THE UDARATA MENIKE – THE MAID OF THE MISTS by Bernard VanCuylenburg.

THE UDARATA MENIKE – THE MAID OF THE MISTS

by Bernard VanCuylenburg.

Source: By Kalpabas at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18876727

My Dad was on Carolina Group, Watawala for 28 years, and before he retired, he planted in Bandarawela for four years. Carolina was a huge estate of 2330 acres. By a topographical twist of fate, the railway line from Colombo to Badulla ran  through one of the divisions of Carolina Group called Mt.Jean. In fact  the Watawala  railway station was located on Mt.Jean division, and on land which was owned by the Carolina Tea Company Limited. 

Our bungalow on Kadawella division was some distance from the railway track, but each day around 1.30 pm. we could hear the sound of the horn and the throbbing hum of the diesel locomotive as the ” Udarata  Menike” or “The Maid of the Mists” as I refer to her in this article, slided on ribbons of steel on her onward journey uphill amidst spectacular landscape on the way to Badulla.The blast of the horn would echo through the green hills and in the solitude of an estate bungalow it was a reassuring comforting sound. When the “Udarata Menike” was first introduced in 1954 it was powered by two British diesel locomotives. Before this, the train to  Badulla was hauled by two steam engines which meant getting flecks of coal in one’s eye, when looking out of the window !  And with the puffs of smoke blowing all over, the journey was not very  pleasant. The introduction of diesel changed all that. A new set of carriages were hitched onto the diesel locomotives on her maiden run, and the ‘Maid of the Mists’ became a maid in splendour.

The icing on the cake was the gift  of twelve Canadian diesel locomotives under the Colombo Plan in the late 50’s –  an outright gift from the Canadian government under the premiership of Louis Lester St.Laurent. These diesels were a joy to behold, and I still remember the names of some of them,  plated on either side of the locomotive in gleaming silver and blue. They were “Alberta” “Montreal” “Sasketchwan” “Prince Edward Island” “Manitoba” “Ontario” and “Vancouver”. Out went the British locomotives  – at  least on the up-country line, and these  were replaced by the workhorses from Canada. I later picked up some trivia  about the Canadian locomotives. The distances they covered in Canada were at times over a thousand miles, and apparently the distance from Colombo to Badulla was insufficient for such high powered diesels of 2500 horse  power. Even after the “Menike” reached Badulla  around 6.20 pm each evening, the locomotive had to be kept  running for  a few hours after that, though the journey had ended !

Apparently, one locomotive could  provide electricity for an entire town !  After Dad went to Bandarawela, I used to travel by the “Udarata  Menike” several times whenever I came to Colombo, and the return journey was one which I always anticipated with joy. It was not the train per se but the incredible journey, and the terrain of the track. In the the low country from Colombo to Rambukkana it was a smooth even run. But when the train reached Kadugannawa the climb began, and if you sat on the right and dared to look out of the window when the train skirted the ridge called  “Sensation Rock” you risked a nervous breakdown because a thousand feet below, you could see the roofs of thatched village houses  and expanses of paddy fields  – all in miniature. To quote the lines of a poem “It was a  vision splendid….” but there was no protective barrier  along this length of track and the train was travelling on the edge of a sheer precipice ! Once this  nerve shattering climb was negotiated, the terrain evened out to a level run up to Gampola and Nawalapitiya. It was past Nawalapitiya that the real torturous climb began all the way to Nanuoya and from there to a spot on the track between  Ambawela and Pattipola which is the highest point on the up country railway. After this it was ‘downhill’ all  the way in the plains of Uva to the terminus at Badulla. 

  On one of these journeys I happened to be in the compartment right up front behind the locomotive, and a very friendly guard  took me into his section of the compartment from where I could see the driver in his cabin and observe this Canadian power horse in action. I was introduced to the driver, Mr.Wadugodapitiya an old Trinitian, and a senior driver in the Ceylon Government Railways. It was he who gave me the  trivia on the Canadian diesels which I quoted earlier.

I have done many trips by train in other countries and can say with confidence that the journey from Colombo to Badulla should be classed as one of the great train journeys of  the world. Apart from the spectacular scenery through which the  track goes through, specially in the hill country, just consider the near impossible gradient which the train traverses…….In fact there is a place called “Soda Bottle” bend for reasons unknown on the line between Kotagala and Great Western which is an engineering marvel. So steep is the gradient that at a certain point on looking out of the window if one is seated on the right side of the train, one can see the  railway track in two tiers below –  a graphic indication of the steep gradient on which  the track has been constructed. 

 And then there is the engineering masterpiece of the  Demodera loop ! Once the train leaves Demodera station  (two halts before Badulla) it goes full circle and at one stage passes right under the station which it has just left, on its way to Badulla ! Imagine leaving a station and then after about five minutes looking out of the window – or rather, looking up  – to find the station you just left is right above you !! Talk about the realms of fantasy ! It  is a matter of regret that the name of the engineer who devised this masterpiece has not been recorded for posterity. On the return trip past Nanuoya, you  get a panoramic view of Adam’s Peak in the distance –  weather permitting –  until you reach Talawakelle. At  Nanuoya  –  and this is addressed to old Anthonians in particular  –  there is a little hill near the station, with a neat  little bungalow on its summit. This was the home of Freddy,  Paddy, Gerry, and Merry Guneratne when their Dad  Alec Guneratne – an old Anthonian and legendary soccer star of a  bygone era – was stationed in Nanuoya during his  service  with the Ceylon Government Railways. I once walked  with  Royston and Basil Hyde from their home on Scrubbs  Estate,  Nuwaraeliya to the Guneratne home at Nanuoya  – a  distance of four miles. We were entertained with cordon bleu home  made  delicacies by  Paddy’s Mum   – it is still a warm  memory  that never  fades and sparks nostalgia for a happy time and place in a land far away  which we once called ‘home’.

But I digress, so I should get back on track. From Ohiya station upto Haputale, the track seems to defy gravity ! It is cut on the side of a mountain and runs on the edge of a  precipice with heart stopping views of the little villages far down below. It is a hair raising experience which I term as death defying ! You have to sit on the left of the compartment to leave your hair standing on all ends ! If  you suffer from vertigo and wish to play it safe, sit on the right and all you will see is the side of a  cliff. But seated on the left, the scenery which greets the traveller will live in memory forever. A panorama of deep valleys, green hills and lush countryside where nature has run riot with her paintbrush painting the land in colours of every hue……This kalaidescope of nature’s bounty penetrates your very soul to inspire and nurture the spirit……..It  is a photographer’s delight and an artists  paradise……..and the bracing mountain air  gives one a  near supernatural sense of  well being. The scenery on this entire journey is a nature lover’s delight, from the  lush hills on the Kadugannawa  climb right up to Nawalapitiya, and then the beautiful  tea country all the way to Nanuoya. There were no luxury compartments, only 1st, 2nd and 3rd class, and an excellent Restaurant Car staffed by uniformed waiters. The  catering was done by U.K.Edmund. For Rs.1.50 you could enjoy a delicious rice and curry and the tea they served was the nectar of the Gods. There was no Observation Car.

Once the maid of the mists enters the low country in the  Uva plains, the locomotive  changes key  – to use a musical idiom  – to a soft  contended hum which one could call  a purr of satisfaction similar to a cat expressing its  delight and being petted or stroked.  But only the most avid railway buff with a sensitive ear will fine tune his or her antenna to detect this  contended throb emanating from the locomotive which until this point in the journey, has worked its heart out hauling the lovely maid through the mountainous terrain.

I think the “Udarata menike” today is powered by a  German Henschel  locomotive and hauls Rumanian carriages. In my humble  opinion the Henschel diesel does not in any way, shape or form look as sleek, majestic and inspiring as her Canadian counterpart. During my last visit to Sri Lanka  in 2000, I was pleased to see some of the Canadian  locomotives still riding the rails. On a trip from Haputale to Colombo in the “Udarata Menike” we crossed the  “Podi Menike” the younger sister of the “Udarata Menike” which I  observed was hauled by a Canadian diesel, the  “Montreal” which I remembered from those boyhood days of  yesteryear.

With that I shall conclude this story of up country rail. But the “Menike” – or “The Maid of the Mists” as I prefer to call her will forever travel the corners of our minds in the realms of memory, on a journey that has no end.

Bernard VanCuylenburg.

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