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The International Steam Pages |
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Steam in China, November 1999 |
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Duncan Cotterill reports on his latest trip (with a report from Bryan Acford from Baotou appended, also a report of Barry Burns' pre-tour trip to Chengde and Fuxin). INTRODUCTION This report details a trip to Jingpeng Pass on the Ji-Tong line in late November 1999. Flights from/to London with British Airways were booked through Regent Holidays of Bristol (Tel 0117 921 1711, Fax 0117 921 4866). For arrangements on the ground in China we used China Liaoning Steam Locomotive Photography Association based in Shenyang. TRACTION & TRAFFIC On the steam front there were no surprises with 100% QJ operation continuing. Traffic levels varied from 2 to 5 eastbounds and 4 to 5 westbounds per day in daylight, averaging 3.6 eastbound and 4.6 westbound (including an average of 1 westbound light engine movement per day. Trains which could not have possibly caught the sun on the climb from Galadesitai or Jingpeng to Shangdian have not been counted. The low totals on some days are thought to be due to bad weather occuring to the east or west. The imbalance in traffic levels noted on previous trips continues with one or two westbound light engine movements most days, easily identifiable by their 50xx train numbers. Most freight trains continue to run with the usual 28xx and 41xx numbers. We were initially confused by a number of 57xx workings which turned out to be trains carrying out work in section such as ballasting. These were usually normal freight trains with a few ballast wagons added at the front. Ballasting was being carried out at Shangdian and near Xiakengzi and other track work such as replacing rails was in progress on the eastern slope. Disruption to normal services was minimal. WEATHER REPORT The weather proved to be the biggest obstacle to successful photography. When we arrived, temperatures were rising to about +15C in the afternoons, eliminating all traces of exhaust unless you were lucky enough to catch a rare puff of black. After a couple of days, the cloud rolled in, the temperature plummeted to -15C and snow fell. A day or so later a low of -23C was recorded. The cold weather was accompanied by a persistent and bitter westerly wind making photography all but impossible in the mornings when the smoke blew to the sunny side and difficult at any time due to swirling exhausts and frozen fingers. In these sort of temperatures the wind speed is far more critical than the absolute temperature. Still air at -25C is no problem at all but -10C in a strong wind is an unpleasant ordeal. The first few days of the cold snap were rather cloudy with a few sunny breaks every day but after a few days the cloud melted away leaving crystal clear blue skies. THE HASSLE FACTOR Unfortunately, the line's popularity with photographers has led to problems again. The Ji-Tong Travel Service, an offshoot of the railway, is trying to grab a share of the action for itself by levying an RMB50 per person per day fee on all visitors. This is on top of the RMB100 per person, per visit paid for a photographic permit. Mrs Sun believes there is no legal basis for this and is attempting to challenge its legality via the PSB. In the meantime, visitors have little option but to pay the fee as the Ji-Tong mafia appear to have the support of the local police. Needless to say, you get nothing in return for the money. DAY BY DAY OBSERVATIONS Saturday 20 November 1999 Group met at Heathrow Terminal 4 for a lightly loaded BA 039 747-400 flight to Beijing. Sunday 21 November 1999 Some spectacular views of the mountains north west of Beijing resembling
islands in a sea of mist. Our arrival was delayed about 20 minutes by the same fog. The
new terminal at Beijing is now open, a distinct improvement on the old cramped facilities
but no faster on the baggage handling front. Our guide, Sun Xiaogang, brother of Sun
Xiaolan, met us and we set off for the city. After a wander around a couple of shops, an
abortive visit to the China Railway Publishing House (moved again but closed on Sundays)
and a leisurely lunch we boarded train 573, the 16:32 from Beijing Nan, bound for
Chifeng.
The previous favourite for this journey (train 557 from Beijing Bei) has been replaced by
a through train from Hohhot and soft sleeper reservations from Beijing aren't as readily
available as before. Monday 22 November 1999 Arrival at Chifeng was at a very uncivilised 03:36 but we didn't hang
around for long, being on the road by 03:52. The one advantage of the unspeakably early
arrival was that we were in Reshui nice and early and on the lineside photting before
09:00. Before long, we met up with Barry Burns and the advanced guard who'd travelled out
a week before (see separate report from Barry). Monday 22 November 1999 QJ +QJ ???? EB Goods E of Galadesitai 07:26 Tuesday 23 November 1999 Another, sunny day. Wednesday 24 November 1999 What a contrast! There was snow on the ground and it was still falling
when we left the hotel. Snow flurries continued all day but there were also a few bright
spells and breaks in the cloud. Thursday 25 November 1999 Another cold, mainly cloudy day with a few snow flurries but more
sunshine. Friday 26 November 1999 QJ6110+QJ7012 4157 EB Goods Ex Jingpeng 08:40 Saturday 27 November 1999 QJ6274+QJ6687 4106 WB Goods Liudigou 08:16 Sunday 28 November 1999 At last! A cold clear sunny day but not many eastbound trains. Numerological heaven! QJ6388 and 6389 must have crossed QJ6638 and 6639 at
Jingpeng or Xiakengzi. Monday 29 November 1999 Another brilliantly sunny day and our last at
Jingpeng. Unfortunately the
most evil cold westerly wind made photography virtually impossible in the morning.
Anywhere that was right for the wind was wrong for the sun. Even where the wind seemed
right, the smoke swirled unpredictably. Very frustrating. We then returned to the hotel to pick up our luggage, meet up with John Tickner's group with whom we would travel back to Beijing and begin the long drive to Chifeng. The wild, wide open prairies looked superb in the strong winter sunlight but the wind made it very uncomfortable outside. The last few km into Chifeng were very slow with a long stretch of roadworks followed by sheet ice on the streets in the city centre but we still made it in 4 hours dead from Reshui. An excellent dinner in the station restaurant was enlivened by a visit from a large brown rat which scurried across the room before disappearing behind the radiator cladding then poked its nose out for a second look. We left Chifeng on train 560 at 20:31 for Beijing Bei behind an orange liveried DF4. Tuesday 30 November 1999 The longest day. Arrival at Beijing Bei was on time at 06:28. This station
has changed little since I first visited it in 1984. It was then called Xizhimen and
hosted several QJ and JS, sadly long gone. The narrow street leading from the station also
maintains much of its charm with touts for bus operators shouting out destinations and
many small snack bars and restaurants doing a brisk trade in spite of the early hour. Once
we'd found our bus and rounded up one of our number who didn't, we were off. The contrast
couldn't have been more dramatic. From the fast disappearing Beijing of small old
buildings on narrow streets we emerged into the bold new glass, steel and concrete city,
straight onto the freeway and a complex interchange (Noodle Junction?) that wouldn't have
looked out of place in L.A. CONCLUSIONS Of the 4 visits I've made to Jingpeng, this was by far and away the worst for weather and produced less trains than expected. Ironically, visitors before and after us saw much more traffic. There have been some adverse comments recently about there being more in China than Jingpeng Pass and referring to it as the "idiot hill". Granted there is more in China but for action photography of steam hauled trains in the landscape, there's nowhere half as good in China, or the rest of the world for that matter. In spite of the relatively poor weather, Jingpeng Pass remains the best steam destination on the planet. I can't wait to go back. Loco Lists (Based on Hans Schaefer's October report). Note that we saw 23 out of 44 active locos, virtually all several times over. Other locos almost certainly passed in the 14 hours of darkness every day and were therefore not recorded. There seemed to be a fairly even spread of locos across the different brigades except the 1st Brigade which produced none at all. The only loco seen that wasn't on Hans' list was decorated QJ6579 which was seen again on 29/11 by Bryan's group at the west end of the line. It must have been en-route from Daban to Baichi after depot attention when we saw it on the 22nd.
B'gde = Brigade - Each of Daban's locos are allocated to one of 6 Brigades
(Links in British terminology?). and on to Baotou - Bryan Acford After a final and largely successful day at Jingpeng, 5 of us headed west on Train 712 at 2138 on 28/11/99. We had QJ6998, an old friend from visits to both Hexipu and Zhongwei, on the front for the first stretch. We quickly organised a hard sleeper berth and when we awoke QJ6304 (decorated front) was in charge for the final section to Benhong. At the west end of the line we passed QJ6997, 6579 (decorated) and 7052 on goods. On shed at Benhong was QJ6764 and three others whilst an example without deflectors was on pilot duty. We lunched at Jining Nan and headed out on the 1520 express to Baotou (120kph stock and red DF4). A surprise en route was the sight of working steam around Hohhot. Two QJ (one in steam) were at a factory siding east of the station whilst a further QJ was in steam in the main yard west of the station. Does anybody know where these have come from? As far as I was aware Hohhot has had no regular steam since around 1996. We reached Baotou Dong at 1924 and made the short journey to the Westlake Hotel for a couple of nights. The usual phone calls offering creature comforts were not long in coming. It was cold, clear and still on 30/11/99 as we headed for the Shiguai line, seeing JS8009 with T803 on the climb to Houba. The train log at Houba showed that for the previous few days there had been 2 daytime and 2 night- time goods every 24 hours. There was a change to the service pattern since last winter with the first train of empties not reaching Houba before 11- 00, suggesting that it did not pass Erdoshahe until after T804 had cleared the branch. We were promised 2 trains, at 11-00 & 13-30 so we settled down to wait on the hill above Xiaodonghua. Gloom set in when nothing had showed by 12-30 so I headed to Houba to check the situation with the station staff. The train was in fact pegged and JS8328 reached the summit at 1300. We were also told that the second train was only 30 mins behind. This was absolutely correct and we just had time to scramble into position for JS8005 at 1330. This late running held the promise of 2 loaded trains in good afternoon light. For once the gods were on our side and 8328 banked by 8325 reached the summit at 1520 whilst 8005 romped up on a short train at 1610. We had picked off 5 trains in perfect conditions for the best day of the trip, so far. We planned to spend the next 3 days on the Bao-Shen line so after a pre dawn visit to Baotou Dong for a flash of JS8279 on T803 we headed off to Singing Sands for the morning activity. The first surprise was that there is now a through Hohhot - Dongsheng passenger each day. It is made up of white and blue 120kph stock and consequently has the appearance of a blue ribbon on a snowy day! The southbound train crosses the viaduct at 1130 with the return at around 1540. At Singing Sands at 0900 we soon learnt one of the hazards of this line - the crews are very friendly but absolutely blowdown crazy - a superb broadside on a small bridge was ruined by a blowdown as it crossed the bridge (QJ6289 on T851). On arrival above the big viaduct we found the Steam & Safaris party scattered everywhere. There was no morning train of empties and after the 11-30 passenger the smog was rolling down from Baotou to destroy the visibility so we baled out and headed for Dongsheng. We survived the notorious coal road fairly painlessly and were delighted to find that the tolls have been sufficient to start the building of a new wider road parallel. This will, of course, be able to take even more blue lorries travelling faster and deprive the railway of yet more traffic! As we passed through town we saw 6348 & 6270 make a volcanic departure on a long train of empties for the mines. We arrived at Aobagou in time to phot a pair of QJ banked by 6247 on the long viaduct at 1325. The staff at Aobagou told us that another goods was expected at 1530, just ahead of the passenger. In the event 7044 passed through on T852 before 6194 & 6452 banked by 6247 stormed though at 1640 in superb evening light. We adjourned to the plush new hotel before searching out a restaurant not serving Mongolian Hot Pot. It was here that we made the discovery of the trip - a MICROBREWERY serving dark beer by the pitcher! We also understand that a well-known Welsh-Canadian gricer, who was also in the area, had his tubes cleaned whilst 'on shed' during the evening! On 2/12/99 we were unable to find out the day's workings at the crossing
in Dongsheng so we headed straight for Aobagou. There were only two loaded trains
scheduled during daylight but a bonus was that high-deflectored QJ1891 was diagrammed for
T852 in the afternoon. In the event the loads appeared at 1135 and 1500 with QJ1891
passing, as planned, at 1545. Other QJ seen on line during the day were 6247, 2977, 6192,
6452, 6289, 6249, 6018, 2938, 6017. Of note on this line is the fact that on the easier
grades around Aobagou station and the bridges the trains are wound up unusually vigorously
as they rush the final bank into Dongsheng. By mid afternoon the sun disappeared behind
high cloud and no more trains were due so we made a brief visit to the depot at
Dongsheng.
In steam were 6452, 3068, 6247, 1611, 1891, 2938, 7044, 6017, 2670. We awoke on 3/12/99 to a covering of snow and little prospect of a clearance. After seeing 6018 & 6348 banked by 6249 on the first arrival we crawled down the coal road on sheet ice passing more that the usual complement of broken and damaged blue lorries. We arrived at Singing Sands and watched T851 cross the viaduct in a snowstorm. As the day wore on the snow showed no sign of abating so after seeing both passengers, a southbound goods at 1420 and northbound light engines at 0930 & 1230 we decided to head for Baotou. The snow was by now pretty deep and our minibus was unable to climb the hill back to the main road. Attempts at pushing seemed pretty futile so we were reduced clearing the track until the bus could gain enough grip to establish the momentum to scale the summit. Once again progress on the ice was painfully slow and we reached Baotou Dong at 1645. During our 3 days on the line it became apparent that the locos blow down very frequently often on and in the vicinity of the bridges. It became something of a frustration spoiling some photos and coming close on others. A further frustration is finding locations, apart from the longest bridges, where the whole train length and banker can be photographed. Our final gricing day was 4/12/99 and for once the trip ended with a bang rather than a whimper. We awoke to a good covering of snow and a clear sky so headed out to the Shiguai road. This was, in fact, closed to most traffic because of the icy conditions but luckily we were too early for police intervention. We saw 8005 approaching Shiguai on T803 just before dawn before heading to Houba to enquire about freights. Over the previous couple of days there had only been a single freight day and night and the same pattern was scheduled for this day. The staff expected the empties at 12-00 with the loads returning at 1430. We settled down in bright sunshine to wait for T804 (JS8005) which duly arrived in Xmas card conditions before 2 of the group headed back to Baotou to catch the afternoon train to Beijing - a good way to finish their trip! We were by now on foot but had time to set up in a fine panoramic position above Houba village for JS8320 when it passed, as predicted, at 1200. The return working was once again in perfect conditions as 8320 banked by 8325 reached the summit at 1415 and our long journey back to the UK began. At Baotou Dong we saw a JS pass through on a long trip freight from the east before boarding T358 to Beijing at 1751. We saw no steam en route (it was dark most of the way) and saw no sign of any as we passed Capital Iron and Steel on the approach to Beijing. Conclusions After the frustrations of our week at Jingpeng the time around Baotou was
rather more successful. We certainly secured some fine shots on the Shiguai line (at my
fourth attempt). With its steep grades, sharp curves and traditional villages it has
become something of a personal favourite. Hopefully there will be no immediate moves to
upgrade the track in preparation for diesels. Barry Burns reports on his pre-tour visit to Chengde and Fuxin: CHENGDE , FUXIN AND ON TO RESHUI ….. As a prelude to joining Duncan Cotterill's group at Reshui on 22nd November, 3 of us flew out to Beijing the previous week to visit the old favourite of Chengde, followed by 3 days at the new location(for us) of Fuxin. Ground arrangements were organised by Mrs Sun of China Liaoning Steam Locomotive Photography Association (CLSLPA). For our stay at Chengde, our thanks go to Robin Gibbons for the useful notes and maps he posted on this site in January 1999. The railway system in the Fuxin area has been described in detail by Johs. Damsgaard Hansen and Bo Lindhardtsen following their visit in April 1999, a summary of which was published in World Steam WS99 Issue 5. Thanks are due to them for much useful information. Saturday 13th November 1999 Dave Whitfield and I left Teesside Airport on a fully loaded KL 2148 at 1030 to Amsterdam Schipol, meeting up with Mike Grainger who had travelled from Leeds/Bradford. KL 897 was ca. 90% full leaving at 1640 for Beijing. A comfortable flight was spoiled only by the rather basic dinner of "fish" or "pasta" – is this typical of KLM? However, the price was reasonable at £384 including the UK connections. Sunday 14th November 1999 Arrival at Beijing Capital Airport was on time at 0850 into the impressive
new terminal. We were met by Guo from CLSLPA, who was to be our very good guide for the
first week. The weather was sunny, clear and very warm, probably about 14 C. After a
lengthy lunch opposite the main Beijing station, we settled down in our hard seats on T
591/593 departing at 1323 for Dandong. The train was typically overflowing with humanity
and their belongings, but we managed to concentrate on the important happenings outside.
At Miyun, a dead steam locomotive (SY?) was observed behind goods vehicles to the north of
the station, and for the next 60 kilometres or so we tried to identify the various
locations where we had photographed the infrequent QJ hauled goods trains until five years
ago. Unfortunately it was Monday 15th November 1999 Arriving at the banking station (ChengdeXi) at 0715, we were just too late to photograph double-headed SY's 1522 and 1422 leaving, banked by a JS+SY. This was unfortunate as the sun had just risen and formed a bright red ball behind the train. Our minibus gave chase, but as the sun had not yet penetrated the valley leading to the summit, we continued through the road tunnel to Sanchakou. Here a grab shot turned out quite successful, as much to our surprise the leading locomotive was still working despite the down gradient. Not having been this side of the hill in our previous four visits, we continued to Shuangtashan to photograph the three SY's and JS being serviced at 0745 – very atmospheric. SY 1726 departed with a long train for the steelworks at 0755 before we were politely but firmly told to keep clear of the railway lines in the depot area by an official, supposedly for our safety. As the day was now promising to be sunny with fair/good visibility, we returned to the summit area until mid afternoon. Guo had ascertained that a train would be leaving the steelworks for Shuangtashan around 1600 so we returned to the river bridge, but unfortunately in the wrong position to photograph SY 1638 heading towards the works at 1638 with another long train, followed by JS 5634 leaving light engine a few minutes later. Including the 0715 departure, a total of 8 trains uphill from Chengde were observed, estimated times at the summit being as follows:- 0735, 0945, 1050, 1130, 1250, 1400, 1515, 1550 Dinner was taken at the same restaurant, but this was a big improvement on last night. Tuesday 16th November 1999 No train at the banking station, so we continued to Shuangtashan arriving at 0740 to a similar atmospheric view. Determined to get a photograph of the long viaduct, we took up position on the southern riverbank hoping for a train to the steelworks as on Monday. Unfortunately at this time of day the sun plays tricks by dodging behind the gaseous effluent from the nearby power station, but at 0815 JS 5634 crossed the viaduct light engine for the works during a bright moment. Eventually at 0935 we were rewarded by SY 1726 crossing, in clear sunshine, with a long train for the steelworks. A brief period near the summit tunnels saw trains from Chengde at 1120 and 1200 before we returned to Shuangtashan to observe JS 5634 push wagons along the short spur to the mine at 1340. SY 1726 arrived at 1400 with a train from the steelworks, before SY 1422 took a train to the steelworks at 1415 which we photographed passing a chimney and some cottages, with interesting rock formations as a backdrop. Unfortunately the SY was not under power. As we were to leave Chengde in the early evening, this was our last observation. Train T591/593 departed Chengde on time at 1847, and we settled into the soft sleeper for a comfortable night. The following locomotives were seen on the steelworks branch during the 2
days :- Wednesday 17th November 1999 Arrival at Fuxin was on time at 0358, and we alighted to a fresh fall of snow covering the streets and countryside to a depth of several inches. The very basic Hai Zhou hotel provided us with a short rest before departing for the 25 minute drive to Minzu some 10 km south of Fuxin. A quick breakfast at the roadside was interrupted for SY 0076 heading south with 5 coaches forming T108 to Dongliang at 0700, followed at 0725 by SY 0391 with 9 coaches forming T110 which we photographed leaving the station as it took the short branch line to Wangying. We were accompanied here by two other small groups, including one led by Nils Huxtable who we were to meet later at Reshui and Dongsheng. On our way back to Fuxin a brief visit was made to the CNR shed south of the station where initial permission to visit was eventually overruled although we did observe a long line of withdrawn QJ's and QJ 6708 moving off shed. Moving on to Wulong, the centre of operations for the industrial railway, we were surprised by the amount of activity. All traffic from the main industrial line or the yard to the north has to cross over a busy road crossing twice in order to gain access to the shed area or to the branch leading north-east. There is consequently an almost continuous movement of locomotives or trains, all of which were in the hands of SY 2-8-2's. Contrary to previous reports, we observed four facing north (see summary later) although the majority, including all those used on passenger trains, faced south. No QJ's were seen on the industrial system, although we did not venture inside the shed or works. No problems were encountered with access or photography; indeed our presence seemed to be of great interest to everybody including locomotive crews. Good locations for photography were :- at the yard approx 1 km. north of the level crossing where a large power station formed an interesting backdrop; at the mine to the east of the main running lines opposite the yard, and on the electrified line running north-eastwards from the main road crossing, which crossed a minor road before passing through a huddle of hutongs towards another mining area. A brief visit was made to Taipeng where the coaling and watering facilities are situated. Dumped here were SY 0541 and JF(?) 403. We returned to Minzu for the afternoon passenger workings. At 1415 QJ6655
headed south on the CNR line with a goods, followed at 1434 with another unidentified QJ
on a similar northbound working. It appears that the CNR passenger workings are now all
dieselised. We photograhed SY 0391 at 1500 working T114 (9 coaches) on the branch to
Wangying passing the impressive church, before running (!) back to the minibus and just
managing to photograph SY 0076 on T116 (5 coaches) as it headed south on the embankment
towards Dongliang. The road back to Wulong was a mini version of the Baotou –
Dongsheng road with a constant stream of blue lorries, but the final half hour there
before sunset is recommended as locomotives pass over the crossing towards the setting
sun. On the way Thursday 18th November 1999 SY 0076 was again in charge of T108 as we photographed it in silhouette on
the embankment heading towards Dongliang at 0708 with the sun just above the horizon. A
very quick dash was again necessary in order to be ahead of T110 as it approached Wangying
at 0730 behind SY 0391. During our 3 days at Fuxin, all the passenger workings observed
were in the hands of the same locomotives each day. Returning to Wulong for 0815, the
early morning murk of the city still hung over the shed area as a number of SY's were
being serviced. The presence of several women collecting coal from the tracks made for
some interesting shots and memories of India, except that here their pickings were not
from the hot locomotive ash but from overfilled tenders/wagons. We spent a few hours in
this area photographing the numerous shunting movements and trip workings, noting SY 0126
arriving with 3 coaches at 0957 with T112. As the sun rose higher in the sky the
visibility improved and by 1100 the power station, which had earlier been lost in the
haze, stood out clearly against a blue sky. We left Wulong just after midday for Minzu to
plan the afternoon workings. We were not in position to photograph QJ 6655 at 1418 with a
southbound goods on the CNR line, but did not miss QJ 6752 with the northbound goods at
1437, taken approaching the second road crossing north of Minzu station. SY 0391 with T114
was taken here at 1448 before Friday 19th November 1999 More or less a repetition of the previous day, except that the snow was thawing quite rapidly because of the strong sunshine the previous two days. Following the morning Minzu workings and another spell at Wulong, we visited the Haizhou open cast site at 1230. Although small compared with Jalainur, this is still impressive with numerous electric locomotives working the various levels of track. At least 2 SY's were seen at the lower levels, but as the angle of the sun was unfavourable we did not venture any closer. The afternoon was again spent at Minzu, where QJ 6655 headed south but on this occasion light engine at 1402. We photographed QJ 6753 with a northbound goods at 1425 before walking along the Wangying branch to photograph T114 passing the church (the wind had been unfavourable the previous time) at 1448. As we were waiting there, another northbound QJ hauled goods passed at 1440. Despite running, we were still too late to get in position for T116 which passed at 1500 behind SY 0076. Back to Wulong until sunset before our final night at the Guo Tai hotel, to be met by Derek Phillips with his advanced party. The following locomotives were seen in steam during the 3 days at Fuxin :- CNR JS 6479 CNR QJ 6655, 6708, 6752, 6753 Local SY 0036*, 0076, 0126, 0384, 0391, 0540, 0770, 0771, 0785, 0912, 0940*, 0941, 0988*, 1089*, 1319, 1320, 1378, 1396, 1397, 1460 (* = Facing North) Saturday 20th November 1999 Before setting off for Reshui, we had time to see T108 leaving Minzu at 0705 behind the usual SY, but on this occasion we were joined by another dozen photographers from Derek's group in the field south of the road crossing. Today was the start of the "Fuxin Steam Festival", which of course we missed, although it is understood a series of special workings including double heading with SY/SY and JF/SY combinations was organised. We had enjoyed Fuxin, and would recommend two or three days there if visiting this part of China. Our journey was to be by minibus at the recommendation of Mrs Sun, as our initial choice T-608/609 to Chifeng be "very crowd and dirty with a lot of smokeman", in addition to being slow and often delayed. We set off from Minzu at 0715, travelling via Chaoyang where a stop was made for breakfast. Chifeng was reached at 1445 after a somewhat uncomfortable journey because of the extensive road works. After a change of drivers, we left Chifeng at 1525 and a relatively easy run ensued to Reshui where arrival at 1905 enabled a bath/shower to be taken at the Post Hotel before a good meal at the local restaurant. Sunday 21st November 1999 We awoke to a light covering of snow – the remnants of a previous fall, and a temperature below zero, but clear and bright. The following workings were observed :- QJ 6878+QJ 4139 EB Goods leaving Jingpeng 0758 Thin cloud had started to build from the north-west before lunchtime, which by now was quite thick so we retired to the hotel for a decent rest. Monday 22nd November 1999 Following breakfast at the same restaurant we set off for Jingpeng, eventually meeting up on the hillside with Duncan Cotterill …………. |
Rob Dickinson
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