#129-010a I rode all over China on passenger trains pulled by steam locomotives like this one. I enjoyed cracking jokes with the crew when we stopped for coal and water. Note the spiffy whitewalls. The rims were painted bright red. A plaque with Mao’s portrait was on the front of the boiler on some engines, a big red star on others. The engineer said their fastest permitted speed was 36 mpg. Most Chinese steam engines were manufactured in Datong, Shanzi, China up to 1988 when they switched to diesel engines for their main railroad lines. China continued using steam engines for their industrial lines and also for the Jitong Railway in Mongolia where coal was cheap and plentiful. China officially ended their use of steam engines on their national rail network in 2002 but a few units remained in use on minor lines. The Jitong Railway had diesel engines by 2005 but some steam engines remained in use on industrial lines until 2010. Today, China’s trains are more modern, efficient and faster than anything we have in America.

#026-126 At a country railroad station, you are likely to see just about anything because the passenger station doubled as a freight transfer depot. Many of these rural stations provided washbasins for train riders to freshen up. These were welcomed because the crowded trains were not always clean on the long runs and not air-conditioned.

#023-006 This is a typical country village railroad crossing where the safety bar is hand operated. Trucks were used as buses and personal autos rare. Pony carts, bicycles and walking were the main modes of transportation. Trash seen on the left was common in public spaces.

#019-002 Diesel electric locomotives were imported from Romania. During this era, passenger trains never exceeded 36 miles per hour. Passenger stations doubled as freight transfer depots. One could see a variety of local produce and manufactured products piled in them, including live poultry. Note the flatbed wheelbarrow. The wheelbarrow was a very early invention in China. Some featured sails and carried passengers seated, one on either side of a centered wheel. The centered wheel carried most of the weight, unlike the wheelbarrow invented in the West.

#4051-D-842 These are piles of coal that would be transferred to a locomotive tender. Photo taken from a passenger car window as our train threaded its way through this countryside train yard. Sometimes we saw kids and women looking for bits of coal spilled alongside the tracks in train yards and no doubt either sold or taken home for cooking or heating.

#4051-D-583 This photo shot from one of the few remaining guard towers from the old city wall that surrounded Beijing before Mao ordered it torn down. This tower was unused during the three hundred years of the Qing Dynasty, but allied soldiers bivouacked there following the siege of the Legation District during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, and used again by Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution. We know this from graffiti visible before the tower was rebuilt in the 1990’s. This is looking southwest.

#4051-D-578 This is a second-class sleeper car on a 1979 long distance train in China. Bunks were hard platforms with a sheet, thin blanket and a small pillow, and consisted of two sets of bunks stacked three high facing each other. There was no privacy so people slept with their clothes on. A passenger brought his own teacup and tealeaves and hot water was available in a kind of samovar at the end of each car. Clotheslines for drying towels were brought by experienced passengers. First class sleepers provided private rooms with four bunks but cost about the same as airfare. Per Marxism’s dogma, the rail system calls first-class, either “Soft-seat class” or “Soft-berth class.” Here, at far right we see the ends of three-tiers of bunks in “Hard-bed” class. Bunks nearest the ceiling are the cheapest. The bottom bunk is more expensive even though it suffers from other passengers sitting on it during the daytime.

#4051-D-576 Thousands of miles of new railroad track was a major accomplishment of the government that came to power in 1949. Prior to that time, war, revolution, anarchy and foreign invasion made any significant infrastructure projects impossible. In the 1970’s and ’80’s, one needed permission to travel. It was common to line up three days in advance to secure seats.

#4051-D-112 Thousands of miles of new railroad track were a major accomplishment of the government that came to power in 1949. Prior to that time, war, revolution, anarchy and foreign invasion made any significant infrastructure projects impossible. In the 1970’s and ’80’s, one needed permission to travel.

#4051-D-098 Thousands of miles of new railroad track were a major accomplishment of the government that came to power in 1949. Prior to that time, war, revolution, anarchy and foreign invasion made any significant infrastructure projects impossible. In the 1970’s and ’80’s, one needed permission to travel.

#4051-D-097A This engine is a diesel electric made in Romania. It pulled both freight and passenger trains. Passenger trains as in this 1979 photo customarily consisted of twelve cars and traveled no faster than 36 mph. China’s Marxist society did not allow for classes. The cheapest cars featured bench seats for three people, two benches facing each other and such cars were brutally crowded and terribly uncomfortable. Next were the sleeper cars with three flat bunks facing three bunks crosswise with an aisle down one side. The best cars were reserved for government officials and people of rank. These cars, called “soft berth cars” featured roomettes with over and under bunks facing two others with a small table in between. There was also room for luggage. Tea cups, a filled thermos and a packet of tea leaves were provided.

#4051-D-096 In 1979, China was running steam locomotives. These gave way to Romanian made diesel electrics. In recent times China has built over 15,000 miles of high-speed rail with trains that travel 150 mph. One of the highest priorities of the new communist government in 1949 was to expand rail service to connect major cities and remote areas. Now super highways are being built to reach those same areas. When the last locomotive works closed down it shifted to the tourist industry by offering tours. China is a coal-rich country so most of the steam engines burned coal. There now is a large locomotive museum in Beijing

#4051-D-095 In1979, China was running steam locomotives. These gave way to Romanian made diesel electrics. In recent times China has built over 15,000 miles of high-speed rail with trains that travel 150 mph. One of the highest priorities of the new communist government in 1949 was to expand rail service to connect major cities and remote areas.