Western Railway

Western Railway runs the narrow gauge diesel loco shed here in Pratapnagar. This is not your typical office job. It is a place where we maintain and repair the engines that run on the smaller tracks. The air is thick with the smell of grease and diesel fuel. It is a very industrial setting with a lot of heavy machinery and large tools lying around. We have a dedicated crew that works in shifts to keep the locomotives in good condition. The shed itself is a large, open structure that has been here for a long time. It gets very cold in the winter and quite dusty in the summer, but the men here are used to it. We do not have much in the way of comforts. There is a small area where we keep our logs and paperwork, but most of the activity happens out on the floor with the engines. It is hard, physical work that requires a lot of patience and skill. You cannot be afraid to get a bit dirty if you work here. Most of us have been doing this long enough that it is second nature. It is a bit like a community of mechanics and engineers who all know each other well. We do not really worry about the latest business trends. We just focus on the iron and the engines that need fixing today.