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Dahuichang
Sujiatun
JiTong
Yuanbaoshan
Chengde
Part 3: Tiefa Coal Group
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Tiefa train schedule.
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| Well known steam operator Tiefa Mining
Co. uses a fleet of SYs for all passenger trains on it's web like
coal mining system. For two years I worked on trains so much like
this one at Texas State Railroad, but I never would have believed
that I would see them working for real in the year 2005. This view
of SY 1749 at the end of line station was taken from the public rock
loader at Wangqian, which has a limestone quarry and local stone
carving industry specializing in gigantic hand carved lions used
decorating for public buildings. Not only does this little village
not have a coal mine, but it also has a least two churches which
appear to be just like the Roman Catholic ones in Latin America. |
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| Modern city of Tieling is the
operational center for most of nearly 40 commuter passenger trains
still hauled every day by standard SY class locomotives. Excellent
access is provided from the pedestrian footbridge over the yard
tracks. While the hotel here was very nice, I must warn unsuspecting
Americans that morning coffee is a custom not practiced here. I
thought the white stuff boiling away in the coffee urn was cafe con
leche, a drink made with coffee and hot milk rather than water. I
nearly choked on my first mouthful because it is a thick broth made
of white beans !!! The problem was easily solved by buying some
instant coffee and asking for hot water. I guess Chinese railroaders
must drink tea, Hell if I know how they can have railroads at all
without coffee. |
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| Typical morning rush hour with SYs 1772,
1770, and 1255. Shooting passenger trains here is like shooting fish
in a barrel. No way you could fail to get some doozys unless your
camera quits or develops problems, like mine did. I was sure
everything was working, and I'd paid good money for my all my gear
to be "cleaned and adjusted" before this trip. Of course, I ignored
the often heard advice to carry an extra camera, and I am now going
to pass this same advice along to you. Next time, I'm going to carry
an extra camera. |
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| Outside of the backshop are two growing
lines of dead SYs, with a single JS. Stacks are covered, rods pulled
and crankpins wrapped, all indications that these engines could be
used again, and probably will be. Nearby is the skeleton of a new
building intended to house them, the Steam Locomotive Exhibition
Hall. Inside the shop, a machinist was working on a pile of at least
two dozen trailing truck wheel center castings with a vertical
turret lathe. |
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| My favorite location was this yard at Daqing, with a fuel track and coal mine. Pictures taken of this
sign several years ago do not show any diesel locomotives. |
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| I was told that these decorations on SY
1767 are publicizing the "Tiefa Coal Group, Better Tommorow" slogan.
Sometimes these decorations also proclaim the excellence of a
particular locomotive and driver. Overhead coaling crane is now
retired in favor of a rail mounted self propelled steam crane. |
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| Steam may be on the way out, but there
is remains plenty of interesting stuff to discover, such as this
backhead simulator hanging over the edge of the coal pit, still
available when the time comes to train new firemen. |
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| This is SY 1772, the last steam
locomotive in the world built for non historic purposes, which makes
her extremely historic. Her Tangshan builder's plate is dated 1999,
but I'm told she was really finished in Y2K. |
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| It wouldn't do for the guys to be
photographed lounging around, so they decided to freshen up SY 1255
with a little kerosene and cotton waste. |
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| One of the first engines in China to be
restored specifically for charter service is this KD6 class 2-8-0,
built in the USA by Lima. |
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| The KD6 also gets a little scrubbing
and shining before an excursion scheduled the day after I left,
while SY 1683 wrestles with a string of coal cars under the loader. |
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| Most freight trains are now diesel
hauled, but now and then one gets lucky, as this view proves. Of
course, I could have been luckier, but intermittent camera problems
wiped out many of my best pictures, including the passenger train
which just met this coal load. |
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| One thing I really enjoyed was the
complete lack of thick, choking, phony, gaggingly overdone smoke
clouds intentionally produced because photographers demand it at
staged steam events. As you can see, this SY gets a couple dozen
loaded coal cars rolling with no problem. Steam engines are
politically unpopular because of pollution issues, but the ones still
running are contributing very little to that problem compared to
diesel and automotive emissions. I wish there were less pictures
published of steam locomotives belching and puking enormous clouds
of smoke, because it would be easier to convince politicians and the
public that they can be clean. After all, they are not called SMOKE
locomotives. For some reason they do not have SMOKE pressure
gauges..... |
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Photo pass. |
Dahuichang
Sujiatun
JiTong
Yuanbaoshan
Chengde
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