JS 8190 storms past JS 8167 as the latter waits to enter the loading area for another load of coal.

JS 8190 thunders through the big curve and up the last section of steep 2.5+% grade out of the opencast pit at Sandaoling.

SY 1764 departs Gushan Erjing with an empty coal train. By this date in February 2015, SY1764 had become the youngest operable 2-8-2 in China, a mere 20 years old, as all the newer locomotives had... (more)

Sunrise at Sandaoling! In the pink light of a rising sun, JS8225 storms past JS8190 with the first coal train of the morning.

Change at the Shift Change! Dieselization of one of the mines at Fuxin has introduced the presence of two diesels into the shift change line-up at Fuxin. But all is well for the day, as SY 2-8-2 #... (more)

SY 1378 steams out of Wulong Mine with another load of spoil. The catenary above the locomotive is the remnants of the industrial electrification that once served the mines in Fuxin. When the open... (more)

SY 1195 reenacts the burning of Rome with an incredibly smoky departure from Wulong Mine with a train of spoil rock.

More than five years ago, the Shibanxi was a freight haulling real narrow gauge. On a hot day in April 2011, C2 0-8-0 #10 burst from LaoYingZui Tunnel with a heavy train of empty coal cars bound f... (more)

SY1441 makes a steamy departure from Pingzhuang Nan Station with a long train of empties bound for the many mines served by this steam powered mine railway. It had snowed the previous evening cove... (more)

Pingzhuang Mining Railway SY1441 struggles to pull 50 empty coal cars out of the mainline interchange at Pingzhuang Nan Zhan (Pingzhuang South Station). As it crosses the river, this train will sl... (more)

Sandaoling Mining Railway JS8225 storms up the last stretch of 2.5% grade before the summit at KengKouZhan. Soon this train will surmount the grade and coast downhill into the washery where it's l... (more)

In the pink light of a rising sun, JS8225 storms past JS8190 with the first coal train of the morning. These trains run like clockwork with a train around sunrise every morning throughout the wint... (more)

JS8225 steams out of the coal yard after unloading her train. Soon the massive 2-8-2 will return to the opencast pit mine for another load of coal.

JS8081 makes a dramatic departure from the unloading point after dumping her train of coal. Over half of the coal trains at Sandaoling are unloaded at this coal yard where the coal is trans-loaded... (more)

Sandaoling Mining Railway JS8225 looks more like an American mainline 2-8-2 than a Chinese mining engine, as the massive Mikado storms upgrade on the double track Sandaoling Mining Railway.