Trailing Window: A Journey into Rail History II

Ramarao Annavarapu

Feb 2023 · Notion Press

About this ebook

Ever since the invention of the steam engine generations of people have been fascinated by railways and its myriad images and sounds, the rhythmic puffing of the steam engine, the sound of trains negotiating curves or entering and emerging from tunnels, the sight of smoke billowing out of the chimney of the locomotive forming a cloud over the train and so on. The fascination has continued with steam traction yielding place to diesel and electric traction, entry of streamlined train sets, magnetic levitation, and bullet trains. Equally fascinating is the history of development of railways. Railway historians in general tend to focus on the technical aspects of construction and opening of lines and touch but briefly on events of interest from the point of view of the lay reader. Trailing Window – a Journey into Rail History turns the spotlight on the socio-economic considerations that led the British to construct railways in India, the effect of the Indian Mutiny, the diversion of railway resources in the War effort in 1914-18, the tragic death of the Agent of EIR, etc., all in an engaging narrative.

About the author

Ramarao Annavarapu was born in Guntur AP and educated in Nagpur, Maharastra. After teaching for three years, he joined the Indian Railways Traffic Service and worked in different capacities on the Indian Railways. He retired as Chief Operations Manager, Eastern Railway, Kolkata in 1991. He has visited several countries including USA, UK, Europe, Nepal, Singapore, Indonesia, and Ghana. Ramarao started writing while working for the railways and published several articles on varied subjects, including the translation of poems and songs of Rabindranath Tagore and others. He has published three collections of short stories, two books on railway history and his autobiography titled Between the Lines – A Railman’s Journey.