A friend of mine sent me this link. It looks like a pair or QJs are now stateside.

http://www.pbase.com/copcarss/chinese_steam

A question I posed to Trainorders after seeing their initial thread on the subject:

Any idea where Rail Development Corp (www.rrdc.com) will get the crews to operate these beasts when they're tested on US rails? (And do they need any young hands? ;)

A news article, elaborated on by JAC says that Dennis Daugherty, from the California State Railroad Museum, has been involved and that RRDC has an option to purchase more locomotives.

How extraordinary to have the locomotive "which had the distinction of hauling the world’s last regularly scheduled mainline steam passenger train."

It does seem that there are some very interesting developments forthcoming in the field of steam preservation...

Lynch

Hey(am I seeing this wrong) it looks like the break and throttle are on the left side!?
So these things are built backwards? Ha

China is on the opposite side of the globe, so when they were home things were actually where they would be expected to be, from our perspective.

I am told the throttles open when pushed towards the boiler too. I don't want to think what my instinctive reaction would be if I were running one and it started slipping. Still, I'd be pleased to have the chance to find out.

dave

Fellas,

NOW it's getting deep in here. The throttles, reversers, and air brakes work just like they do on a Baldwin, or whatever you're used to in North or Central America (including IRCA, NdeM, CN. CP, etc...). Some QJs had screw reverse I'm told, and the gauges on all of them read in barrs. The air brakes on Chinese cars don't have graduated release, but that doesn't affect the functioning of the automatic brake valve. If you ever made any back up moves or ran an engine with dual controls, or long hood first, you just look out the window and reach back inside to work the handles...no problem.

In fact, QJs are better than what you're used to because they have storm windows so you can see better when switching. Theyalso have foot pedals for the whistle, horn, and cylinder cocks, which leave your hands free for the air, throttle, and reverser.

http://home.comcast.net/~dalemuir1/China2004/StreamingVideo/

http://www.bachsitetoo.com/Bachsitetoo2/Jitong_intro/Jit_intro_title_frame.htm

Some pretty stellar footage of QJs in action, along with some cab footage replete with constant shoveling.

What type of whistles do they use? I've heard footage of compressed air whistles and the horns, but these sound comparable to five chime steam whistles (or Banshees...) Was a particular whistle used stock or did they change throughout the years?

Lynch

I rode in the cabs and actually ran a QJ in China and can tell you for sure that the ones I ran the throttle was the same as locomotives here except that it was on the left side.

Not much difference than running 98 up the Hill, eh Tom?....ha ha.

Lucky B......

To answer the question on whistles --- my QJ whistle is a standard China Rail 5 chime, made of cast iron or steel, tuned to a minor seventh chord, and it closely resembles the whistles we use in the good old USA. These honk on steam, not air. The air is used to work the whistle valve by means of a dashpot which is controled by two foot operated valves on the cab floor in front of the driver and assistant driver. So far as I know, there has been relatively little variation in whistles used on the various classes during the later years of standard gauge Chinese steam. They all sound similar to me.

If you want the best information available on QJs, you should check out the website of Hans Schaeffer. This man is the closest thing there is to a real QJ driver that doesn't live in China, and his website has an excellent English language translation of the China Rail QJ operator's manual, including diagrams of the cab showing all controls and valves. The information was gathered by him during many working visits to the JiTong Tielu, but much of the material applies to the other classes of standard gauge Chinese steam, and the section on signals and operating rules applies to every standard gauge line in China. I'm going to attempt a copy and paste of his URL: http://home.c2i.net/schaefer/chinarail.html
By the way, I first became aware of this book because of one of Bob Yarger's postings to this forum a couple years ago.....

Ken,

Good ole 98 will always be my first love. But I gotta say the coolest thing is running second engine on a QJ doubleheader at track speed with about 50 loads in tow and meeting other doubleheaders at passing sidings. That just maybe have been the best 300 yuan I have ever spent.

And that, folks, is about $35.00 US!


Got to do the same thing (2nd loco, doubleheader, eastbound over Jin-ping Pass, D.C. Daugerty at the throttle!) in October of 2000.

Steve Zuiderveen

When I suggested to the driver that I run the engine he made the finger slicing the throat sign indicating he might get in trouble. As he was doing that I was pulling out 100 yuan bills. He did not really see my doing so and I was more focused on getting my money out and kinda missed the whole I might get in trouble sign from him. When he saw them he jumped up pushed me into the engineer's seat, took his hat off, and put it on my head. My two friends and I took turns running the engine for most of the day. What once cost $35 now can't be done.

I have first have evidence of Tom running! I got video and pics from the other side of the cab! It was incredible!!! When I was running I got to start off from a stop after meeting a passing train. I gave it too much too soon, spun the drivers, backed off the throttle, the drivers caught then spun again. It may have been a bad job of locomotive operation on my part, but it was one of the highlights of my 41 years!

The crew was great! Since there are no stokers in these engine any longer they all take turns shoveling coal, including the engineer. Yes, we shovled too. Tommy did a great job getting the coal to the back of the firebox! Experience from 98 paying off!

If these are modern locomotives built in the '70's and '80's, why do they not have stokers?

I'm guessing that the labor for two guys to shovel is cheaper the the maintenance on the stoker - yes?

Scott