[Part I: Introduction] [Part II: Rolling Stock] [Part III: Accident] 

Often described as China¡¦s first railway, the first standard gauge railway to be built and survive in China was the Kaiping tramway (near Tangshan) {­ð¤s} but this was not, however, truly the first railway in China.  An earlier attempt to introduce railways in 1876 had failed when the short Shanghai to Woosung (Wusong) {¤W®ü - §d²S} narrow gauge line was built but then pulled up within less than two years because of Chinese government opposition. (see Hong Kong Railway Society¡¦s September 1998 newsletter or author¡¦s book ¡§Woosung Road¡¨)

In 1878, Cantonese merchant TONG King Sing {­ð´º¬P} ( also known as TANG Ting Shu and who was at one time a Hong Government interpreter and later Jardine, Matheson¡¦s head comprador at Shanghai), who was then Director General of the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company, obtained backing from the Viceroy of Chihli {ª½ÁõÁ`·þ}, LI Hung Chang {§õÂE³¹}, to commence coal mining operations in the Kaiping {¶}¥­}district. The first shaft was sunk at Tongshan (Tangshan) under the direction of English mining engineer R.R. Burnett. To transport coal from the mine to ships on the river at Pehtang {¥_¶í} entailed carrying it a distance of nearly 30 miles and Director Tong attempted but was unable to gain permission to build a railway for this purpose.

§õÂE³¹

Initially a canal was constructed from Lutai {™®¥x} on the river to Hsukochuang (Xugezhuang [Fengnan]) {¤¥«n}, a point beyond which the canal could not run. Tong eventually received permission for the last 7 miles to the Tongshan colliery to be covered by a mule-pulled tramway and English civil engineer Claude W. Kinder was given responsibility for its construction, which was completed in 1881.  Kinder insisted on building the tramway to 4ft 8½ in. (standard) gauge with the intention of developing it into a full railway as soon as possible. Secretly, but probably with Tong¡¦s connivance, he also set about constructing a steam locomotive using the boiler and other parts from a portable steam winding engine borrowed from the colliery. Word leaked out about its construction and for several weeks the engine had to be concealed until Viceroy LI Hung Chang eventually gave the word for construction to quietly continue. The result of Kinder¡¦s efforts came to fruition on 9th June 1881 when the home-made 0-6-0 tank engine was christened the ¡§Rocket of China¡¨ and entered service on the tramway.

The introduction of ¡§Rocket¡¨ was highly successful and in June the following year (1882) two 0-6-0 tank locomotives were ordered from Messrs. Robert Stephenson & Co. of Newcastle and these arrived in October. According to the Stephenson archives the works numbers of these engines (ordered by the company¡¦s London agent James Whittall), were 2397 & 2398 and Kinder refers to them as having coupled 42¡¨wheels and 10½¡¨x 18¡¨ cylinders. These were without doubt the first two standard gauge locomotives imported into China. The modern day claim that the 0-4-0 engine numbered ¡§0¡¨, now preserved at Datong {¤j¦P}, was the first engine imported into China cannot therefore be accurate. It is possible that the 0-4-0 preserved at Datong is the remains of a Black, Hawthorn & Co. railway construction engine weighing 8 tons. This information is derived from the June 25 1888 edition of the ¡§Celestial Times¡¨ (published in Shanghai), which refers to an ¡§unconfirmed report¡¨ that such an engine had been landed at Tientsin on 14th June 1888 and that this engine was for extension work of the ¡§Northern Railway¡¨. The timing of the arrival of this engine also coincides with the placing of advertisements by Black, Hawthorn in ¡§The London and China Express¡¨ in January 1888 which suggest that this locomotive manufacturer was at that time engaged in some limited commercial activity in China.

For several years Imperial Court opposition to railway development continued but the Kaiping mine railway still managed to keep operating quietly. Because the canal continually silted up, the mine by 1886 succeeded in getting permission to extend the tramway all the way to Lutai. This extension was carried out by a newly formed ¡§Kaiping Railway Company¡¨ separately funded from the mining company was formed under the chairmanship of the Taotai CHOU Fu {©PÃL} The new company was placed under the managing directorship of WU Ting Fang {¥î§ÊªÚ} ( also known to the Cantonese as ¡§NG Choy¡¨), who had studied law in England and who was also interpreter and secretary to LI Hung Chang.

Kinder, assisted by American-trained KWANG King Yang supervised the building of the extension for which Krupp rails were imported as well as their first American locomotive (believed to be a Ten-Wheeled from Grant Locomotive Works, New Jersey) and forty 10-ton coal wagons. The extension was completed in May 1887. Soon afterwards Viceroy LI  pressed for a further extension to Peitang (Beitang) {¥_¶í} and Taku (Dagu) {¤jªf} for military purposes and Kinder was called upon to complete the route survey. Viceroy LI  overcame conservative opposition in the Imperial Court and gained permission for the line to be extended 50 miles all the way to Tientsin (Tianjin) {¤Ñ¬z} and detailed planning commenced immediately. Kinder as Chief Engineer of the now newly named ¡§China Railway Company¡¨ (with WU Ting Fang still as Managing Director), was then permitted to secure the services of several more foreign engineers which included Resident Engineers A.W.H. Bellingham and W. Watson and Asst. Engineers T.W.T Tuckey, D.P. Ricketts, A.J. Arch and A.S. Vowell. The whole project was completed within 14 months, opening in August 1888.

§õÂE³¹ («e±Æ¤¤¶¡), ­ð´º¬P (¥ªÃä²Ä¤G), ¥î§ÊªÚ (¥ªÃä²Ä¤T)

It should be mentioned that this period of development was not smooth sailing and there was continuing opposition to the railway on a number of fronts. At various times there were organized riots against the railway and on one occasion instance thousands of Pounds worth of damage was done to mining equipment at Tongshan. The worst blow came in 1888 when a newly completed bridge across the Pei Ho River {®üªe} at Tientsin, connecting with the foreign settlement, caused such a rumpus that the Viceroy had to order its destruction by dynamite, causing a loss of £8000 and many months work.

Continue to [Part II: Rolling Stock]

Skip to [Part III: Accidents]

[Return to Main Page]

[Return to Feature Articles Content Page]