options
hide options panelMiscellaneous Industrials
31 photos
updated : 2024-04-27
Visits to a number of industrial operations only produced one or two worthwhile pictures, not enough to justify a gallery in their own right. These pictures are grouped together here.
Pingzhuang Mining Railway
36 photos
updated : 2022-12-03
Pingzhuang's mining railway served five deep coal mines and an opencast pit. The opencast electric system closed some time ago and the deep mine system got a pair of diesels at the end of 2013, after which the SY's didn't have a lot to do. Traffic levels were never high but some good shots were possible.
Fuxin Mining Railway
78 photos
updated : 2022-11-24
Fuxin was a major coal mining centre for many years but most of the mines have now closed. The once extensive electric system has been dewired and much of it closed. Steam continued in use until 2016, by which time traffic had declined to the point that it could be handled by the railway's few diesels.
Tongchuan Mining Railway
15 photos
updated : 2022-11-24
Tongchuan lwas notable for keeping JF Class 2-8-2s in service until the end of 2004, long after the rest of the class had been withdrawn. It was a very scenic line that climbed to mines high into the hills making the old locos work for their living. Unfortunately the weather around Tongchuan was notoriously bad.
Capital Iron & Steel
4 photos
updated : 2022-11-24
Beijing Capital Iron and Steel was a large steelworks located to the north-west of the city and employed a variety of steam and diesel locomotives including ET7, SY and XK13 classes. Steel production was shifted to a new plant at Qian'an, near Tangshan and the Beijing works had closed by 2009.
Sandaoling Mining Railway
288 photos
updated : 2022-11-06
Sandaoling, near Hami in the north-west of China, was home to the last steam worked opencast mine railway in the world. Rail operations within the pit have now ceased but Sandaoling still has a few working steam locos. The active steam fleet consisted mainly of JS class 2-8-2s assisted by a few SYs.
Zhalainuo'er Mining Railway
67 photos
updated : 2022-08-13
A large opencast coal mine in northern Inner Mongolia, entirely steam worked by SY Class 2-8-2s. Imagine Clapham Junction transplanted into the Grand Canyon and you get the idea. Probably the most spectacular steam location to survive into the 21st Century. The opencast mine system closed in 2009.
Jixi : Didao Mining Railway
37 photos
updated : 2022-08-09
The Didao system is a compact coal mining operation located north-west of Jixi, centred on the washery at Didao Hebei. Much of the steam action was tender first but it was possible to find chimney first workings and impressive industrial backdrops. Didao dieselised in Autumn 2010.
Benxi Steelworks
5 photos
updated : 2022-08-04
Benxi Steelworks still used a number of unusual steam locomotives in 1992, including XK2 class 0-6-0 tanks, built to USATC order during WWII. The gallery includes an electric and an unusual diesel as well.
Baotou Steelworks
19 photos
updated : 2021-03-09
The steelworks at Baotou used a variety of steam locomotives including purpose built industrials and some former main line locos. Around 1990 locos of classes YJ, ET7, XK13, JF, JS and SY could all be found. Steam lasted until the end of 2008 but by then only the SYs were in use alongside diesels.
Baiyin Mineral Railway
50 photos
updated : 2020-11-21
Baiyin Non-Ferrous Metals Co. owns mines and smelters in the Baiyin area of Gansu Province, producing aluminium, copper and other metals. The company's rail network extends into the mountains to the north and used a small fleet of SYs for shunting and line work, including workers' passengers, until late 2015.
Fushun Mining Railway
25 photos
updated : 2020-11-12
The opencast mine at Fushun was developed in the early years of the 20th Century and is served by an extensive electrified rail system. These pictures were taken over a period of almost 30 years, from 1984 to 2013, and show various classes of steam and electric loco and, unusually for China, EMUs.
Beipiao Mining Railway
5 photos
updated : 2020-11-12
The Beipiao Mining Railway was a relatively quiet affair serving a number of mines spread over a wide area of countryside around the town of Beipiao in western Laioning. By the time we arrived in late 2010, the first diesel had arrived and was handling most, but not quite all, of the traffic.
Wujiu Mining Railway
8 photos
updated : 2019-10-11
Wujiu is located in the far north of Inner Mongolia, 60km north-east of Yakeshi and gets very cold in winter. The railway served four deep mines, none of them particularly productive. By 2016 a diesel handled transfers to CNR at Meitian but steam was used for shunting and tripping work around the mines .
Jixi : Donghai Mining Railway
8 photos
updated : 2016-07-17
Donghai is the smallest of the JIxi systems, serving a single deep mine, Donghaikuang, east of Jixi. Traffic is exchanged with CNR at Jidong station, requiring the mine's locos to leave the mining railway and run along the CNR main line for several km. The mine railway dieselised in 2010.
Dahuichang Limestone Railway
6 photos
updated : 2016-07-16
The last place you would expect to find a steam worked narrow gauge railway is Beijing, China's bustling modern capital. Only a short distance from the glass and steel towers of the city, diminutive C2 class 0-8-0s shuttled tubs between the quarry and the limestone plant at Dahuichang. The line closed in 2005.
Meihekou Mining Railway
8 photos
updated : 2016-07-16
The Meihekou Mining Railway served a handful of deep mines south of the town of the same name, connecting to the national railways at Heitoushan. SYs handled most of the traffic but by 2005 there was also a DFH5 diesel in use. Steam finished around 2009.
Yuanbaoshan Mining Railway
8 photos
updated : 2016-07-16
The Yuanbaoshan Mining Railway serves a number of coal mines and a major power station south of Chifeng in eastern Inner Mongolia. The line was notable for its fleet of gleaming, smoke-deflector fitted JS Class 2-8-2s. Diesels arrived in 2006 but steam was still used occasionally for a few more years.
Gongwusu Mining Railway
6 photos
updated : 2016-07-16
Gongwusu is well off the beaten track in western Inner Mongolia and wasn't discovered by enthusiasts until 2007, by which time much of the system had already closed. What remained wasn't very busy and got by with one working engine most of the time. However, there were a few pleasant locations.
Dayan Mining Railway
4 photos
updated : 2016-07-16
Dayan lies in the far north-east of Inner Mongolia, east of Haila'er, and is the location of a number of deep coal mines and a power station, all linked by a standard gauge railway system. The line had a passenger service and was totally steam worked until 2006 when the first diesels arrived.
Yaojie Industrial Railways
12 photos
updated : 2016-07-15
The mining town of Yaojie is home to two industrial railways, one going south through a scenic gorge to meet CNR in Haishiwan, the other heading north to an aluminium smelter and a ferro-alloy works up the Datong Valley. One line was steam worked until 2006 while the other kept a couple of SYs into 2014.
Fula'erji Industrial Railways
9 photos
updated : 2016-07-15
Fula’erji is on the Nenjiang (Nen River) about 30 km south-west of Qiqiha’er and is home to a number of large industrial plants with their own rail systems. This gallery contains pictures of the smart JS class locos that used to work at the No.2 Power Station and the scruffy SY class at the Heilongjiang Chemical Plant.
Tiefa Mining Railway
11 photos
updated : 2016-07-15
This busy operation serves several large coal mines north west of Shenyang and was 100% steam worked until 2004. Passengers were still worked by SYs for another few years. The area was largely flat and infested with concrete poles but had some pleasant photo positions, especially around sunrise and sunset.
Jixi : Chengzihe Mining Railway
64 photos
updated : 2016-07-15
Chengzihe was the busiest of the Jixi mine railways with plenty of steam action and some of the best industrial backdrops in China. A highlight was the 8 o'clock shift change at Dongchang when the line's SYs gathered in the yard. Electrification work started in 2010 and was completed in 2012.
Jixi : Lishu Mining Railway
15 photos
updated : 2016-07-15
Lishu was probably the most scenic and almost certainly the least productive of the Jixi systems. Lishu's mines were located in beautiful hilly country well away from the city, so when the SYs did venture out, there were some excellent photo opportunities. Qikeng mine closed in 2008 and the line dieselised in 2010.
Hegang Mining Railway
7 photos
updated : 2016-07-15
Hegang was a major coal mining centre for many years but, like so many mining areas in the north-east, it went into steep decline in the early years of the 21st Century. Much of the system was electrified but a significant proportion of traffic was hauled by SY class 2-8-2s until the diesels took over around 2008.
Jixi : Hengshan Mining Railway
12 photos
updated : 2016-07-15
Hengshan was the longest of the Jixi systems but not as busy as Chengzihe. It featured a steeply graded "main line" between Xinhengshan and Zhongxin as well as a long rural line to Zhangxin. It was also the first system to get diesels, in 2007, several years before the other Jixi mining railways.
Pingdingshan Mining Railway
24 photos
updated : 2016-07-13
The Pingdingshan Mining Railway is an extensive system serving a number of modern coal mines around Baofeng and Pingdingshan in central Henan. The line was unusual in using JS, QJ and SY classes on heavy trains. The first diesels arrived in 2004 but steam lasted until 2009 on the long line north to Yuzhou.
Nanpiao Mining Railway
20 photos
updated : 2016-07-13
The Nanpiao Mining Railway is a Y shaped system in the hills west of JInzhou. It used a small fleet of SYs but acquired some second hand BJ diesels in 2003 and later got some DF5s. The last steam locos lasted until 2010.
Beitai Steelworks
29 photos
updated : 2016-07-11
Steam lasted longer at Beitai than any other large steelworks but access was difficult. For a short period around 2011 it was possible to get official permission to visit, but at a high price. It was worth it though, and not just for the SYs. Steam finished when the old furnaces closed around a year later.
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.
