A Surprise from Karl Lobo again

Folks, KARL LOBO is back again, with a letter and this very interesting picture to share with us showing his paternal grandfather, Mr. Lobo, with his family at a station. Note the MSM on the carriage in the background. Brings back memories of Madras and Southern Mahratta days, doesn't it ? Thanks very much Karl, you are an inseparable part of this website by now !!
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By the way, don't miss reading Karl's posts below ; they are classics. There are two of them really, The Railway Heritage of Kurduwadi, and A Gift from Karl & Melanie Lobo. Just scroll down below skipping over a few posts and you will find them -- I am not addding any stupid links here for those who want to save themselves the trouble of searching.
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Dear Mr Bhalerao,
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Since you asked me particularly for B & W photographs, I located this one in my paternal Grand father's collection. Am not sure of the date. But it seems to have been taken in the 1930s or 1940s. The coaches seem to be made of wood. I think this photograph was taken at Bombay.
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He was working with WIMCO (Western India Match Company) as Match wood inspector. This was originally a Swedish company. His job was transferable and as a result involved a great deal of travel. He had to visit forest areas to select trees to be used for matchwood. The family would accompany him on long postings. Some of these were at Lahore, Baramulla, Bareilly, The Andaman & Nicobar islands. He was so well travelled that he knew most station masters by name and in small towns, after a long day's work, he would head back to the station which was the only place of some “action”.
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This picture was taken when they were heading out on one of their postings.
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Yours sincerely,
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KARL
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Picture Courtesy of Karl Lobo

The railway heritage of Bombay

Here are a few more articles sent in by RAJENDRA AKLEKAR, which appeared in the Hindustan Times. Thanks a ton, Raj, your writings show that other than being a true rail heritage buff, you are also a transport reporter and journalist !!

Secrets of the Matheran Light Railway

Rajendra Aklekar is back again, this time with a superb article on the Matheran Light Railway. Click on the picture to the right, boys.
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It is good to bear in mind that everything that Raj has to say to us is authentic stuff. He's a senior journalist with the Hindustan Times, remember?

The railway heritage of Kurduwadi

Here a few more pictures, all in colour, taken by KARL LOBO during his trip to the Kurduwadi area where his grand-dad, Mr Walter Tresslor, worked in the Carriage and Wagon Workshop. A nostalgic reminder for those who long for the sight, sound and smell of the long forgotten Barsi Light Railway with its tiny engines and line of equally tiny red carriages!!
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The very first picture at the top shows a pretty little church in the Kurduwadi Railway Colony. This is Christ Church, dedicated by the Venerable C. M. Barham, Archdeacon of Bombay on the 15th of July 1918. This heritage structure stood for nearly 80 years before it needed reconstruction and plastering which was taken in hand in 1996. Below you have a picture of the Kurduwadi cemetery which can be seen to be in a state of total disrepair. Just think of the many railwaymen who might have been laid to rest
here. . . . is there any record ? They came, they served, and then they were gone, forgotten
forever. A lucky few, like Walter Tresslor have left behind a trace, and it makes me feel so glad his grandson Karl has been good enough to provide us with details.
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Karl and Melanie's trip to Kurduwadi has been a fruitful one, and they have brought back pictures from the Workshops where Mr. Tresslor served. One such picture below shows a narrow gauge model steam locomotive made at the workshop. This is followed by a image of the old narrow gauge Kurduwadi station, and below that, a shot of the Kurduwadi broad gauge station on Central Railway.
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Old timers will remember that the Barsi Light Railway ran from Miraj to Latur, with stops at Kurduwadi, Pandharpur, and several other places. Approaching Kurduwadi from Miraj, the narrow gauge track passed over a fly-over crossing the BG line, then took a sweeping turn before the train finally arrived at the tiny Narrow Gauge station lying parallel to the BG platform. I wonder what the configuration is now, as so many things seem to have changed in recent years.
--Pictures Courtesy of Karl & Melanie Lobo

A Gift from Karl & Melanie Lobo (Part I)

There's some good news for you folks. You won't believe me, Karl and Melanie Lobo have brought along a gift hamper for us all. It consists of a set of pictures taken in places where Karl's grand-dad Mr. Walter Tresslor worked on the railways here in India. Now if you haven't read as yet about Walter, you had better do so now. Turn to the post below titled A Letter from Karl Lobo. Mr. Tresslor was first at the Moghulpura Workshops in Lahore as you will see, and later, after partition, opted to relocate to India. Here he served as Carriage & Wagon Foreman at the Kurduwadi Workshops of the Barsi Light Railway.
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Karl's gift to us is a set of ten lovely pictures from old and long forgotten albums showing the place where Mr Tresslor worked, as well as shots of the railway colony where he lived. It is all so very charming !!
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Unfortunately I am unable to maintain the captions in the proper place in relation to the pictures which follow, so you will find these picture headings all listed together at the beginning. Many, many thanks to Karl and Melanie for a truly grand post !!
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Picture Captions:
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1) Republic Day at Kurduwadi, Central Railway
2) Celebrations at Carriage & Wagon Workshops, Kurduwadi
3) At the Carrige & Wagon Workshops at Kurduwadi
4) Mrs Tresslor with two officers wives outside their railway bungalow at Kurduwadi
5) At the Senior Staff Institute in Kurduwadi

A Gift from Karl & Melanie Lobo (Part II)

Continuing with the superb pictures which KARL LOBO has sent us, we have a second post featuring another set of shots from Walter Tresslor's times. All priceless, of course. Sometimes I wonder why we didn't discover Karl earlier. . . His contribution has made all the difference to this webpage changing it from a struggling, amateurish blog to something that really conveys the flavour of the Railways of the Raj. As before, picture captions will be found listed together at the beginning.
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1) The Silver Arrow Train (read more about this in Karl's letter below)
2) Backside of picture showing Silver Arrow train
3) Medical Van at Kurduwadi
4) Inspecting the Medical Van at Kurduwadi
5) Note explaining the Inside of the Medical Van
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