The days when steam locomotives were easy to find are long gone and the best locations are often far from each other. On this trip we set out to visit two of the furthest apart, the opencast coal mine at Sandaoling in the north-western province of Xinjiang and the narrow gauge coal railway at Huanan in eastern Heilongjiang. These are two very different operations yet they share some common features beyond the fact that they both haul coal, most notably the use of banking engines.

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The opencast coal mine at Zhalainuoer is probably the greatest steam spectacle left in the world today but it won’t be for much longer. Railway operations within the big pit are expected to cease later this year and diesels are currently being acquired for the surface lines as well. The opportunity to visit Zhalainuoer for one last time was just too good to miss. We also visited Baiyin, a much smaller operation but with a reasonably long main line featuring semi-desert scenery and steep gradients.

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A short trip to two of the best surviving steam operations. We planned to start with a couple of days at Jixi, a coal mining centre employing more than 20 SY class 2-8-2s, and then to move on to the narrow gauge operation at Huanan, potentially the best surviving narrow gauge line in China but notoriously unreliable these days. Things didn't quite go according to plan!

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A trip to photograph diesels on scenic lines in the north-east of China, starting with the Tonghua-Hunjiang area then Fushun, Bei'an, Mudanjiang and finishing on the Beijing-Longhua line. As well as the diesels, there are a few industrial electrics on standard and narrow gauges and a handful of steam locomotives as well.

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After three successful spring trips to North-East China, it seemed time to do something different. This time we travelled west from Beijing to visit three steam operations along the Yellow River. The steelworks at Baotou is largely dieselised but still employs a number of SYs. Further west at Gongwusu, a rarely visited coal mining system uses a couple of JSs. Our final destination was the mine and smelter complex at Baiyin with its active fleet of SYs.

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This trip turned out very differently to the one we planned. The idea had been to get some shots of Huanan in the snow and have another go at Huludao before the diesels arrived. As we were in the area, it seemed sensible to spend a few days in Jixi as well. In the event, there was no snow and Huanan wasn’t running any trains. Huludao had two brand new diesels and no steam on line work. Fortunately JIxi didn't disappoint and Nanpiao proved to be an acceptable alternative to Huludao.

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This visit to China started with a few days photographing modern traction around Beijing, including SS4Gs on the busy Datong - Qinhuangdao coal line and 8Ks on the Fengtai - Shacheng route. The remainder of the trip was spent in the North-East visiting three of the surviving steam-worked colliery systems at Jixi, Hegang and Zhalainuoer.

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Shibanxi had been near the top of my "must visit" list for some time but it was difficult to combine with the best of the remaining steam locations in northern China. There was also a problem deciding when to visit. There just didn’t seem to be a good time of year to go to Shibanxi. The opportunity for a short trip arose in January 2007 so we took the plunge and set off for Sichuan to see what all the fuss was about. On the way, there was time to investigate some rarely reported SYs around Chengdu as well.

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A winter visit to photograph steam worked coal railways in the north-east of China. We visited Jixi, where SYs work on 5 separate colliery systems, Huanan, a superbly scenic narrow gauge operation and Fuxin, where steam operation continues despite the decline of mining in the area.

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With no QJs on the Jitong Railway this autumn, my thoughts turned to photographing China's diesels and electrics. Steam is now confined to industrial operations and I was beginning to miss the excitement of photographing big trains on scenic main lines. China has a remarkably varied modern traction scene and those used to seeing nothing but QJs, JSs and SYs might be surprised at the plethora of different diesel and electric classes in use.

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A return visit to the best of the Manchurian industrial lines. Most of the trip was devoted to visiting the steam worked colliery systems at Meihekou, Jixi and Zhalainuoer. A day exploring in the area east of Harbin turned up a new steam location but three months too late. Although the emphasis was on steam, diesels working on the main lines weren't ignored.

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A visit to several recently discovered steam worked industrial systems in Xinjiang and Gansu provinces in the north west of China, including the massive opencast coal mine at Sandaoling where over 30 steam locos were in daily use.

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The Daban to Chabuga section of the JiTong Railway was still steam worked in September 2005 but the diesels started to take over at the beginning of October. This report covers my last trip to see steam on this wonderful line, the last steam worked main line on the planet. We also spent a few days on the excellent Huanan narrow gauge railway in north-eastern Manchuria.

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This report covers a short trip to some of the best steam worked industrial railways in the North East of China during early March 2005. We visited Meihekou, Jixi, Dayan and Jalainur. Winter in the North East can be unbearably cold but spring tends to be warm and wet. For a brief period in between it's not too cold but still bright and sunny. Fortunately, our trip coincided with this transition and we enjoyed virtually unbroken sunshine for the duration.

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Bryan Acford reports from his 20th Anniversary trip to China, visiting Pingdingshan, Yuzhou, Xingyang, Tiefa, Lindong, Yuanbaoshan and Pingzhuang.



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This was a short trip to Central China where several of the operations in the Xuzhou area sounded interesting. We were attracted partly by the presence of high deflector QJs as well as locos from the final batch of 20 built in 1988. There were risks of course, not least from creeping dieselisation. However, the situation was far worse than we had anticipated.

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With the diesels rapidly taking over at Jingpeng we made one last visit there to bid farewell to what had been the greatest steam show on earth before moving on to Lindong for some more big steam action.


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A very successful trip to JIngpeng Pass in perfect late summer weather with blue skies, green hills, cold mornings and clear light. A real glint and silhouette spectacular. Unbeknown to us at the time, diesels started to work over the pass within a couple of weeks of our visit. We also visited Lindong in poor weather and then trekked north to the excellent Huanan narrow gauge operation.

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Bryan Acford's report of his visits to Dahuichang, Lindong and Jingpeng in late winter 2004.





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An all industrial bash covering Tongchuan and its celebrated JFs, Pingdingshan, Nanpiao, Huludao and Tiefa plus visits to the Beijing and Shenyang museums.



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A winter visit to the industrial railway at Nanpiao followed by the inevitable trip to JIngpeng and Lindong.




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Bryan Acford's report from JIngpeng following our visit to Lindong and Chabuga.





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A return visit to the JiTong line in late Summer when the hills were green and Jingpeng Pass was deserted. After a week or so I teamed up with Bryan Acford to visit Lindong and Chabuga.


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A late winter trip to Jingpeng Pass followed by the industrial railways at Yuanbaoshan, Pingzhuang and Tiefa. The trip finished off with a last visit to the superb Weihe Forestry Railway less than two weeks before its closure.

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The usual November trip to the JIngpeng Pass and Lindong / Chabuga areas on the JiTong line with a short visit to Pingzhuang and Yuanbaoshan mine railways as well.


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Our first Autumn trip to China and our first visit to the industrial railways at Pingdingshan, in Henan province, and Yuanbaoshan and Pingzhuang, south of Chifeng. We also spent some time on Jingpeng Pass and around Lindong and Chabuga on the JiTong Railway and paid a brief visit to the Dahuichang narrow gauge line in Beijing.

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