Two of India’s Old Electric Warhorses!
Two old electric warhorses of the Indian Railways coupled together (MU-ed) wait their turn to carry on with their duties at KR Puram Railway Station, Bangalore. Battered and bruised from their long years of hauling heavy freights across the country, the WAG5A #23129 and WAG5 #23083 locomotives (engines) both belong to the Arakkonam (AJJ) electric loco shed today. Note their old Maroon livery, which was the color of all trains in India until 1996. Maroon color is usually used to denote vaccum-braked rakes, though these two are air-braked. Only the 23083 is live, the other one is switched off, panto down.
The 4360 hp engined dedicated freight hauling WAG5s and variants revolutionized electric traction in Indian Railways and were the ones which put India on electric wheels. They are the most successful electric locomotives in India, with 1200 of them produced since they were introduced in 1988, and most are still going strong!
