| CHINA - EASTER 2002 Yuanbaoshan, Pingzhuang, Fuxin, Tiefa and Benxi steelworks Having made two successful visits to China with 'Steam In Paradise', it was with great dismay that I read numerous reports in the early part of 2002 detailing the rapid demise of steam in various parts of China. As a teacher it is rare to find any companies who tailor their trips around the school holidays and since no-one seemed to be organising a tour over the Easter holiday the only solution was to consider 'going it alone'. This was not a decision lighty taken and it was only after some morale boosting conversations with various people who had already trodden the 'solo trail' that I decided to take my own chances. Not speaking a word of Chinese presented its own very real problems as I no wish to spend large amounts of money on a guide or interpreter during my trip. The key requirement was to be able to buy the right train tickets and without the wonderful English translation of the CNR timetable marketed by Duncan Peattie and the loan of a Chinese version of the same I don't think the trip could have succeeded. To this basic travel kit was added a Mandarin Chinese phrasebook, some phrases written for me by a Chinese friend and a ring binder full of internet reports. Also necessary was a large amount of Chinese currency since changing travellers cheques or even currency away from the major cities is nigh on impossible. Friday 29 March Arrived in Beijing aboard an Air China flight from Frankfurt and took the airport bus into town. This a cheap and easy way to make the 30km journey and requires minimal conversational skills. The bus stops right outside the main railway terminal in the centre of the city. My original plan was to visit the Dahuichang limestone works, with its 762mm narrow gauge railway but the weather was cloudy and grey turning to cloudy and very wet! After a very long wait at Beijing Nan station I caught overnight Train 2559 to Chifeng, sharing a hard class sleeper with the usual group of curious Chinese. Saturday 30 March - Yuanbaoshan The original plan was to catch a train from Chifeng to Yaunbaoshan and to aid the process I had taken with me several copies of a small piece of paper which was a request for a train ticket, written in Chinese. The idea was to fill in the train number, date and destination and hand it to the booking clerk. Unsure of my ability to write Chinese characters I pointed to Yuanbaoshan in the CNR timetable and 'asked' one of my fellow passengers to write it onto my slip of paper. The usual curious throng quickly developed and someone indicated a elderly lady who I was assured was going to Yuanbaoshan. After a brief game of charades it was ascertained she was going by bus not train and would take me with her! Sure enough on arrival in Chifeng she accompanied me through the throng of 'taxi touts' and led me to the bus station (turn right and its 50 yards up the road, on the left, behind a row of shops) Tickets were purchased and my luggage safely stowed. Thirty-five minutes later I was dropped outside the hotel in Yuanbaoshan and my fifty new friends waved farewell as the bus headed off down the hill! The mine railway was only 200 yards away and the sight of JS6246 and JS6544 being prepared on the depot and JS8249 arriving on a train of loaded coal wagons quickly dispelled any tiredness. These were joined shorty afterwards by JS6245 which arrived on the morning train from Anqinggou. All the engines face east and photography is at its best until about 11.00am when the light begins to get well behind the engines. I spent the afternoon on the steep bank where I saw JS8250 on a downhill working of loaded wagons and JS8249 on a short uphill train. Returned to the station around 5.00pm as the light was now to the west and provided good opportunities for glint shots as the engines returned to the shed for servicing. Sunday 31 March - Yuanbaoshan The 7.00am departure was supposed to be a mixed train but left for Anqinggou with only coaching stock. As on the previous day there was plenty of action in and around the main yard with JS8518 puttng in an appearance. Around 11.00am the crew of JS6544 invited me to join them on the footplate - an offer which was gratefully accepted. Following a period of shunting, a train of empties was assembled and we headed off for the coal mines in the hills above the town. It rapidly became clear that these locomotives must have the highest coal consumption per mile of any class of engine in the world. Every time the engine stopped the footplate was invaded by people bearing five or six large sacks which were then filled with coal from the tender! In between bolstering the local economy the crew shunted the empties into the yards at the various mines and assembled rafts of loaded wagons ready for collection on the return journey. The hillside was dominated by what appeared to be a newly constructed conveyor belt system for bringing coal down to the power station but the crew of the locomotive indicated that it had been abandoned before completion. Around 1.00pm the crew parked the engine and began firing jets of steam into a container alongside the boiler. After a while they then opened the container and extracted mess tins full of hot food! Makeshift seats were laid onto the cab floor, spoons produced and I was invited to join the crew for lunch! Chinese hospitality of the highest order and gratefully accepted! The afternoon was spent with more shunting before we eventually returned to Yuanbaoshan where I took my leave and returned to the hotel. Following another game of charades in a local cafe it was evident that regular buses ran from the town to Pingzhuang - my next stop. Monday 1 April - Pingzhuang Decided to have another go at photographing the 7.00am mixed train prior to catching the bus. On this occasion it really did run as a mixed train - with 20 long wheel-based wagons behind the engine and the coaches somewhere back in the early morning mist! The bus to Pingzhuang deposited me outside of the Pingzhuang Hotel - a hotel of 5 star oppulence and willing to accept 300Y for a suite of rooms! I showed a picture of the colliery washery to a local taxi driver who was confident that he could take me to the place - a confidence that slowly evaporated over the next hour and a half! However we eventually reached our intended destination and to his great credit he refused to take anything other than the standard fare which was 50p. Having taken several shots of locomotives on the coaling point I found traffic on the system was scarce with mainly light engine movements although just before mid-day two long trains of empties passed through the washery area - but tender first. There is a huge open cast pit at Pingzhuang which is mainly worked by electric locomotives although some steam movements were seen. Late in the afternoon two trains passed through the washery rewarding me for my long wait. Engines seen - SY1052, SY0400, SY1083 (with deflectors) SY0210, SY1007, SY0916, JS5702 and JS1001 Tuesday 2 April - Pingzhuang to Fuxin Time to buy my first train ticket in China - Train 650 to Fuxin. The slip of paper works like magic and the ticket is issued without problem. Six hours later, and having seen SY1195 as we passed Aiyouying coal mine, I arrived in Fuxin. A taxi across town took me to the more than adequate Hai Zhou Hotel (190Y per night) The previously glorious weather was deteriorating into a dust storm so I took a taxi to the mine railway and rode the steam passenger train No.114 from Fuxin to Wangying and back. The two hour lay-over at Wangying was relieved by being invited to share the company of the eight 'dragon ladies (they weren't) and the guard plus his copious supply of beer! Wednesday 3 April - Fuxin The weather was a total contrast to the previous afternoon with deep blue skies and a noticable drop in temperature. I took a taxi to the mine railway and then walked from Tiaping station to Wulong, taking photographs en route. The action was thick and fast with SY's facing in both directions. There is little to say about this system that isn't really covered by the photographs that I took there - it is truely a wonderful location to see steam in an industrial landscape. Around lunchtime I came across a small brick hut alongside the line with two ladies sitting knitting and a man frying fish over an open fire. Pleasantries were observed and a 'conversation' conducted using semaphore and a phrase book! The end result was an invitation to join them for lunch - an offer gratefully received and enjoyed. During the course of the day it was possible to visit both the north and south stabling points and also the repair shop as well as taking in all the main line action. This consists of movements to and from the main yard to the CNR exchange sidings, the passenger service from Xinqui to Wangying and various trip workings. In all I recorded over 60 train or engine movements and saw a total of 23 active SY's, 3 under repair, 5 out of use plus a dumped YJ and an out of use JF. Thursday 4 April - Fuxin How cruel life is! Woke up to grey skies and a stinging wind carrying dust and more dust. Stayed in my hotel room all day and read Terry Pratchett books. Slept a lot and acquired a taste for Chinese basketball on television! Friday 5 April - Fuxin to Tiefa The weather showed no sign of improvement so I caught a taxi to the railway station (all taxi fares in Fuxin should be 5Y - be prepared to argue!) and bought a ticket for Train K965 to Shenyang. I had been sat in the waiting room for about 20 minutes when the hotel porter arrived bearing my wash bag and shaving gear which I had left behind when packing! Such honesty is unbelievable! Once in Shenyang I bought a ticket on Train 4227 to Tieling and then caught a bus from the station forecourt to Tiefa. Booked into the Bowling Palace Hotel - turn left out of Diaobingshan station and it is about 200 yards up the road - which at 200Y per night was far better than the hotel in the station forecourt. I then took a taxi to the railway headquarters at Daqing to buy a photo permit. There has been much arguement about permits at Tiefa but it is certainly an 'access all areas' document which smoothes out any problems and at 120Y for two days was reasonable if not exactly cheap. The weather closed in during the afternoon and I contented myself with watching the afternoon passenger departures from the main station before retreating to my hotel to pray for better weather. Saturday 6 April - Tiefa Prayers largely unanswered as the weather was grim to say the least. Decided to watch the morning passenger departures all of which leave arrive and depart again between 8.00 and 9.00am. However just before 8.40am the weather broke and large blue patches began to appear from time to time and it was finally possible to get some shots of trains departing. With only broken skies rather than clear skies it was going to be difficult to photograph moving trains in sunshine so I headed to Daqing depot where i say SY1769/1749/0860/1772/1147/1751 and 1770. As the morning progressed so the skies clouded over again and so I took a taxi back to Diaobingshan station and caught Train 407 to Dongguantun and back. SY1769/0665 and 0063 were seen at Tiefa and SY0393 at Xiaotang. Once back at Tiefa I discovered an internet cafe actually in the station building. Unlimited access was available for 1Y and so I was able to catch up on football results, trip reports and sent e-mails to the masses back home. Sunday 7 April - Tiefa to Shenyang Woke up to discover the weather had changed ............. for the worse! Dust was absolutely everywhere and so I decided to make my way to Shenyang. Caught Train 6688 from Tiefa all the way to Shenyang. En route passed the Shenyang Local Railway at Hushitai where SY0537 was shunting. Arrived at Shenyang and went in search of a hotel. Found the Jun Jiao Hotel which was excellent - turn left out of either of the South Exits from Shanyang Bei station and walk along the station frontage (not the car park) unti l you pass the bicycle store. There is a large building ahead with a red neon sign. Walk around the right hand side of this building and the canopy lights of the Jun Jiao are strung across the road. The room was newly refurbished with endless hot water and very comfortable for 200Y per night. Spent the evening exploring Shenyang Bei station - said to be the largest in China and certainly very impressive with every possible type of facility for the traveller. Monday 8 April - Benxi Met my guide at Shenyang Bei station and caught a train to Benxi steelworks. This was the only part of the trip where a guide was necessary as Benxi is a closed site and permission is needed for a visit. The weather ws improving but still average when we set out for the northern stabling point. In addition to SY730/726/720 and 702 were in steam on the depot and SY708 was out of use. In the shed was SY707 with a blown cylinder cover and also two fireless locomotives No.5 and 9 together with XK28 (USA tank) and PL250. From the north depot we took a taxi to the main blast furnace area. Despite negative reports of Benxi it ranks as one of my 'must visit' sites in China. It is certainly possible to take shots of engines working smokebox first on cauldron trains particularly if you are able to access the central area between the blast furnaces. My guide was a darling - she had little desire to get her clothes dirty in the steelworks and at the first opportunity found a warm hut and invited me to 'come back when you have finished'. No second invitation to 'roam the site at will' was required and with an 'access all areas' frame of mind I set out to get as many action shots in and around the blast furnaces as possible. A total of 14 SY's were seen in and around the blast furnace area before the weather closed in again and it was time to return to the hotel - the Tian Yi which is at the left hand end of the station frontage - adequate if not spectacular but a mere 132Y per night. Tuesday 9 April - Benxi A second day at Benxi with slightly better weather conditions. My guide once again adopted her low profile approach to the task and gave me free rein to go where I wanted. Nothing particularly different from the previous day although getting to the blast furnaces from the hotel was made difficult due to protesting steelworkers who were blocking most of the main roads in and around the city centre. They were protesting about closure of one of the steel plants and were being left to get on with it by a seemingly sympathetic local constabulary. Finally, just before catching the train back to Shenyang in the late afternoon the sun broke through to provide a last few shots in 250th at f8 mode - the first time in four frustrating days! Returned to Shenyang and saw what was almost certainly a steam hauled passenger train as we passed Weitoushan Coal Mine (since identified as SY1012 on a 3-4km shuttle service from the CNR station to the coal company 'township') Also saw serveral engines as we approached Shenyang at Sujiatun - one tank engine and two SY's. The SY's were in steam which suggests they were not museum locomotives but may still be CNR locomotives or working for the local railway. Booked into a hotel for several hours at Shenyang where I was surprised to find the entire funeral service of the Queen Mother being broadcast on one of the Chinese television channels - truely we are indeed living in a global village (except it doesn't feel like it in some of the remoter parts of China!) Eventually caught Train K96 which is the overnight sleeper from Shenyang to Beijing Wednesday 10 April - Beijing to London It was, of course, inevitable! Woken at 6.00am by the sun shining in through the carriage windows from out of a totally blue sky! Returned to Beijing and a brief wander around Tianenman Square before catching the airport bus from the Beijing International Hotel and thence via Frankfurt to London. Conclusions The most obvious one - why have I not done it before? Despite certain reports I found the Chinese to be friendly, helpful and very honest. The language did cause problems at times but never anything that a few smiles and gestures plus reference to the phrase book couldn't solve. The positive experiences were simply too many to report but one stands out in my mind. Booking out of the hotel at Tiefa, I once again managed to leave some of my personal property in the hotel bedroom. This time it was a maid who ran down the road to return it to me. The lost item? This time it was my money belt containing 3000Y and $250 in cash! All returned - all intact! No reward accepted - it was her job and she had done it to the best of her ability - China I love you! Finally I want to pay tribute to all of the various people who offered me help and guidance during the planning of the trip and hope that this report may provide something similar to anyone contemplating an independent trip themselves. |