JS 8167 hammers uphill through the sweeping curve, nicknamed Red Cliffs.

JS 8190 thunders past JS 8167 as it leads a loaded coal train out of the opencast pit coal mine.

JS 8167 thunders upgrade with a heavy coal train on the opencast pit line of Sandaoling Coal Mine Railway.

JS 8190 runs quickly through the straight stretch above Baerzhan. Trains often use this half-mile stretch of straight track to gather speed before hitting the 2.5+% grade ahead.

JS 8190 storms uphill with another heavy load of coal! The engine is just reaching the steepest part of the mainline, where the grade nearly reaches 3% for the last stretch out of the opencast pit... (more)

Nothing like ringing in the New Year with revenue steam! JS 6224 stroms up the beginnings of the 2.5% grade out of Baerzhan while JS8167 waits in the head shunt spur for it's turn to be loaded. Ou... (more)

JS 8167 storms out of Baerzhan Yard with a heavy coal train on the last day of 2017. Baerzhan is interlocking throat for the loading point on the Sandaoling system; here the double track mainline ... (more)

JS 6224 steams uphill out of the opencast pit coal mine at Sandaoling. JS 6224 holds the dubious honor of being one of the oldest steam locomotives in service in China in 2018, yet it was only bui... (more)

JS 8190 storms upgrade out of the wide curve and up the ramp to the unloading facility. Soon this train will unload and return downgrader for another 1500 tons of coal.

JS and Jordan Spreader

Cold weather makes good steam as this JS Class locomotive demonstrates leaving the coal mine's "Blue Loader". The shift is almost over for this crew as they make one last trip to the washery after... (more)

From the eastern edge of the mine, on the evening of January 17, 2018, we were able to experience and photograph spectacular sparks of the heavy-duty steam locomotive with its coal train.

Photographing these "Sparkly Trains" as they are often referred to can be a challenge. They are often photographed in the dark and spark output can vary greatly drastically changing the lighting c... (more)