JS #8358 shove hard against a loaded coal train leaving Erjing. This heavy 40-car train was topped and tailed, with another JS 2-8-2 straining at the front of this train. The sight of these two m... (more)

JS #8358 struggles to move 40 loaded coal cars up the grade out of the Erjing Mine railyard. Fortunately for the former-mainline 2-8-2, the apex of the grad is in a few meters and soon the train w... (more)

Silhouetted against the rising sun, an unknown JS 2-8-2 leads a loaded coal train from Erjing Mine to South Station, where it will be transferred to the National Railway. Sandaoling Coal Mine Rail... (more)

Fighting for every foot forward, JS 8194 climbs out of the Opencast Pit Mine of Sandaoling, China. This heavy coal train is bound for the coal washery just 1.5 miles ahead but over 200 feet higher... (more)

Deep in the Open Pit Coal Mine of Sandaoling, JS 8225 storms upgrade past JS 8077. JS 8225 is bound for the coal washery but first must surmount a grueling 2%+ grade that will challenge the massiv... (more)

SY 1369 smokes its way upgrade towards Xingqu after departing Zhengguang Mine with another load of spoil. This train is destined for the Xingqu spoil heap, where the coal waste will be dumped (and... (more)

Under overcast skies, C2 #044 storms past a patch of beautiful sunflowers above the tiny village of Tuoyaozi. This empty train is bound for the coal mines at Hongguang (Red Mine) however, the stee... (more)

At the bottom of the Opencast Pit coal mine in Jalainur, SY 1119 leads an empty coal train to be loaded, while SY 1285 passes on the switchback above. Soon SY 1119 will follow its sister up to the... (more)

Seen through at boxpox drivers of an SY 2-8-2, a worker in Jalainur's massive locomotive workshop welds a new driver axles box. Soon, the axlebox will be placed and another 2-8-2 will return to wo... (more)

With the light of the rising sun glinting off of it's train, JS 8081, departs Xibolizhan for another days work in the open pit mine of the Sandaoling Coal Company. The morning shift change has jus... (more)

On a cold winters day, Yamansu Iron Ore Railway JS #8152 leads a train of ore empties across the barren desert of China. This railway only 36 kilometers long, connected an iron ore mine to the Chi... (more)

On a cold autumn morning in 2010, SY 1378 storms past the interlocking tower and through a grade crossing at the Wulong Mine. This train is bound for the spoil tip just 4 kilometers away but over ... (more)

A SY chugs past the setting sun after a hard days work hauling slag from the massive Baotou Steel Mill. The setting sun was a potent metaphor for the future of this locomotive and her sister SY 2-... (more)

On a cold winter's day in 2010, the afternoon passenger storms up the loess canyons in Baiyin. This scenic railway existed to serve a massive copper mine deep in these canyons, as well as the asso... (more)

In the locomotive depot of the Xingyang Brickworks Railway, a female worker patiently watches her lathe. She is turning a new steam piston for C2 0-8-0 #207, a 1988 product of the Harbin Works. Wh... (more)