The Greatest Steam Show on Earth - Unsung Steam Heroes

Jalainur has a considerable number of steam cranes which are an integral part of their operation (although large electrical cranes / excavators do the bulk spoil and coal movements), here the crane is part of a panorama which includes evidence of at least 18 steam locomotives at work:

At Nanzhan this standard self-propelled '151' model is used primarily to transfer coal to the servicing hopper for the steam locomotives.   

Also based at Nanzhan and ready for use (although we never saw it used) was what appears to be a much larger breakdown crane.

This one was at the washery where the system connects with CNR. It has a worksplate but apart from the fact that it was built in China in 1979, the characters are illegible under the paint.

At the coal transfer shed and servicing point at Dongfanghong is another crane used for steam locomotive coal but also for clearing away the ash (which here is very dusty):

Their main use is in track moving/laying as stripping/mining proceeds.

These ones always seem to come with an SY attached, used for all movements I saw. In this case a running line was being moved eastwards by about 5 metres, block by block, it was a surprisingly slick operation with a large gang of workers employed to align, level, join and pack the track as it was slewed across. 

• Introduction to Jalainur

• Coal trains

• Spoil trains

• Tipping the spoil

• Shed and works

• The people thing