NAIROBI RAILWAY MUSEUM - NAIROBI KENYA

Railways of any country hold a romance of their own. I have been a railway freak right from my child hood. I remember spending hours and hours on weekends at remote railway sidings and crossings. Specially many of my child hood nights have been spent listening to the eerie wails of the steam locos in the 50's as they gathered speed leaving Meerut Cantonment station. The whistles changing tones due to the Doppler effect, speeding on to either Delhi or Amritsar, hauling the Flying Queen, Frontier Mail or the Dehradun Express. The special goods locos had their distinct and harsh split whistles. I am 62 now but still nostalgically remember the thrill of those bygone days. I try to make it a point to travel by train in which ever country I happen to visit. My most memorable travel was by the Reunification Express (SE-3) from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam (2 nights and 2 days), so also from Singapore to Butterworth (Malaysia). Each rail road, country by country has its own smells, noises, the different type of clatter as the wheels cross the points and amazingly different whistles and the different rythms of coaches speeding on the tracks . The design of carriages, food enroute, the livery and off course the people. Ahh...  amazingly charming and thrilling.

Kenya Railways represents the historical growth of that country and Nairobi Railway Museum narrates the tale of the country’s evolvement, indeed it is the rail that developed Kenya to the country it is now! The Nairobi Railway Museum provides answers to many unanswered questions concerning the early history of the railway and Kenya’s development.

The Nairobi Railway Museum was opened in 1971, and much of the credit for its foundation goes to the first Curator, Mr. Fred Jordan, who had been with the railways in East Africa from 1927. Nairobi Railway Museum consists of four sections, the Main Gallery (collection of smaller items), the Museum Resource Center (library and photographic section), the auditorium and an outdoor collection of locomotives, coaches and wagons.

The Resource Centre is priceless to railway historians and researchers. It contains old railway records, correspondence and books on the construction of the Railways right from the planning stage. Here you find items of more general interest to the railway enthusiast. One end wall displays various company crests, which themselves trace the history of the railways in East Africa: the Uganda Railway, 1896; Tanganyika Railways, 1919; Kenya and Uganda Railway, 1926; East Africa Railways, 1969 and the most recent, Kenya Railways, 1978.

On the opposite end wall you will find originals of the blueprints of the arrangements made to take the railway construction materials down the steep escarpment into the Great Rift Valley, west of Nairobi. Four wire-rope inclines were built, two of which had a gradient of 1 in 1. These arrangements allowed the construction of the line to proceed along the floor of the Rift Valley at the same time as the difficult permanent descent into the valley was being built. The wire-rope inclines were in use for 18 months, during which time 170 miles of track were laid beyond. 

Exhibits relating to track and bridge construction include lifting and traversing jacks, a cant gauge, and variety of old point levers including some which were first used in India. 

In connection with the control of traffic on the railway, which is single track throughout, there are tablet instruments, a line-clear staff, a pantaphone (or telephone), a ‘dak box’, used at each station for the safe-keeping of railway messages and telegrams. Of special interest to the steam enthusiast are items belonging to old locomotives, such as an oil-burning headlamp, a steam-operated bell, and a nameplate from a Governor or 60 class Garrat. A very unusual item is a bench seat which could be fitted to the locomotive footplate above the cowcatcher to allow distinguished travelers on the line an unsurpassed view of East Africa’s scenery and wildlife. 

Among such visitors were the former American President Theodore Roosevelt and the Prince of Wales. The museum is located to the right side end of the present Nairobi Railway Station. I leave it to the reader to Identify the steam locos in the pictures.

Railway	Number	Name	Manufacturer	Class	Wheel arrangement	EAR&H number	Status
Kenya-Uganda Railway	327		Vulcan Foundry	ED1	2-6-2T	EAR 1127	Display
	87	Karamoja	Beyer-Peacock	EC3	4-8-4+4-8-4	EAR 5711	Display
	2401		Vulcan Foundry	EB3	4-8-0		Display
	2409		Vulcan Foundry	EB3	4-8-0		Operational
	5505		Beyer-Peacock	GB	4-8-2+2-8-4		Display
	393		Nasmyth Wilson	EE	2-6-4T	EAR 1003	Display
Tanganyika Railway	301		Beyer Peacock	DL	4-8-0	EAR 2301	Display
East African Railways	2921	Masai of Kenya	North British	Tribal	2-8-2		Display
	3020	Nyaturu	North British	Tribal	2-8-4		Operational
	3123	Bavuma	Vulcan Foundry	Tribal	2-8-4		Display
	5918	Mount Gelai	Beyer-Peacock	Mountain	4-8-2+2-8-4		Operational
	5930	Mount Shengena	Beyer-Peacock	Mountain	4-8-2+2-8-4		Display
	6006	Sir Harold MacMichael	Société Franco-Belge	Governor	4-8-2+2-8-4		Display
Magadi Soda Company		Hugh F Marriott	W.G. Bagnall		0-4-0ST		Display

This is a must see as I felt it made me understand the psychology of the country better. Plus it was wonderful to see the old steam locos, some of which were in use in India,  during my childhood. In fact being an Army officers brat we traveled a lot in the days of steam locos hauling our trains.

TRAVEL AND HOLIDAY...TADOBA - ANDHARI TIGER RESERVE... road trip all alone in my Indica. She did not let me down as always….

TADOBA - ANDHARI TIGER RESERVE

Often referred to as "The Jewel of Vidharba", the Tadoba National Park lies in the district of Chandrapur in the north-eastern part of Maharashtra, India.
Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve  Chandrapur District, Maharashtra, India. It includes Tadoba National Park and Andhari Wildlife Sanctuary. Maharashtra's oldest National Park created in 1955, the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve is also one of India's 28 “Project Tiger” Reserves. 

The National  Park is 623 km² in area, consisting of two forested rectangles of the Tadoba and Andhari range. 

Along with more than 50 tigers, Tadoba Tiger Reserve is a home for rare Indian wildlife such as Leopards, Sloth Bears, Gaur, Nilgai, Wild Dogs, Hyenas, Civet and Jungle cats, and three species of Indian deer - Sambar, Cheetal and Barking Deer. The Tadoba lake sustains the Marsh Crocodile, which were once common all over Maharashtra.

Tadoba is also an ornithologist's paradise with a varied diversity of birds, aquatic birdlife, and Raptors. Thickly clad hills form the north and western boundary of the Tiger Reserve. To the southwest is a huge lake, which acts as buffer in between the Park Forest and the extensive farmland extending right up to the Irai Lake. Tadoba Tiger Reserve is open throughout the year less June 30 to mid September, the rainy season. The park remains closed every Tuesday.

Located in the heart of a reserved forest, it is an infinite treasure trove of innumerable species of trees and plants - and wildlife that includes tigers, panthers, sloth bears, hyenas, jackals, wild dogs, bison, barking deer, nilgai, sambar, and cheatal.

Tadoba National Park and Andhari Wildlife Santuary together form the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve. The park derives its name from "Taru" the local deity, whereas the Andhari river that meanders through the forest gives the sanctuary its name.

Flora: Teak, Ain, Bija, Dhaoda, Bamboo, Haldu, Arjun, Tendu, Salai, Jamun, Mahua.

Fauna: Tiger, Leopard, Sloth bear, Wild dog, Jackal, Sambar, Indian Bison, Barking Deer, Blue Bull, Spotted Deer, Chausingha, Ratel, Flying Squirrel, Wild Boar, Langur.

Tadoba reserve covers the Chimur Hills, and the Andhari sanctuary covers Moharli and Kolsa ranges. It’s bounded on the northern and the western side by densely forested hills. The two forested rectangles are formed of Tadoba and Andhari range. The south part of the park is less hilly, and on the south-west side, it’s flanked by Tadoba Lake. The lake offers a perfect habitat for crocodiles to thrive.

Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve is the pristine and unique eco-system situated in the Chandrapur district of the Maharashtra State of India. The Reserve contains some of the best of forest tracks and endowed with rich biodiversity. It is famous for its natural heritage. Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve is the second Tiger Reserve in the State.

Conservation History
Tadoba-Andhari Tiger reserve was created in 1995. The area of the Reserve is 625.40 sq. km. This includes Tadoba National Park, created in 1955 with an area of 116.55 sq. km. and Andhari Wildlife Sanctuary created in 1986 with an area of 508.85 sq. km. The Reserve is constituted with 577.96 sq. km. Reserve Forest, 32.51 sq. km. Protected Forest and 14.93 sq. km. other areas.

Protection is most important management input in the Reserve. A novel method of protecting the forest with the help of tribal youth from the six villages within the andhari Sanctuary has been initiated. Fifteen patrolling parties have been formed in which along with the field staff, 3 village protection force volunteers have been assigned the job of daily patrolling the Tadoba-andhari Tiger Reserve and help in curbing all illegal activities. These volunteers are kept for a maximum of three months for which wages are given as per available grants. However, after three months fresh young tribal are taken as members of the village protection force so that all the families of the six villages get some wages for their livelihood and feel a sense of responsibility for protection of the Reserve.

Best season

The park is open to visitors throughout the year except during the monsoon months where it is closed from 30 June to mid September. Animals are best seen from February to May. Vegetation and insect life is at its best with the onset of rains in June. Due to the dense growth of plants and grasses, animals are not easily sighted in this season.

Winter lasts from November to February and is one of the best times for a visit. Day temperatures range between 25⁰-30⁰C and the park is pleasantly green. It is best to avoid a visit at the end of December since the winter session of the State Government will be on at Nagpur and with officials and politicians thronging the place, bookings may be a problem.

Summers are unbearably hot in Tadoba, with day temperatures rising sometimes to 47⁰ C. However, it is the ideal time to view mammals near water sources, as vegetation is also scarce, enhancing visibility. The monsoon breaks in June with rainfall of about 1,275 mm. and humidity at about 66 per cent.

The park is open for visitors throughout the year less July to mid September. Excursions are permitted only by daylight i.e. sunrise to sunset. Official guides are compulsory for all excursions. The best times to visit are early mornings and late afternoons.

Accommodation

Rest houses, dormitories and tents are available. Besides the guest houses at Tadoba, there is also a holiday home with three family blocks and a youth hostel with a dormitory of 36 beds. The tourist complex is located on the banks of the lake, in the midst of thick forests. Refreshments and meals are available on prior intimation at the canteen.

I stayed at Royal Tiger Resort which I found to be excellent. The rooms were Air-conditioned, the bathrooms clean and the food though simple was wholesome and very tasty .  I must also mention that the staff was also very helpful and courteous. The biggest problem is one cannot book Jeep safaris on line. Means you have to physically present yourself to book the safaris 7 days in advance which is obviously not practical. In fact I had booked the MTDC Guest house for 2 nights on line, yet I had to cancel my reservation as there was no way for me to book the 3 jeep safaris (they don’t do it) from Pune . So I booked with the Royal Tiger Resort who also arranged the entry permits and the safari geeps for my 3 safaris. 6 to 10 AM (2 times) and 3 to 6.30 PM (once). I hired the full vehicle at Rs 3600 per safari. I did 3 safaris which I found more than adequate. Here is the number of Royal Tiger resort for quick reference -  09881717818.  Mr Dhananjay Bapat is the owner of the resort. I would recommend this place whole heartdly.

Transport

By Air: Nagpur airport is 205 km. away via Chandrapur; 140 km. via Chimur. Taxis are available from Railway station or the airport for Tadoba. You can book these on line or the Royal Tiger resort arranges everything on request. Be prepared to pay around Rs. 2000 plus for drop as they charge for the round trip.

By Rail: The nearest railhead is Chandrapur, 45 km. from the park.

By Road: You may enter the park from the Moharli or via Chimur. State transport buses ply from Chandrapur. Taxis and Jeeps from Nagpur or Chandrapur are other options. Chandrapur is 45 km. from the park; Chimur is 32 km. away. I traveled by my private car from Pune.

Here are some pictures of my road trip to Tadoba from Pune via Ambajogai, Yevatmal, Vani and Chandrapur and return. Plus off course, pictures in the reserve. I was lucky to have sighted some wild dogs, the tiger off course and some rare birds. I say I was lucky because I ventured to Tadoba in mid June during the monsoons and the park was scheduled to close in just a few days time. I thoroughly enjoyed my journey to Tadoba as well as my stay out there. I highly recommend this trip. Some pictures can be viewed here. Please copy and paste link in browser.

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Simple things are sometimes amazingly effective to keep fit and healthy............

HOW TO STAY POSITIVE IN A TOUGH WORK ENVIRONMENT………..

 

Bullets that hit you:

(a)   You can’t help how other people behave can you?

(b)   Neither can you help much about your environment.

(c)    You can change your "Negative world view" or how you perceive the world.

(d)   Change is the only permanent thing in your life, yet it hurts.

(e)   Past experiences:  "don’t carry the extra burden" or you will never be happy.

(f)    Don't determine results, for eg: if you work hard you will get a raise or a promotion.

You must realize that  your thinking leads to emotions, emotions lead to internal and external effects on your physical being. The internal effects may be harmful to you leading to psychosomatic illnesses or they could lead to joy depending upon your thinking which generates emotions. The external effects too could be joyful or harmful. So also they build up attitude. Behaviour is learnt so you can unlearn that by a change in your thinking.

External actions may be giving a slap (negative) or giving a hug (positive). 
Emotions you cannot control but thinking you can. Always remember that. When we say count to ten when you are angry, it means we are only controlling the external violent manifestation of anger. You have not stopped being angry, that is out of your control.
Change your thinking and all will be well.

     


Never ever think that you have become a lowly clerk and your brother is an engineer because your father could not afford a second set of college fees for you and you keep blaming him all the time. You are responsible because you could have worked harder and got a scholar ship or anything. If you discard such thinking in all matters and take responsibility for who you are, what you have and what you do, you will reach the stars.

This is the most important lesson:

(a)   Values are something which are universally accepted. Truthfulness, honesty, Integrity, Timeliness and things like that. Other things which are not universally accepted :

(i)     Like we can achieve salvation through only so and so god. My god etc etc.

(ii)   Wearing only certain type of clothes is permissible. To give an example: If in an Indian village a foreigner, a girl, enters wearing shorts, the villagers might stone her, or hand her over to the police for indecency. The villagers cannot accept this clothing because they are experiencing a cultural binding, although by no means it will be called indecent in her country. A host of other things which are not values they are religious, cultural and social bindings. These can lead to extreme joylessness.

(b)   Check and take control, are your values really values? Or are they a part of learned behaviours? Meaning are they religious, Social and cultural bindings?

(c)    Ownership. If you take ownership of everything of that you do, then you will perform 100 percent and always be joyful. Do you switch off lights and AC when you leave your bed room and your house? Do you keep your house clean by yourself and are not ashamed to wield a broom? Then why do you not bother about your office lights or AC being left switched on when you leave? Why do you expect the cleaners to keep your office clean when you leave it dirty at the end of the day? Because the office does not belong to you, it is "not mine". OWNERSHIP IS THE KEY.

(d)   Take ownership of everything you interact with, even the roads you drive on, the malls you visit and everything around you, you will find yourself always joyful.

(e)   Mission: Unless you have a mission and well defined objectives in life you will never be able to give your best for whatever you attempt. To do that you require Discipline.

If you observe the world logically and not through your own world view (Your glasses of perception) there will be lesser conflicts as it helps changing your thinking, about events, the environment and behaviour of people.

ANIMALS "REACT" TO CIRCUMSTANCES HUMANS "RESPOND"

(a)   You fling away a dinner plate because there is too much salt in your meal. You yell at your wife and ask her is this how your mother taught you to cook? Do you have choices when you respond? 

(b)   Yes you have choices. You realize that your wife too has had a hard day at office. So you can eat with the excess salt. Or you can ask her to add a bit of water to dilute the gravy or you can ask her to serve bread and egg instead. So you have choices.

(c)    Change your thinking. Such circumstances will keep coming up all the time in your daily life. At home with children, relatives, at your place of work. Learn to respond with choices and not react like an animal.

The way to change. Using the analogy of learning to drive.

(a)   You do not know if you can drive even an auto gear vehicle. This is unconscious incompetence. So it is with your behaviour. You do not know how you behave and how people respond to it.

(b)   Now you get in the car and it jumps and stalls when you try to drive. Now you know "I really cannot drive" Conscious incompetence. So when you really observe how people actually look at you and respond, when you behave in a particular way and try to analyze the good and bad, this is now being conscious of your behavior. Conscious incompetencies.

(c)    You join a driving school and learn to drive. You get your license. Yet when a child is crossing on the road a 100 meters ahead of you, you have to think should I apply my brakes or should I bring up my gear from 4 to 3 too. Same is the case of your behaviour patterns when you start thinking before you react. This is conscious competence.

(d)   Now you drive perfectly well without having to think about the child crossing the road, you automatically apply your brakes just so and bring your car up from 4 to 3, all the time talking to your co-passenger. Your behaviour too has changed to responsive and you do not even know it. Unconscious competence. The new you 

If you really look and think about the point about saying something, you will realize that 90 times out of a 100 you will not be required to open your mouth at all !!

                             HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY