China
With my friend and guide David at Jing Pong 1999
My first visit to China was in 1978 shortly after it ‘opened’ to foreign visitors.
For different reasons China like South Africa was a time warp, still predominantly steam operated. Many of the areas we visited had never seen western people, we were quite an attraction and confusing for the locals as they obviously couldn’t understand why anyone would photograph trains.
In 1999 I returned in the winter to photograph the legendary Jing Pong pass in Western China. A pass between the mountains with the track curving and twisting to gain favourable grades, add in snow and heavily loaded freight trains with two QJ 2-10-2 locomotives working flat out, two firemen were required in each loco. to maintain steam. There was nothing in the world to match it in 1999, interestingly the line wasn’t even built when I was in China in 1978. I returned to China in 2001 to photographs the northern steam operations, again in winter.
For different reasons China like South Africa was a time warp, still predominantly steam operated. Many of the areas we visited had never seen western people, we were quite an attraction and confusing for the locals as they obviously couldn’t understand why anyone would photograph trains.
In 1999 I returned in the winter to photograph the legendary Jing Pong pass in Western China. A pass between the mountains with the track curving and twisting to gain favourable grades, add in snow and heavily loaded freight trains with two QJ 2-10-2 locomotives working flat out, two firemen were required in each loco. to maintain steam. There was nothing in the world to match it in 1999, interestingly the line wasn’t even built when I was in China in 1978. I returned to China in 2001 to photographs the northern steam operations, again in winter.
