It may be tiny next to the Hogwarts Express of Harry Potter fame, but the steam-powered Jiayang Coal Railway in Sichuan, China is a rare beast–possibly the last operating narrow-gauge passenger steam train in the world.
Words & Photography Abby Yao
Yuejin is one of the main stops in the Jiayang National Mining Park.
At first glance, the coal mining town of Yuejin in China’s southwestern province of Sichuan looks very ordinary, with tall apartment blocks rising on both sides of a river. The air is still and quiet at midday, until the loud blare of the train horn wakes up all your senses, signalling that something extraordinary has arrived.
Statues of prominent citizens at Yuejin
Yuejin is one of the stops on the Jiayang Coal Railway and the start of the tourist train route. The railway, built in 1958, runs on tracks 600mm wide, roughly half of standard gauge, which is why it’s sometimes called a toy train. It cuts across the Jiayang-Suoluo Lake Scenic Area in Leshan City, a mountainous area with narrow and often rough roads.
The regular passenger train is little more than a green box with openings cut out for ventilation. Like a dragon, it winds around hills and valleys to towns that are difficult to reach. Locals still use it to make their way from village to village.
The steam locomotive and the blue passenger car reversing at Mifeng
And then there’s the blue tourist train, which runs three times a day. It’s somewhat more comfortable, with sliding windows, better seating, and no farm animals. Instead, there’s a Chinese-speaking guide who sells souvenir items to the city folk who yearn for the old days in this 20-kilometre throwback to the industrial age.
Loaded coal carts, as seen from the Yuejin station
At Yuejin station, a line of carts from the next-door coal mine chug along, waiting to be picked up by the locomotive to power the next journey. The train moves at a relaxed 30kph, through a route that is at its most scenic in spring, when the yellow canola flowers are in bloom. There is plenty of greenery along the way, as the tracks pass through farms and terraced hills. The air may be fresh, but the train smoke is often black and it is inevitable to have a whiff of it when inside the five pitch-black tunnels. If you aren’t careful, you might get your clothing covered in soot if you keep your arm next to the window.
A locomotive gets a fresh coat of paint at the Mifeng outdoor railway museum.
The tourist train makes three stops before Bagou terminal: Mifeng, where the passengers alight as the train reverses; Jiaoba Curve, where it spews out steam that forms a rainbow when viewed under the right conditions; and Huangcunjin, where visitors can have a hands-on mining experience in the pit. Along the track there are Soviet- and British-style houses where the mine workers used to live. As houses are built along the tracks, you can spy the residents taking their time chatting, playing checkers and hanging up the laundry to dry.
The locomotive lets off some steam for tourists at Jiaoba Curve
Chairman Mao’s presence still looms over the mining town of Huangcunjin.
Bagou is one of the biggest towns on the route, with a mining museum and other buildings that predate the Cultural Revolution. Crossing a bridge over a stream, you will find a sightseeing car that speeds through a cool gorge with tree ferns, cyclists and a herd of goats. At the end of the road is the green Cyathea Lake. Congratulations, you’ve made it out of the industrial age. It will be a few hours’ drive back to the city, but for time travel, it’s a small price to pay for a glimpse of life in the countryside that appears almost unchanged for decades.
Bagou railway station has been renovated for tourists.
GETTING THERE AirAsia flies to Chengdu from Kuala Lumpur and Chiang Mai. From Chengdu, tour operators can arrange for guided tours and transfers to the Jiayang Coal Railway. For flight info and lowest fares www.airasia.com.
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