Mumbai: Adrian Eric Baldrey belongs to a dying breed: the last motorman on the Mumbai suburban railway network who is an Anglo-Indian , the community that once ran the Indian Railways.

Baldrey's father Eric George Baldrey was a mail driver on the Bhusaval route, his grandfather George Singleton Baldrey a mail driver on the steam locomotives. Both worked for the Great Indian Peninsular Railway. Baldrey's brothers work in technical maintenance at the locomotive sheds and his father-in-law was a rail driver in the Jhansi division . Like his, other Anglo-Indian families held responsible positions in the gigantic railway system and some of them had surnames which reflected their vocation, such as Caboose (a guard's van).

V Anand, former Southern Railway general manager, wrote an article on the occasion of the National Anglo Indian Railway Convention in 2003, praising the community for their skills as locomotive drivers. He said their pride and workmanship was incomparable . "It is sad that with the migration of Anglo-Indians to Canada and Australia, their numbers have dwindled. Everyone has only pleasant things to say about this society . In fact, I have never met a dishonest Anglo,'' he says.

Baldrey's earliest memories are of the railway quarters at Bhusaval, a far cry from his 1BHK apartment in Kalyan which he shares with his mother and brother's family. "Our cottage in Bhusaval was beautiful. We had a farm with 30 goats, fowl, geese and orchards with the tastiest mangoes and plums. Mum really misses those days. She compares our flat here to matchboxes ,'' he says with a dreamy look in his green-grey eyes. "We lived at D2-44 . My oldest sister got married from that house. The grey cottage with its high ceiling and skylights, huge rooms and halls, chimney and fireplace is etched in my memory.''

Growing up amidst railway officers and their tales of adventure , it was hardly surprising that Baldrey was fascinated by trains. To quench his curiosity, he accompanied his father on many of his trips. "I was around 14 years old but had the advantage of good height and build,'' says the motorman who is over 6 ft tall. With his strapping physique, beard and shock of hair he cuts quite a figure. "I used to disguise myself as a fireman by tying the customary handkerchief around my head or donning a felt cap,'' he says with a mischievous grin.

Hanging around with dad was an education in itself since Baldrey's father had a chance to operate all three types of trains: steam, diesel, and during the last five years of his career , electric rakes. "Dad had his own steam engine with his name engraved on a plate,'' says the 56-year-old bachelor who has himself has an impressive 34-year career behind him. He started out as an assistant driver in 1974, graduated to a goods train driver and for the last 19 years has been a suburban motorman.

A Mumbai motorman's job can be brutal. "The first time I ran over a woman was when I was an assistant driver,'' he says. "I was on the Lonavla-Pune track when I saw a middle-aged woman crossing at the bend. I honked and blew the whistle but... ''

He continues, "Like every other motorman, I cleared the tracks with my bare hands out of respect for the dead. Accidents are a job hazard and with time you get seasoned. But there are days when an old memory can still make me lose my appetite.''

That's when Baldrey turns to M Desa, senior loco inspector , who counsels motormen going through stress and mild trauma. "People don't understand why a train is late and always think it's the motorman's fault. I am Baldrey's friend, philosopher and guide, both in his personal and professional life,'' says Desa, who was once a motorman himself.

Baldrey has many tales to tell. He animatedly describes how he saved a life by accurate judgment and shudders when he describes the 26/7 deluge when he was chest deep in water for two days but refused to leave his rake.

"I survived on water, vada pav and biscuits,'' he says. "There are good days, there are bad days and there are great days. We take it as it comes. All I can say is that my life has been an adventurous journey and I have enjoyed the ride.''

Contact: Ken Baldry for more information, 17 Gerrard Road, Islington, London N1 8AY
+44(0)20 7359 6294 but best to e-mail him or, for matters pertaini1g to this page, e-mail Adrienne
URL: http://www.baldry.org.uk/pp/h29.html Last revised31/10/2015
Copyright ©Adrienne Hall 2006-2009, Diana Macfadyen 2008-2015, Tahra Smith, Carol Walker,
Paul Donovan, Vanessa Baldrey, Ann Bagnell 2008-2012, Ruth Bagnell 2015 & Peter Baldrey 2014