Today's Train of Though- Digging to China, Jan 23rd, 2012

While China's dalliance with High Speed Rail in recent years has caught the attention of both the industry and politicians alike, it remains a little known fact that China's national railways continued operating steam locomotives on certain main lines up until a few short years ago.

While some steel mills, quarries, mines and lumber companies still use both narrow and standard gauge steam engines to this day, the fires dropped on mainline steam in China for the final time in 2005.

The massive 2-10-2 QJ class steam locomotives [QJ being shorthand for 前进 or Qian Jin meaning 'advance'- thanks again for the assist, Wikipedia- NANESB!] that saw service on China Railways were manufactured by the Da Tong Locomotive works from 1956 on into the late 1980s, and spent their final days hustling fast freights over Jingpeng pass along the arid steppe of Inner Mongolia.

They would often work in tandem on the Jitong line and were popular among enthusiasts in the wintertime since the displays of steam and exhaust stood out that much more dramatically against the frozen air. Interestingly, despite being the last holdout for the centuries-old technology, the nearly 600-mile Jitong line actually opened as recently as 1995.

Since they were too big for the mills, mines and quarries that continued use steam locomotives to this day, the QJs appeared to have little future. A company called Multipower International has advertised both the QJs and smaller steam locomotives for sale online.

Like their American counterparts from a half century earlier, many QJs have wound up on static display in the cities and towns that they once chugged through on a daily basis as well as at least 1 QJ in the Chinese National Railway Museum just southeast of Beijing.

However, the QJ's tale does not end there. In 2006, a pair of QJ's (#6988 and #7081) were shipped to the USA to their new homes on the Iowa Interstate via the port of Houston. Two years later, another QJ made its way to Kentucky where it entered service as part of the RJ Corman network of short haul railroads. These locomotives are primarily used for excursions and publicity, although they also occasional work on revenue freights for both the Corman Lines and IAIS on an as-needed basis.

Here, with about a year to go until retirement, railpictures.net contributor John Day caught 2-10-2 QJ #6763 leading a doubleheader as the freight train begins its assault on Jingpeng pass on a frigid February 22, 2004 day.