tarboat's photos with the keyword: qj

QJ 680 with eight wheel tender heads north out of Suihua with a passenger service. At this time the lines around Suihua were 100% steam worked and locomotives were changed on most trains here.

It was worth the walk and a long wait in the cold for this one. Having seen the train being prepared at Yuzhou the chance of a shot of a deflectorless QJ was great opportunity on the Ruhe River bridge at Xiancheng as it took the coal towards Pingdingshan. The river was largely frozen but the heavily laden sand barges were slowly navigating the ice free channel. One of these is visible under the bridge.

QJ 6843 with twelve wheel tender heads north out of Suihua with a long freight. At this time the lines around Suihua were 100% steam worked and locomotives were changed on most trains here.

QJ 6843 JS 5693 and JS 5740 at Suihua Station and freight yard. At this time the rail services at Suihua were nearly all steam operated and most trains changed locomotives here.

Double heading QJs thunder into the loop at Liudigou on the westbound climb of the Jinpeng pass. They are running through wrong line due to track repairs just behind where I was standing. It's still a bit worrying looking through the viewfinder and seeing 3000+ tonnes heading right for you just before it swings off to the right.

A pair of QJ class locomotives easily handle the load eastbound up the final bank before the summit as they head for Chaganhada and on to Lindong on the Jitong Railway.

One of the classic angles on the Simingyi viaduct on the Jinpeng section of the Jitong Railway. Two QJ class locomotives pound across as they haul a heavy eastbound train towards the summit. For once the Jinpeng wind is pushing the exhaust away from the camera. Sadly scenes such as this can now only be seen on special occasions if the railway has a steam festival such as it ran in early 2008.

A pair of QJ class 2-10-2 locomotives working hard on the 'S' curves just before the summit west of Chaganhada. In a short distance they will be able to coast most of the way down to Daban where the locomotives will be changed. By this time the change will be to a DF4 class diesel rather than another pair of QJs for the slog over the mountainous Jinpeng section. I found this one amongst the unprocessed images taken during my 2005 visit to the Jitong Railway to say farewell to the last place in the world with main line steam.