tarboat's photos with the keyword: beipiao

The Beipiao Coal Railway was in terminal decline when I visited in early 2008. Traffic was sparse but we were able to find SY1550 crossing a road after depositing a train of spoil tippers in the sidings.

SY 1091 shunts coal wagons in the washery at Guangshan Mine, Beipiao. It was seriously cold as can be seen from the icicles hanging from the coal wagons. I am glad that I managed a visit to this town where the coal industry was in serious decline as the railways and mines have now all gone.

Loading point at the colliery at Sanbao, Liaoning Province, China, looked to be closed but the presence of loaded wagons told another story. The mines in this area were extensively developed by the Japanese during their occupation in the 1930s and early 1940s. All now demolished with a new road running along the line of the railway.

Loaded wagons at the Sanbao colliery, Liaoning Province, China. The railway system here was entirely steam operated at this time and it was hoped that a locomotive would show up to collect the coal but nothing happened whilst we were there. All gone now and the railway has been replaced by a dual carriageway road.

JF class 2-8-2 No.886 seen in store at Yijing on the Beipiao Mining Railway in Liaoning Province, North-East China. This locomotive was built by the Japanese company Kawasaki in 1936 for use in Manchuria which was under Japanese occupation at the time. The design was introduced by the Japanese from 1918 as a heavy freight locomotive. This survivor was rediscovered by enthusiasts in 2006 when it was seen in line service. Whether it has survived the closure of the mines and railway is unknown. I have been informed that this locomotive was moved to a museum in Beijing during 2019.

Water tower at the Yijing coal washery in Beipiao. The locals told me that this was built in the 1930s by the Japanese during their occupation of Manchuria. The colliery railway also had a Japanese steam locomotive built in 1936.

A section of a long bank of limekilns in Beipiao. These are still in regular use but were stopped due to it being winter. A close look reveals coal and limestone piles on top and burned lime at the bottom alongside the limeburners' huts.

SY 1091 shunts coal wagons in the washery at Guangshan Mine, Beipiao. All now gone as the coal industry here has collapsed.

Water towers at the Sanbao Colliery, Beipiao.

A long lost scene from the now closed Beipiao mining railway. Spoil from the washery at Yijing was taken a short distance to be tipped on this siding, whence it was removed by a loading shovel. The train is about to cross over before reversing into the tip which was off to the right. The usual quota of Chines poles is visible.

SY 1550 crosses the road near the Yijing workshops and tip on the Beipiao Coal Railway. Judging by Google Earth this line has now been entirely closed and lifted.

The colliery lines at Beipiao were rarely visited by enthusiasts due to the lack of action at any times. On my one visit it was hard work to find trains but we did manage to find SY 1550 on wagons of pit waste at the Yijing mine.

The long established coal mining industry in the Beipiao area of China's Liaoning Province and output is now apparently declining. Taiji Mine did not seem to be turning out much coal, but it certainly had a most unusual winding tower.

If you want to see good old-style running kilns then China is the place to be. Many areas there still operate the stone faced kilns seen long-disused across Britain. Having said that, this bank just outside Beipiao is particularly large, comprising eleven kilns in all. These kilns seem to be operated on a seasonal basis, being shut down overwinter. A source of limestone can be seen top left. Best viewed original size .

Cold times for the shunting crew on the Beipiao Coal Railway as they head for the waste tipping point at Yijing.

Spoil from the washery at Yijing is taken a short distance to be tipped on this siding, whence it is removed by a loading shovel As the wagons are tipped the local coal scavengers sift through the material and remove the tiniest bits of coal that are to be found amongst the waste material. The person second from the right is carrying a sack filled with small coal that has been collected here, whilst just off centre adjacent to the tipped wagon can be seen the backs of the pickers who are working fast before the loading shovel returns.

Exploration into the outbuildings around the Yijing railway workshops paid off in this shed which contained various wheelsets and a stored Japanese built (1936) steam locomotive.

A line of turnouts on the Beipiao Coal Railway outside the Guangshan Mine with the station and interchange with the China National Railway in the background. The two lines of ice outside the lines running to the left are created by water dripping from the loaded wagons as they are taken from the washery to the loading hoppers that supply the steam locomotives on this colliery system