 |
| Adventurers
on the brink |
|
 |
| At
the February 7th Wagon Works (how's that for a neat name), brand
new aluminum hopper wagons are shuffled about by steam
loco SY 0891 |
|
 |
| SY
0891 again |
|
 |
| SY
0891 and JF 2446 wait between shunting moves. Apparently the JF
is the oldest standard gauge steam loco still running having
been built in 1956 |
|
 |
| Next stop,
Dahuichang where two C2
locos are in steam running the limestone trains |
|
 |
| This time, I walked up to the top of
the line, where a rather bizarre loading arrangement sees the
stone dropped down a vertical shaft into the wagons. Here, #3
pulls a loaded set out of the loading tunnel |
|
 |
| A little further downhill, #1 as
seen through the Telescope |
|
 |
| Crossing near the loading facility |
|
 |
| Drifting downhill |
|
 |
| At this time we were mobbed by a
freak show of about a million enthusiasts from the UK. Luckily,
they managed to get out of most of the shots |
|
 |
One last
light engine trip for the day was run for the enthusiast circus
Alas this line closed later in 2005, with trucks now hauling the
limestone...
|
|
 |
| That night we headed up to Chifeng
on the overnight passenger and spent the next day at the
Yuanbaoshan mining railway. Here JS 8418 emerges from the
haze and passes the cement works on its way to the mines
|
|
|
|
 |
| Loco
servicing facilities at Yuanbaoshan
|
|
 |
| Locals sifting through the ashes for
unburnt coal |
|
 |
| JS 8418 runs out
of town tender first and
then runs around the train at Majiawan before heading out toward
the coal mines |
|
 |
| Rush
hour |
|
 |
| Running
tender first back to town past a burnoff |
|
 |
| 8418
shunts the sidings up by the cement works up by mine 2 |
|
 |
| JS8250
crests the grade by the cement works |
|
 |
| The
noise from these steamy monsters is just terrifying |
|
 |
| Feeble blurry attempt at a wheelspin
shot |
|
 |
| The
assembled photographers are dodged by local traffic |
|
 |
| 8418
running away from town |
|
 |
| JS
6248 heads away from Yuanbaoshan station with the afternoon
mixed |
|
 |
| The
same train crossing the long bridge just outside of town |
|
 |
| Approaching
the CNR interchange at Anqinggou, the JS passes through a rather
attractive wooded area complete with a semi-frozen swamp. Our
hero escapes with wet feet.
|
|
 |
| On
the way back home, JS 6248 shunts at Fengshuigou before heading
back to Yuanbaoshan station with the return evening mixed |
|
