China_Jalainur

JALAINUR - THE BIG PIT
I first saw pictures of the Big Pit at Jalainur in 'Steam Railway' magazine about 1998 and instantly added it to my list of places in the world that I was determined to reach. In fact it took me nearly ten years to achieve my ambition since all of my previous visits to China have been around late-December/early January when temperatures in Inner Mongolia are desperately cold (minus 30 degrees) and daylight hours are very short. However in 2008 it was possible to schedule a trip at Easter and so Jalainur was my top priority. In the intervening ten years a great deal has changed, not least the ease of access. In 1998 the only possibilities were a 30-hour train ride from Beijing or possibly an expensive flight from Beijing to Hailar and onwards by bus. By 2008 it was possible to pre-purchase a ticket from Hainan Airlines via the internet and be offered a 'Public Joy' ticket for a mere Ł27 (one-way) from Beijing to Manzhouli - and from there a 25 minute bus ride delivered me straight into Jalainur. Fuller details of how to reach Jalainur and how to access the Big Pit can be found in my trip report.

I should point out that this trip was a solo venture - without guides, interpreters or companions and possibly much of what I was able to achieve was simply because I was alone - hence I drew very little attention and was able to access areas which were definitely 'off-limits' in official terms. The pit is a private enterprise and an industrial location with all the inherent safety issues and certainly one would never expect to be able to access such a location in Europe or North America. I did so without official permission and certainly there are some who would say this was irresponsible and wrong. I leave you to make your own judgement. As far as I am concerned the ends justified the means and that will have to serve as my only defence.

I arrived in Jalainur just before mid-day and it took me some time to locate the Big Pit and to make sense of its layout and the photographic possibilities. Once at the pit it was possible to use Florian Menius's excellent map which can be found on the SY-Country website, but access is not easy and being without transport meant a great deal of 'leg work' but eventually I found my way to the west side of the pit and was able to enjoy the spectacle. At least seven SY's can be seen in this shot - three in the foreground and four more hauling spoil trains up and out of the pit.

Another shot from the west side of the pit with three SY's apparantly 'one above the other'. There are numerous opportunities to take shots like these although as always there is a certain degree of luck necessary to get the locomotives in the right place at the right time (right)

The Big Pit is an open-cast mine and as such there is a continuous requirement to remove the overburden and other spoil in order to access the coal seams. This means that in addition to the coal trains there are numerous other workings associated with the running of the whole operation. The overburden is being constantly removed by huge orange excavators. These are serviced by spoil trains which can be easily identified as they almost always operate with the locomotive smokebox facing towards the wagons. Once loaded these trains then leave the pit by means of a series of zig-zags which require the locomotives to variously pull and propel the wagons towards the top of the pit. The spoil is then taken to one of several spoil tips located around the western side of the pit.

In this way the pit is gradually migrating itself eastwards - the spoil eventually being used to fill in the resulting hole.

Coal train are almost always operated by locomotives with the smokebox facing forward and thus are far more photographic. These trains used to also leave the pit but now a large conveyor has been built about half-way down the pit and coal is offloaded here and taken underground to the washery. Add to this trains carrying track panels, explosives and short passenger trains taking workers down into the pit and a total of 30+ engines may be at work at any one time.

In addition to the open-cast operation there is also a network of lines serving several deep mines. Locomotives operating this system are generally separate from those in the open cast pit and are serviced at Daqiao which is about half a mile west of the main washery. Locomotives gather here in the early morning prior to heading off to their various duties on the deep mine system although photography is difficult due to the angle of the light. In this picture SY1126 and SY1450 are seen taking water.

Pride of the fleet appears to be SY1416 which is unique amongst the Jailanur locomotives in that it is fitted with smoke deflectors and has a decorated smokebox door. It is seen hare at Daqiao in the company of SY1126 (right)

A close-up of the decorated smokebox of SY1416 - unfortunately my knowledge of Chinese is such that I have no idea what it says! (below left)

Later in the day SY1618 stands at the water column in Daqiao yard.
(below right)

The sheer scale of the operation at Jalainur can perhaps best be judged from this early morning shot taken at the northern end of the pit. The sun has yet to reach down into the deepest levels - always a problem in mid-winter but less so by March - but work is carrying on in earnest. Almost every shot I took during my week at Jalainur has at least two locomotives in view - often more. On this occasion at least four are visible.

Even in mid-March temperatures are below freezing and for much of my time I was blessed with clear blue skies. The biggest problem was a northerly wind which sweeps through the pit and often caused exhaust to blow in front of the approaching locomotive. No such problems however with SY1284 as it hauls a short train of wagons down into the pit. The coal offloader can just be seen in the bottom left hand corner of the shot.

Two passenger trains leave the Control Office station each morning. Both leave around about 7.30am - one heads deep down into the pit and the other heads to Nanzhan - taking workers to their place of duty for the day. Trains return straight way and are then coupled together before working back to Nanzhan where they are stabled for the day.

SY1193 brings the return working from Nanzhan back towards the 'Control Office Station about 9.00am

SY1689 brings a loaded train full of spoil up from the lower levels of the pit. Spoil trains are typically composed of ten wagons - the last of which is only three-quarters loaded to allow room for the flagman - surely one of the world's coldest jobs in mid-winter!

Heading in the opposite direction - SY1284 pauses briefly with an empty train of spoil wagons before heading down into the pit

Reaching the lower levels of the pit was extremely physically demanding and not without some small risk but the resultant shots more than made up for aching limbs at the end of a long day. SY0957 starts the long climb upwards from the bottom of the pit with a seven wagon loaded coal train. Traces of winter still linger on in the shadows.

Having worked its coal train up from the bottom of the pit and offloaded , SY0957 heads back towards the pit to load up with yet another seven wagons full of black gold.

SY1681 sets its train of loaded coal wagons backwards towards the offloading plant and conveyor belt. Failures of the conyeyor belt or a lack of empty wagons at the washery could cause lengthy delays to the operations with five trains waiting for long periods at various locations around the pit.

SY1681 and SY0957 stand at the head of their respective trains as the coal is tipped onto the conveyor belts and then carried up to the washery above.

SY1303 simmers quietly in the sun as the giant excavator slowly loads the spoil wagons with overburden. Eventually this will form a new routeway up from the pit - the rail system is therefore constantly evolving rendering all but the most generalised maps of the workings outdated as soon as they are published

One of the many track gangs heading down into the pit to start their daily work. Whilst my presence was strictly unofficial I received a warm welcome from all of the workers who were eager to have their pictures taken and for me to join them for the day.

The daily passenger train from the bottom of the pit has just returned in the charge of SY1681 and will back round to the Control Office station to await the arrival of the return working from Nanzhan. The first few days I was at Jailanur were very cold with resultant clear blue skies and fantastic light.

SY3005 on a spoil train. In a few moments it will come to a stand and then propel the train up the track on the extreme left of the shot and eventually to the spoil tips near Nanzhan

At first glance this appears to be a banked train - but in fact I have swung round from the previous shot to show SY3005 heading away while SY861 waits to shunt its loaded coal train in the same direction and eventually to the coal offloading plant. shows

Two for the price of one! SY1240 and SY1681 both stand at the heads of their respective trains awaiting the call to reverse up and offload their coal wagons.

As well as a fleet of steam locomotives the Big Pit also has a fleet of steam cranes which are used for a variety of purposes. On this occasion one of them is being used to lay new track panels ready for a re-alignment of the tracks leading up from the coal seams below. SY0959 propels its train slowly backwards towards the newly laid formation.

The crane in operation lifting sleepers

Train movements within the pit are controlled from a number of small cabins dotted about the main galleries. As well as keeping the system moving they also provide very welcome warmth, tea, a place to change a film and somewhere to count fingers!