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Sandaoling coal mines are situated about 1.5 hours drive north-west of Hami on the line to Wulumuqi (Ürümqi), in western China. There are two independent coal mine companies. One operates a large open cast pit, the other two deep mines (Beiquan Yijing and Erjing = Beiquan Number One mine and Number Two mine). A special railway department that owns three JS (probably JS 8353, 8358 and 8399) is responsible for the railway connection to and from the state railway station in Liushuquan and the two deep mines. These three JS run chimney first from Liushuquan to Sandaoling Nanzhan and from Beiquan Yijing to Sandaoling Nanzhan. This is through very dry and generally flat desert country. All other operation at the mines is normally tender first with the exception of some service trains.
The Sandaoling open cast pit owns more than 30 steam locomotives (see the list below), mainly class JS. The locomotives are used by two different departments: for coal and overburden transport, and for the service trains. The open cast pit is served by push-pull-trains. Trains normally comprise one JS engine that is coupled with the chimney to the wagons and eleven wagons. The last wagon has a guard's compartment with semaphore signalling equipment. In case the train is to be pushed the guard opens the semaphore in a similar way to a stationary semaphore. Service trains for track replacement, track maintenance and excavator repair do not have a guards compartment wagon or a caboose. Some of these trains are powered by chimney first locomotives. However, they can wait for hours in one position without any movement, so it is very hard to get shots of chimney first trains in the open cast pit.
The size of the open cast pit is 7 x 1.6 km and 175 metres deep. The annual output is 2 billion tons of coal. The remaining coal is sufficient for more than 20 years. There are no plans to replace steam by diesel or electric locos. We were told by an official that they will use steam for at least ten more years. As they have to send locomotives over more than 1,500 km for overhaul (to Tianshui, beyond Lanzhou) they are planning to establish their own workshop where they can carry out heavy overhauls.
The main stations of the open cast pit are Nanzhan, Dongbolizhan and Xibolizhan. Between Dongbolizhan and Xibolizhan a regular passenger service is operated with two or three box cars and one JS (tender first). In Wintertime, the 9.20 am train is the only steam hauled passenger train which is running in daylight.
| 08.40 | 20.40 | Dongbolizhan | 09.35 | 21.40 |
| 09.00 | 21.00 | Xibolizhan | 09.20 | 21.25 |
Between Dongbolizhan and Dongkuang is another passenger service, which is done by ordinary railcars.
There are several stations in the network. Several are in the pit, and it is hard to find out what belongs to a station and what is the line in between. From Xibolizhan the lines leading to Dongbolizhan, Qilingzhan, Liuyizhan and Xicaimeizhan. To the west all seven tracks are going to the dumps for overburden.
Trains are running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Overburden is transported mainly to the seven dumps, which are west of Xibolizhan. There is also a dump west of Dongbolizhan, called Dongpaiqixian. The coal goes to the washery in Xuanmeichang near Nanzhan.
The main depot is in Jichang. There is another walled area nearby in which some locomotives and mine equipment are stored. In a big shed there are several locomotives stored which are temporarily out of service.
There are several good photo positions. The departure from Xibolizhan from a dump east of the station, inside the pit, the station Dongbolizhan with a nice coal loading point, Nanzhan with a small stabling point, and last but least, the endless wide open desert area of the link between the mines and the state railway station (some eleven km). On this section, long trains are banked (with more than 35 wagons they always take a banker, we saw a train with 30 wagons and only one locomotive, which stalled two times on its way to Nanzhan). The trains to Beiquan are chimney first but, only on the first two hundred metres from Beiquan Yijing to the summit, half way to Erjing, is the regulator open. There are no exciting photo positions on this line. The fact that nearly all trains in the pit are worked with the engine pushing the wagons is no reason not to go there. The photography is still very interesting. You can take several good shots in the reversals and steps, with excavators, and two or even three trains often are moving simultaneously. Steam cranes are used for track replacement, and the excavators are large electric ones.
The locomotives we saw and noted from the board are:
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in use in the mine (24 locomotives): JS
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Transport divsion Liushuquan - Nanzhan - Beiquan (3 Locomotives, JS 8358 not sure): JS
For Service trains in use (4 locomotives) JS
SY
Overhaul (1 locomotive) JS
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Dumped/stored (17 locomotives) SY
JS
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This line south-west of Lanzhou is very scenic. It serves some industrial plants around Liujiaxia and Gucheng. You will find a full description of the line on Florian Menius' website www.qj-country.de (in English).
We organised a special daylight freight train through the gorge section north of Dachuan. The price for 9 wagons and one JS for five to six hours was initially 6,800 RMB, bargained down to 6,300 RMB. We made a contract for the train and the price with the railway. As the chief of the line changed at the end of 2004, the new boss said a contract that he didn't sign was worth nothing. He agreed to operate the special freight - but for 50,000 RMB (some 5,000 Euro)! No discussion was possible. After we arrived I had negotiations with the new boss until midnight. His very last offer near midnight was 35,000 RMB - which I couldn't accept. So we made shots of the normal operation:
| 8794 | 004 | Station | 003 | 8791 | ||||
| 07.48 | 12.08 | 13.48 | ca. 21.10 | Liujiaxia | 07.15 | 12.05 | 13.45 | 20.42 |
| 08.00 | 12.20 | 14.00/14.30 | ca. 21.25 | Gucheng | 07.05 | 11.50 | 13.30 | ca. 20.30 |
| 17.08 | Bapanxia | 18.44 | ||||||
| 17.27 | Hekou Nan | 18.30 |
The mixed train to Hekou Nan is delayed very often. On our first day, JS 8226 did the turn, and had a delay of nearly two hours. On our second day, the train comprised 27 wagons, and was delayed about 1.5 hours. As there are only 15 wagons allowed for a single JS, this the train was banked. The leading locomotive was JS 8227, the banker was JS 8352. If they have to transport more than 30 wagons a day they will run a second pair of freights during daylight. This happens only once a month or even less frequently. So to get a train in the gorge during daylight needs a lot of patience and luck.
If the state railway line is occupied by other trains, the local trains wait at Xiacigou (not Xigousi).
In my previous reports I mentioned there was a line to a new coal mine then under construction. This most recent new steam line was opened for coal transportation in October 2004. It is the extension from Guyaozi to Yangchangwan, a brand new coal mine, 11.5 km south of Guyaozi. The new line is steep and has some very scenic parts (sand dunes) near the coal mine. On this section there are one or two pairs of trains daily. After the mine is working at full capacity they expect three to four trains each day. In this area there is at least one other new coal mine under construction. We couldn't find any signs of track construction to this new mine. The railway staff confirmed that there are no plans yet to open up another branch. The new mine will be opened in 2006.
The operation on the rest of the line was unchanged to my earlier reports.
They built a new station west of Guyaozi that spoils the view out of the dunes over the river to the remains of a watch tower of the Great Wall. Nonetheless, there are many good positions between Lingwu and Guyaozi left.
We saw five different locomotives in use but could only find out the numbers of three:
QJ
There are no signs of the other, low numbered locomotives any more.
The eastern division lost its last steam locomotive, JF 2368, on January 14th, 2005. The locomotive was transferred to Chenjiashan on the western division of the network. The western division has three mines that are served by steam:
There are other mines that are served by trucks (Cuijiagou), or by the state railway (with diesel, Xingshuping and Nanta).
After the explosion in the deep mine when many miners died, the mine was closed temporarily. Construction works and overhaul are ongoing. They plan to reopen the mine in May 2005. Once the mine is reopened, it will be served by three to four daily pairs of trains.
The line branches off the state railway at Tianjiazi. The short branch to the west was opened for coal traffic in 1974. The branch is served by a single locomotive, normally a JS. As there is no traffic at the moment, the JS went to Xiashijie. On January 15th or 16th they transferred JF 2368 to Chenjiashan. The loco is only used as stand-by for the very rare construction trains. Because the boiler certificate expires in May 2005 and no further repair is planned, the loco wouldn't return to normal service. The management is hoping to get money from the government to keep the last serviceable JF for line service operational. Chances are not good ...
There are several very good photo positions along the branch.
This two-kilometre-long-line runs in a north-easterly direction branches off the state railway at Yaoqü. The branch was opened to coal traffic in 1978. The line is steep with a maximum gradient of almost 3 %. Trains often stall in the middle of the line.
Xiashijie has an allocation of one JS. As they have no use for the JS in Chenjiashan they sent the second loco as stand-by to Xiashijie. Both, JS 5184 (which handled the traffic during our stay) and JS 6025 (freshly overhauled) were under steam.
Yaoqü also offers some very nice photo opportunities. The long bridge before the mine is a good spot for example.
The mine is served by an electric narrow gauge railway.
Yuhua is situated at the northern end of the state railway in Qianhezhen. The mine at Jiaoping, which is nearby (only some 50 metres away), was opened in 1958 and closed recently. Now the new mine Yuhua takes over the coal production and is linked to the state railway by a 200-m short connection at the northern end of the railway station. On the eastern side of the railway station the state railway continues another 2 km to Nanta. This mine is served by state railway diesel locos.
The construction of the state railway to Qianhezhen through difficult mountainous terrain took place between 1969 and 1984. The mine in Jiaping was served by an YJ before an SY took over several years ago. The station staff thought the YJ is still in use at another place. However several telephone calls led to a dead end (it was Friday afternoon). The last source was the workshop Meijiaping, which said they overhauled the loco some three years ago and sent it to another industrial site.
Yuhua is using SY 0369. The loco is planned to be replaced by a diesel in 2006. The photographic potential is limited. The loco sits simmering for half a day in a corner of the coal mine and then shunts about three times a day from the mine to the station - some "impressive" 500 metres of movement.
The western division of the Tongchuan coal mine system will be dieselised in 2006 and 2007. As the dieselisation of the eastern division took more than double the time they expected in 1999, when I first visited the system, there might be a chance to see steam a bit longer.
The manager in charge is - putting things politely - a very difficult man. If you sign a contract with him please expect that he'll break it two days before your arrival and demand more money. If you want to see the JF on the line, it's possible. You have to pay in advance and an additional amount when you get the train. There is no limit in paying the manager. Please do not lose your connections to reality and do not pay him everything he wants. He'll "invest" it in beer, no matter how high the amount you paid him might be. You can "enjoy" meeting him in a restaurant, and you will have to pay his bill, of course. You will be rewarded by stories nobody is interested in.
This coal mine line is some 100 km north-east of Xi'an and passes through a highly polluted area. Especially around Shitan there are many small limestone factories and cement plants which pollute the whole area heavily.
The line starts in the flat country surrounding in Pucheng. Just before Shitan a very steep gradient starts, where beyond the station, hills come close to the railway. The line continues through a flat area but on a steep gradient to Hanjing, the operational centre and the depot of the line. Beyond Hanjing the line goes through a deep cutting downhill and passes over the first large bridge (km 29,5), an unusual combined girder and concrete bridge. The line continues downhill to the second large bridge (km 31,5), one of the usual concrete bridges over a very deep valley. At the northern end of the bridge the gradient against northbound trains starts again and the tracks soon enter a tunnel. Baishui is another large station of the system. We didn't visit the line beyond Baishui.
The stations and their allocation:
In Dongpo the line continues to Tongchuan, but belongs to the eastern division of Tongchuan Coal Mine Bureau.
There are about three to four pairs of trains between Pucheng and Hanjing each day. The time of departure is unpredictable. Even with a nearly permanent connection to the control centre in Hanjing, it was not possible to find out what would be going on more than 15 minutes in advance. They changed their plans again and again. For example, a 30+ wagon train to Baishui turns into "no train at all", and finally into a light engine all within 25 minutes. The traffic totally depends on the demands of the coal mines and the power plant which absorbs most of the coal. However, at least the information about whether they want to send diesel or steam on the next train was accurate.
They put their first diesel into service in October 2004. It is DF4 9571. Beside the diesel we noted:
QJ
QJ 7291 was conserved under a roof and behind a brick wall after it had an accident. There are neither fixed plans to purchase new diesels or to repair the ex-experimental QJ 7291.
Podicun is the state railway station where the coal mine line branches off in a north-eastern direction. The line leads into an area of very interesting loess mountains. It has an impressive viaduct just two kilometres beyond Podicun over the Luohe river. The depot at Podicun does not belong to the coal mine line. It was said that there might be an occasional help-out with motive power to the coal mine line with a diesel, but this happens only in very rare cases. So Podicun - Chenghe is still a 100% steam location.
The railway owns two late-production QJs:
Both are normally under steam while one is sufficient to serve the line. The line has no road access, so photography is limited to one position per train. There are three pairs of trains on an average day. As the line is working 24 hours a day, the maximum number of shots of uphill trains you should expect is two. The line is very scenic. Beside the viaduct already mentioned, the loess mountains, the tunnels and curves are good for photography. The line is 15 km long. For the first 9.5 kms from Podicun to Chenghe-Erkuang the line leads through open scenic country before it reaches the mining area Chenghe. From Erkuang to Dongjiahe, a distance of 4 km, the line passes through a densely populated area. Several curves and cuttings are good for photography as well, together with the villages along the line. In Dongjiahe another mine and the engine depot are located. The depot consists of just a coal conveyer belt, a water crane and nothing else. There is no shed or shelter for the locomotives. Repairs are done in Podicun in the workshop of the state railway. From Dongjiahe the line continues another 1.5 km to Yikuang.
The busiest mine seems to be Erkuang. From Erkuang to another mine, which is called Hongqikuang, there is an overhead wire electric narrow gauge railway. Hongqikuang has no standard gauge connection.
The road access to and from Baishui is very slow. The road was paved, it seems, several hundred years ago and parts are now only a ruin! It is better you take the detour via Pucheng. From this good road it's only a short side trip to Dongjiahe.
Railway staff was very friendly, and photography was no problem. It seems that the FarRail Tours trip to Erkuang and Dongjiahe was the first contact of the locals to foreigners.
There are plans to dieselise the railway, but no one could give us a date. As the railway staff quoted the earnings of the railway as insufficient, they doubt that the management will purchase expensive diesels soon.
If you are planning a trip, you may consider that this nice line offers too few steam trains per day. For enthusiasts who have been to JiTong in the busy times and are used to heavy traffic, it may be disappointing, but it is an interesting line nonetheless.
There are still several steam hauled freights as well as the passenger trains. The system is still well worth a visit. Departures from Diaobingshan were very impressive when several trains were leaving within a short time of each other.
If you want to see the Second World War-vintage KD6 2-8-0 working, you should be prepared for charges of 8,000 RMB. (We were told that that a well know British tour operator paid some 70,000 RMB for a passenger special with the KD6.) We decided to see the loco under light steam in the shed, which was much cheaper (50 RMB per person), and the crew was very accommodating. The KD6 is in very nice condition with good work done on the restoration, and the workers were very proud of their engine. Elderly JS 5029 also was at the shed in steam.
There was a big banner across the wide street in front of the main station that read in English, as well as in Chinese characters, "Warmly Welcome Steam Enthusiasts at Home and Abroad to visit Steam Locomotive Tourist Attraction." Another colourful banner on the station itself read, "Liaoning Province and Tfcoal(group) Co. Ltd 3th Annual International Steam Locomotive Festival." It was nice to be welcomed and they certainly seem serious in promoting their steam.
We replaced our visit to Meihekou with a day at Tiefa due to the alarming news from CITS Jilin, which said Meihekou had steam only for shunting, and that all line service went over to diesel. In fact, they had a diesel in use on our last visit in Autumn 2004. But in late January 2005, this diesel loco was dumped in the darkest corner of the loco shed and all line service was done by steam! I do not know the reasons for the diesel being out of service, but Meihekou is definitely still worth a visit.
Very sad: they demolished the old steam depot. The site is now a brand new diesel depot. The museum steam locos, one fireless, the PL2, the XK and SY 708 are plinthed on a very short piece of track, and the other fireless is nearby with a steam crane. There is no shelter any more and it is absolutely unphotogenic. It's a pity. It seems that no one cares about these locomotives and they want to get rid of this old stuff.
The service for the steam locos is to be done in the depot for electric locomotives, however, visits to this site are note allowed any more. The ash dump is served by diesel now. Only the shunting in the blast furnace area remains steam powered. The overall shape of the steam locomotives is very sad. They are filthy, and in bad technical condition. All we saw indicates the end of steam in the next few months, but we couldn't speak to an official to confirm this. We noted the following locomotives (all in use except 708 and 713):
SY
The slag tip is served by diesel now. We had no problem entering the slag tip. But a police car observed us. As we left the site, after we saw two diesel trains, we were followed by the police car. They stopped us as we entered the expressway to Shenyang. They told us that what we did was forbidden (maybe Al Qaida is planning a attack on a ash tip, especially that one in Benxi? Let's hope they were worried about safety, but who knows) and noted the personal details of the local guide. It is doubtful that this local guide, who was from the travel agency of the steelworks, will lead any further groups or independent travellers to the ash tip any more.
No changes to my previous reports.
We noted SY 0732 and 0891 shunting in the yard. Local guards are very unfriendly and try to avoid any photographs. As the management denied a visit so short a time before the spring festival we were not even able to purchase their totally overpriced permit to enter the not very photogenic yard. They charge you 200 RMB per person. For sure there is no reason to spend so much money with one exception: if their JF is working you may take photographs if you were too late for get this class of locomotives at another place before.
The new diesels didn't arrive on time. So in January it was still possible to see up to five steam-hauled trains during daylight over the pass. The positive thing we found was that they stopped mixing diesel with steam–either they operated pure diesel or pure steam trains. However, on February 5th, we found DF4D 4235 double headed with steam on it's way to Baiqi. Once it has arrived Baiqi, they'll send one of their DF4Bs to Daban. On February 9th, a second DF4D was seen in a train to Baiqi. These two locos will be followed by another eight. After Baiqi sent it's remaining three DF4Bs to Daban, the pass will see only a very few steam trains. Whatsoever, officials in Daban stated that they will end steam over the pass on March 15th. Even the passenger (in the night) should be handed over to diesel at this date.
Whether the temporary replacement of diesel by steam for a cash payment is still possible after this date is not known. The management wanted to give me an answer by March 2nd. On the other hand, it's not sure that the date is final, and things still might change. If they have too many trains and too few diesel locomotives, steam over the pass will be possible after this date, I guess.
The long line of dumped locomotives in Daban per January 30th, 2005 (18 locomotives):
QJ
QJ 6639 was still in service over the pass on February 12th. It seems this is the oldest locomotive at Daban for the moment.
Daban - Chabuga is unchanged and remains 100% steam. We spoke to several people in Daban, and everyone expects steam on this section in 2006 as well. Some loco drivers even thought that steam may last until 2007. So it seems to be worth to offer two more detailed maps of this section:
The income of one of the loco drivers we talked to, is 1,400 RMB per month (after ten years of service for the JiTong company). He can make some additional RMB for public holiday shifts etc. If he changed to diesel now he would loose some 300 RMB per month due to the shorter shifts. Fireman normally only get contracts for one or two years. They have no unlimited work contract as loco drivers have. The man we talked to said that many of them will loose their jobs after their contracts ends. How to find a new job after ten years as fireman on a locomotive in the endless grasslands of Inner Mongolia? I have never heard about social plans for workers in China who are dismissed before retirement.
After a series of accidents in which 13 persons died, the authorities closed the new expressway Chabuga - Daban - Jingpeng - Haoluku - Baiqi. They will open it to the public after the tollgates are installed. This will be in October 2005. However, the accidents on the expressway are probably just moved back to the old road that is not as well engineered. It is not the road that kills the people. You have to change the people's driving habits, vehicle maintenance, etc., ... China is definitely not a nation of car drivers. Each day, more than 200 persons die on Chinese roads (10 days = more than all the people who died by SARS).
Now we are watching and monitoring the last days of regular steam on the pass, but Chabuga to Daban is still excellent for steam with wonderful photographic possibilities, and Daban - with nearly 50 QJs - remains an amazing sight in 2005. The JiTong Railway still has to be one of the best places in the world to go for steam, even with diesels on the pass.
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