Chinese Railways

A pair of QJs are almost at the summit of the Jinpeng section of the Jitong Railway with a westbound freight. The exhaust may not have been as spectacular as that in the icy winter months, but it was a pleasant experience to relax in the hills with a bottle of beer whilst watching the traffic on the last steam operated main line.

Afternoon service to Linghe sets out from the Huangjia terminus of the Nanpiao Mining Railway. The bustling street market alongside the line here was a favourite location for watching the passenger trains.

Heading west from Chabuga behind QJ 6911 on the daily stopping passenger service over the Jitong Railway. This was my last ever ride on a scheduled long distance main line steam passenger train. When I left the train at Lindong there was a tinge of sadness as I stood and listened to the locomotive accelerating into the gathering dusk.

Sometimes you get double value in a photograph and this shot from the Jalainur opencast coal mine in the Mongolian Autonomous Region demonstrates a two tier approach.

An early evening service is seen leaving Mifengyang uphill on the Shibanxi Coal Railway. It was almost dark when I took this shot and it was a case of erecting the tripod, high ISO setting, and hoping that the low exposure speed wouldn't be too much of a problem head-on. Not something that could be attempted with film.

A trainload of building materials heads uphill after passing Caiziba on the Shibanxi Coal Railway.

A young lass unconcernedly crosses the line just ahead of a heavy train heading away from the washery on the Meihekou coal railway.

SY 0819 was rearranging a train at Liugongli on the Baiyin Mining Railway after delivering bagged material to the yard on the siding in the background.

The wheels of SY 0965 which was undergoing a major overhaul in the Baiyin workshops.

A pair of QJs is working hard as they near the summit to the west of Chaganhada with a westbound train of oil tanks on the Jitong Railway.

The morning empties head towards Shenbutong and the Kuangsan copper mine on the Baiyin Mining Railway. The heavy train on icy and snowy rails was working at the very limits of adhesion and the train finally slipped to a halt a bit further up the line. I had intended to make the shot from higher up the hill, but the train followed so soon after the passenger service that I had only scrambled part way up the slope. As it happened the resulting angle wasn't too bad.

A yard man signals for another locomotive to draw forward to the ash cleaning area in Nanchang Yard during the morning servicing break on the Chengzihe system of the Jixi Coal Railway. The coal pickers stand on the ash wagon in the hope of rich rewards in a few minutes time.

QJ 7137 heads west on level 3 of the climb above Reshui on the Jinpeng section of the Jitong Railway. The train has already traversed the second level seen below and behind.

QJ 7049 lays a smokescreen over Lindong station area as it gets a westbound freight underway after prolonged shunting operations. The second locomotive is QJ 6905 which is not in steam and is being moved back to Daban after overhaul.

The station at Jinpeng was often very busy with trains taking water and cleaning fires. This afternoon view shows an eastbound freight arriving with a westbound service ready to depart as soon as the section is clear. This line was not really designed to serve many intermediate places and it is clear how far from the town the station is located.

A westbound freight heads towards san di crossing on the first 180 degree curve as it climbs from Reshui on the Jinpeng section of the Jitong Railway.

A wider version of a previous image of shunting the coal wagons at Baiyin. You could probably still take this shot given a bit of patience waiting for steam to show up.

It is just before 6am as the eastbound passenger service leaves the wayside crossing station at Chaganhada on the Jitong Railway. The sun hasn't quite made an appearance and I was hoping the train would be a few minutes later, but it was not to be.