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hide options panelDeep Coal Mines
437 photos
updated : 2025-06-11
Deep coal mines provided employment for more steam locomotives than any other industry in China and that continued until very recently. Many mine systems included lines running through attractive countryside and interesting industrial architecture. Diesels on mine systems have not been ignored.
Preserved Locos
24 photos
updated : 2024-04-29
China has a surprisingly large number of preserved locomotives although very few are operational. There are two large museums, in Beijing and Shenyang, plus a few smaller collections but most locos are plinthed at locations such as stations factories or locomotive depots, many of which are inaccessible to the public.
Sheds and Workshops
183 photos
updated : 2024-04-27
Locomotive depots, servicing points and workshops can be very photogenic places providing a contrast to photos taken at the lineside. In China servicing was usually carried out in the open air, even in the frozen north in winter. The lack of light was a challenge in sheds, where they existed, and workshops.
Opencast Mines
336 photos
updated : 2022-12-03
Steam worked opencast mines are the most incredible places to see and photograph steam locomotives, whether looking down from the rim at a dozen locos scurrying back and forth or getting in close at the coal face. Zhalainuo'er (Jalainur) lasted until 2009 and Sandaoling hung on into 2022, just.
Steelworks
65 photos
updated : 2022-12-03
The steel industry was the third biggest employer of steam locomotives in China, after the national railways and the coal mines. Getting permission to visit steelworks was difficult but not impossible. They weren't the easiest places to get good photos but could be very rewarding in the right conditions.
Forestry Railways
60 photos
updated : 2022-11-24
North-east China was once home to hundreds of miles of narrow gauge forestry railways but most disappeared in the 1990s, leaving only a handful to see in the 21st Century. The last true steam worked forestry lines finished in 2003, leaving Huanan, by then only hauling coal, to cling on until 2010.
It's difficult to comprehend the scale of China's railway system or the speed with which it's changed over the last few decades. The photos here are the result of dozens of visits to main line and industrial locations across the country since 1984 and depict many classes of steam, diesel and electric loco at work.
