Shibanxi Holiday 2009 - Shixi Shed Visit

After two weeks in Bagou, we chose a day with a poor forecast to make our annual shed visit. The early train was packed so we were asked to travel in the tourist coach - as foreigners we pay the same fare anywhere on the train. These coaches do ride better than the original ones and the view out is much better:

At Shixi, 10 is the latest locomotive to get a 'heavy general':

Of the two Pengzhou locomotives, 72 appears to be in the better condition, present plans are to overhaul it when 10 is finished in a couple of months time. It will be made more like the existing Shibanxi locomotives - apparently they do have the same wheel base -  which will mean removing the air brake system and the extension at the front (not least because this will save weight). Apparently the worksplates on these two were still present when they arrived and were inadvertently given away to visitors! Ideally they would like them back but if anyone has a photograph so replicas can be made, please do get in touch. Here the visiting Chinese technical expert from Beijing discusses what needs to be done with the traffic manager:

The existing old shed building is living on borrowed time, there are plans to rebuild it to improve working conditions, no doubt it will end up looking like the new workshops, meanwhile things carry on as before including machining parts (left) and adding the bodies to new coal wagons (right):

Outside in the yard were the other seven tourist coaches (one was in service). In the best Shibanxi traditions they were of three completely different designs. Also present were two coaches which had been modified for overhead wire and tunnel inspection purposes:

As is obvious from the pictures above, the light was at the wrong end of dire, so to avoid a long wait for the (third) afternoon train we returned almost immediately on the second train. There were compensations as there were some photogenic passengers on board, I was told the old lady was 85: