In Summary, This Tour Will Visit the Best Remaining Standard Gauge Steam Operations In

Update 7 April 2012

This email is going to those who have expressed an interest in the October-November tour which is in two parts (Part 1 to Sandaoling and Baiyin 21 October – 1 November and part 2 to the Pinzhuang area, Fuxin and Beitai steelworks 1 November – 11 November). Details of this tour are at

The tour

In summary, this tour will visit the best remaining standard gauge steam operations in China and give a chance to see the best that is left in terms of quantity of locos in use and quality for good action still and video photography. As I know one of the interested people is a sound recordist, it should also be good for that as well. Sandaoling provides the largest concentration of locos at one site (20+ in steam on any one day – all JS except for one SY) and is probably the steamiest real steam loco location on earth. Fushin probably provides the largest collection of SY locos of any location in China. All of the other sites offer something of interest which you can research through steam lines and trip reports. However, we are realistically only likely to see JS and SY locos in use.

Guides

The dates of the trip changed from my original idea and Mike Ma is only available to guide Part 2 of the tour. However, I have managed to secure the services of Jun (or his colleague Alan) for the first part of the tour and it is even possible that they will also guide the second part as well. All 3 guides come with excellent references and you may well have heard of them or even been guided by them in the past. I am confident that we will have access to some of the best guides in China for this trip whether that is part 1 or 2.

Steam centres

As you are probably aware, some of the places we plan to visit could eliminate steam prior to our visit which means that we needs some contingency plans in place. It’s my opinion that Baiyin, Yuanbaoshan and Beitai are all likely to go soon. Whether we get there before they stop using steam is anyone’s guess at the moment.

Baiyin – if Baiyin stops using steam for the passenger trains and goes 100% diesel, we will stay longer at Sandaoling (and include a visit to Yamansu if steam is still used there). Our guides will establish whether steam is still in use at Baiyin before we go there.

Yuanbaoshan – if Yuanbaoshan stops using steam, we may reduce our time in the Pingzhuang area slightly and move on to Fuxin earlier. This decision can be made after arrival in Pingzhuang to allow members of the group to evaluate the potential of Pingzhuang and Hongmiao before a decision is made.

Beitai – if the new plant at Beitai is open by the time of our visit and the old plant closed, this could well eliminate steam. In that case, we would visit Fushun and/or Tiefa instead (both convenient for Shenyang and not far from Fuxin our previous steam centre). I have heard both end September and end 2012 mentioned for Beitai to commission the new plant.

Please let me know if you have any concerns about these contingency plans and if you have any alternative suggestions.

Train tickets

China Rail now offers the opportunity to buy tickets distant from the start point of your journey. In theory, you can by a Hami (for Sandaoling) – Lanzhou ticket in Beijing. This system is relatively new and has not been fully tested (by me) but I hope this will mean we know we have tickets for trains well before the date of travel. However, we may still find that tickets can only be bought a few days in advance or that a mix of soft and hard class sleeper berths are available. One new requirement is that all tickets must be issued to named people on production of an ID cards or passport. For our guides to buy tickets on our behalf, I need to send them a scan of your passport photo page by email attachment.

Minimum numbers

The guides have confirmed that as long as 3-5 people sign up for a part of this trip, it can run. In this case, I would make the arrangements in advance of the trip but would not travel with the group. During the trip, the group would be in the capable hands of the Chinese guide only and would be able to work with him to carry out the trip plan to their satisfaction. With 6 people or more signed up, I will also be along to manage the trip and to liaise with the guides. While I think everyone prefers the idea of a decent size group with a local guide and a western tour manager, for those who have to book leave and, having done so need to be confident that the trip will go ahead, I think this is a good compromise solution. However, if all those who have expressed an interest in this tour sign up, we should reach the minimum number for each part of the trip.

Deposits

I am now ready to accept deposits for this trip. I have been slightly hesitant about accepting deposits prior to confirming a guide for the first part of the trip and establishing that both parts of the tour can run with a minimum of 3 participants. Now both matters are resolved, I welcome deposits. For those in the UK or who have access to a UK bank account, payment by electronic bank transfer or cheque, works best. For those who don’t live in the UK, PayPal seems to be the best method to pay the deposit. However, unless I refund the money within 60 days, I will be charged a fee (similar to the bank charges that you would pay or I would be charged if you transferred money electronically to my bank). If you choose to pay with PayPal, and I recommend you do, I will credit you the amount I receive rather than the amount you send. (If you send £500, I would expect to receive about £480.) Once the trip is declared go, this amount will be converted to Yuan at the cross rate and reduced from the final Yuan amount you owe at the start of the tour. Please let me know if you are ready to pay your deposit and by which method so I can provide you with my account details for the payment. For further details on when the deposit changes from fully refundable to partially refundable, please see the tour details at

If you no longer which to receive these updates – or if you have decided that you will not be able to join this tour, please email me.

If you are able to make a deposit now or before the end of June for the whole tour (with or without Beitai) to help reach the minimum of 6 for the tour to run with myself and a Chinese guide, a discount of 5% is available for the first 6 people that help the tour reach this position.

If you would like to sign up for part of the tour other than the logical Part 1 or Part 2, this should be possible. Please let me know which part of the tour you would like to join.

Best wishes

John