China Steam Tours 2012

Updated 7 February 2011

Last Call for March visit to China - Sichuan Narrow Gauge including Shibanxi. You still have just enough time to book your flight and obtain your China visa.

You will find details here of my proposed third and fourth China Steam Tours. Tour one (to Shibanxi) and tour two (to Baiyin, Sandaoling, Yamansu & Fuxin) ran in spring and autumn 2011. The 2012 trips retain some elements of both trips and offer some new features. I organise and guide trips within China (local arrangements only) along with expert local guides for small groups of individuals who are interested in seeing industrial railways which still operate real steam daily. China is almost the last place left in the world where it is possible to see this but I also participate in (but do not organise) trips to Java to see the remaining narrow gauge sugar cane steam there. I operate these China tours because I enjoy seeing real steam myself, because I like to share this with others and to help support the local guides who are now my friends. I have visited all but one of the places proposed in the tours below myself (the two SY at Mianzhu are the only new items for me) but I'm happy to go back again as all of these locations justify more than one visit and (after a few months away) are very more-ish! However, I do not promise to repeat these tours indefinitely. The locations will gradually (or swiftly) lose their authenticity and their steam over time and either I or the local guides may decide that it is no longer worth returning. The message must be 'go now before it is too late.' Should you wish to contact participants on the 2011 tours to get their unbiased opinion about the kind of tours I lead, please contact me and I will put you in touch with one or more of them.

China Steam Tour 3: Shibanxi in March 2012

Last Call for March visit to China - Sichuan Narrow Gauge including Shibanxi. You still have just enough time to book your flight and obtain your China visa.

5-15 March 2012
Shibanxi and Mojiang narrow gauge coal railways
(with Pre Tour 1-5 March and Post Tour 15-19 March)

Click here for an update sent to interested parties.

China Steam Tour 3: Shibanxi in March 2012

This tour will definitely run with both our guide Zebedee and me there to show you round. As of today (10 January) I have my totally inflexible ticket and will be in China 1 - 22 March. This means some positive changes to the post-tour details below. Anyone joining the main tour is welcome to join me on the post-tour 'chill out' on a shared costs basis. More details below.

There are still places available on the pre-tour and main tour. The post tour option currently has no takers but I have decide to stay 7 more days in Bagou just to enjoy the ambience of this very special survivor.

In logistical terms, you should be booking your flights and arranging a China visa in early February. However, it may still be possible to join us if you sign up by mid-February.

And why should you sign up? Here are at least 12 reasons:

1. It's the place I chose for my 60th birthday last year because it's one of the best narrow gauge steam railways (real or preserved) in the world
2. real steam ng, trains in a landscape, friendly people, good food
3. walk everywhere and anywhere
4. no cars
5. the nicest place I know in China
6. some great little locos that think they are big, working their socks off
7. passenger, coal traffic, tourist trains, additional cargoes – pigs, refrigerators, brick, bamboo (and even corpses!)
8. five tunnels to walk through (bring a torch) and 1 reversal
9. electric coal trains and steam under the wires on the bottom section
10. haircut in Bagou, stay with the doctor in Mifeng
11. hiking trails with views of the line in the hills between Sanjing and Huangcun
12.small coal mine at Huangcun with hand tramming (and 300mm and 600mm gauge)

Is that enough good reasons to sign up for this trip?

The tour comprises:

8 full days at Shibanxi - depot and workshop visit - accommodation close to the line - train riding and linesiding - flexible program to suit all - guided by experienced local guide Zebedee - visit timed to coincide with the Flower Season with additional trains - good chance of cool but sunny conditions - real narrow gauge steam passenger, freight and tourist trains - single rooms (no supplement) - 3 meals a day including drinks with meals (free beer!) - no additional tips required - land arrangements only - optional pre- and post-tours*

*Please see full details below for any caveats which could affect our ability to deliver on different aspects of the tour - please remember this is a real steam operation not a preserved tourist line.

This tour will repeat the successful March 2011 tour. You can read my blog of that trip here. The trip will be for ground arrangements only but based around the KLM Amsterdam - Chengdu flights that operate three times a week (Wednesday, Friday, Sunday out, arrive next day, Monday, Thursday and Saturday back, arrive same day).

Please contact me if you are interested in a March 2012 trip to Shibanxi.

Background information:
South of Chengdu are two narrow gauge coal lines both with a passenger service, one a mixture of electric (on the lower section) and steam on the un-electrified upper section and one 100% electric. If you like real industrial narrow gauge railways, both are classics that ooze character and are great survivors in 2010-2011.

A road is being built to Bagou on the Jiayang line (where currently the only access is by the train, on foot or by motorcycle along the tracks) This road was due to open in spring 2011 but work stopped so the road crew could work on more important projects (repairing the road from Qiawei to Shibanxi and Sanjin was one such project). Once fully functioning, this road could change Bagou and the area and could eventually result in the loss of the regular steam passenger service. The coal trains on the steam-operated section of the railway cannot be considered secure either as they are based on one small coal mine which has had numerous previous shut downs and could close at any time. However, based on evidence from March 2011, the most likely thing to transfer to road is supplies for the shops in Bagou. The passenger, the coal and the blossoming tourist traffic is likely to continue at the moment. The lower electrified section of the line has an even better future but the management are consider removing the steam service from this section. If that goes ahead, steam passenger, tourist and coal trains will operate only on the unelectrified Sanjing - Huangcunjing section.

Spring (specifically March) is considered the best season to visit for the yellow oil-seed rape plants (also known as canola or mustard greens) in the fields that adjoin the tracks as well as the chance of reasonable weather (although it is often misty or overcast in this area).

If you are interested in the real, industrial narrow gauge you will love these railways. However, if you need 100% steam or need your trains to be chartered and presented to you as a pre-arranged dish, this tour may not be for you. I plan to get you to remote locations to watch, wait, walk the tracks, ride the trains and just enjoy real narrow gauge railways in action (and sometimes, inaction). I do not intent to charter or arrange anything. It will all be real. To enjoy this you will also need to have an interest in China, the Chinese people, their way of life, the scenery and (not least) the local food. The nearest western fast food outlet is probably in Leshan (but we will not be going there). You will also need to be reasonably fit. If the thought of walking 6 miles (10 km) in a day sounds too much, the trip may not be for you although a less strenuous alternative will normally be available (but may not always be escorted).

Information about the March 2012 trip:
This tour is designed to give an extended stay (a full 8 days) along the Shibanxi Railway (also known as the Jiayang Coal Railway) in south of Chengdu in Sichuan Province, Western China. Most people will have heard of if not already visited this line which is the last Chinese narrow gauge steam line open to foreigners. The line is well worth an extended visit as there is lots of variety, local colour and the line can be walked in stages over this time period to obtain photographs or video all along the line.

The Shibanxi line is 20 km long so there are lots of potential locations including Huangcunjin terminus, coal loading point and coal mine, Bagou station, tunnels near Bagou, Jiaoba (disused coal mine), Xianrenjiao (summit station), Caiziba halt and curve, tunnel and Mifeng reversal, the back end of Sanjin mine (slag tipping), Sanjin (end of electric railway) and Shibanxi station, yard and depot. (The yard and depot require permission to visit which we expect to obtain.) There are also isolated small coal mines that can be hiked to. We will allocate time to all of the most interesting sections of the line during our stay here.

The visit is timed to coincide with the spring Flower Season when extra tourist trains can be expected (up to six additional return workings at the weekend in addition to the 4 daily return passengers trains). The line also has steam-hauled coal trains (and electric-hauled coal trains on the lower section only).

Five nights are planned in Bagou which is a delightful town set in a mountain valley currently accessible only by railway, motorcycle or on foot. This is ‘old China’ without a doubt. A road is being built and, over time, the current charm of Bagou will probably be lost to tourism developments as well as the impact of road transport. The time to go is now. This tour will also pay a visit to the electric narrow gauge Mojiang Railway subject to the railway management’s tolerance of (if not actually welcoming) railway enthusiasts in 2012.

Prior to the tour, a Pre Tour visit to 3 non-steam Sichuan narrow gauge lines is on offer as well as a quick visit to see 2 standard-gauge SY locos on the way back to Chengdu. After the main tour, there is the option to stay on for an additional 5 days either for escorted hiking around Bagou or independent enjoyment of the railway and the local environment.

March is one of the best times of the year to visit as temperatures should be pleasant and we can expect bright sunshine some of the time. However, the Shibanxi area is accustomed to rain, cloud and a chilly winter so wall-to-wall sunshine cannot be guaranteed and the temperature could drop to a cool 7-10 degrees (although we expect daytime temperatures in the twenties).

Provisional Itinerary
1/3Thu Pre Tour (with Zebedee & John)
Meet up Chengdu airport – KLM flight from Amsterdam arrives 13:20, private bus transfer to hotel near Jianghe (5 hrs)
If anyone needs a Chengdu airport hotel before or after the trip, Zebedee can arrange a basic hotel - single room, ensuite bathroom, air conditioning - for Yuan around 150 per night. Please let me know if you need this.
2/3 Fri Photo Jianghe line (600mm ng diesel), leave there by 16.00 to stay at Yongchuan city, (4 hrs)
3/3 Sat Morning bus to Honglu town (2 hrs), photo the line (762mm ng electric), leave by 18.00 to stay Guangshun town (1.5 hrs)
4/3 Sun Photo the line (600mm ng mine electric), leave there by 12.00 to Mianzhu town (70 km North of Chengdu) 5 hrs.
5/3 Mon Photograph the two SYs there (1656 & 1198) in the morning.* Bus transfer to Chengdu airport to meet Main Tour arrivals 14:00.

* As long as these 2 SY are still in service in March 2012.

5/3 Mon Main Tour (with Zebedee & John)
Meet up Chengdu airport – KLM flight from Amsterdam arrives 13:20, private bus transfer to hotel in Shawan
If anyone needs a Chengdu airport hotel before or after the trip, Zebedee can arrange a basic hotel - single room, ensuite bathroom, air conditioning - for Yuan around 150 per night. Please let me know if you need this.
6/3 Tue Mojiang narrow gauge line (762mm electric)^, transfer late afternoon to Sanjin on the Shibanxi line, overnight Sanjin
7/3 Wed Steam train ride (1st train of the day) to Bagou, check into hotel, walking tour of Bagou, lunch and afternoon exploration towards Huangcunjin (terminus and coal mine), optional visit to tourist mine, overnight Bagou
8/3 Thu Photography along the line Huangcunjin – Mifeng, overnight Bagou +
9/3 Fri Photography along the line Huangcunjin – Mifeng, overnight Bagou
10/3 Sat Photography along the line Huangcunjin – Mifeng, overnight Bagou
11/3 Sun Photography along the line Huangcunjin – Mifeng, overnight Bagou
12/3 Mon Steam train to Sanjin (1st train), leave bags in Sanjin, then 2nd train (or bus) to Shibanxi terminus, depot/works tour, walk back to Sanjin photographing steam and electric trains en route, overnight Sanjin
13/3 Tue Photography Shibanxi - Caiziba, overnight Sanjin (option to stay in Mifeng at the Doctor’s hostel)
14/3 Wed Final day for lineside photography or train riding, overnight Sanjin
15/3 Thu Bus transfer to Chengdu Airport for 15:10 KLM flight to Amsterdam, end of Main Tour

^ The Mojiang Railway is mainly located on private property. In 2011, there were issues about foreign enthusiasts visiting the line but things seem to have eased a bit. We are monitoring the situation. If we cannot visit Mojiang, we will spend extra time at Shibanxi.
+ A different program will be agreed each day the previous evening over dinner. This will involve walking or riding to a different place each day and then returning by train or walking back. Participants can stick together or do their own thing.

15/3 Thu Post Tour (with John)
Return to Bagou, Sanjin or Mifeng, time for linesiding, hiking, relaxing, overnight Bagou, Sanjin or Mifeng
16/3 Fri, - 20/3 Tue, linesiding, hiking, relaxing in Bagou, overnight Bagou, Sanjin or Mifeng
(17/3 – 18/3 being the weekend should see intensive tourist traffic again)
21/3 Wed, linesiding, hiking, relaxing, steam train + bus to Qianwei, overnight Qianwei
22/3 Thu Expressway bus/taxi Qianwei to Chengdu Airport for 15:10 KLM flight to Amsterdam, end of Post Tour

The Post Tour is now offered on a shared cost basis for anyone who signs up for the main tour. For anyone who just wants to join me for the post-tour, we can agree suitable terms. If you can sort out your own accommodation, food and transport, you don't really need to join up but I'll be happy to share a meal or a beer with you.

It will be possible to return to Chengdu after 15 March and prior to 22 March but you may be on your own to do this. However, a taxi can be arrange (by Zebedee) to take you from Sanjin at the bottom of the line to Chengdu if you require. If there are more people than just me, we may decide to ask Zebedee to book us transport from Sanjin on 22/3 giving extra time along the line (rather than in Qianwei).

Price of Pre Tour (4 nights)= Yuan 4,800
Price of Main Tour (10 nights) = Yuan 11,000
Price of Post Tour (7 nights) = on a pay-as-you-go shared cost basis for those who sign up for the main tour

Included:
-the services of a local guide
-permissions (as required)
-all bus transfers
-all train travel on the Jiayang Coal Railway*
-single rooms in hotels (or refund if not available)
-3 meals a day (breakfast or lunch may be take away/packed meals if necessary to increase time for photography)*
-bottled water*
-soft drinks/beer with meals
* if not with the group when these expenses are incurred, they can be reclaimed with a receipt

Not included:
-tips for bus driver
-snacks and shop purchases not included above
-alcohol other than beer
-air ticket
-China visa
-any arrangements before the start of the tour or after the end of the tour
-own arrangements should you join the tour late or leave it early

These prices reflect the charter bus travel and more expensive hotels for the Pre Tour and that the Post Tour will be guided by John alone.
Prices are for ground arrangements only Chengdu Airport – Chengdu Airport for the dates shown and include single rooms where available. In the event that not enough single rooms are available, an on-the-spot cash refund in Yuan will be made to anyone who has to share equal to half the cost of the twin room used. For example, if a twin room costs Yuan 200, each of the sharers will received a Yuan 100 refund.

Your place on this tour can be confirmed with a £400 fully-refundable deposit. The balance of the tour cost will be paid in Yuan either in China at the beginning of the tour or by bank transfer to Zebedee (our Chinese tour guide) prior to the tour start.

Dates and prices have been agreed between Zebedee and John but are subject to change. These will be confirmed prior to any deposits being accepted.

Mojiang Coal Railway

Zebedee (Zhang Guang Yu) and John Raby offer this tour as local guide and organiser, not as a travel agents nor as a company but as individuals. We believe that your money is best protected by you retaining it until the start of the trip. The fully-refundable deposit (personally guaranteed by me John Raby) is collected so we can be reasonably sure that you have committed to the tour. It will be refunded if you are not able to attend or if the tour is cancelled.

Jianghe Coal Railway

This tour and pre-tour will run with the 3-4 people already signed up. However, the tour will operate with local guide Zebedee only. I will organise but not participate myself unless we reach the minimum 6 people for the main tour. The post-tour will not operate unless I participate in the tour. I plan to make my final decision on participating in the tour myself in early February to me time to obtain my Chinese visa and flights.

Yonchuan Coal Railway

Please see Bernd's or my reports and check out reports on SY-Country for further information about the lines.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.raby1/sichuan.html

Guanshun Coal Mine Railway

Please contact me if you are interested in a March 2012 trip to Shibanxi.

Jianghe Coal Railway

We will be visiting a real steam operation with permission to see how it operates normally. There are no charters or special trains, it's all real. However, as with any real operation, we could experience days when things don't operate as we would like. For example, a derailment on a single track railway can produce a short or long delay depending on the severity of the problem. We could also find hotels that have promised single rooms do not have enough rooms for the group. We will do what we can to ensure that frustrations and minor discomforts such as these do not happen but we depend on the cooperation of others to ensure that everything goes totally to plan. You sign up for these tours in full knowledge that things don't always go right all the time and accepting that flexibility and compromise may be required by you at times.

Click here for the update sent to interested parties.

Shibanxi photos by John Raby © John Raby 2011, all other photos by Zebedee © Zhang Guang Yu 2011

------------------------------------------------

China Steam Tour 4: Sandaoling, Baiyin and Shibanxi – October & November 2012 –
visiting the three best locations in Western China for real working steam
(and arguably in the whole of China and the world).

With Baiyin dieselising, changes are likely to this tour proposal shortly.

China Steam Tour 4: Sandaoling, Baiyin and Shibanxi – October & November 2012 (Changes to proposal now anticipated)

Baiyin has acquired 2 more diesels earlier than expected and these should be sufficient to eliminate the maximum 3 steam duties shortly. Although that has not happened yet, I assume it will have happened by the time of this proposed tour. I am, therefore, rethinking the options for this trip. Sandaoling & Shibanxi alone or should it perhaps be it be Fuxin and remaining/newly discovered sites in the North East plus Sandaoling? Watch this space. However, there is no reason to doubt that the future for Baiyin steam is likely to be short.

The above news shows why you just can't wait if you want to visit the best remaining steam locations in China. If you don't seize the opportunity in 2012, it could all be over. Baiyin will be a significant loss. It was among the Top 5 best 'known' steam locations. The steam action photographer and videographer could shortly be left with a few infrequent, unappealing shunting operations. You can be sure that I won't be leading tours to see them!

Baiyin - twice daily steam passenger to Shenbutong

Where else can you see such good real steam (both standard and narrow gauge) working its socks off in 2012?

3 long-distance sleeper train rides - 6 full days at Sandaoling, 3 full days at Baiyin, 5 full days at Shibanxi - depot and workshop visits - accommodation close to the lines - train riding and linesiding - flexible program to suit all - guided by experienced local guides Mike Ma and Zebedee - real standard and narrow gauge steam passenger, freight and tourist trains - single rooms (no supplement) - 3 meals a day including drinks with meals (free beer!) - no additional tips required - land arrangements only - optional pre-/post-tour*

*Please see full details below for any caveats which could affect our ability to deliver on different aspects of the tour - please remember these are real steam operations not preserved tourist lines.

This tour will blend elements of successful March and September 2011 tours. You can read my blog of those trips here and here. The trip will be for ground arrangements only but based around the KLM Amsterdam - Chengdu flights that operate three times a week (Wednesday, Friday, Sunday out, arrive next day, Monday, Thursday and Saturday back, arrive same day).

Please contact me if you are interested in an October-November 2012 trip to Sandaoling, Baiyin & Shibanxi.

JS-propelled spoil train in foreground and JS-propelled Jordan Spreader at work in the background at Sandaoling

Although good Chinese steam locations today are now mainly separated by an overnight train ride or an internal flight, flying into Chengdu allows us to visit these 3 western locations without any additional internal flights but allows participants to experience 3 long distance China Rail journeys through interesting scenery in soft class sleeper compartments.

Proposed Dates and Itinerary
If there is sufficient interest, the Pre-Tour described above for the spring Shibanxi trip could be repeated before or after the autumn tour.
19/10 Fri depart Amsterdam
20/10 Sat arrive Chengdu airport, met by Zebedee, start of tour, transfer to Chengdu station, train to Hami (Zebedee remains in Chengdu)
If anyone needs a Chengdu airport hotel before or after the trip, Zebedee can arrange a basic hotel - single room, ensuite bathroom, air conditioning - for Yuan around 150 per night. Please let me know if you need this.
21/10 Sun on train
22/10 Mon arrive Hami, met by Mike Ma, transfer to Sandaoling
23/10 Tue
24/10 Wed
25/10 Thu (6 full days at) Sandaoling
26/10 Fri
27/10 Sat
28/10 Sun
29/10 Mon transfer to Hami, train to Lanzhou
30/10 Tue arrive Lanzhou, transfer to Baiyin
31/10 Wed
1/11 Thu (3 full days at Baiyin)
2/11 Fri
3/11 Sat transfer Lanzhou, train to Chengdu, (Mike Ma returns home)
4/11 Sun arrive Chengdu, met by Zebedee, (overnight Chengdu, depart Chengdu for Amsterdam – short tour) OR transfer to Sanjin, start of Shibanxi section
5/11 Mon steam passenger train to Bagou (or transfer to airport for flight home)
6/11 Tue Bagou
7/11 Wed Bagou
8/11 Thu steam passenger train to Sanjin
9/11 Fri Sanjin
10/11 Sat transfer to Chengdu Airport and fly to Amsterdam

C2-hauled Shibanxi passenger train between Caiziba and Shanrenjiao. Note mix of home-made 4-wheel and bogie stock.

The dates have been chosen to avoid the Chinese holiday period at the beginning of October but to benefit from the slightly longer days and warmer weather prior to the start of winter ‘proper’ while still enjoying reasonable steam effects. The tour is based around current KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) flights from Amsterdam (with connections from the rest of Europe) to Chengdu and current China Rail trains schedules. Both timetables could change before this trip and, if so, the plan will need to be adjusted.

This tour will be guided Hami (for Sandaoling) to Lanzhou (after Baiyin) by China national steam guide Mike Ma (who guided my September 2011 trip). Local arrangements in Chengdu and guiding for the Shibanxi section of this trip will be by local guide Zebedee (the person I chose for my March 2011 and March 2012 Shibanxi trip). I have known both guides for at least 10 years and rate them very highly. For the Chengdu – Hami and Lanzhou – Chengdu train journeys, we will be unescorted but seen onto the trains and met when we arrive by our guides.

Looking down into the pit at Sandaoling with 2 spoil trains being loaded.

The short version of the tour is 15 nights/16 days until the return to Chengdu (hotel and airport transport own arrangements). The short tour is expected to cost ¥18,000. The whole tour 21 nights/22 days is expected to cost ¥24,600. Pricing in Chinese Yuan is necessary as there is a gradual increase in the value of the Yuan against western currencies. China is also officially undergoing inflation of around 5%. However, unless inflation accelerates, these prices should not need to change prior to the trip and will be confirmed at least 3 months prior to departure.

Baiyin - Shenbutong afternoon passenger

At this early stage around one year in advance of the trip, these plans are provisional. Expressions of interest are most welcome and I will add you on my mailing list for this tour but I would prefer not to accept any deposits prior to March/April 2012 when it should be possible to confirm key elements of this trip such as KLM flights and China Rail trains. Please contact me if you are interested in a October-November 2012 trip to Sandaoling, Baiyin & Shibanxi.

Small print
We will be visiting real steam operations with permission to see how they operate normally. There are no charters or special trains, it's all real. However, as with any real operation, we could experience days when things don't operate as we would like. There is also the chance that these lines could reduce the amount of steam they use by the time of this trip. We could also find hotels that have promised single rooms do not have enough rooms for the group or that hard rather than soft class sleepers are all that are available for some of the group. We will do what we can to ensure that frustrations and minor discomforts such as these do not happen but we depend on the cooperation of others to ensure that everything goes totally to plan. You sign up for these tours in full knowledge that things don't always go right all the time and accepting that flexibility and compromise may be required by you at times.

That's me in the cab of Shibanxi C2 No. 7 at Huangcunjin.