Notes to accompany my 'Narrow Gauge Sand, Salt, Reed & Coal Railways DVD'
A summer trip to China benefits from longer days and a more colourful landscape than in the autumn, winter or early spring. It is a much pleasanter time of year to spend many hours a day outdoors. On the down side are the hot temperatures and the potential for rain and very hazy conditions. It is not the best time to see steam locos in action but steam was not the primary goal of this trip as I had built up a list of 8 narrow gauge diesel lines that were undocumented or documented only by Japanese enthusiasts. Summer allows you to wait for hours in the open (perhaps with a little shade and a good book) for trains in the landscape. On this trip, we had only a little rain and the sun shone clearly at times out in the country and it was never as bad as the murk of Beijing that I started from and to which I returned.
This trip was inspired by the occasional references in the steam enthusiasts' trip reports of non-steam narrow gauge lines seen in passing from the train or bus; Duncan Cotterill's reports being a particularly good source and it was here that I first read about the sand railways near Tongliao and the reed railway near Jinzhou. A report on salt railways in Narrow Gauge News (No. 290 January 2009) from Noriyuki Natori editor of Rail Magazine in Japan gave addition incentive to make a summer China trip. Actually finding enough information to target these lines was not easy but with help from Jeff Lanham and Nobuyoshi Asano it was possible to pinpoint 8 different narrow gauge diesel reed, salt and sand railways to visit in addition to 1 electric narrow gauge coal line associated with the Nanpiao system. In addition, 3 steam lines at Nanpiao, Pingzhuang and Yuanbaoshan well known through reports on SY-Country or the Steam in China yahoo group were also visited. The steam footage will be presented on a future DVD.
-Sand railways near Tongliao at Yamenying,
Menda and Baishi
-Salt railways near Dalian at Pikou, Fuzhouwan (plus Wudao near Fuzhowan- see
notes below) and Yingkou
-Reed railway at Jincheng near Jinzhou
-Coal railway at Zaojiatun near Nanpiao (location above approximate)
The resulting DVD uses HD video (along
with digital stills where appropriate) to give a good idea of the way these
lines operate, the locos and rolling stock used and the infrastructure of the
lines. I am not known for making notes as I go (I normally let my camera do
the recording) but Mike Ma and I did ask about the origins of the locos we saw
and in most case were told that they were 'of local manufacture'. Although I
didn't look too hard, there were no obvious builders plates to record. It should
be possible to grab some of the running numbers from the footage but I can't
provide a loco list for each location and I'm not aware that one exists yet
elsewhere (although perhaps in Japan). We trod gently and didn't try to gain
access where wedidn't think we would be welcome. There were some restrictions
on access especially at the Pikou Salt Railway (where we were refused access
at all 3 gates to the salt works) and at the Jincheng Reed Railway (where the
loco shed was well guarded and signed as off limits) but it was always possible
to film working trains from public access areas. In addition, no attempt was
made to enter the factory areas at Yingkou or the shed or factory area at Fuzhouwan.
For additional still images and commentary see my blog of the trip at: http://www.users.waitrose.com/~jraby/chinablog.html
Additional Japanese sources for the
salt railways are at:
http://rail.hobidas.com/blog/natori/archives/2008/04/post_744.html
http://rail.hobidas.com/blog/natori/archives/2008/04/post_745.html
http://rail.hobidas.com/blog/natori/archives/2008/04/post_746.html
http://rail.hobidas.com/blog/natori/archives/2008/04/post_746.html
http://rail.hobidas.com/blog/natori/archives/2008/04/post_750.html
http://rail.hobidas.com/blog/natori/archives/2008/04/post_752.html
http://rail.hobidas.com/blog/natori/archives/2008/04/post_754.html
Tongliao, Inner Mongolia
Sand Railways
Map from Yahoo Japan with annotations by Nobuyoshi Asano. The 3 lines deliver sand to the China Rail stations at Yamenying, Menda and Baishi with the loco depots and offices being close to China Rail. At China Rail, a long pit into which sand is tipped from either side from the narrow gauge, is scooped up by a special machine on rails to load China Rail wagons when available. We did not see any China Rail wagons being loaded. None of these stations have a passenger service and the stations operate as conditional passing places on a single track line in addition to their freight sidings.
Sand loading machine at Yamenying showing narrow gauge track in the left
distance has been removed further on to allow road trucks to empty into the
pit. The raise arm on the right would be lowered over China Rail wagons to load
them. In this picture, with the arm lowered on the left-hand side, it looks
as if road trucks are also loaded to take the sand away. The sand is used for
glass making and/or for castings.
Yamenying Sand Railway (listed
in Pritchard 2008 p200)
We did an inspection tour on a Sunday (a non-working day) and discovered that
the line had closed some months earlier with road haulage replacing the railway.
We walked the line (1.5-2 km) and visited the depot where 3 locos were outside
the shed, 2 of them off the rails and another stripped. A fourth loco (the final
working loco) may be inside the locked shed. With nothing moving, the sequence
is a slide show of the digital still images I took.
Menda Sand Railway (around 2km long)
On the Monday, we headed for Menda by bus. Once dropped at the Menda petrol
station on the main road, it's a 4 km trudge to the railway station and the
sand line but we were given a lift by a private taxi that also offered to take
us to Baishi. The sand railway is on the non-village side of China Rail and
the village itself which has a dirt main street would not be found without asking
locals for directions. Unfortunately, the railway was not working due to a surplus
of sand awaiting export via China Rail. An estimate of 2-3 days was given for
restarting work on the narrow gauge. Access to the depot area was allowed and
the working loco was there ready to go and loaded with shovels and other implements
for the workers. Our taxi driver took us to see the sand dredging and cleaning
operation and we caught glimpses of the 2 km-long railway which looks to be
the most photogenic of the 3 lines. The video sequence here also includes still
images. Our driver then picked up his brother, a sand worker, who became our
guide to Baishi.
Baishi Sand Railway (around 1km long)
We arrived here during a long morning break. Access to the depot area and shed
was freely given and we learned that the lines work a very early shift (4 am
- 8 am) and then take a break during the hot period of the day before working
2 pm - 4/5 pm. We finished our 'taxi' ride to Shuangliao, bought train tickets
back to Tongliao on the 4 pm train and then, after lunch, took a regular taxi
back to Baishi. The operating pattern (which should be clear from the video)
appears to be, loco comes off shed, attaches itself to wagons waiting on the
main line and propels these back to the loading point. After loading the wagons
one-by-one using a bulldozer with the loco pulling forward 1 wagon length at
a time, the train heads to the unloading point to deliver sand one side of the
pit. Points at the beginning of the pit allow both sides to be served. The sides
of the wagons are dropped and the sand is shovelled out. The train then propels
back to the loading point. The whole cycle takes 20-30 minutes. Apart from an
initial delay at the loading point when the loco stalled and couldn't be restarted,
the railway operated a quick shuttle of trains to the unloading point where
a small army of labourers alternately unloaded the sand and then returned to
their shade for a rest. Around 3:30 we had to leave to get back for our train.
Finding transport back to the main road was not easy but after walking about
3 km we got lucky with a motorcycle taxi. The video sequence here is the only
railway action we saw on any of the three sand lines.
Menda would definitely be worth a return visit with the hope of finding it working as the railway looks the most scenically attractive of the three lines. For comfort, a chartered taxi from Tongliao to Menda and Baishi would work best but given the working hours, a visit before 8 am or after 2 pm in summer would be required to see the lines in action.
The working loco at Baishi
The attractive loco depot at Baishi which contained 2 locos with a repair shop and crew area behind.
Note: the IRS publication 'Industrial Locomotives of the People's Republic of
China 2e' (Pritchard, 2008) lists two other sand railways but these are further
to the east, closer to the Shenyang - Harbin line (Bahuta p184, Mulitu p197,
as well as Yamenying p200)
Salt Railways
Pikou Salt Railway
Jiaxinzi is about 5 km from Pikou on a rough road which will shortly be improved.
Pikou is a local bus ride from Pulandian on the Shenyang - Dalian line. There
is a China Rail line from Dalian via Pikou and Jiaxinzi with a passenger service
but the trains run at inconvenient times. Most shots were taken at the narrow-gauge
exit to the factory or on the overbridge for the new road. We saw 3 locos in
use as well as the PW railbus. The still picture sequence looks first at the
China Rail side of the factory including a peep at the loco shed area as we
needed to go inside the gate to ask for permission to visit (which was refused).
The other two gates are also shown. We were denied entry at all gates. The Japanese
state that this line is 600mm gauge but when compared with the other two salt
lines, the locos and the gauges look very similar. The others are the Chinese
'standard' narrow gauge of 762mm gauge. Future visitors should check the gauge.
The railway goes out onto the salt flats for a considerable distance. There is a mud road paralleling the tracks but you need to pass a road checkpoint to go into the area.
Railbus of which we saw 1 working
Standard diesel loco of which we saw 3 working
Fuzhouwan & Wudao Salt Railways
Map provided and annotated by Nobuyoshi Asano. Railways shown in this area
are approximate and are a mix of open and closed China Rail freight-only lines
and narrow gauge salt lines.
We took a bus from Pulandian (only 2 return workings per day but at convenient times in the morning and afternoon) to Fuzhouwan town but future visitors should get off at the junction for Wudao or at the salt factory just after this. Having got our bearing, we took a bus going to Wafangdian (much more frequent service than the Pulandian buses) back to the salt factory. Having spotted the turn to Xietun and Wudao with private taxis waiting at the junction on the way out, we then took a charter taxi to look at Wudao. The yard is in the middle of nowhere and unless you had your own transport you would struggle here. Even knowing which end of the yard to wait for the next train would be a gamble as lines come in from both ends. We cut our losses and took the taxi back to Fuzhouwan (taking one picture of the Wudao yard to prove we had been there - see below). We then spent an enjoyable late morning and afternoon at Fuzhouwan which is the sequence you see on the DVD.
Wudao yard - trains enter from both ends.
At the salt loading/unloading yard at Fuzhouwan, we almost immediately saw a loco running light engine from the factory. It stopped for a while and we chatted to the driver and were invited into the cab. The loco looks like a rail bus but is really a bonnet type diesel loco where the superstructure has been extended over the engine to provide extra space for passengers and extra warmth from the engine in winter. After a protracted wait that allowed us to go across the road for bread, sausage and soft drinks, the loco moved wagons that had been emptied by the machine onto a large heap and propelled these back to an older heap of untreated salt. The unloading and loading are both shown on the DVD. It wasn't clear why all salt didn't go straight to the factory to be immediately bagged and shipped but there must be some element of supply and demand at work. The raw salt (according to some factory workers we met over a beer later) is mixed with brine (hence the tanker train we see in the sequence) and heated in order to produce clean, processed salt. It would be interesting to see the process or to learn more about how brownish salt becomes white salt. China Rail serves the yard and the factory on the freight-only branches which serve Wudao and Fuzhouwan and we saw an ND5 loco approaching the factory in the morning.
Brine tanker train. We saw 3 diesel locos of this type working. I believe the full fleet is 6-8 locos.
Yingkou Salt Railway
Map from mapbar.com - salt railways are the lines shown near the caption 'salt railways in this area'. The line to the south west may be closed. The red circle roughly shows the city area of Yingkou.
These images were achieved by typing 'Yingkou, China' into Google Maps and
zooming in on the cloverleaf junction.
The No. 1 factory (circled) accepts bagged salt for export (by China Rail? -
the China Rail line runs bottom right to mid-left in the picture). The factory
may no longer be in use. From No. 1 to No. 2 factory is about 3 km. The railway
has its own separate reserved area under the road cloverleaf and alongside a
dual carriageway before branching off through a small settlement and into the
fields. At the crossing in the village, there are a number of decent restaurants
for lunch.
There are two passing loops (one before and one after the village) and these appear to be used occasionally. A train of bagged salt can be seen roughly at the second siding above.
After curving around through rice paddies, the line crosses a canal and then there is a siding into the No. 2 factory. This is where the raw salt comes and the bagged salt is moved from here to the No. 1 factory. On the mainline to the salt fields, the second road crossed had been dug up and was being rebuilt. On the aerial photo, the road shows as a modern dual carriageway so why it should have to be rebuilt is not clear (unless this is a very recent picture after the road was finished which I find unlikely). The line then heads through an area being developed for the expansion of the city. We did not get to the salt fields so can’t be sure of the distance (20-30km?) but these are clearly visible on satellite images and the line can be traced in its entirety. The images below show how the salt is collected in long mounds for loading.
Loco No. 8 on bagged salt duties to No. 1 factory
Un-numbered loco was on the PW train.
Second loco No. 8 on the raw salt trains. This must be the strongest/healthiest of the 3 locos we saw in use.
Jincheng Reed Railway
Note how the line heads east from Jincheng and splits. The maximum extent (or the total track mileage?) was given as 100km by railway staff but this seems unlikely estimating distances from the maps. Also shown is the (former?) salt line from Shuangyang. From satellite images, this appeared closed but should be checked on the ground.
Map from mapbar.com. Jinzhou is off to the middle left. The depot and factory
are located directly west of the red box on the map. The line crosses under
the new high speed line (location of box) and continues to the factory to the
east of the river between the road and the old railway as marked with the red
arrow. The depot is close to the main road crossing. The 'reed or salt?' query
is probably answered as 'reed'.
The large oval on the left shows the paper factory with the line shown in red leading to the depot (the smaller oval) and out to the fields. The broan area between the ovals is used to store the reeds. There is a standard gauge line that appeared disused which crosses the main road juct below the depot and ends at the doctory bottom right. Running along the top is the old China Rail mainline which is still used by non-high-speed trains.
I believe this view shows the reed sidings at the end of the line where reeds are stored before being moved by rail and road to the paper factory.
This former Japanese railway once owned by a subsiduary of the Oji Paper Company, was destroyed at the end of WWII and then rebuild. It initially used steam but now uses two different classes of diesel one 4 wheel and the other 6 wheel with rods. Both seem to be used interchangeably on similar loads. The line is reported to run for 100km although it seems likely that not all trains traverse the full length of the line. There is an extensive marshy areas and reeds are harvested from June/July until the supply runs out (dates for end of season not known). The reeds are used by the paper factory at Jincheng. We gleaned one or two interesting facts about the operation. Trains leave between 4 and 5 am and return between and 11 am and 4 pm. Reeds are also brought in by road using a dedicated fleet of ancient trucks. The season starts earlier for the road vehicles and in 2009, the rail season started early July. The trains run in convoy although we did see one rescue loco go out light engine against the flow. There are occasional passing loops. The first are at the first road crossing (very close to the depot) and at around km 6. Signalling is now done by mobile phone although remnants of semaphore and electric signalling remain. The trains are loose-coupled and a wire is run from the loco to the last wagon which is where the guard stands holding the end of the wire. If the train splits, the wire goes slack and the guard phones the driver to give him the bad news and ask him to back up. The line is virtually flat so serious run-aways are unlikely. The only brakes appear to be on the loco.
6-wheel diesel loco with additional drive crankshaft at the rear
4-wheel diesel loco
Zaojiatun Coal Railway
Zaojiatun, Nanpaio
These images were achieved by typing 'Nanpiao, China' into Google Maps and navigating northwards to Zaojiatun. An alternative spelling/pronunciation may be Zhaojiatun. See also maps on SY-Country at http://www.sy-country.co.uk/line/liaoning-nanpiao.htm
Coal mine area with the ng oh electric line heading off to the top-left corner
Transfer shed end of the line showing the line curving in parallel to the standard gauge line and finishing at a transfer shed with a balloon loop.
The line was in low-season mode and mainly not operating as work was done in the mine and on the track. We finally found it working normally with 2 locos operating an intensive service. The tubs are new since my last visit which suggests the mine has a reasonable future. At the transfer shed, the tubs and the locos are suspended by wheels (see photo below) as they pass over the hole into which the coal is dropped to be transferred to the washery. This requires a strong support structure along the side of locos and tubs to take the weight when they are over the hole.
If you would like answers to specific questions about these operations while they are still reasonably fresh in my mind, please email jraby@waitrose.com
I hope you enjoy the DVD.
John Raby
September 2009
