Logging Off

The last year of
the Weihe Forestry Railway

The Weihe Forestry Railway was one of a large number of similar narrow gauge railways in northern China built to exploit large stands of timber and operated by steam locomotives. As the 20th century closed, one by one the railways either shut as the forests became logged out or converted to diesel traction. By 2002/3, only at Weihe did steam reign supreme and this DVD is a tribute to the people who operated the railway and brought in the logs that it carried in its final season. Only in the depths of the Manchurian winter could felling and transportation take place and the harsh conditions are perfectly captured here. Follow the timber cutters as they camp out in the forest and fight their way through snowdrifts to bring down the logs to the loading points. Watch the locomotives with steam leaking from every joint as they constantly battle to get the empty wagons out and bring the full ones back. Go behind the scenes as steam locomotives on their last legs are prepared in equally hostile conditions, often in the open as the snow streams down. Meet the loco crews and other staff who cheerfully work on, knowing that, in just a few more weeks, their jobs will be lost and, like the railway itself, they will be thrown on the scrap heap.

We have prepared 3 sample clips (reduced size 320 x 240, wmv format) which you can download:

Night Light

also available

YouTube Version

Logging Train

also available

YouTube Version

Frozen Logs

also available

YouTube Version

The material for this DVD was filmed by two independent Chinese film producers Du Jianbin and Chen Yuehong who spent 4 months shooting in Weihe and the surrounding area. It was recorded in DV-AVI format and the result is a 55 minute broadcast quality film. This is not just another steam video, it was described by one enthusiast as 'National Geographic stuff' and it is simply one of the best railway videos produced in recent years.

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