Booking Progress
Two people have booked for both Part 1 and Part 2 (as far as the end of Fuxin). One other has booked for just Part 1 and one more for just Part 2 (as far as the end of Fuxin). In addition, one more person for each part is in the process of booking. Both parts now have the basic number (3) to declare them 'go'.
Recent reports on the systems we plan to visit
Ron McElrath an American who leads China tours (and who joined my group to Shibanxi in 2011), is the most recent person to visit the systems we plan to visit. He has emailed me with details of what they found:
Still have not had time to make up full report of our China visit, but in summary:Several great overnight train rides - many trains late (up to almost two hours) due to heavy traffic and trackwork. Snow surprised us on the Z55 sleeper train in the high pass (BJ - LanZhou via new line; many long tunnels).
2 SY at SuJiaTun workshops, in fresh paint, waiting to go back to FuShun Old Works. This, along with the (excellent) Shenyang Museum, was our "consolation prize" for the Beitai fiasco (plus a p/p 200 RMB refund).
YuanBaoShan had steam - a nice looking, defectored SY on a mixed train, as did PingZhuang. only a few steamers, and P. had only two electric trains operating in what remains of the pit.
SanDaoLing offers still the best show, with 15 or so JS in the big pit (saw no SY this time). Shops still doing overhauls. Diesels operate out of NanShan to / from CR interchange. (Check out the pit in early pre-dawn to see the flames from underground fire. Also, a working train put on quitea show when the crew decided to sand the flues, resulting in a huge shower of sparks. Ms. GuLi was our familiar and dependable guide; she is the one who, in 2002, persauded the management to allow foreigners to visit the area.
BaiYin: Steam on the long passenger run, diesel on the second train and only one other steam in freight service; a 3rd SY was in shop expected to be back in serviceone week later.
FUXIN - still a good show with 9 SY operating, including red star 1320. Diesel on passenger tho steam has substituted on occasion.
I followed up with a couple of questions and go this reply:
Fushun should be worth a visit - latest on Bill Alborough's July tour is OK to visit Old works, but not the new steelworks or (at least for now) the mining line with old electrics.Sandaoling had some other steam in addition to the 15 we saw in the big pit, but these were not doing much. We paced a diesel with ony 12 cars heading for the CR station. We then followed the old road to Hami in order to film some of the regualar trains. These are still diesel, though the wires are up along this section.
Other recent known visits are Australians Conrad and Rod who wrote up their visits on Steam_in_China and Tanago (whose participants seem to have caused/encountered the problems at Beitai) and whose report is at http://www.tanago.de/media/PDF/China_2012-02_Trip-Report_E.pdf (note there is no mention of the problems at Beitai).
Revised proposals for the end of Part 2
As you will see from the bookings, the final part of the tour which originally involved Beitai is not booking well. On the basis that this is either the uncertainty about whether Beitai will be accepting visits or still be using steam and/or the extortionate price that others have quoted for visits, I propose to drop Beitai from the plan. Jun (Chinese guide – see below) says that he hopes to be able to arrange a visit to Fushun Old Steelworks (using 6-7 SY) so the revised plan is as follows:
8 Nov Day 19. Fuxin – Shenyang by train/bus – Sujiatun loco works/Shenyang loco museum - Fushun by train/bus
9 Nov Day 20. Fushun
10 Nov Day 21. Fushun
11 Nov Day 22. Fushun – Shenyang - return to Beijing by day train, overnight Beijing, end of tour Post-tour +1. leave Beijing
I would be interested to hear from those who have already signed up for Part 2 (or who are considering signing) as to whether this is a more attractive (or more certain) way to finish this tour. If I can’t find enough people for these extra 4 days, I may have to end the tour at Fuxin on 7 November with an overnight train back to Beijing (arrive 8 November). I don’t need to make that decision yet but expressions of interest in the new tour end (or suggestions on how those 4 days should be spent), would be welcome.
Guides
My original plan was to use Mike Ma throughout. Most of my trips to China have been with Mike so I feel a sense of loyalty to him. However, Mike told me that he was only available for one part of the tour and then changed the part he was available for. While he was doing that, I discussed with Jun (from Chengde) whether he would be free to guide the other part, to which he agreed. He also said that either he or his colleague Alan could guide the whole tour. He also confirmed that he would be able to issue ‘a letter of invitation’ and an itinerary to help the visa application process (something I know Mike would find impossible without adding to the tour costs). As a result, Jun is now in charge of guides for this trip. Currently, it will be Alan for Part 1 and Jun for Part 2 but it may eventually be Jun throughout if his commitments change prior to the start of the tour. Jun and Alan both come with endorsements from other tour leaders and participants.
Visas
As a result of using Jun, I expect that he will provide a letter of invitation and an itinerary for each participant (sent as an email attachment) that you can use to obtain your visa. This should mean that dummy hotel reservations will not be required although you may still need your air flight details when you apply. I will discuss this again closer to the tour date with participants and with Jun.
Train tickets
Jun also confirms that if he has a scan of the photo page of your passport (sent as an email attachment via me), he should be able to obtain the train tickets we need in advance. China Rail has recently begun to require IDs before train tickets are issued (partly to know who is on a train and partly to stop ticket touts). They have also improved the options to buy tickets in advance and not only from the departure station. I hope that the new system will make it easier to guarantee the sleeper berths and seats that we need but it’s too early to be sure whether the changes will actually improve the situation.
Deadlines (and discounts)
With both parts of the trip now declared ‘go’, there are no more deadlines until just before the tour starts. However, in order to qualify for a 5% discount on the cost of part 1 and/or part 2, you need to be one of the first 6 to book for each part and to book (by paying a deposit) by the end of June. Note that 6 people must sign up for either part before anyone can obtain a discount for that part. Given the current status (Part 1 – 3 bookings, 1 more expected soon, Part 2 – 3 bookings, 1 more expected soon), there are only 2 more places on either Part 1 or Part 2 that can qualify for a discount. If you are ready to book, please go ahead now to help me reach 6 for each part and to secure your discount.
John
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John Raby
Marigold Cottage
77 Church Lane
Sutton-on-Sea
Lincs
LN12 2JA
01507 442151
07414 480339 (mobile & text messages)
http://www.linesiding.co.uk
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