Hogwats Express.

Yes its that same train that leads Harry and his gang to and from the now famed Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry every year. One couldn't have surely mistaken it for anything else - what with its scarlet red exterior and the words "Hogwarts Express" imprinted upon it in shiny gold letterings. So sets the setting for another splendid journey to the bewitching land of Hogwarts and the adventures that it conjoures up each and every time. And before I forget let us not forget our dear old Lord Voldemort (Oh shouldn't have said it before you). Somewhere way back in the past Mr. Tom Riddle as he would have been known then would have been pulled by this same engine. Come to think of it so would have so many of the others death eaters and as well as the ... well the ordinary folks. So what made this train appear in this blog? Because it is a steam engine? Well that could be one reason. But the greater reason why this particular engine is here is because I want to tell you through this just how much enchanting a steam engine really is.

Imagine yourself in the company of hundreds of young witches and wizards as this train chugs out of platform nine and three quaters and towards Hogsmead station. Exciting would be an understatement. And yet to build upon the same one requires something different from the regular marks of high technology. So no electric or diesel here or Magelev. But steam. Yes faithful, old steam power, just like Professor Dumbledore ordered. And it certainly not only retains its charms (pun intended) but also expands on it (pun intended). So before you think of a steam engine as dull think about Hogwarts Express.

Its Smoking!

The really good thing about steam locomotives is that they have a huge fan following, and I am not just talking about those men in white hair who sit back and relish their fondest menories upon those machines, but the younger generation as well. In India and across then world there exists numerous societies comprising of diehard steam locomotive enthusiasts who takes their weekends for working towards a better future for these machines. The joy that lies for them in restoring these gentle giants of the past is unsurpassable.I congratulate the Indian Steam Railway Society which is spear-heading the restoration of steam locomotives in India and is also associated in creating awareness for the masses regarding the heritage of the same.

Steam & Coal

Visits to the National rail Museum here in New Delhi, for a lunatic as I am is always a welcome change from the regular places most of us prefer to go instead. And yet often the place makes me sad insted of making me cheerfull in the company of aging steam locomotives displayed in all their splendor. I've though about it and here is the conclusion that I have reached.

In reality a steam locomotive is all about steel, more steel and even more steel. That is what form the core of the whole machinery for most of us. But for me the whole exercise is worthless with two key ingredients - water and coal. The reason I say so is because to watch a piece of machinery lying idle in a disregarded state is something that is not what quite impresses me. For the moment I am keeping aside my love for the old steam loco and concentrating more on what is missing in them. Yes so the ingredient that really makes up a steam engine is not tons of steel but tons of coal and water. To find the same missing makes me wish that they were actually present and someone, somehow could breathe life into them. For something so beautiful to lay in a state of comma is a disrespect to our understandings and idea of aesthetics. So this is why a visit to the National rail Museum makes me sad at times.