Due to dieselisation and a lack of work at Huanan narrow gauge line we had to adjust our itinerary. The weather was almost always on our side, though, with just over a day and a half with clouds. I usually don’t reflect on the weather, but 28 days with sunshine are really remarkable. We saw 93 locomotives under steam and in use. This is quite remarkable in 2008. The tour was not focussed on seeing as many locos as possible, they just went by ...
Still alive: class QJ
Because of dieselisation at Pingdingshan we changed our plan and went to Shandong province. Zoucheng was our main destination, but as they have only two QJs in service now (7189 and 7190) we took a look at Sishui cement factory to find the Daewoo QJ 7129 under steam but with no work to do (it was Sunday). In addition we went to the Xintai Zhaizhen coal mine. They have two serviceable QJs (7076 and 7086). Only one loco is needed for the daily duties, the other is spare (and not under steam). The link to the state railway is 11km long. Xintai Zhaizhen is about two hours away from Zoucheng in a north easterly direction. They have anything from zero to four pairs of trains each day, averaging two pairs of trains in 24 hours. They operate chimney first westbound (with loaded trains from the mine).
The line has some minor gradients with many trees alongside and a bridge which should be possible to take a picture of. The mine itself is fenced and guarded, access was denied. But the friendly gate keeper just 500 yards from the mine told us about the trains.
We didn't investigate the line because we had just missed the morning train by 15 minutes and the next one was scheduled at 16.00 hrs. So we went on to Sishui (Deawoo QJ) and Zoucheng where we got QJ hauled trains on the line.
Zoucheng was not as good as before, but still well worth the visit. They had two QJs in use (7189 and 7190). The operation pattern was unchanged. You should not expect any steam train before 9 am. Everything is possible, from a light engine tender first to a more than 3,000 metric tonnes coal train chimney first. Even on the minor gradients you can hear a good sound from the locomotives with these long trains behind them.
3000+ metric tons behind steam - Zoucheng
The future of steam is uncertain. No, it’s certain – the scrap yard – but no-one was able to tell us when. A loco driver expected them to be withdrawn before Chinese new year, the crew in the central control office said not within the next 20 months and the loco foreman confirmed that there are two more QJs in the Laiwu workshop. They expect them being back by the end of 2008. It was also said that they expect more traffic to be handled during the winter and therefore they need the steam locos.
Pingzhuang is quite busy, but it’s another system where freight train times are difficult to get in advance. You can be just sitting next to the man in the control office talking about trains with “no” as the answer, in the next two hours nothing. Then the telephone rings, a short conversation and he urges you to go to the southern line as quick as you can because in ten minutes he’ll send a train to the China Railway station! This happened twice. They just fulfil the needs of the mines as soon as they call in and announce a train ready for departure or a need for empties.
In general, they use three SYs for the line between the deep mines and the interchange yard with the state railway in Nanzhan (“south station”), three for the open cast line (works trains and, sometimes, overburden trains) and two for shunting in the stabling point, the washery and the wagon repair shops. In addition to these eight scheduled steam locos they have another one as stand by under steam.
On the northern section there is a gradient against loaded trains between Gushanerjing and Zhuangmei (the “washery station”) which is quite remarkable if they’re hauling more than 1,800 metric tonnes (we experienced 22 wagons, 23 wagons is the scheduled maximum). Between Wufeng and Nanzhan is another gradient on which we saw 28 loaded wagons behind an SY – some 2,300 tonnes!
In the depot they have the unused JSs from Yuanbaoshan in storage. They are complete and in good shape. Both systems belong to the same company. For Pingzhuang they have currently no plans for dieselisation, but this may change. At the end of September 2008 they had the old SY 0400 under heavy overhaul.
The locomotives we have seen:
Yuanbaoshan has three diesels and 2 JS in service. The mixed trains are always diesel now - except you are able to arrange something special if necessary. Usually they use the steam for shunting, as spare and for freight trains. Occasionally they use steam for the steep line as well. In the control office they usually know which train is steam hauled and which diesel. The freights have no timetable, and the control office only know the exact departure times some 20 minutes before departure. If you want to visit the system you need to have some time – and patience. The technical and external shape of the remaining JSs is still good. They have no fix plans to retire the complete fleet of steam in the near future.
What a change! After the FarRail trip in May 2007 was the first group to visit there, some other groups must have been here – and paid an entrance fee. They now require from every visitor a fee of 200 RMB. Fortunately this includes a man who is in contact to the control office and can give information about the trains. They change their plans quite often, so it’s not as helpful as it seems at first. The best way is to have some time and be patient. Usually there is one pair of trains per day to Sanjing (they often call it Sijing because the coal is coming from Sijing) and one or two trains to Sanbao. Sanjing can see trains during the night while Sanbao will only be served in the daytime (which doesn’t exclude trains shortly after sunset, of course). The short trips to Taiji (Dajing) need to be added, but the outer ends of the line offer better potential for line shots and videos.
The fee also includes a visit to the depot and workshop. You should not miss it out these. Their pet, JF 886, is not serviceable any more. Although they always say they’ll repair it if there is a demand, they actually have no plans to do so.
Beipiao has seen better times. They used to use class JS for the once heavier and more frequent trains. They had about five or six JS. The tender of JS 6241 is the last proof of these glorious days. The loco, which was still in place in 2007, has now disappeared.
The list of SY locomotives is almost unchanged. We didn’t see SY 0183 which was dumped in 2007. On a black board we found the number SY 1435 as well, but no sign of the loco.
Always worth a visit. It’s still remarkable how the SY’s master the gradients in this system. They are used quite hard. Everything mentioned in the recent reports still apply, so go there before only lovers of old diesels get excited about the system.
And now close your eyes again – can you feel the earth shaking? No? Hey wake up, go to Nanpiao! It’s a daily service.
In use we noted:
Steam:
Diesel:
The number of diesels wasn’t increased, but the number of steam was reduced! Due to lack of work they have skipped two steam duties. This was foreseeable as there where almost always three unemployed SYs in steam at the stabling point near the power plant. Now they have only two SYs there (SY 0898 and 1359), one is doing the work (shunting), the other standby in steam.
The time we spent there was not wasted time at all. Although whole villages have been brought down and replaced by new apartment blocks, there are still plenty of good opportunities to take pictures. However, with the delivery of just two or three more diesels it seems to be getting more and more difficult to get some reasonably good shots. The diesels are already disturbing, but for the moment you can still see steam at the furthest mines of the system. To see a dozen SYs in use is not too bad for 2008.
This was probably my last visit to Baotou. They already stated their intention to be steam free in August 2008 to meet the expectations of the political leaders regarding the Olympic games. Currently construction work is being undertaken to make the slag tip track suitable for diesel traction. The steam locomotives handle the track as it is but for diesels you need to take more care. Due to the construction work only the tipping places 1 and 8 were in use, while 5 and 6 were blocked by track workers. It was said that they still have ten SYs serviceable, but we only found eight. Five to six were in use bringing slag trains from the blast furnace to the slag tip, one or two were spare under steam and one was a cold spare loco.
Baotou - this is just a sunset, one of the last sunsets for Baotou's steam
There were no signs of any steam repairs, the condition (external as well as technical) of the remaining locomotives was not at its best and everyone agreed that they wanted to dump them as soon as the track condition would allow the heavier diesels. Although it was planned to be steam free by the end of October 2008, all people we talked to expected steam to linger on until Chinese New Year.
It’s the last freely accessible steam operated big slag tip in the world, so if you want to see it, go there NOW. The remaining steam operated slag tip which is allowed to be visited is in Vietnam (Thai Nguyen). Baiyin don’t allow visits to their slag tip as with other steelworks in China which have a problem with visitors. Those few steelworks allowing such visits are dieselised. The much smaller operation in Vietnam will follow in 2010, at the latest.
Locos in use (except stated otherwise) were:
The next huge loss in the world of steam will be Zhalai Nuoer. When exactly this will be is uncertain. The only thing for sure is that it will be in the near future. So far it is still an exciting spot: 34 Mikados in use! Can this be beaten by any other place? What they would call a super mega steam gala in the UK can be seen from one point at the edge of the open cast pit at any time. In addition, at least three trains will be in motion at any time. Hammering uphill or gliding downhill to the coal loading sites, supported by the sound of several steam cranes. Once we spotted 18 locomotives from the viewpoint near Dongfanghong.
Autumn for steam in Zhalai Nuoer
In a few months you’ll probably say: those were the days. The only question: why did you miss it when it was still alive? No money in the world will be able to bring this spectacle back to life once it is gone!
The future of the open cast mine and its steam fleet: They want to withdraw the railway from the pit and bring out the remaining coal by trucks. They have already started at the western corner of the pit to build a road from the mine to a lorry only spoil dump. These now few trucks cause a permanent layer of dust in this corner of the pit. Working conditions will be much worse after they’ve lifted the last track. In fact, the open cast mines have made a loss for many years, their coal is not of high quality and can be sold at a low price only. Despite this, the new company who bought the whole complex has invested a lot of money already. They’ve built new roads around the open cast mine (asphalt) and abandoned the level crossing south east of Dongfanghong and replaced it by a bridge. They’ve enlarged the whole Dongfanghong station including laying the tracks much higher than before, they’ve built new tracks (all good for heavy diesels) and they’ve started to built a new deep mine with an 11 km railway link to it. Last but certainly not least, we were told that they’ve already purchased their first batch of diesels! These diesels are not in use for the moment because track improvements need to be done first but as soon as they’re done, steam will start to decline.
Zhalai Nuoer - shadows on the walls, not only for steam trains
Zhalai Nuoer - passenger departure
Little work in the workshop is the first hint that steam will fade out soon. I personally don’t expect another winter season after the 2008/2009 winter with full steam operation. That’s one reason why I added Zhalai Nuoer to the Ice Quickie in February. It’s very likely to be the last chance for real winter steam at the amazing hole of Zhalai Nuoer.
All locos which are not indicated otherwise were in use (34):
Zhalai Nuoer - steam is still going strong
What a place! I have been there quite often, but each time I find more opportunities to take interesting pictures than I could ever make on one extended trip of more than a whole week, like our tour this time!
Control offices in this area are sometimes helpful, sometimes not. It’s always the same, they have plenty of motive power available to fulfil every wish from the mines, power plants and the state railway to pick up wagons immediately. So just a call from any of these and the next loco they can grab will haul a train. This can happen within ten minutes – which is not always sufficient time to reach a reasonable position, because of the terrible road conditions. Road no.309 is falling apart between Chengzihe and Didao now and you should better take the detour via Jixi to go there and pay the toll fee. Other roads are horrible as well, for instance to Zhengyang. Train chasing is impossible, at least by road.
Jixi Hengshan
The systems all stick to their usual operational pattern as described before (please check the trip reports) except Lishu. When they closed the line to Qikeng they immediately lifted the track. Now there is no reason any more to have the locos facing south, but they didn’t change it. This gives you the advantage of seeing the locomotives chimney first in the pink and blue mine at Pinggang, but on the 9 km long and steep line to Pinggang you can only make tender first shots uphill. Really a pity as this line offers plenty of good opportunities. Even with tender first trains you can get really good results. The only challenge is, whether there will be a train or not. They can change their mind within minutes, just according to the requirements of the mine. Once we called in and found out that there should be two trains: the first one with one loco at 5am and another one with a hauling and a banking SY at 7am. As fast as we could we went to Lishu just to find out that as soon as the telephone was dropped they changed the plan to a banked train departing at 5am and a light engine following at 7am. So all we got was a light engine returning from the banked train at 5 in the morning and another light engine uphill around 7.30. The rest of the day was waiting for empties from the state railway. The scheduled freight train arrived with two DF4Bs, but with no wagons at all! So nothing else to do other than take another shot of the light engine returning from the state railway station to Xifeng.
Jixi Didao
They need a banker for coal trains going from Xifang to the washery in Pinggang. On one occasion the train stalled on the steep gradient before Pinggang. They sent the locomotive which was shunting there to rescue the two locos. So we got a double headed train with a banker. But, not really worth taking a picture of because the sun had already disappeared behind the mountains and all three locomotives where tender first ... At least we got a nice line up of all three locomotives at the mine afterwards. The bitter pill was that shadows had just crept into the shot before it could be captured on CF cards or film.
Lishu is definitely worth a longer stay, even if train operations are rare and unpredictable. The system has already lost its best lines and it’s not an option to wait until the last one has gone.
Chengzihe got eight electric locos from Inner Mongolia. At least some of them are from Pingzhuang. They want to replace all steam by mid 2009. The earliest date should be March, the latest date October. Then this fascinating and busy system will be lost. The triangle between Nancheng, Beicheng and Dongcheng alone justifies a visit and a stay of a full day, but there is a lot more to see. Line service is unpredictable here as well, but there are often double headed, long trains. The steep gradient between Zhengyang and Xinghua is a sight in its own, not to forget the long bridge over the River next to Jixi Xi (or Xi Jixi).
Jixi Chengzihe - jobless within ten months
Donghaikuang has reduced its “fleet” of locomotives to just one. During daylight there are one, sometimes two pairs of trains. Often one direction is a light engine only. You may see a light engine leaving Donghaikuang and then waiting in the station on the way to Jidong for hours, just to return after sunset with a mere five wagons. On the other hand you may see a really long coal train from the mine to Jidong. We have seen twice the locomotive returning from the China Railway station very quickly. Waiting at the long bridge you should expect some 20 minutes before the train returns. A security guard was very interested in what we were doing there and he made some telephone calls. Nothing happened, but you should consider that not many enthusiasts walk the 1.5 miles to the bridge. Many think it just too much effort for one or two trains a day when you can have so much action just sitting around in Chengzihe.
Chengzihe
Didao
Donghaikuang
Hengshan
Lishu
In Diaobingshan they’ve gone back to hauling passenger trains with their SYs only. All freight trains are back to diesel after they purchased the brand new DF5Bs. There are no changes planned in the near future, so Diaobingshan remains a well worthwhile visit.
In addition to their model SY (gauge 762 mm, oil fired) they just tested another narrow gauge toy locomotive, a 2-4-0.
Count the locomotives, throw in the boundless opportunities and count down the days that paradise will remain on earth – then you should know what to do next. Railway tours for dedicated photographers and video film makers are still rewarding! You just need to go there.
Don't wait too long ... Jixi Lishu
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