HKRS Nanling Steam Tour 2000 (Oct 6 - 8, 2000)

In front of JS 6428 - photo by Gary To

Group Photo in front of our chartered railbus - By Glen Lau

HKRS Nanling Steam Tour 2000 (Oct 6 - 8, 2000)

Ted Brown

23 members (mixture of locals and other nationalities) ably led by the Chairman Tony Lou and assisted by Rickly Wong, KS Lee and Gary To travelled by train to Pingshi in Northern Guangdong Province in China over the Chung Yung Festival Long Weekend to ride on and photograph the JianShe(JS) Class (2-8-2) Steam engines on the Nanling Railway.

Nanling Railway

The Nanling Railway is operated by the Guangdong Local Railways Company Limited, Nanling Company. The Company is headquarted at Pingshi and has an Administration Building and the Guangzhou Piaolu Railway Hotel (where we stayed overnight) close to its main station at Pingshi South (Pingnan). Staff total 800.

The Company operates four JS Class steam engines plus two diesel Railcars. The JS Class was built at Datong, Qingdao and is a 2-8-2 weighing 173.3 tonnes (91.3 for the engine and 82 for the tender). The JS Class is widely dispersed in China and is used for freight on secondary lines and for shunting. The Company's engines are:-

The 76 kms line opened in 1942 to serve the coal and mineral mines in the area, including some in Hunan Province but owned by Guangdong Province. The line has 11 stations and several branch lines and carries:-
(1) coal from mines (we saw a Changzhou built ZL17-4 electric at Hulukou);
(2) local passengers from surrounding villages on one morning/afternoon return train a day;
(3) timber; and
(4) minerals.

Mr N. T. Ma of Nanling Railway shake hand with HKRS chairman, Tony Lou. Photo by Glen Lau.

The stations with their distances (kms) from Pingnan Main Station are:-

The future of the Nanling Line is problematic according to Mr N.T. Ma, Manager of the Company. The Company now has an annual turnover of between only 2-3 million tonnes compared to a peak of 3.6 million tonnes. The operating cost per year is 8 million yuan. One of their major customers, the coal mine which was state run has been sold to a local coal company and is no longer profitable. Also the JS Class is aging and has a problem of spare parts as the class is out of production. The Company has investigated changing to diesel but the cost is prohibitive (new engines and diesel shed), both to buy or to lease.

The Trip

After crossing the busy Lowu Border on Friday morning, the party took the crowded Shenzhen - Shaoguan aircon #Y12 train drawn by a DF4B diesel (traction change at Guangzhou), then transferred at Shaoguan to the Guangzhou - Pingshi non-aircon #802. The #802 diesel was swapped at Shaoguan for a new SS8 electric whose crew told us that the Guangzhou - Shaoguan line would not be energised until next year.

We had a carriage to ourselves after being shepherded along the train by the railway police. The scenery en route was of hills and the scenic Wujiang River interspersed by the Dayaoshan Tunnel, the longest dual tunnel in China; the carriage staff would not let anyone use the toilet during the 7.45 minute passage through the 14.7kms tunnel. The train often stopped in sidings to allow express trains to pass on the busy main line.


Overnight was at the Guangzhou Piaolu Railway Hotel near Pingnan Station; this meant a trek through the poorly lit and grimy town to reach the hotel from the main station. We were joined at dinner by Mr N.T. Ma, Manager of the Nanling Company and Miss X.L. Zhang, who briefed us on the our tour program and the background to the company. An interesting feature of the modern hotel was that we were not given room keys; an attendant opened the doors for us as necessary(no hanky panky on railway premises!)

After breakfast on Saturday, we walked to the nearby Pingnan Station where the Nanling Railway Company had kindly laid on a railcar pulling a freshly cleaned YZ carriage with refreshments and a staff member Miss Wang to care for us and to guide us to vantage points for good photography of the various JS trains.

Above photos by Rick Wong at Hulukou.

The more enthusiastic boarded the spartan railcar with the rest in the carriage and we set off a half an hour ahead of the scheduled morning passenger/freight train; we disembarked at the start of the long horseshoe above and opposite to the station at Hulukou and scrambled up the hillside to get good vantage spots. At least one of the party amused himself by placing Chinese coins on the track for JS6376 to run over. The weather was misty and all looked grey, maybe exacerbated by the smoke from the tall chimney of the factory further down the valley. After the train passed, the railcar(minus the carriage) came back to collect us. We then waited at Hulukou to photograph a passing freight train pulled by JS6428.

We then set off for Meitian Station across the border in Hunan Province, passing many villages of redbrick houses whose rice fields bordered a very polluted river. There seemed to be a number of spur lines branching off en route. Meitian appeared to be the main station near the end of the line, with an extensive freight yard and siding. The small town looked grimy from the coal dust; our restaurant was an open air two room hut with new blue-coloured coal laden trucks passing every several minutes. However the food was tasty, washed down with Qingdao beer (the discerning noted not from the Qingdao brewery itself but from a subsidiary in Shenzhen).


After lunch, most boarded the more comfortable carriage rather than the railcar but some preferred to ride the scheduled passenger/freight back to Pingnan which was waiting at the station. The return by railcar/carriage was much faster than earlier due to being non-stop and the track mainly a gentle down gradient. The driver earlier had had trouble changing gears due to the weight of the 42 tonne carriage but on some sections of the return, he took the railcar out of gear and let the weight of the carriage push us.

At Pingnan, we spent the remainder of the afternoon looking around the freight yard and photographing JS6460 being refuelled. Several of the party were invited up onto the engine for a closer look. In the background, we could see and hear a constant stream of trains on the main Beijing-Guangzhou line passing through Pingshi. The weather also brightened up and we could see that Pingshi was in an attractive location with tall rocky formations above the town.

JS 6460 at a bridge nearby Pingnan Station. Photo by Rick Wong.

When the others had disembarked from the scheduled passenger/freight train, we had our group picture taken in front of the JS6428 freight train about to head out onto the main line; JS6428 initially had difficulty starting with its drive wheels slipping on the track. We then caused a stir in town by hiring most of the two-person motorcyle taxis to take us to where our private bus was waiting for the return to Shaoguan. This took two hours to do the 87kms as the road which was under repair wound its way over the hills; we could see in the distance the tall bridge pylons of the National Route 107 under construction from Beijing to Zhuhai. 

Overnight was at the Yue Tong Hotel nearby the station. In contrast to the Pingshi hotel, we had room keys; however the lobby and lifts were full of working girls dressed in the Macau style of tight fitting tops and pants and platform shoes. We were observed alighting at our respective floors and several received phone calls enquiring about their comfort; one wine loving member of the party got quite steamed up at this! A late night walk around town confirmed the night life scene catering to people from Hong Kong.

JS 6424 at Shaoguan Depot undergoing regular maintenance.

After breakfast, Rickly Wong led the party through a back entrance to the station to see the railway yards. There besides SS1(green in colour), brand new mainline freight SS6B(red and grey) and the quasi-high speed SS8 was JS6424 undergoing a boiler maintenance. Return was by #Y11 to Shenzhen followed by a struggle across the busy festival holiday border; those holding passports faired better than those on home permits.

An fun trip well organized with the opportunity for plenty of photographs.

Ted Brown

Note: More photographs can be viewed at Steve Hallam's Nanling Steam page.

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