The Last Frontier: Prison Railway at Rongshan

Narrow Gauge Steam in China: 17. - 24.03.2013

Update 11.03.2013

This is a scetch map of the place we're going to. We'll meet at the forestry lines in September ...

map Rongshan narrow gauge line

Update 09.02.2013

This is one of the rare occasions I publish a tour update. The reasons you'll see here:

http://www.farrail-blog.com/englishposts/update-rongshan-9-2-2013/

The itinerary below is an emergency plan. Whether we are able to stick to the original plan or need to change to the emergency plan will be only clear close to the departure date and won't be communicated on the website, only to the participants.

Date

Itinerary

17.03.

Flight to Chengdu

18.03.

Arrival Chengdu, Evening charter bus to Yuejin (ca. 3 hrs), hotel in Yuejin

19.03.

Morning charter freight train Shibanxi - Mifengyan - Bagou - Mifengyan - Yuejin, hotel in Yuejin

20.03.

Party for a freshly overhauled locomotive, early afternoon charter bus to Chengdu. Flight 3U8877 17:55 - 23:15 or CZ6256 18:05 - 23:05 to Haerbin, hotel in Haerbin

21.03.

Charter bus to Xinglongzhen, afternoon empty logging train Xinglong - Daling, loco overnight to Xinming or Liuhe by diesel, hotel Dongxing

22.03.

Charter bus to the place where our logging train starts from. Logging train Liuhe - Dongxing with steam. Hotel in Dongxing

23.03.

Morning Logging train Dongxing - Zhouxiang with steam, Afternoon charter bus to Haerbin, flight 3U8844 18:35 -  23:55 Chengdu, Hotel near the airport (with airport shuttle bus) in Chengdu

24.03.

Hotel's shuttle bus to the airport and flight home

Xinglongzhen:

Waldbahn Xinglongzhen

Rongshan

“It is very ill-advised to go there” were the words of a Chinese railway enthusiast when I met him for the first time in 1999. This was the same man who had also told us about Shibanxi. Together with a friend we were the first long noses at Shibanxi. At that time Shibanxi was a very interesting line, the diesels were dumped in a corner of the shed, the railway wasn’t electrified, no tourists anywhere. But forbidden fruits taste even sweeter. In 2000 I guided a group to this province of narrow gauge lines, Sichuan. I started to pester the Chinese enthusiast to try to get permission to visit the line. He showed me pictures from the prison line at Rongshan and said he’d try. Since then, for more than a decade, I’ve tried virtually everything to gain access to this forbidden line in the mountains of Sichuan province. Once I was pretty close and someone from the provincial government in Chengdu said he’d issue a permit, but later he changed office and no longer had control over the matter.

I also tried it on my own: the state railway refused to sell me a ticket to Rongshan, not one taxi driver I talked to would take the risk and only a driver of a public minibus took me aboard his crowded bus – as far as a check point where the local police “invited” me from the bus and put me in another one – in the opposite direction. The policemen said I needed a special permit to enter the area but this permit could be issued nowhere … Some Japanese railway enthusiasts made it to the line without a permit – but, as long as they don’t speak they can pass as locals. Their pictures prove that the line is beautiful. However, the prisons next to the line are still in place, even though the railway doesn’t carry prisoners.

After all attempts failed someone with a very good record in arranging permits travelled to the site – and got a permit! So, after twelve years of trying a group of foreigners is finally allowed to go there for the first time. The permission, however, lasts only as long as the particular people are in the right office. So we do not want to lose any time!

They still run two pairs of trains daily – with steam. The planned electrification hasn’t started yet.

Itinerary

Date

Itinerary

17.03.

Flight to Chengdu

18.03.

Arrival Chengdu, hotel in Chengdu

19.03.

Train K9392/K9393 Chengdu 08.50 – 14.15 hrs Guangyuan, charter bus to Rongshan to see the 15.20 hrs narrow gauge train leaving, charter bus to Guangyuan, hotel in Guangyuan

20.03.

Charter bus to and from Rongshan, visit to the narrow gauge line, hotel in Guangyuan

21.03.

Charter bus to and from Rongshan, visit to the narrow gauge line, hotel in Guangyuan

22.03.

Charter bus to and from Rongshan, visit to the narrow gauge line, hotel in Guangyuan

23.03.

Charter bus to and from Rongshan, taking pictures until the 15.20 hrs train has left the station, charter bus to Guangyuan and train T8869 Guangyuan 17.19 – 22.19 hrs Chengdu, Hotel near the airport (with airport shuttle bus) in Chengdu

24.03.

Hotel's shuttle bus to the airport and flight home

Rongshan

Line description

I have had the following information for a dozen of years already in my collection, but the paper is marked with "No Publish" by the Chinese who gave it to me (he meant "do not publish"). As we now have permission to visit the line I think it's ok to come up with some details of this mysterious line. It's actually not a line which carried prisoners around - but it served the coal mines which were run by prisoners.

About 20 km east of Guangyuan, the 762 mm narrow gauge line starts. The main station is a combined standard/narrow gauge station. In 1999, SY 0669 (Tangshan 1973) did the work in the standard gauge section. Many of the standard gauge tracks are unused nowadays, at least one SY, 1434, was still parked in the shed recently. The SYs used to bring coal trains from Rongshan to the state railway in Anjiawan.

Rongshan

The narrow gauge line was built in the late 1950s. The operation started with the class RJ (Rongjian), built in Chengdu. They were small tank locomotives. Later the class C2 appeared, built in Dalian. In the 1990s, the nearby narrow gauge line of the Jianyi coal mine railway (near Yuanba) was closed and the Rongshan coal mine railway bought their no. 025. It was called class KN - and is obviously the same type as the Jiayang (Shibanxi) or Weiyuan based locos of the class KP-4/C2. They bought another loco of this type, no. KN 028, but this loco was only purchased to gain spare parts.

When the current fleet of locomotives arrived is unclear. But it's remarkable that they came from Harbin Forestry Machinery Factory; probably the only ones in Sichuan province. In 1999 four of them where seen: nos 210, 211, 218 and 219. Those four locos are still there.

Rongshan

The narrow gauge line starts at its lowest point in Rongshan. There was one line to the north-east to "No. 5", a coal mine. This line was some three kilometres long. The production of this coal mine dropped as early as the late 1990s, with only one coal train a day serving the line. The line was active in 1999 and 2000, but since they built a paved road to the mine no. 5, the line is closed now. The other line is still in service. It is about seven kilometres long and winds through a scenic, rural and sometimes narrow river valley. The terminus is no. 1 (mine - in Google Earth you'll find the name Xiaoheli, the station name is Yujia Bian). As there is no road access to the mine (there is only an unpaved road on the other side of the valley which is connected to the village and mine by a suspension bridge) the line still survived until today. But, recently, there has been a dramatic decline in traffic. While in 1999 the line saw eleven pairs of trains a day, it sees nowadays only two passenger or mixed trains, one in the morning, one in the afternoon.

Roughly a third of the way along the line – close to a scenic bridge and a not so scenic tunnel – is a larger prison camp with modern concrete buildings. This prison incorporates a mine and production from this mine is still carried by the railway. The station at the prison is called Shanzi Ba.

During its heyday, the railway had more than ten locomotives. Nowadays one or two locomotives can handle all the traffic. But for how long is rather uncertain – road construction is underway.

The line has several beautiful photo spots. Farmers regularly grow rape here and, in March, it should be in blossom.

Rongshan

Trains leaving Rongshan tender first uphill and returning chimney first downhill. Not what a photographer really wants, but that's been their style of operation for decades. The passenger trains consist of two yellow painted passenger coaches. Often they also take a platform wagon and a caboose with them. Coal wagons may be another option.

The timetable of the passenger trains:

Rongshan 07.40 09.10 15.20 17.30
Yujia Ba  08.10 08.40 15.15 17.00

Bold: chimney first.

Small Print

The permission we received after twelve years of trial and error is based on personal relations, as usual in China. Once one of the people in charge changes his job we might need to skip the tour. For the moment it doesn't look likely; prospects seem rather good. Nevertheless, we can't promise that we will get what we want, even though the prison seems to be closed now. The railwaymen won't be a big problem, they are used to photographers because Chinese and Japanese photographers have visited the line already. But they are not used to westerners. We can't hide that we're foreigners. It will be a new experience for both sides.

You should bear in mind that others who also want to visit the line will try their luck instantly I publish this itinerary. This may well spoil our intention to go there. I cannot say how far the extremely high permission fee we’re paying will protect us a little from other requests for an instant visit, but remember that others who want to be the first ones, to inflate their ego or kill our tour (or both), might well mess things up – and this is beyond our control. We’ve set up our visit properly, but we have no influence over those who might want to claim this location as "first westerners there" and will not consider other enthusiasts who might like to follow them.

Rongshan

The existence of the line is in danger. Rumours are around that they'll electrify the line soon - but so far there is no evidence, not even the poles which were reported already. On the other hand they have two diesel locomotives parked in the depot. Every Chinese New Year might bring a change – but going there earlier makes no sense: the few remaining trains run partly in darkness in winter. The problem with going later is that the people in charge may change. Hence, we can't give any kind of guarantee. Without a pioneering spirit you should not book this tour. It's a risk. On the other hand, the window of opportunity for visiting this line might be very small. There are several proofs that those who come later might be too late. Another one bites the dust ...

We cannot say whether or not we'll be able to reach the line with a charter bus. We may need to hire motorbikes (not included in the tour price, just an option if our minibuses can't make it). I have not been able to visit the line personally so far, although I have tried every legal way on my own. But the high resolution on Google Earth makes it easy to see the line and its photographic potential.

We expect the lowest morning temperatures to be around ten to 20 degrees Centigrade while afternoon temperatures can still reach more than 25 degrees Centigrade.

The voltage in China is 220 Volts, 50 Hertz. Sometimes you need an adaptor for the power outlets. China uses the European mobile phone (GSM) standard.

Our philosophy is to provide opportunities to get that perfect shot rather than a time consuming 5-star breakfast buffet (which is difficult to get there anyhow). On occasions lunch will be served as a packed meal. Beverages are not included in the tour price.

Hotels, charter buses and trains represent the standard of our host country, which may deviate from European and American expectations. While we will endeavour to avoid long walks, some photo positions may require an extra but worthwhile effort.

The hotels used will be of medium class (three to four stars).

The train rides are booked in hard sleeper or seated class. Hard sleeper compartments are open and normally comprise six berths.

Hygienic and environmental standards in China do not conform to European or American expectations. Carrying some toiletries in your photo bag is hence advisable. Please bear in mind that accommodation and transportation in China falls short of EU/US safety standards. Always use common sense when crossing roads and railway tracks. FarRail Tours cannot be held responsible and will not accept any liability whatsoever in the case of any accident or damage. We suggest you take out a comprehensive overseas accident and health insurance policy.

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Price

We need to fly to Chengdu. Prices vary enormously, depending where you start from and how you want to fly. Cheapest offers could be found below £500 although you can expect around £750. FarRail Tours can book the flight for you, if you prefer. Please also consider the visa expenses which vary from country to country.

China
The Last Frontier: Prison Railway at Rongshan 12 to 25 participants £1,670
17.03.2013 – 24.03.2013 8 to 11 participants £1,780
  Single room surcharge £260
Registration Deadline: 10.01.2013

The price includes:

Not included are:

Rongshan

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