masts of the first electric railway in Bombay being dismantled and removed. The masts have original seals of the first railway company, a few of which have been saved at heritage gallery at Victoria Terminus. They are being upgraded for a period of almost 90 years. The railway power mode in the city is being upgraded from DC to AC for faster trains and saving power.

British-era lever-frame signal cabin now history

Last few hand-operated lever frame railway signal cabins pulled down

Published: Saturday, Oct 22, 2011, 10:00 IST

By Rajendra Aklekar | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

One of the last few hand-operated lever frame railway signal cabins near Dadar railway station was pulled down last week.

Such cabins were inseparable part of the Bombay railways when tracks were changed to divert trains.

Called Dadar South Cabin, the structure belonging to the Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway (now called Western Railway) had also featured and documented in a number of railway heritage books and journals. The Dadar South Cabin was pulled down as it had become weak and could have posed danger to commuters in passing trains. “The Dadar South Cabin was crucial one as Dadar was one of the main interchange points between WR and CR," a retired official said.

The railways in Mumbai were the first ones in South East Asia and all the equipment used were brought by the sea route in steamers from London. “Early signaling in India was supplied from the UK. Many wayside stations were signaled in a style more associated with European practice,” John Hinson, railway signaling historian based in the UK said.

Sources said with technological advancements in signaling and power supply, old lever-frame signal boxes are fast vanishing from the railways in Mumbai. “Only a handful of lever-frame signal boxes remain along the running lines today, though a few functional ones continue to slog along some lesser-known sidings and railway yards. Hand-operated levers can still be found at yards like CST, Dadar, Kalyan, Bandra and also along the old stretches of the port trust line,'' an official said.

The signal boxes were modelled on the British Railway signaling systems and the one at Andheri and Elphinstone Road were based on the London, Midland & Scottish Railway in Britain, with the track layout painted in white on a black background and manufactured by the Railway Signal Company in the UK. A similar signal box originally manufactured by Westinghouse Company of UK was also found at Kurla till recently.

Century-old rail footover bridge in Mumbai may be history

One of the city's oldest railway foot overbridges, built as far back as 1904 over the country's oldest line and recommended by the Heritage Society to be included in the civic heritage list, is being pulled down.

The 2.44 metre-wide stone structure, according to records, is the oldest existing bridge on the Central Railway between Mumbai and Kalyan. Railway officials said that the bridge was being upgraded and will not be demolished completely.

The demolition comes days after the country's oldest rail bridge at Thane is set to get flanked by structures on either side, hiding it from public view.

Made with chiselled stone blocks, the bridge has a number of antique features like gas lamp pillars, balustrades in decorative iron work and inscriptions stating that the iron pillars and girders had been imported from England and Scotland.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) Heritage Society had in its revised list recommended that Kurla station and this stone foot overbridge (FOB) be awarded heritage status.

The pedestrian FOB is situated between Kurla and Sion towards the eastern side of the station on Sarveshwar Mandir Road and was a first-of-its-kind construction in Mumbai with conservationists recommending it as a Grade-III structure. The bridge connects the old Kurla West area with Swadeshi Mills.

However, BMC's senior heritage conservation engineer Abhay J Sabnis said that the bridge falls under the jurisdiction of the railways. Railway officials said that the bridge was being upgraded and strengthened so that it can continue to be used in the future.

Vanishing railway signal boxes

With technological advancements in signalling and traction, old lever-frame signal boxes are fast vanishing from the railways in Mumbai. These are vital railway heritage relics of Mumbai. Here are the remains of the old Dadar South Cabin.

(Below) A view of a lever-frame abandoned cabin at Dadar in Bombay

Only a handful of lever-frame signal boxes remain along the running lines today, though a few functional ones continue to slog along some lesser-known sidings and railway yards. Hand-operated levers can still be found at yards like CST, Dadar, Kalyan, Bandra and also along the old stretches of the port trust line.