The Trusty Old Monk with the Sheshadri Express

Arakkonan electric loco shed’s trusted oldie WAM4 #21255 goes past Baiyyappanahalli with the 17209 Bangalore – Kakinada Town Sheshadri Express on an olvercast, cloudy day, and it started drizzling as soon as the train disappeared beyond the starter signal. The Old Monk (how WAM4s are fondly known) will haul the train all the way until Vijayawada, from where a diesel will take over. WAM4s are the oldest electric locomotives currently in service in India, and all those wrinkles on their face show their age, hence the name Old Monk. But still they still pack a solid punch and still can give the WAP4 and WAP7 youngsters a run for their money! Renowned crawler 16566 Mangalore – Yeshwantpur (via Kerala, TN) was standing on PF1 for a long time for no apparent reason.