National Geographic: The Great Indian Railway Page #3

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And tastes do change from north to south

The food is

for a man it is very sufficient

It is comfortable

yes exactly it is more than sufficient

for one's capacity

It is given to us because here you have

rice and then dal

We call it the grains and then vegetables

Also, available then it is a full meal

for us

If there is a spirit of the railway

it is found in the thousands of small

stations

which have become part of the fabric of

Indian life

They are centers where everyone gathers

And those who can't afford to travel

will come just to watch the trains

The most impressive arrivals have always

been the broad gauge steam locomotive

lovingly called the "black Beauties"

They ride on the widest rails

and their wheels stand taller than a man

But their presence is now becoming rare

and those who grew up with them will

miss them the most

Black is beautiful

Our steam locos are our black beauties

We feel with the phasing

out of steam locos

as if we are doing away with

one of our

kit and kin

with whom we have blood relations

All throughout Eastern Railway

loco sheds are busy preparing their

engines for a Black Beauty Contest

It is a competition like no other

Only the best engines are entered

and to win the Black Beauty is

the highest honor a shed could have

Dhanbad, Rampur Hat, Sahibganj

Asansol, Jha Jha... five sheds hurry

to add the finishing touches

transforming these workhorses into

the beauties that they really are

This possibly should be the very last

Black Beauty Contest of Indian Railways

We mean to bring to you

the effect of the steam locos

when they were is their heydays

To show how they looked

How they worked

And for just one more time perhaps lived

and outlived the glory of those days

when the steam locos bore the burnt of

Indian Railways

The reason behind a Black Beauty Contest

remains very much valid today

because perhaps this is the last time

that we are going to be able to have such

a contest anywhere on the Indian Railways

perhaps in the rest of the world

like China and other

steam will continue

But on Indian Railways

the pressures of economics have forced us

to give up the lovable old monster of steam

With its lovable sound

and unique visual pleasure

which children loved

and therefore aspired to become

locomotive drivers when they grew up

It helps people to remember that

the steam has served a glorious era

from the old days

if you look back into the past

There is intense competition

amongst all those who have slaved

on these locomotives

these 10 competing locomotives

and therefore each one wants to

win the prize

Therefore the judges are under

intense scrutiny

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