When I first proposed to write an article on railfanning, the editorial board of Natural Selections reacted in a manner that was half-way between hilarity and incredulity. After my desperate attempts to enlighten the board members that railfanning was more romantic than standing at a subway platform and watching trains zip by, I began to wonder if an open confession of my love for trains was a good idea. Fortunately, this happens to be the April issue—a majority of the readers may just assume that this is an April fools’ joke.

Photo courtesy of John Lacey, IRFCA

The Indian Railways (IR) cast a spell on me at a very young age and I have been a railfan ever since. Even today, a train ride always brings back fond memories of childhood trips between Delhi and Chennai. The 32-hour, ~1350 mile long journey between these two metropolises was an annual family ritual. On these trips, the window seat was my perennial haunt as the train proceeded from the northern plains through the Vindhya mountain range and the Deccan plateau to the eastern coast and finally to its destination in the South. I was especially fond of the mountainous sections, with the train disappearing into tunnels and emerging amidst verdant surroundings. In fact, I was perfectly happy with the train running behind schedule as was often the case. To put it simply, IR rocked, both in the literal and colloquial sense of the word.

The Indian Railways, along with the English language and the game of cricket, is one of the biggest legacies of the British rule in India. Apart from being one of the largest railway networks under a single management, it is also famous for being the largest commercial employer in the world, with an estimated 1.6 million employees and many more living off of it. It would not be an overstatement to call the railways the lifeline of India. The railways also provide a rich metaphor for life in India in general. The cultural diversity, the disparity between the privileged and the less-privileged, the petty corruption, and the sheer fortitude and enterprise of the people: all of these can be witnessed in a typical train journey. For the uninitiated, a train journey may prove to be the quintessential Indian experience: colorful, crowded, chaotic. Long train journeys in India are rarely dull: strangers become friends as passengers strike conversations with one another, food and drink (non-alcoholic beverages only) are aplenty with a relentless stream of vendors moving along the aisles, and perhaps most importantly, there is never a shortage of opinion on the reasons for the train being late.

The study of trains, or more precisely, locomotives, is referred to by the rather glorious name of Ferroequinology. Ferroequinologists are a rare lot, which explains why Ferroequinology has not yet made it into the English dictionary. Yet there is enough enthusiasm for trains to support dedicated railfanning communities and websites. There is an active Indian railfan community which goes by the name of IRFCA (Indian Railway Fan Club Association, www.irfca.org). IRFCA was formed in 1989 after what may be succinctly described as a fortuitous meeting of minds in a newsgroup discussion back in the days when the Internet was largely restricted to academic institutions. Over the years, the group has expanded by leaps and bounds and now has over 3,000 members.

IRFCA is a motley group of people passionate about trains. What all IRFCAns share is a limitless appetite for idiosyncrasies in the procedures and day-to-day operations of IR. With the bureaucratic way of management it inherited from the British, a mixture of antiquated and modern equipment, and with the necessity of dealing with the vagaries of Indian climate (torrential rains, foggy winters, hot summers), IR is full of operational quirks. Little wonder that it invites the adulation of a diverse audience. Amongst the ranks of IRFCA, there are timetable buffs, signaling aficionados (many would profess an affection for the quaint semaphore signals), diehard fans of diesel locos, equally ardent fans of electric traction, and people with other distinctive preferences. The older members invariably harbor a nostalgic feeling for the good old steam days (IR has essentially phased out steam locomotives).

This enthusiasm and affection for IR led to the organization of the first IRFCA conference on February 26, 2006 in the city of Pune (about 100 miles east of Mumbai). While I could not attend the conference, I did participate in a get-together of IRFCAns in the New York area. The get-together was generously hosted by one of the long-time members to coincide with the monumental occasion of the first conference. For the first time in my life, I was in a social event where I could talk about trains without being apologetic or being dismissed as crazy. In fact, I felt overwhelmed as I found myself in the company of people who had traveled more extensively on IR and were more knowledgeable about train operations. Nevertheless, I had a great time as we talked about trains and reminisced about great travel experiences on IR. We all concurred that while IR may not have the fastest or the most comfortable trains, there is still something charming about a train ride in India that makes it unique.

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