tarboat's photos with the keyword: fushun

An icy day on the Fushun Mining Railway. This system serves the opencast coal mine and associated industry in the city of Fushun, Liaoning Province. This is a typical level crossing in the urban area where the trackbed is used as a dump for much domestic rubbish. The line of ice parallel with both sides of the left track is cause by water dripping from coal wagons passing this way. The locomotive (617) heading the empty coal train is a 1500v DC electric which came to Fushun from the Maoming oil shale mine in c2001. It was built at the Xiangtan Electric Locomotive Factory, Hunan, in 1988.

Situated fairly close to the enormous opencast coal mine at Fushun, the Cogen plant has a capacity of 150Mw. It was a joint venture with 60% held by the Hong Kong based CK Infrastructure Holdings Limited. It is currently being replaced by a new facility comprising 2 x 300Mw units burning coal waste.

The big pit at Fushun is always smoggy but on this occasion it was possible to see well into the hole. A steam locomotive is busy on a maintenance train whilst coal and spoil is handled by electric locomotives. Sadly the railways into the pit have now all closed.

I spotted this interesting chemical plant in Fushun but had no idea just what was going on there. I am now wondering if this is something to do with the large shale oil processing plant that exists there. The two plants use the modified Fushun retort system and produce between them around 350,000 tonnes of oil per year. One plant has 120 retorts and the other has 100. The Fushun process is classified as an internal combustion technology but also includes external gas heating. It uses a vertical cylindrical type shaft retort, with outside steel plate lined with inner fire bricks. The retort has height over 10 metres (33 ft) and its inner diameter is about 3 metres (9.8 ft). Whilst these are clearly not the retorts I am wondering whether what is seen here is something to do with further refining of the oil produced. If anyone can assist with an explanation I shall be very grateful. I have now been advised that these are delayed cokers which are used to make coker gas oil and petroleum coke. They are worked in pairs and the derrick structures at the top are for de-coking one side while the other side is in use. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_coker

Furnaces at the Fushun Special Steel works, Liaoning Province, China.

This 1500v dc three unit electric locomotive was built by Skoda in 1960. It was in service hauling coal and spoil at the enormous 'Big Pit' at Fushun which is vaguely seen in the background.

A cyclist dodges the trains on the level crossing outside the Fushun Special Steel plant.

A giant gasholder looms behind the SY shifting the slag ladles at Fushun Special Steel.

Situated fairly close to the enormous opencast coal mine at Fushun, the Cogen plant has a capacity of 150Mw.

The big pit at Fushun is always smoggy but on this occasion it is almost possible to see the bottom of the hole. This is an old coal working with a large number of electric locomotives, some Japanese built in the late 1930s and early 1940s, hauling out the coal. Steam locomotives handle the maintenance trains.

The electric coal railway at Fushun uses a fascinating array of locomotives. This is a Japanese (Mitsubishi) built example dating from 1937.

Locomotive working the furnace line at the works of Fushun Special Steel in Liaoning Province, North-East China.

Furnaces at the Fushun Special Steel works, Liaoning Province, China.

Furnaces at the Fushun Special Steel works, Liaoning Province, China.

Level crossing keeper on one of the many industrial lines in Fushun, Liaoning Province, China.

A level crossing keeper on the Fushun coal railway in Liaoning province, China.