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| Monday:
Nothing
like a pair of QJs to warm your cockles. 7040 and 6992 approach
Gulumanhan for some water and a crossing. |
|
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| Waiting
at Gulumanhan |
|
 |
| Bob
and I shelter against 7040 in the cold
as 6988 and 6849 rocket by. |
|
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| 7040
gets underway from Gulumanhan at the beginning of our quest to
document every level crossing in China |
|
 |
| On
the picturesque curves between Dariqiga and Chaganhada, a rather attractive banner loco
6978 spirits a short train uphill |
|
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| Crossing
keepers near Dariqiga |
|
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| The
same train near Gulumanhan |
|
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| The
sun nears the horizon near Baomutu |
|
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| 6992
and 7137 depart Daban just after sunset
|
|
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| Tuesday
morning dawns cool, crisp and clear with dozens of locals up for
their morning calisthenics around the Daban overbridge. |
|
 |
| Or
alternatively, you could watch steam trains. 6911, the regular
passenger loco departs with the daily passenger to Chabuga. |
|
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| The
supershiner panning around the big curve beyond Gulumanhan.
Gotta be happy with that shot. |
|
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| Daban-Chabuga
Signature Shot: the Pagoda at Lindong. |
|
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| The
same train crosses the big bridge by the superhighway headed by
QJ 7041. Despite
the river being largely frozen, the temps were pretty warm while
we were there and as the week wore on, the ice thinned
considerably. |
|
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| The
banner loco 6978 again on a goods near Chaganhada |
|
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| DB
clearly packs the wrong lens for the walk into one of the S curves between
Dariqiga and Chaganhada and ends up with a Mongolian sand
picture. |
|
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| 7137+6992
make another
mindless level crossing runby for the video boys |
|
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| Lindong
is quite a busy station with many daylight trains picking up or
dropping off wagons and taking on water. Here 7137 and 6992 get moving
again. |
|
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| The
critical flagpersons
at Lindong |
|
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| A
nice scene above the plastic village as 7104 and 7002 climb
toward Lindong in warm air |
|
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| Yay,
its another level crossing - this time 7041 + 6978 cross the Donkey Spot near
Dariqiga. |
|
 |
Sunset
by the ever popular superhighway bridge with 6911 and the return passenger
|
|
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| Our
morning ritual of catching 6911 on the morning outbound passenger sees
her getting underway from Daban on Wednesday morning |
|
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| A
nice glinter - banner loco 6978 between Gulumanhan and Baomutu |
|
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| The
team heads back to Daban and I decide to keep out of everyone's
shots by hanging out with the
crossing keeper near Baomutu. Of course, communication is
restricted to grunts and pointing so its not a time of great
information interchange. Here he takes a whiff of a tobaccolike
substance in his sunroom as we plan our next conversation. |
|
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| He
has a nice setup here with a homemade crossing winder accessed
from a handle inside his sunroom and a few rear
view mirrors to see if anyone is coming along the road from behind.
Meanwhile, 7038 one of my favourites, and 7009 scoot past |
|
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| Hey,
where's the guards van? Another excellent example of why you
should use a tripod |
|
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| Wide
open spaces near Baomutu |
|
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| What
was I thinking. At least there's no level crossing here at Dead
Cat Curve near Gulumanhan. |
|
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| Something
a little more adventurous with the Telescope in the heat haze as
7104 and 7002 thread their way around the Chaganhada S curves. Makes mental note to come back here if
ever in the neighborhood again
|
|
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| Clusterbomb
- 11 vehicles in one |
|
 |
| Meanwhile,
back at the big bridge... |
|
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| The
red
soils of Gulumanhan host the same train with 7063 and 7143 at
the pointy end |
|
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| The Gods shine on
6991 in
the Daban shops |
|
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| Hip replacement |
|
 |
| Last
November, this area was bustling with in-steam QJs being sanded,
coaled, cleaned and prepared for the road. Now it's much quieter
with 'stopped' outnumbering 'active' locos as the sun sets on
planet Earth's mainline steam |
|
|
|
| Freshly
overhauled 7143 of blue headboard fame gets her grate cleaned for
another run |
|
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| 6884
is a bit of an oddity with no smoke deflectors. I think I read
she was the Daban shunter for a while. Now, with rods removed
she probably won't see another fire in her belly. |
|
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| 6981
gets another load of coal from one of those nifty steam cranes |
|
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| It's
more depressing out the back, where lines of QJs wait out their
last weeks before dismembering
|
|
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| Herr
Seiler surveys the grotesque remains of 6632 |
|
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| Death
row cruelly illuminated by the lights of a brand new diesel. |
|
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Amongst
the dead and dying, the strong soldier on, perhaps a little
slower and a little more cautiously, as eventually, their time
must also come.
|
|
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| Thursday
morning dawns appropriately gloomy, but like clockwork, shining
star 6911
rolls out of Daban with the morning passenger, which we catch in
the hills out of town |
|
 |
| Venturing
out past Lindong for the first time on the trip, we wait in a cold
sandpit at Yamenmiao |
|
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| In
the hills above Lindong, a nice doubleheader drifts downhill
behind 7081 and 6978 in overcast light |
|
 |
| Meanwhile,
this is the train we were waiting for, alas a single loco train
behind 7143, which already seems to have collected a little dust over the shiny paint seen the previous evening at Daban. Can you have too much
steam? |
|
 |
| Passing
time on a hilltop |
|
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| A
pleasant view back in the direction of Yamenmiao from above the
plastic village. The lead wagons behind 6978 and 7049 have unloaded ballast en route
and will be detached at Lindong |
|
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| Surprise,
another uphill catches me off guard. 7038 and 7009 left a small
lineside fire back where the rest of the party were piccying |
|
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| Black
Beauty on banking duties |
|
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| Poser
at the Donkey Spot. 7040 & 6992 |
|
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| In
a rather surreal scene, shiny 6911- with rods flashing - looks like
an electric train on full power as it rushes around the
horseshoe curve before Lindong |
|
 |
Big
Bridge Sunset, take 2.
|
|
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| Friday
morning means its backlit time near Diaojiaduan. Try spelling that
when you're drunk. 7038 and 7009 race past in the crisp morning
air |
|
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| Another
backlit shot here of 6988 taken shortly after its departure from
Chabuga. One of my
favourite shots of the trip |
|
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| 6911
again not faraway from the end of its journey at the place with
the really complicated name beginning with D |
|
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| After
some frenzied wheel tapping activity, the driver of 6988 takes a
breather at Yamenmiao while awaiting a crossing |
|
|
|
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| A
quick water and grease for 6977 and 7010 at Lindong
|
|
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| Up
next, a long walk back into the hills beside Lindong to meet up
with the guys. On the way up (and down, and up) a few trains
surprise me
6991+?7041?
6849+7105
7104+7143
Eventually we
meet up, after a long wait on a hillside nets only a set of light
locos in the chosen direction, its time to head off to brighter locales
|
|
 |
| Bah,
clouds. Nice attempt though. |
|
 |
| Saturday
morning and we're up bright and early for a sunrise train that
doesn't show. 7119+7163 bowl up eventually and I manage to screw
things up royally in one of those rare moments when you actually
have too much height |
|
 |
| Gratuitous
ass shot |
|
 |
| Meanwhile,
back at the batcave
7119 and 7163
chugging at Chagenhada
|
|
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| The
same train doubleheading
away from Gulumanhan |
|
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| 7089
and 7009 attack
the grades not far out of Daban |
|
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| A
whole lot of nothing near Chaganhada. Apparently this is
7089 and 7009 again, although its quite hard to see from
here... |
|
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| Train
nerds snapped in their natural habitat |
|
 |
| Officially
a light engine movement, 7041 crosses
a sandy riverbed at Dariquiga with a handful of wagons |
|
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| The
signalman at the west end of Dariquiga inspects a rapidly
passing doubleheader with 7104 and 6849 doing the honours as our
last train for the trip |
|
 |
| Wide
Load. So I see the new superhighway is being well utilized... |
|
 |
| Twinhumpers
shot through the bus window |
|
