As with my other solo trip reports, this account is primarily intended to encourage and assist others who may wish to travel
independently in China without a group leader, guide or interpreter.  For that reason it includes far more detail about issues
such as travel arrangements, costs and accommodation then otherwise might be the case.  Where appropriate I have
included such things as scans of hotel names in Chinese since these are more useful when trying to seek assistance in locating
such places than having the 'pinglin' version which most Chinese do not recognise.  I have also drawn on other trip reports
published on the web sites of  Rob Dickinson and SY Country

Hegang - December 20th to 22nd
I flew British Airways from London Heathrow to Beijing, arriving on December 19th,  and spent a pleasant couple of hours in
the company of Rob Dickinson and Yuehong.  I then returned to Beijing airport and caught China Air flight CA1611 (d.16.05)
to Harbin (flight cost - Y910).  The flight was delayed by over an hour due to bad weather in the Harbin area and my initial
plan to take the airport bus from Harbin airport to the station was abandoned in favour of an inspired (and well paid) taxi
driver who defied treacherous road conditions to ensure I was able to obtain a soft sleeper for Y145 on Train N19 which
departed at 20.22 and delivered me in Hegang at 06.05 the following morning. After travelling for the best part of 48 hours I
decided to treat myself to a little luxury and booked into the Long Yun Da Sha Hotel, an imposing 15 storey hotel opposite
the station.  A standard room here cost Y188 with the added bonus of a view which overlooked both the CNR and mine
railway stations together with the steam/electric engine shed.









The system here is certainly interesting with CNR traffic, electric and steam locomotives working on adjacent tracks.  Good
maps and trip reports already exist on the above mentioned web sites and there seems to have been relatively little change
over the years.   The main problem from a photographic viewpoint is that much of the steam operated section of the system
is on a north - south orientation with the majority of locomotives facing north.  This means that most shots tend to be
back-lit with few opportunities to get 'sun on the smokebox'.  The section between Dalu and Fuli runs east - west but trains
here were both limited and with one exception running tender first.  On the one occasion when there was a smoke-box first
working a strong westerly wind meant smoke blowing down over both the locomotive and the train.

I mainly based myself in the area around Nanshan, the first station to the south of Jipei (Hegang).  This is on the summit and
so offered pictures of trains working hard in both directions on the mine railway plus the added interest of workings on the
CNR. With temperatures averaging a bone chilling minus 25 degrees it offered the additional advantage of being able to sit in
the level crossing keepers hut for most of the time with occasional forays up and down the line.  The generosity of the railway
staff cannot be overstated and on both the 20th and 21st lunch was offered and gratefully accepted!!

On both the 20th and 21st the passenger train on the south branch was hauled by SY0555 which not only has a decorated
smokebox but was also one of only two south-facing locomotives, the other being SY1685.  With fresh snow on the ground
and beautiful clear blue skies, this made for some wonderful pictures.  I rode the 16.01 train from Jipei to Junli on 21st
December - an action causing concern to the female carriage attendants who were concerned that I was on the wrong train!!  
This eventually led to me being handed a mobile phone with an English speaking voice at the other end seeking to tell me I
was on the wrong train for Jiamusi and that I should immediately get offi!!  Such are the difficulties of not speaking Chinese!!

Bus travel in and around Hegang is both cheap and simple and details of bus numbers and routes can be found in Rob
Dickinson's 2001 report.  The Number 3 bus follows the line from Jipei to Dalu and stops right outside the hotel.
An internet cafe can be located by turning right out of the hotel and walking south to the next main road on the right which is
opposite the southern exit to the station square.  The 'wang-ba' is about 50 yards down on the right hand side and cost Y2.5

The weather on the 22nd took a serious turn for the worse and so I cut short my visit and rather than take Train 6546 to
Jiamusi at 15.57, I caught the earlier Train N90 which left Hegang at 12.50 and arrived at 13.53 (hard seat - Y7)  Buses to
Huanan leave every 40 minutes from the bus station immediately to the left of the station exit and cost Y17.5 for an express
bus or Y15 for the ordinary bus.

Locomotives seen at Hegang - SY 0472, 0498, 0555, 0561, 0635, 0683 0799, 0905, 1030, 1464, 1685, 3013, 3014 and 3024

Huanan - December 23rd to 28th
My original plan was to stay overnight in Huanan and then travel up to Tuoyaozi before dawn on the following morning.  
However the heavy snowfall of the previous day had closed both the line and the road to the village and so I had an extra few
hours in bed at the Huanan Binguan in the centre of town (Y120)

On the 23rd the taxi took me to the Forestry Department headquarters where Class C2 0-8-0's Nos.168, 004 and 044 were
all in steam in the yard.  After about 45 minutes No.168 backed onto three coal wagons and about 40 - 50 workers armed
with shovels climbed aboard.  It was obviously a track clearing train and my taxi driver indicated a willingness to give chase!!  
For the next few hours a familiar pattern established itself.  The train would pass the taxi and we would follow behind.  In
many places we then had to wait for tractors to clear the road of snowdrifts before we could continue the pursuit.  On one
occasion the workers on the train climbed down to push us through a troublesome drift encountered before the tractors
arrived.  We overlapped on about six or seven occasions before road conditions became impossible and we were forced to
return to the hotel.  Despite the disappointment of not being able to reach Tuoyaozi it was an excellent 4 or 5 hours worth of
chasing with some unique shots to enjoy.  My taxi driver finished up taking pictures of me on the footplate of No.044 and then
after an excellent lunch charged me a very reasonable Y150 for the previous six hours of fun.

On 24th December the road to Tuoyaozi was once again open and trains were running.  A 5.00am start put me in the village
before first light and I stayed at a guesthouse in the village arranged for me by Rob and Yuehong.  I was rewarded with my
first train of the day shortly after 9.00am - a downhill loaded train - and about 10.45am there was an uphill train comprising
No.044 and a caboose which was clearly replacing the normal diesel railcar.  A second loaded train appeared about 2.45pm
and a train of empties past through the village about 3.20pm.  Throughout my visit temperatures were between -20 and -30
degrees with sunrise about 8.00am and sunset about 3.30pm.