Children take a joyride on locomotive

NAGPUR: On Friday morning, the members of Nagpur For Kids Club (NFKC) got a chance to enter the driver’s cabin of the locomotive of Ajni-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) Express. Accompanied by the pump driver and master craftsmen, the kids started the engine with the power button and thus began a way-out ride in the oscillating cabin.
During the club’s visit to the Central Railway’s diesel loco shed at Ajni, the kids not only learnt about the functioning of a train’s engine but also saw how drivers and assistant drivers run the loco.The tour started with Nagpur Central Railway’s senior section engineer B Pramanik briefing kids about the loco shed. The club members were amazed to know that after the armed forces, railway is the second largest consumer of diesel. “A diesel engine has so much power that it is capable of providing electricity to a small village. The diesel used in locos is costlier as compared to the normal diesel,” said Pramanik.
Senior section engineer P Padmarao informed kids that the speed of the diesel loco differs depending upon the load it is carrying. “The loco is not linked to any particular station. Instead, it is linked to trains. It takes about two to four hours to attend to a loco,” he told the kids. He added that 26 employees are appointed at the Ajni loco shed. The employees patiently answered the questions asked by the club members.
After the kids had cleared all their doubts about the functioning of the loco shed, they were taken inside the loco and shown different parts like the radiator room, driver’s cabin, water pump and much more. The high point of the visit was when they were given a chance to handle the controlling system under the supervision of master craftsmen VN Sonone and pump driver Tejmal Ramprasad. They got an exclusive ride in the loco during which they kept pressing the horn and saw how the driver changes speed of the train.
Ten-year-old Sakshi Yawalkar, whose father is a railway driver, said this was the first time she stepped inside a train’s loco. “I always wondered what my father’s workplace looks like but today I got a chance to see it. I realize how difficult and challenging his job is,” she added.
Aryan Pendharkar, 13, was happy with the amicable attitude of the employees. “They answered all our queries and gave us detailed information about everything. There were no restrictions and we were free to ask about anything and discover different parts of the loco. The trip was very resourceful and unique,” he said.
The visit was very different as kids otherwise would never get a chance to see a loco shed. It was more interesting as kids always get attracted to various mediums of transport.