Steam in China, March 1999

Report of a Trip to Yabuli, Weihe, Bei’an, Zhanhe and Baotou from 6th to 23rd March 1999 by Duncan Cotterill. Click here for additional comments from Bryan Acford (added 19th April 1999).

Introduction

This trip was planned at short notice by Bryan Acford and myself as a result of our own observations and those of other visitors in the autumn and early winter. These drew us to the inevitable conclusion that there wouldn’t be much steam working left on the national railway system by next winter. It had become clear that China Rail’s intention was to rid itself of as many steam locos as possible before the 1^st of October, the 50^th anniversary of the declaration of the Peoples Republic in 1949. At the same time, promising information was coming to light about some of the forestry operations in Manchuria. The north east was once awash with narrow gauge forestry railways but most had suffered serious decline over the last decade. With many systems already closed and the survivors under threat, it seemed a golden opportunity to visit a couple of lines that were still going strong, particularly as on past trips we’d never really done justice to steam powered lawnmowers dragging sticks.

Visiting China in mid March was always going to be a gamble but the timing of the Spring Festival and work commitments dictated the dates. The change from the settled, cold, clear weather of the northern winter to the warm, wet, cloudy conditions of spring could have been well advanced but we were lucky. Snow still lay deep around Yabuli, Weihe and Zhanhe and the sun shone most of the time. Even Baotou, on the same latitude as Naples, had a dusting of snow and sub-zero temperatures. The big advantage of March was, of course, the longer days. Early and late trains that weren’t lit in mid winter ran in good light at this time of year, yet the sun didn’t get intolerably high during the middle of the day.

As a photographer who prefers his trains in the landscape, I found this trip hard work but ultimately very rewarding. Most of the locations may not have been as picturesque or dramatic as Jingpeng but the variety and rarity of the subject matter made up for that. Decent shots of high deflector and deflectorless QJs have always been elusive but both featured on this trip. Similarly, high deflector JS in the snow around Bei’an and deflectorless examples powering 13 coach suburban trains out of the sunrise at Baotou provided exceptional subject matter for our cameras.

The forestry lines brought challenges all of their own. We were largely in unknown territory, exploring places few, if any, western gricers had visited before. The satisfaction of discovering good locations was tempered with the frustration of photographing a train in a mediocre spot only to find an excellent position just down the line a few minutes later. It was hard going at times but in spite of the steam leaks, erratic schedules and inaccessible positions, we eventually got a number of good shots of some of the world’s last steam worked forestry operations.

As the end of steam operation on the national system approaches, it’s worth emphasising that there’s still a lot to see on the many locally administered, industrial and narrow gauge lines around China. However, it won’t last indefinitely. Go before it’s too late.

Organisation

Inclusive arrangements within China were made for our group of four through Sun Xiaolan of China Liaoning Steam Locomotive Photography Association (Fax +86 24 2252 8719, Tel +86 24 2252 9901. Flights with British Airways from London to Beijing and back were booked through Regent Holidays of Bristol (Tel 0117 921 1711, Fax 0117 925 4866). Mrs Sun accompanied us as a guide and interpreter throughout. Internal travel was usually by train for longer distances with hired jeeps or minibuses for local transport at each centre. We flew Beijing to Harbin and return.

Yabuli Forestry Railway (8 & 9 March)

Yabuli is 212 km south east of Harbin on the China Rail line to Mudanjiang. The 2’6" gauge system has been truncated in recent years but still runs north for a distance of about 80 km with a couple of branches off the main line. The railway has obviously seen better days and staff informed us that the system would close permanently at the end of this year’s logging season, probably some time in April.

Motive power is all steam except for a few railbuses used to operate the passenger service. All locos are standard C2 type 0-8-0 tender engines. No less than 6 locos were seen in traffic ( 01, 02, 07, 010, 127 & B*309). Another 4 locos were dead on Yabuli shed ( 03, 04, 06 & 161) with one more (05) dumped outside. This accounts for all 11 locos said to be based here. B*309 is said to be Polish built, 07 is identified in the IRS book as a MAVAG product while the rest are thought to be indigenous. We didn’t go over the engines with a fine tooth comb but there didn’t seem to be any obvious differences between the European and Chinese built examples.

Heavy loaded trains were banked over the summit 9 km north of Yabuli, (near the 8 km post on the road). The banker ran light engine from Yabuli to meet the incoming train at the first station beyond the summit, pushed up to the summit then detached and followed the train down to the next station where it went on the front and piloted the train engine into Yabuli. The station names we were given were at variance to those reported by Ted Talbot and John Raby so haven’t been quoted to avoid confusion.

On the 9^th, our only full day here, there were three loaded trains, due in before 07:00, at 11:00 and 15:00 but actually arriving at 07:00 (banked to summit), 13:20 (banked to summit) and 16:20 (unassisted). Three trains of empties were scheduled out at 09:40, 11:00 and 12:00 but only two were actually seen before sunset, leaving at 14:45 and 16:25. The whole operation seemed to be on its last legs and trains were often delayed while running repairs were made to keep the locos going.

We stayed at the Yabuli Hotel in the centre of town, about 1 km from the NG station, and ate at a nearby restaurant. The hotel was just about adequate but the amount and duration of hot water available weren’t. Transport here and at Yabuli was in a pair of 4-wheel drive Beijing jeeps, ideal for the icy dirt roads that predominate in this area. The weather was cold, well below zero even in March, and there was a good covering of snow on the ground, over a foot deep in sheltered spots. Although it wasn’t completely cloudless, the visibility was good and the sun shone more often than not.

Weihe Forestry Railway (8, 10 & 11 March)

Another 2’6" gauge logging line but a complete contrast to the run down feel at Yabuli, only 20 km to the east. The line runs south from Weihe, 192 km south east of Harbin on the line to Mudanjiang. This is a bustling, lively system with a main line over 60 km long and several branches. Local information was that the line should last at least 2 more seasons but beyond that, it’s future was uncertain.

Again, all locos were standard C2 0-8-0 tender engines, all thought to be Chinese built but in much better condition than their counterparts at Yabuli. Locos 030, 033, 034, 053, 054, 055 were seen on line and a further, recently repainted but unnumbered engine with 6 wheel tender was in use as Weihe yard pilot. The locos seen on line all had bogie tenders. Previous reports have mentioned a disk mounted on top of each engine’s chimney, giving the appearance of a lip. This appears to be the frame for a wire mesh spark arrestor. We didn’t explore the shed but there were said to be a further 2 locos inside. Railbuses are used on passenger services to and from Xinan but on the main line there are two return steam hauled passenger workings a day operating between Liushan and Weihe Keyunzhan (literally passenger station). The shed is adjacent to Keyunzhan but timber traffic is handled at Weihe station, about 1km to the south, where there is a sizeable yard and timber yard. Both Keyunzhan and Weihe are some distance to the south of the China Rail Weihe station which is on the northern outskirts of town and connected to the timber yards by a standard gauge spur.

The line runs close to the road through a flat bottomed valley as far as Zhenzhu, approx 6km out and the junction of the 18 km Xinan branch. The valley then widens considerably and the road runs well to the west of the line along the valley floor for the next 16 km or so. Side roads lead to the line in several places including the intermediate stations of Xinli (approx km 10) and Xiping (approx km 18). South of Xiping, the line comes close to the road again around km 22 as it climbs through woodland to a minor summit before dropping into Pinglin (approx km 25). Pinglin is a large village, served by buses from Weihe and the end of the good dirt road. Beyond Pinglin, the line climbs through open country at first, then birch forest for about 5 km to a major summit deep in the hills. The line then drops for 2 km to the next station, Shuangfeng, before continuing down to Dongfeng (approx km 38). There are timber loading points to the north of both Shuangfeng and Dongfeng. At Shuangfeng at least, most timber seems to arrive on ox sleds. Dongfeng has a triangle, coal and water facilities and appears to act as an intermediate marshalling point where trains are assembled and dispatched to Weihe. There is a narrow, steep and twisty road from Pinglin through Shuangfeng to Dongfeng and beyond but it is remote from the line as far as Shuangfeng. Even in a 4 wheel drive jeep this road was extremely treacherous and we had to abandon our first attempt to get to Shuangfeng. The following day one of our jeeps made it through, passing several lorries that had gone off the road on the way. After Dongfeng the valley seemed to open out more but we didn’t manage to explore further.

km Station

1 Keyunzhan (Passenger station in Weihe town, terminus of the line, loco depot)

0 Weihe (Timber yards & SG transshipment)

6 Zhenzhu (Junction of branch to Xinan)

10? Xinli

18? Xiping

25? Pinglin (Water)

32? Shuangfeng (Timber Loading)

38? Dongfeng (Timber Loading, Loco servicing, wye)

? Qingshan

? Conghe

? Yulin

60+ Liushan

The most scenic locations were beyond Xiping, particularly around the summit north of Shuangfeng where the line cuts through a range of hills in a deep, but in places wide, cutting with a passing loop and a couple of quarry sidings. This section is fairly inaccessible unless you’re prepared for a long walk from Pinglin or, providing the road is passable, a slightly shorter walk from Shuangfeng. Much of the line in this area runs through forested country but there are some clearings where good shots are possible. Although not as scenic, there are also some good positions in the open county between Weihe and Zhenzhu. Chasing by road is practical on this section but not as easy as it sounds because the little locos go surprisingly fast in spite of their tiny button wheels.

Steam hauled passenger trains are scheduled to run at 08:00 and 16:20 from Keyunzhan arriving at Liushan approx 11:00 and 19:20. The return workings depart Liushan at approx 04:30 and 12:30 arriving Keyunzhan at 07:30 and 15:30. The consist is usually 3 coaches and a bogie brake and the train lays over at Liushan overnight. On the freight side, the Xinan branch sees relatively little activity, probably no more than one timber train a day according to staff. The main line is busier but, in common with many forestry systems, the timber is loaded during the day and much of the rail activity takes place at night. We did see at least one loaded train and between one and four trains of empties in daylight each day. Staff were very helpful in providing anticipated train times although when trains would actually show up was difficult to predict more than an hour or so in advance. The plan seemed to evolve as time went on rather than being cast in tablets of stone and there was no discernable pattern from one day to the next. Loaded trains can be banked on the climbs if their loads are heavy enough and there is another loco available. We saw one train banked out of Pinglin by the loco off a train of empties that it crossed there. The banker appeared to stay on until Xiping before returning to Pinglin to collect its train and continue south. Another train was given a push out of Shuangfeng, again by a loco borrowed off a southbound but this time the banker dropped off after a few hundred metres once the loads were up to speed. This train crossed another set of empties at Pinglin but continued up the bank out of town unassisted.

We stayed at the Weihe Hotel in the centre of town, near to Keyunzhan station, and ate at a nearby restaurant, around the corner from that vigorously promoted by Messrs Raby and Talbot but just as good. The hotel here is more than a basic hostel, the rooms were better than those at Yabuli and the hot water was more reliable but the heating wasn’t as effective. On balance, there wasn’t a lot to choose between the two establishments. The weather was similar to Yabuli.

Overall, this is an excellent system with a healthy level of daytime activity, a steam passenger service and good photographic potential. In common with most logging operations, there is a short season from late November / early December to late March / early April with a declining number of trains continuing into the early summer. This line is definitely on the list for an early return visit.

Harbin Area (7, 11, 12, 17 March)

We passed through Harbin three times; en route to Yabuli, from Weihe to Bei’an and on our return from Bei’an. No sign of active steam was seen in Harbin, on the Mudanjiang line or south of Suihua. The expected DFH3, DF4B&C, DF5 and DFH5 were all noted at work in the Harbin area but a surprise was DF4D 0106 piloted by a DFH3 on Y214, the 20:00 Jagdaqi to Harbindong overnight passenger.

Suiling Forestry Railway (12 March)

A 2’6" gauge logging line north of Suihua, seen from the main line train as we passed through, en route from Harbin to Bei’an. Two C2’s were seen in steam, one shunting and a second at the shed.

Tongbei Forestry Railway (12 March)

This 2’6" gauge logging line, north of Suiling, has been reported closed for several years. We saw virtually no trace of it from the passing main line train.

Zhanhe Forestry Railway (13 & 15 March)

Yet another 2’6" gauge logging line and one that is still very much alive. The local management have been given no indication that things will change in the short term and given the quality of the timber being extracted and the impracticality of using road transport, the line should be safe for a few years. Zhanhe (shown in the Quail atlas as Wudalianchi) is just south of Longzhen on the China Rail line from Bei’an to Heihe in the far north of Heilongjiang province. The narrow gauge line, not shown on most maps, runs east from the town for approx 138 km into very remote forest. Unlike Yabuli and Weihe, a large proportion of the timber here is in the form of long tree trunks rather than shorter logs. These are strapped to bogies at either end with the timber itself taking the tractive forces.

Once more, C2’s are the standard motive power here although there are some diesels as well. Of the 10 C2’s based at Zhanhe, nos 010, 036, 037, 195, 203 were seen on line work while 175 and 179 were in steam at Zhanhe shed on the 15^th. No 037 is said to be a Polish built engine, the rest are thought to be Chinese built. At least 2 of the 3 Mudanjiang built diesels here (single ended flat fronted B-B’s with a full width body) were seen on line work but as neither carried a number we can’t be sure how many we actually saw. The only distinguishing feature between those seen was the livery, turquoise and cream on one, similar to the DFH3 scheme and dark green and cream on the other. Both had very tasteful pink buffer beams. Two JMY380 diesels (similar in layout to the Mudanjiangs but with a more streamlined nose) were also seen. One numbered 386 was shunting at Zhanhe while a second was under repair at the shed. There was no sign of the 0-6-0 diesel shunter said to be here but we didn’t actually look in the timber yard where it probably lurks. There are also 2 bogie railbuses and 2 four-wheel railcars on the system but a regular passenger service hasn’t operated for several years.

We were made most welcome by the line’s management and staff and hired one of the 4-wheel railcars on both days to travel into the forests accompanied by Mr Guan from the railway headquarters. The first 29 km from Zhanhe to Sudaogang are through open grassland reminiscent of the Canadian prairies. There are no major landscape features although the line possesses some significant grades in each direction as it drops to cross each watercourse then climbs away again. In spite of the featurelessness of the terrain, the locos do have to work hard on these banks, making plenty of noise and exhaust in the process. This section is parallelled throughout by a reasonable dirt road on the south side of the track. Unusually for China, there’s only one set of poles to contend with along the whole length of the line and they’re set well back from the trackside. Just beyond Sudaogang, the road disappears to the south and vehicle access to the rest of the line is at best indirect and in many places completely impossible. The line drops to a bridge over the river soon after leaving Sudaogang then commences a long stiff climb to a summit before Tianlongshan (km 37). By now, the landscape has become more hilly and wooded although there are some long open sections as well. After a short drop from the station to cross a watercourse, the climb resumes to the first major summit in a wooded cutting a couple of km before Changfeng (km 46). From there the line drops through Hexi (km 53) to a pair of river crossings before Hedong (km 60). The area around Hexi was the most photogenic we found on the entire line with low hills and birch forests but sufficient clear stretches as well. Beyond Hedong, the line follows the river valley on an undulating profile through birch forest then clearer ground to Xingfu (km 65), site of a huge timber yard and equipped with several sidings and a wye. Xingfu was the last place we saw any evidence of road access. Continuing east, the serious climbing soon starts again through birch forest to a second major summit 2 km before Xingan (km 76) from where the drop continues to Maolan (km 85). Maolan has a wye, loco servicing point with coaling facilities and a large yard. A branch, now truncated, leads to the north while the main line continues east for a further 53 km to Beiying with a 37 km branch from Lingdong to Wusineng. Diesel hauled trains from further east work through to Zhanhe but steam workings change locos here. Maolan was as far east as we got.

Traffic was heavier here than on either the Weihe or Yabuli systems. Information from the line’s management was that during the main operating season which runs from the end of November to the end of March, the line operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with a week’s holiday over the spring festival. Typically 8 loaded trains arrive at Zhanhe over a 24 hour period although many of these will show up during the night. On the day we went to Maolan, we crossed no less than 6 loaded trains, 4 of which were steam hauled while the other 2 had MDJ diesels. Of these only 2 steam and 1 diesel would have traversed the accessible Sudaogang to Zhanhe section in daylight. After the main season, the line continues to operate diminishing numbers of trains until June hauling approx 240,000 metres (presumably cubic metres) of timber per year.

Even at Zhanhe, we were the subject of some good natured curiosity from the locals, many of them admitting that they had never seen westerners in the flesh before. Out in the sticks, the interest was greater still and we attracted a lot of friendly attention everywhere we stopped. Some Japanese visitors have been out this way recently but we certainly got the impression we were the first Europeans to set foot in these remote isolated places for very many years if not the first ever. A very strange experience indeed.

This is a fascinating and busy system that still handles large quantities of quality timber in the traditional manner, slung between bogies. Gricing the line was hard work compared to Yabuli or Weihe. The remoteness of the system and the inaccessibility of the best locations will put off all but the most dedicated, but if you want to see Chinese forestry railways at their best, this is the place to visit.

Bei’an (12, 14 & 16 March)

The countryside around Bei’an isn’t particularly inspiring, comprising mainly gently undulating agricultural land reminiscent of parts of northern Germany or Poland and virtually devoid of good vantage points from which to photograph the trains. A bit of snow on the ground works wonders though and we ended up with a few nice shots. The Bei’an approaches are unusually uncluttered and being on an east - west alignment, there were excellent glint possibilities around sunrise and sunset. Early afternoon departures to the west and north were also pleasant.

One of the main attractions of this area is the significant proportion of high deflector locos still in use. All 6 of the JS seen (JS6554, 8246, 8263, 8313, 8314, 8315) were so fitted as were 5 QJ (QJ3254, 3255, 3257, 3415, 3450). A further 7 QJ had standard deflectors (QJ3043, 3414, 3535, 6657, 6903, 6919, 6961) while QJ3359 had no deflectors and was used as the hump shunter. Most of the JS were clean as were a few QJ, notably the decorated high deflector QJ3255, obviously the depot’s prestige engine. One of the Heihe Local Railway DF1 diesels seen was also of interest. It had the earlier 2 window cab design and a very unusual number, DF8907, although close inspection of the photographs revealed a different number painted out on the cast plate on the nose, possibly DF1245. The reason for the renumbering was not determined.

Local sources expect Bei’an to receive it’s first allocation of diesels in May. How much will survive until next winter is questionable.

The Suihua line was travelled northbound in daylight on the 12^th and many of the arrivals and departures at Bei’an were observed on the 14^th and 16^th. All freight traffic seen was steam hauled by QJ class 2-10-2’s, frequently double headed and on two occasions triple headed. All the QJs seen at the Bei’an end of the line appeared to be allocated to Bei’an depot. Although the freights on this line run to a schedule, actual arrival and departure times were less predictable than on the Qiqihaer or Longzhen lines. Through passenger trains from Harbin or beyond were hauled by Sankeshu (Harbin) based DFH3 although those that didn’t operate south of Suihua generally produced Suihua based green DF4B.

Daytime freight traffic on the Qiqihaer line was sparse, just a morning steam departure (seen between 07:00 & 07:30) with a Bei’an based QJ and an in and out turn at lunchtime with a Qiqihaer based DF4B. This was the only diesel freight working we saw in the Bei’an area. Passenger trains seen were exclusively in the hands of Qiqihaer based DFH3.

On the Longzhen line, a limited amount of activity was seen on the 12^th, when we explored possible locations, and on the 13^th and 15^th en route to or from the Zhanhe NG. Virtually all movements at the Bei’an end of the line were observed on the 14^th and 16^th and timings closely adhered to those expected. All freights and those passenger trains terminating or originating at Longzhen were hauled by Bei’an based JS class 2-8-2s. Occasionally, freights were double headed but these varied from day to day. Through passenger trains to or from Heihe used DF1 diesels from the Heihe Local Railway.

Daylight departures from Bei’an towards Longzhen (based on observations):

08:55 JS Goods, 10:24 DF1 Psgr (Y233), 13:27 DF1 Psgr (605), 14:33 JS Psgr (543/4), 15:35 JS Goods, 17:20 JS Psgr (617).

Daylight arrivals at Bei’an from Longzhen (based on observations): 07:00 JS Goods, 11:49 DF1 Psgr (Y234), 13:15 JS Goods, 14:16 DF1 Psgr (606), 16:35 JS Goods.

While visiting Bei’an and Zhanhe, we stayed at the adequate Bei’an Hotel, about 1 km north of Bei’an station on the main street. We ate at the, now famous, nearby Jia Chang Liao Li 24 hour restaurant and can heartily recommend it. The early breakfasts are particularly good and set you up well for the forthcoming grice. Transport was provided by a microbus taxi, a bit cramped for four of us plus guide and driver but there wasn’t much else available locally. The road up to Zhanhe is a real boneshaker, giving over an hour of violent massage in each direction. There is a forestry hostel at Zhanhe but we didn’t investigate it. Not surprisingly, the weather was cold this far north, down to -30C one night and around -10C or below during the day. There was a fair bit of snow around, particularly in the forests east of Zhanhe but the covering was a bit erratic around Bei’an itself. The mornings tended to be a bit misty but again the sun shone much of the time we were here.

Beijing to Baotou and return (17 & 23 March)

Just out of Beijing Xi, SY0162 & 604 were seen stabled beside the line. The stabling point is on the opposite side of the line to the power station adjacent to what appears to be a permanent way yard. Further out, one SY was seen among many GK1 and V100 diesels as we passed Capital I&S. Another SY was glimpsed after dark as we passed Xuanhua steelworks.

On the modern traction front, a few ND4 were seen in use in the Beijing area among the masses of DF4B&C, DF7, DF7B, DFH5, SS1 and 8K. A couple of DF11 were also seen on express passengers. A couple of unusual DF4 variants were also encountered (just when I thought I’d got to grips with the bloody things!). At Zhangjiakounan a pair of what appeared at first to be DF4C passed through the station while we were stopped there. They carried the usual blue and cream livery but were numbered DF4 0018 and DF4 2001, numbers that should belong to earlier members of the class. Another sighting of what appeared at first to be a DF4C at Fengtai diesel depot turned out to have rounded corners to the roof. It seemed to have the number DF4ND or DF4DN 4016 but I couldn’t see it for long enough to be sure. Again the livery appeared to be the standard blue and cream.

The route from Beijing Xi to Baotou is by the electrified "new" line via Luopoling rather than the traditional route via Nankou pass. This is a spectacular piece of railway entering mountainous country immediately after leaving the outskirts of Beijing and following the gorge of the Yongding River through to the huge Guanting reservoir near Shacheng where the old main line is rejoined. Much of the line is in tunnel and there are numerous impressive viaducts as well. For much of the way, the up and down lines run on opposite sides of the river on ledges carved into the solid rock walls of the canyon, swapping sides on several occasions. Although there is no evidence of steam working in recent years, this line is a spectacular piece of railway engineering by any standards and well worth seeing.

Baotou (18 - 22 March)

All the loop line and Shiguai passengers remain JS worked. Timings were as expected but train 935, the 16:25 circle line departure didn’t run on the Sunday. It didn’t run on the Sunday we were in Baotou in November either in spite of being advertised as daily. We did see it as expected on other days. The Linhe local passengers, trains 755 & 756, which were QJ worked until recently, were seen twice, with DF4B haulage both times. This was the only major change we found at Baotou.

The Shiguai branch freights remain JS and work to the same pattern as before ie eastbounds at Houba around 09:00 and 13:00 returning around 12:00 and 16:00. Coal traffic was down from recent levels due to a relatively mild winter and these trains often ran with less than the usual 14 wagons, dispensing with the banker out of Shiguai, or were cancelled altogether due to lack of traffic. Steam worked trips between Baotou Dong and Baotou Xi yards and round the loop line continued to run using both QJ and JS while shunting at both Dong and Xi yards was shared by DF5, QJ and JS.

Locos seen in traffic: QJ6563 (no deflectors), 6565, 6834.

JS8001, 8003, 8004, 8005, 8008, 8279, 8280, 8321, 8322, 8325, 8327, 8328.

The vast majority of traffic is, of course, diesel worked these days. Hohhot based DF4B monopolise main line traffic east of Baotou with Baotou based DF4B&C working west to Linhe and on the branch north to Bayan Obo. We heard rumours that diesels were to be acquired for the circle line passengers in the near future and trials to gauge the suitability of diesels for the Shiguai line would take place in August this year.

In spite of the writing being on the wall for China Rail steam working in the Baotou area, it can still seem an incredibly steamy place: Visions of no less than 4 steam passenger departures coming out of the sunrise at Baotoudong between 06:30 and 07:14 or prestige JS 8279 accelerating 13 coach train 945 past Dong yard while QJ 6563 piloting JS 8322 and QJ6565 waited to depart on trip freights will not fade quickly.

Traffic on the Dongsheng coal line was very sparse again after a busy winter. We only visited Singing Sands once but information from other gricers in the area over the previous couple of weeks indicated only one or two trains each way daily both north and south of Dongsheng. Locos seen:

QJ6017, 6247. A connecting line from Dongsheng to Jungar Qi is said to be under construction. This will enable export coal traffic from south of Dongsheng access to a more direct route to Datong, bypassing Baotou completely. The type of traction to be used was not determined but the line east from Jungar Qi is shown in the Quail atlas as electrified.

The steelworks continue to use a number of SYs on various duties including slag tipping. Locos seen SY0502, 1623.

We stayed at the Xi Hu (Westlake) Hotel in downtown Baotou Dong, a better establishment than those in the north east and conveniently situated for Baotou Dong station and yards, the Dongsheng coal line and the Shiguai branch. The restaurant to the north of the hotel where we had previously eaten had changed hands so we ate a little further away at another that specialised in large and excellent Mongolian Hotpots. One of the side dishes was, we were informed, semen! Thankfully this turned out to be sesame. - phew! For transport, we had the services of Mr Kong and his minibus, not China’s fastest driver but reassuringly safe. The weather was disappointingly warm on the first day but soon cooled down to more acceptable sub zero temperatures with a lot of sunshine and even some snow.

Shenyang Area Snippets - info from CLSLPA

Xintaizi - mine and railway now closed.

Kaiyuan - The local line running east from here has a fleet of JS and SY and operates 2 passengers each way daily in addition to a number of freights. Tieling - Another local railway with a main line running west from Tieling to Tiefa from where a number of branches radiate to mines. Again JS and SY are used on what is said to be a busy system. Both passenger and freight trains are operated.

Huanggutun - The depot here is said to have closed to steam. The JF6 at the nearby works is thought to have been retired.

Sujiatun Locomotive Repair Factory - The GJ tank is still in use.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Roger Gillard, Bruce Evans, Ted Talbot and John Raby for their invaluable assistance and information about the Yabuli, Weihe, Bei’an and Zhanhe areas.

Additional Comments from Bryan Acford:

Introduction

This tour was undertaken with Duncan Cotterill and two other colleagues. The ground arrangements were made by Mrs Sun of CLSLPA. These notes are in addition to the comprehensive report from Duncan above.

Forestry Lines

We visited 3 lines and a common feature seemed to be the frequency with which operations were delayed by breakdowns and derailments. It must be remembered that these lines operate in extremely arduous conditions (temperatures as low as minus 40C at Zhanhe) and maintaining both locomotives and track hauling un-braked trains is a real challenge for the staff.

Yabuli Forestry Railway (8/9 March)

The staff said that four return trains were operating each 24 hours, although the service was affected by both derailments and loco breakdown's during our visit. On 8th March three trains of empties left between 1200 and 2000, with a fourth preparing to leave at 2100. The loco on this train arrived back at Yabuli around 1600 on the following day. We only travelled 20km up the line but saw no sign of any wood loading. There were both track and bridge sections around the depot at Yabuli. These had presumably been recovered from closed branches. Sadly, the local staff told us that the line would close during April and 'the track would be taken up'

Weihe Forestry Railway (8/10/11 March)

This system has much character with Weihe town having many sidings to wood yards and small factories, including some street running. It would have much potential for modellers.

We travelled about 35km down the line and saw no evidence of large wood yards, rather isolated sidings each loading a few wagons each day using a simple post and hoist made of two large logs. Some of these were deep in the forest and served by oxen hauling sleds.

Judging by the traffic in yard at Weihe in the early morning several trains must arrive during the night. Some of the trains may not travel the whole length of the line. We saw one which ran to Dongfeng and then collected loaded wagons from around the area. It also collected other loads en route to Weihe. Some loaded trains also drop loaded wagons at a large wood yard / factory approx 2 km south of the town. This factory also has a standard gauge connection.

One thing to beware of at Weihe is the cancellation of the daytime passenger train if there are operating problems. Ted & John saw this one day during their visit. We suffered similarly on 11th March when the inbound morning passenger was delayed by the need to re rail an empty train near to Xinli. It finally arrived at Weihe about 0900 and despite there being a spare set of coaches available the passenger was cancelled.

Bei'An area

The same locomotives are dumped at Bei'An depot as were noted by Ted Talbot earlier this year. The busy times at Bei'An depot seem to be the early morning and late afternoon.

One thing to watch out for at Bei'An are light QJ's (sometimes in pairs) heading south. They then return around 6 hours later assisting northbound trains (sometimes as triple headers). Based upon the time taken they do not have time to go Suihua so must turn around in the Tongbei area.

Traffic levels seemed a little erratic and it seemed quite easy to empty the yard at Bei'An leading to light locos on trains to the north. Based upon this the JS diagrams on the Longzhen line are fairly easy to work out. One of the JS is used as the Power Station (east side) pilot at Bei'An, but if traffic levels are high it may be used to double head trains to Longzhen.

Zhanhe Forestry Railway

The locos here were all very work stained (despite having been freshly painted at the end of November). Presumably it is impossible to clean them due to the temperatures in which they operate.

As we travelled down the line towards Maolan we saw significant quantities of wood at the track side. It had presumably been offloaded in order to help clear derailments.

I saw no evidence of a triangle at Xinfu, but note a lot of loaded wagons sitting in the loop. Some had been there for a while and may have been cripples.

The section from Hedong - Hexi - Changfeng is a steep grade and was being worked as a single section as a precaution against runaways. The one train which we saw near the top of the grade needed to stop to brew up. Judging by the quantities of ash between the tracks this may be a common occurrence.

There is no regular passenger service but we saw a special passenger with one of the 'Haerbin buses' which ran as far as Hedong on the morning of 15th March.

Whilst we were taking tea in the railway HQ at Zhanhe we looked at the system map. There was a branch to the south indicated at the far end of the line. It was indicated that this line was 'under construction' which if correct would be a hopeful sign for the future of the line. It was also indicated to us that the line is an important employer in this area, so there is some pressure to keep it open in spite of the general decline in the forestry industry.

Baotou Area

We saw a further QJ 6835 (no deflectors) shunting at Wan shui Quan. It was reported that the maintenance shop at Baotou Xi is being converted for diesels, so there are probably minimal covered maintenance facilities in the Baotou area. QJ 7059 which was working until recently is now stored at Baotou Xi.

Traffic levels were low to Shiguai. Remember that Spring Festival traditionally lasts for a month. Lantern Festival is two weeks later and there are further festivities at the end of the month. The latter seemed to be observed by the mines at Shiguai and Sundays may also be less busy. We were also told that coal traffic can be seasonal and heavier in the winter. Also of note at Shiguai was the absence of any limestone in loaded trains. In October, up to half of the wagons in some trains contained limestone.

We also traced a second working donkey at a tiny drift mine near to Xiaofonghua on the Houba branch. It is north of the line around km 16 and the donkey is used to haul two empty skips back to the mouth of the mine.

Other Titbits

We also bumped into Li Weishu who was guiding another party. He reported:

1. He has visited the line from Ulanhot to Arxan and it is now QJ worked. As we suspected traffic is light with only 2 or 3 trains each day. He also reported that the line is wooded on some of the hilly sections.

2. The SY 3023 being built at Changchun Works is one of pair being built. They are apparently being built for Hegang mine in lieu of payment for coal which has been supplied to the locomotive works.