Moon and ice

The first time I visited the Jalainur opencast mine in 1992 my jaw hit the floor when I saw the steam action. There was so much to see, so many opportunities, and so many locomotives in action. There had been significant changes to the layout and traffic patterns by the last time I went there in 2008, but the action was still awesome. By this time getting there was easy and we had flown up from Beijing that very morning.

This scene would not be possible even with the little (if any) steam still clinging on there, as the lines have been altered in level and you can't see the departing trains at this point any more. A train of empties heads away from the washery and off to one of the deep mines. It was so cold standing on the ice waiting for this, but the result well worthwhile.