This was the first FarRail trip which took place after steam on the JiTong line came to an end. Although we had to change our original plans because of Chinese New Years holidays on some systems, we never felt that we are too late for exciting steam operation. There is still plenty to see and to do. Although the density of steam- hauled trains we had on the JiTong line is over (except at the open cast mines like Jalai Nuer and Sandaoling), we never had the feeling that it would be not worth it to go to China anymore. It is well worth another trip and you'll be rewarded with plenty of good shots and video sequences.
Generally we found that more coal mines have dropped their production or even closed for a long New Years holiday than ever before. In addition with the difficult ticket situation (overcrowded trains on almost all main lines) it would be best to avoid this period of the winter season for travelling.
No news is good news on this beautiful narrow gauge railway. Business as usual and no rumours about closing the line. For further information please check out my previous reports.
Locomotives in service:
The open cast mine is still a highlight of this fascinating north China system. Beside the open cast pit there are several deep mines which are linked by a railway. The two deep mines north of the open cast pit, Tiebei and Lutiankuang, have a very limited output, so most of the coal is transported by truck now. Southeast of the open cast mine are the two deep mines Lingbei, and further south Lingchuan. Lingchuan is the name of an area which includes a power station and the Sanxiejing deep mine. In Sanxiejing they use self-discharging wagons which are only in use on the line between the mine and the power plant. Obviously they have their own locomotive there which is not going to the open cast mine. The traffic between Lingbei and Lingchuan to Dongfanghong, the coal washery north of the open cast mine, is limited. Anyhow, there are nice shots with houses possible and it is worthwhile to ask when trains are on this line. On this section the super-SY is in use: SY 1416 with high smoke deflectors and a read star in front of the chimney.
In the open cast mine the traffic is unchanged. The passenger timetable has changed a bit, according to the changed track layout. Several stops are now non-existent as the tracks have been removed in recent months. The once regular steam hauled empty from the office station to Nanzhan (actually it's station 510, station 583, which is called "office station" as well, was out of use during our visit), is pushed in more then 70 % of all cases now. So you have a tender-first hauled train from Nanzhan to 510, and a pushed train back. Although this is a big loss there are still hundreds of good opportunities for fine photos. Sometimes they even do not bring the empty passenger stock (two coaches) back to Nanzhan. They just park it at 510 station and use it for the late afternoon train.
There have been reported problems for photographers recently. If you arrange your trip via CITS (China International Travel Service) or just speak to the friendly manager, Mr. Li, before you go down into the pit you have nothing to fear. But, I have to mention that the police may have another opinion once they become aware of you. Even if the manager agreed to a visit, he can't control the police. I met friends there who stayed six days without any talk with any officials, and they had no problems at all. Seems to be just bad luck to ran into a police post.
In two days we saw almost 30 SYs in use which makes this one of the busiest steam lines in China.
Baotou is one of the last steelworks with a remarkable fleet of SYs. Baosteel, the company, is one of the largest steel producers in the world. Because prices for steel grew rapidly in the last two years, they have had sufficient money to continue to dieselise their railway network. At the moment, Baotou is still really worth a visit. They want to replace all steam locos by 2008. 19 SYs were listed on the depot's blackboard to be under steam (and we saw most of them during our visit).
The visitor's permit is limited to a few places only. Unfortunately, the roller plant and its shunting yard are off limits. However, access to the slag tips is permitted, and these are very dramatic places for photography. They have three active tipping areas at the moment. It's somewhat difficult to find out which slag tip will see the next train. As steel demand is still at a peak level you don´t have to wait too long for a train.
The following locomotives have been seen or have been listed on the blackboard:
*oou = Out of Use
This desert line seems to be the last one with a worthwhile QJ operation. Although they have two diesel locomotives already, we saw five steam locomotives in use. During our visit only one diesel loco was in use on two days out of three. The traffic level is higher now than ever before. The additional traffic comes from the new mine at Yangshangwan. There are about two trains to the new mine a day.
They realised that fuel costs for the diesels are remarkable compared to the almost free available coal for the steam locomotives. That's why they will use their QJs as long as possible. Anyhow, as they will not get a further overhaul their remaining time is limited. Railway officials said that they'll take the last QJ out of service in the beginning of 2007. The cosmetic condition of the QJs is not very good any more, but the technical condition of these locomotives is still ok.
Some of the railway officials do not like photographers at their stations any more. They said this was because of security reasons (this is a very common excuse these days). You are not allowed to approach the station area. As it is no problem to walk across the busy shunting yard of Pingdingshan for example, in Guyaozi they find it even too dangerous to let you on the platform. So visiting Guyaozi station is not advisable. As the station (as well as the loco shed) is really not worth a picture, it is not a real problem. The station at Daba is in a restricted area. Another group was arrested there. Whether or not a travel permit for this area is available, I don't know. There are too many exciting photo positions on the line to spend time at the boring stations.
If you haven't read the earlier reports, here is some information which has been given before: the best photo positions are the long bridge over the yellow river, between Lingwu and Guyaozi (sand dunes, mountains, one concrete bridge, cuttings) and the sand dunes close to Yangshangwan. There is no road access between Lingwu and Guyaozi but some small pathwaways are heading down to the railway. Several good positions require a walk for 500 to 1,500 meters. It is difficult to chase trains, at least if you are interested in good photo positions. There are pairs of good positions which you can make with one uphill train, for example the Yellow River bridge and the sand dunes just before Guyaozi. Sometimes the QJs have to stop beyond the big bridge and have to have a boil up. In this case you can easily catch the train a second time as it takes them some 15 minutes to do so. But this is a rare occurrence.
A few months ago there was a report about Nanpiao with frustrating news. However, we cannot confirm this bad outlook. Nanpiao is still a very good system for steam operations. It is not at its best in mid-winter because several passenger trains are running when it is dark, but from end the of February to early November it is well worth a visit. You may be unlucky and see three of the "ancient" and very rare BJ diesels in use, but chances for steam passengers and even steam-hauled freights are not too bad. If the technical condition of the BJ is similar to their filthy outside shape, one has to wonder how they are still in service. The SYs give a much more reliable impression to me.
They have no plans (maybe no money) for buying additional diesels in the near future. So the situation for steam/diesel might remain unchanged for several months. Consider going there if you are in the area!
Locomotives seen in use:
We had great luck on the day of our visit as the morning passenger train was steam hauled due to maintenance of the diesel. We saw more freight traffic than before, all steam operated. The system was very active because of the approaching New Years break. The situation will get worse very soon as the railway officials plan to purchase a second diesel in June 2006. Dieselisation should by completed in 2007.
Locomotives seen in use:
On our visit the focus was on the old Japanese electric locomotives. They still have 11 of these pre-revolution locos in use. They are still in the maintenance plan and several have been given heavy overhauls recently. The Japanese locos are numbered 10xx, 11xx and 12xx, the other numbers given below are more or less modern locomotives. We also saw some SYs in service, but only four remained in use. We could grab one number only, as the visibility in the open cast mine was very limited (because of industrial fog as usual in China) and we were too lazy to go down in the pit.
The Japanese railcar was not in use any more. We saw only Chinese built railcars on this trip. They introduced a new passenger timetable and now there is a long break between the morning trains and the afternoon trains.
Access to the repair shop was refused because a new boss doesn't like the idea of having photographers in there. Anyhow, with a helpful guide you can enter the workshop and take some shots. The workers are friendly and do not care about the policy of the new boss. Train movements are somewhat unpredictable. We asked at one of the control offices about the next train movements. They told us it would take some 40 minutes. Just as we went down from the control office they got a telephone call, and just three minutes late an old electric passed by with a train. Another 20 minutes later we got another train and finally, 40 minutes later the expected train passed by. The old electrics are used in the open cast pit as well. Anyhow, most trains we saw there had a more modern locomotive.
We noticed the following locomotives:
Electric locos:
Electric railcars
Apparently the power plant bought one of the Japanese locomotives for internal use. From a distance we spotted the loco "04", similar to type 12xx. We didn't check the details.
As usual, the steelworks do not issue permits to visitors, but. from a nearby level crossing you can make shots with the four blast furnace in the background. The level crossing itself is worth a visit. Although they bought a diesel recently this area is far from the levels of development China has made in recent years. Fushun is a grim city, polluted, dirty and filthy as most of the cities are with heavy industries in China. They produce the economic grow, but their inhabitants do not benefit from it. They have to live in a terrible environment and risk their health. New diesel locos don't help to improve the overall conditions. As long as no real efforts are made to ban the pollution from the unfiltered industrial chimneys, the exhaust of a small SY is just nothing.
We saw four SY's in use and could photograph and grab the numbers of three:
Only three steam locos are left in passenger service. One DFH 3 was used for passenger trains as well. From April 2006 on they want to use four steam locos for the passenger trains. The Faku line was diesel because the water facilities were frozen. All freight movements are diesel now, including the shunting operation. The recently overhauled YJ 2-6-2 was in the shed under repair. As far as I know this is the only one of this type still in use in China. They will use it for the passenger trains along with the SYs from April 2006 again. There is no date when they want to dieselise the passenger trains. They already have sufficient diesel locomotives to replace steam, but it would cost the company about three times the price for fuel and other costs to use diesel instead of steam on the passenger trains.
The loco depot was refurbished. You don't expect such a clean and well maintianed workshop in the middle of China! All out of service(dumped) steam locomotives have a shelter to protect them from the weather. The house for these locos has been decorated with huge posters of their steam locos with slogans like "powerful", "majestic" and "eruptible". In the shed area and even on the platforms of Diaobingshan they put some small steam loco "models", each with a number, red wheels, black boiler and cab. In addition in the station Diaobingshan the main station on the system they mounted plates with slogans like "Prohibit to spit everywhere". And: a steam booking office has been established as well. You can book your charter train with KD6, SY or YJ here with a notice of one day in advance only. Prices start from 8000 RMB (= 840 Euro).
We have never found this system so busy before. Five JS were in use. Unfortunately, the good days will be over all too soon. In mid-2006 they want to buy their first diesel locomotive, and by 2008 they want to replace all steam locomotives by diesels – and by conveyor belt systems. After the first attempt at using a conveyor belt system failed, they started another trial. They still have no fixed date when the conveyor belt will be put in use, but the railway employees expect this about the end of 2006. When the conveyor belt is working to their satisfaction they will close the steep branch to the northern mine.
Seen in service:
Seen from the train to Yinchuan: Beside several diesel locomotives we could see three SYs under steam. One of them was SY 1219 in good external condition.
There is much ore here than we knew about. BUT, it is not advisable to try to explore the unknown lines! Everyone should be totally happy that the Chinese allow us to visit one of their lines (with much photographic potential).
The company was established in 1954 and has no real name. It is called "Factory 805". For foreign trades they use the name "Baiyin Nonferrous Metals Group". This company rules the whole area, and is much bigger than anyone could imagine. The railway they own is just a small part of a huge operation. Imagine what is going on there: they own four deep mines of which one is some 400 km away from Baiyin (in Chengxian), four smelters, two concentrators, one power plant, three kinder gardens, 13 primary schools, five high schools , two hotels and so on. About 400.000 employees working for this company. Beside aluminium, lead and zinc, they process copper and last but least, about tree tons of gold and 100 tons silver per year. This alone would be a reason to keep foreigners out of the area, but there is more.
Not only Factory 805 is using steam locomotives on own lines, but there are two other companies. And one of them is actually not a company, but the People's Army. All the sulphuric acid which is carried in the yellow tank wagons is a hint that there must be more. There is also another line which seems to belong to the army, one that is going to the south. The station, 8 km from Baiyin Gongsi, is at a lead and zinc (or baixite-aluminium? - sorry, I have forgotten) mine. The Chinese name is Xinluchang. The reaction from our local guide as I told him this name gave a clear message: "there is no such place in this area!" Ahhh - they have Aluminium smelters, they have led and zinc smelters – but there is no mine? I guess that he is not allowed to tell us that this mine is not only bringing out harmless metals, but there must be more and therefore it is totally restricted. The other, more interesting line is going in a northern direction. The stations are called Huoyaoku (km 15) and Kuangshan (km 36). Huoyaoku means gunpowder. This is probably the line which is ruled by the army. Our local guide told us that he did not know these places. I assume this is true – because only Chinese with a special authorization are allowed to go there. So it is very ill-advised to go their on your own. The traffic on this line seems to be limited. The workers I asked (and I got the information from – our local guide wouldn't tell us) said about every third day there is a train.
The other company with steam has just been formed. They still have no trading name. Details are not know yet.
These locomotives belong to the "Factory 805" for sure as they have been shown on the daily duty blackboard.
In addition we saw:
These two locomotives are probably from the other two companies.
Pictures from the Kuangsan electric narrow gauge:
If they have not had serious problems with their new diesel locomotive, January 21st and 22nd will have been the last steam trains to Haishiwan (these were operated on request). At the moment the state railway still accepts steam-hauled trains running into their station but the situation may change soon. Although some of their SYs are freshly overhauled, they will buy another diesel in mid-2006. With these two diesels they can handle almost all the traffic. They want to get rid of steam soon.
The other company in Tiehejing (other sources call it Nanlingcheng) has no traffic at all as the business is very bad. One of their regular sources of income is to pull trains for the power plant from Yaojie to Jinsheping. They have about seven locomotives, so you can imagine how dense the traffic of the scenic lines was in busier times. Fortunately they have no plans to buy a diesel locomotive. So steam will linger on in Yaojie.
Locomotives seen in use:
They had already started the New Years holiday when we visited, but in mid-February they'll return to work with two locomotives.
Everything at the mine was in a very sad shape; even the roof of one part of the loco shed was broken and the dumped locos in there where snow-covered. They have four serviceable steam locomotives left, of which two are in daily use. Coal production is on a very low level, but still going on. At the end of February they'll purchase their first diesel locomotive. By the end of 2006 they want to buy a second one which will mark the end of steam.
The depot is able to make heavy overhauls.
The shunting yard is somewhat scenic with coal bunker and a pedestrian bridge. It seems to be necessary to have a permit for visiting, but the permit is easy to obtain, so you should invest some minutes in advanced to avoid trouble.
Locomotives seen:
The Xin'an Group Co. owns several mines of which Shisi is the largest. This mine has four QJs and a recently purchased DF7. The DF 7 handles all the line service over the partly scenic line to the state railway near Miaotou. The line is 17 km long. Steam was found in use for shunting operations and as stand by power. The companies name on the diesel loco was Yimeijituan.
Please check out my previous report, for this most interesting narrow gauge survivor. The situation is unchanged. They started their New Years break just at sunset on the day we left the line. Three C2 locos were in use. The number 04 is a bit of guesswork as it was almost unreadable on the locomotive.
Locos in use:
The brickworks closed for a long New Years break because of an over supply of bricks. There have been huge piles of unsold bricks at the works.
The railway has only two locomotives left:
The manager told us that the line will continue in use at least until the New Years break in 2007. He was not sure about the future of the line (and the whole brickworks) after 2007.
Although some recent reports didn't really recommend going to Pingdingshan. We found the system still well worth a visit. Where in the world you can enjoy a sunrise with ten locos under steam in the depot? There are only a few places left, and Pingdingshan is one of them. All together we observed 21 steam locos and four diesel locomotives in use. We found no changes from previous reports except that the use of the diesel locomotives is unpredictable. During our stay they used the diesels mainly for short distance services (to mines 1, 2, 7 and 13.)
Almost all steam traffic was handled by the JS class 2-8-2s. The QJs were under steam but only as stand by in case a diesel failed. The deflectorless QJ served the line to Yüzhou. The staff expect to use of the QJs until 2008. These QJs looked really shabby while the JS are in rather good condition.
Although Pingdingshan bought several new diesels, they still haven't found a class which fits their requirements perfectly. They have bought one GK3B, one DF7G and two DF10D so far. They will buy at least two more diesels in 2006.
Steam locos seen:
Diesel locomotives seen:
This company owns two SYs, of which one was overhauled at the end of 2005. They use it only two to three times a week.
A final shot from the last working QJs Daba - Guyaozi:
