A token for the morning empties

A cold and lonely railwayman stands outside his nice warm hut holding the single line token for the approaching coal empties from Lishu to the mine at Pinggang. This was the junction and reversing point for traffic from the Qikeng mine and Sijing cokeworks, but that line had by this time been reduced to a stub for trains loading coal from the adjacent small mine. The chimneys in the background mark the cokeworks which continues to produce metallurgical coke in open-topped ovens.

It was very cold this morning and the man from the hut had earlier invited us in to enjoy its warmth whilst we waited for the train. This is typical of the kindness shown by so many of the people I have met on and around the Chinese railways.