Wanggang Harbin Manchuria China 20th October 1983

Chinese steam working hard. 2-10-2 QJ 440 &QJ at Honggong. A double-headed freight train heading south on the railway out of Harbin powers up the Wanggang bank.

Back in 1983 independent visitors were not allowed. I spent 3 weeks with a group of enthusiasts on an organised tour visiting railway, and cultural, sites across China where steam still reigned on the main line. Investment in new lines was high even then and it's interesting to realise that the lines in western China where the last steam strongholds were recently dieselised were not even built at the time of my visit.