C2 0-8-0 #10 of the Jiayang Coal Railway (known as Shibanxi to westerners) blasts up hill through the Sichuan countryside. This pleasant narrow gauge was once paradise for railfans boasting 4 coal... (more)
A sunny day at the Shibanxi narrow gauge line in Southern China! Once a hidden gem, the railroad becomes more and more popular with tourists now: both railfans and "normal" tourists from nearby Ch... (more)
One of the ubiquitous Chinese C2-type narrow gauge steam locomotives is #7 of the Jiayang Coal Mining Administration, stopping here on at Caiziba halt with one of the scheduled daily passenger tra... (more)
Steam and electric locos share the loco shed at Shixi which is the main servicing facility for the Jiayang coal railway.
Pigs at Shibanxi
More empties for Yue Jin arrive behind motor #3. I have digitally removed a couple of cables which passed over bottom RH corner of this shot.
The 1030 from Shibanxi blasts away from Mi Feng after reversal.
Passengers and pigs disembark from a Shibanxi bound train.
Steam hauled coal from Huang Cun passes the mine at Yue Jin. The steam freight has another 5km or so to run before the line's terminus at Shibanxi.
Yue Jin station becomes a hive of activity as the small NG trains do a brisk business with local traffic, as the railway is the area's only transportaion into the hills. Passengers disembark and b... (more)
A load of coal from Huangcun, at the far end of the line, enters the Yue Jin town area on the downhill run to Shibanxi.
Coal trains on this railway have no through braking, relying instead on 4-5 intermediate brakemen on each train of 42 cars. One such brakeman is seen 'at speed', estimated at about 15 mph.
The 2nd train of the day arrives at the line's upper terminus.
Miners push their cars into the mine for more coal. The track here is dual gauge, though the narrower gauge is no longer used on this section.
Miners take a smoke break between manually pushing the hopper wagons over the mine's own system, which has no locomotives.
