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Railways - China: Illustrated History Books & Guides

Explore the best illustrated books on the history, locomotives and other rolling stock of railways in China.

Chinese Steam - The Last Years

China was the last bastion of the steam railway, with construction of new steam locomotives for industrial use continuing up to the end of 1999. Even now a few locomotives struggle on at collieries and other industrial premises, but this is likely to end very soon as boiler overhauls are almost impossible to obtain at an economical price.
As the steam era was drawing to a close in China, steam enthusiasts visited the remaining operational locations in an increasingly desperate attempt to record what was happening before it was too late.

The Chinese, while often perplexed at the interest expressed by the foreign enthusiasts, were generally welcoming and allowed access to industrial premises and linesides across the vast country. The locations ranged from the far western deserts of Xinjiang to the industrial heartlands of Manchuria with excursions into central China and the Mongolian Autonomous Region. Steelworks and collieries were prominent along with the occasional narrow gauge survivors.

This book showcases the photographs obtained by one enthusiast over ten visits to China between 1992 and 2017.

Product details

Author:David Kitching
Details:96 pages, 9.8 x 9.25 x 0.39 in (25 x 23.5 x 1 cm), paperback
Illustrations:180 illustrations, unspecified
Language:English
Publisher:Amberley Publishing (GB, 2017)
ISBN:9781445676203
Book cover: Chinese Steam - The Last Years | Amberley

Chinese Steam - The Last Years

Language: English

The World's Last Steam Trains: China

The last steam locomotives were withdrawn from China Rail in 2003. After that, some continued to operate heavy freight trains on local railways for a short while, but most were deployed for use on the country's industrial railways, mainly at coal mines and steel works.
This trend continued into the first decade of the 21st century, but subsequently, the number of steam engines in service declined substantially and were confined to just a handful of industrial locations. Steam rail operations in China are now facing extinction.
The modernisation of the railways with the switch from steam to diesel, the closure of unsafe and loss-making collieries and China's drive to reduce pollution and combat climate change from burning coal, have all conspired towards the demise of the industrial lines operating steam in China.

This book looks at the last of the standard-gauge steam operations in China, including Sandaoling, the last steam-worked opencast coal mine in the world; Fuxin, a coal-mining city in Liaoning Province, which until recently, operated the largest surviving fleet of SY locomotives; Baiyin, in Gansu Province, which operated some of the last steam-hauled passenger trains in the world; and Wu Jiu, a remote coal-mining outpost in Inner Mongolia.
Beautifully illustrated with over 120 colour photographs and a description of the operations, this is a striking portrait of the last of the world's operating steam trains.

Product details

Author:Chris Davies
Details:128 pages, 6.7 x 9.7 x 0.47 in (17 x 24.5 x 1.2 cm), paperback
Illustrations:120+ color photos
Language:English
Publisher:Key Publishing Ltd (GB, 2020)
ISBN:9781913295974
Book cover: The World's Last Steam Trains: China | Key

The World's Last Steam Trains: China

Language: English

Chinas letzte Dampfloks - Unterwegs im Reich der Mitte

Edward Broekhuizen not only hunted the steam locomotives of the East-German Reichsbahn, but was also one of the first steam locomotive enthusiasts to set off for China at the end of the 1980s: when others were still mourning the loss of the East German steam locomotives, the busy Dutchman was already travelling through China with a small English tour group.

This makes him one of the pioneers who experienced the use of steam locomotives at their peak; almost ten thousand locomotives were in service on the approximately 55 000 kilometer long route network. Unique, previously unpublished images provide fascinating insights.

Pages of the book Chinas letzte Dampfloks (1)

Pages of the book "Chinas letzte Dampfloks - Unterwegs im Reich der Mitte"

Product details

Author:Edward H. Broekhuizen
Details:176 pages, 10.4 x 9.1 in (26.5 x 23 cm), hardback
Illustrations:206 color photos
Language:German
Publisher:Transpress (D, 2015)
ISBN:9783613715127
Book cover: Chinas letzte Dampfloks - Unterwegs im Reich der Mitte | Transpress

Chinas letzte Dampfloks - Unterwegs im Reich der Mitte

Language: German

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