Harbin Bureau covers the northern part of Manchuria with lines in Heilongjiang Province and the north-eastern tip of Inner Mongolia. Harbin is the major city of the region and the coalfields around Jixi, Hegang and Manzhouli provide much of the freight traffic. The trunk line south from Harbin is not particularly scenic but much of the area is mountainous and the bureau includes several very scenic routes.

Shenyang Bureau serves several major cities including Shenyang, Dalian and Jinzhou in Liaoning Province and Changchun and Jilin in Jilin Province. The coal, steel and chemical industries are well represented and provide the railway with a great deal of freight traffic. Much of the area is mountainous and there are some very scenic lines. Shenyang Bureau had the honour of running the last Pacifics of both RM and SL6 classes and continued to use steam locomotives right up to the official end of steam in early 2002.

As you would expect, Beijing is a major rail hub with lines radiating in all directions. Those going east or south traverse boringly flat country, much of it built up. Lines to the north or west soon encounter range upon range of mountains and bridges, tunnels and scenic locations abound. Beijing has hosted a huge variety of traction over the years and continues to do so. Visitors to the main station can expect to see half-a-dozen different classes in a short period of observation.

Lanzhou Bureau covers the provinces of Gansu and Ningxia in north-western China. This is rugged country with mountains, deserts and the mighty Yellow River all influencing the routing of the areas railways. Two of the very best steam locations were in Lanzhou Bureau; Zhongwei, where the line climbed out of the Yellow River valley across the fringes of the Gobi Desert, and Tianzhu, where heavy freights climbed mile after mile of 1 in 50 gradients to a summit 10,000 feet above sea level.