In the last half of the 1900s, China built ten thousand coal-burning
steam locomotives across the country. These powerful engines ran in a
variety of settings, from an open cast coal mine near the Siberian
border to the semi-tropical remote hills of Sichuan, powering passenger
trains that stretched one thousand kilometres across Inner Mongolia and
pulling the local trains on forestry railways in the countryside of
northern China.
Then, in 2001, Chinese Railways retired almost all its steam
locomotives. Nonetheless, some regional, local and industrial operations
continued using steam for another decade or more. The photographs and
photo essays in this book are a result of visits to dozens of these
often-remote railways where steam was still being used. They highlight
the skills of workers as they overhauled and maintained the locomotives
and reflect on the lives of the people who depended upon them in a
rapidly changing world.
The Last Steam Railways: Volume One chronicles the last two
decades of China's fascinating and picturesque steam railways in a
visually dramatic and authoritative presentation. This is the first of
three volumes that take the story of the last steam railways across
Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. With over five hundred original
colour photographs, graphics, maps and tables, this is a spectacular
addition to any history collection.
