MISCELLANY

BOSTON, USA

Not many are aware that there are 16 towns called ‘Boston’ in the United States. For the uninitiated, these are located in the states of New York, Virginia, Tennessee, Ohio, Montana, Missouri, Louisiana, Kentucky, Connecticut, Arkansas, Alabama, Texas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. Oh! I almost forgot. There’s one in Massachusetts as well.

Also, there is a Boston in England, perhaps the granddaddy of all the Bostons in the USA.

RAIL TRAVEL IN INDIA - 50 YEARS AGO

The younger generation in India today may not be aware that, at the time of independence, there were four classes of travel in the Indian railway system. These were First, Second, Inter and Third. There was a strict caste system in place, the lower class passengers being made to use different entrances and exits from the upper class ones.

The Indian Railways decided to provide sleeping berths to third class passengers for the first time in September, 1954. Before taking this decision, the Government sent a three-man delegation on a two-month study tour of European railway systems. Based on their recommendations, sleepers were first introduced on long distance trains.

Another decision taken by the railways at about the same time was the abolition of separate entrances and exits at railway stations for third and upper class passengers.