Introduction

By the mid 1980s most of the older and more exotic classes of steam loco had been withdrawn leaving around sixteen classes in service. This section of the site profiles those classes with illustrations, technical details and potted histories. For more details of each class, click on the read more link or the photo.

ET7 Class 0-8-0T

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A standard Polish industrial 0-8-0 tank engine supplied to the Chinese steel industry in the late 1950s and early 1960s (read more...).

FD Class 2-10-2

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A 1930s Soviet freight engine. Over 1000 were supplied to China in the late 1950s after they became redundant in the USSR (read more...).

GJ Class 0-6-0T

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The GJ was an industrial tank locomotive, designed and built in China in the late 1950s and early 1960s (read more...).

JF Class 2-8-2

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The JF was introduced in 1918 and was the standard main line freight loco for many years (read more...).

JF6 Class 2-8-2

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The JF6 was a light 2-8-2 introduced in the late 1920s for branch line use (read more...).

JS Class 2-8-2

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The JS was a development of the JF and over 1900 were built between 1957 and 1988 (read more...).

KD6 Class 2-8-0

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Several USATC 2-8-0s went to China after World War II and became KD6 Class (read more...).

KD7 Class 2-8-0

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The KD7 was an American design supplied to China by UNRRA after World War II (read more...).

PL2 Class 2-6-2

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The PL2 was a light 2-6-2 introduced in 1935 for industrial use (read more...).

QJ Class 2-10-2

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The QJ was the last main line class to go into production. Over 4700 were built and it was China’s principal main line class during the final years of steam operation (read more...).

RM Class 4-6-2

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The RM was China’s last steam passenger design and was a development of the SL6 class (read more...).

SL6 Class 4-6-2

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The SL6 was introduced in the 1930s and was the standard passenger loco for many years (read more...).

SY Class 2-8-2

sy_04-d-0167
The SY was a development of the JF6 and became China’s standard industrial locomotive with more than 1800 built (read more...).

XK2 Class 0-6-0T

xk2_92-31-19
A number of USATC 0-6-0Ts were supplied to China after World War II and became Class XK2 (read more...).

XK13 Class 0-6-0T

xk13_88-36-07
These locos were a standard Polish industrial design supplied to Chinese industry in the late 1950s and early 1960s (read more...).

YJ Class 2-6-2

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The YJ is a development of the pre-war PL2 Class, built in China for industrial use in the late 1950s and early 1960s (read more...).