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!!.
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