Map showing route of Lishan Iron Ore Mine railway (pink) from the dock at Shuishendao to Yangcun on the main Longchuan - Guangzhou road and finally to the mine at Lishan.

At Longchuan we stayed in a small hotel and early the next morning we returned in the direction of Guangzhou by bus. On my previous bus trip I had noticed that there was a level crossing at Yangcun some two hours drive south of Longchuan and about 140 km NE of Guangzhou. This I later discovered was the Lishan Iron Ore Mine railway. As soon as we spotted the crossing we asked the driver to stop. He was rather surprised by our request to be dropped in the middle of nowhere but a few minutes later we were standing in the middle of the track trying to decide which way to go! We headed southwards and after a very long walk in the sun we arrived at a terminus by the river at Shuishendao. From some workers in a hut we learned that the line was still active and that there would be a train along later. We hung around and drank local beer in the unremitting heat for a few hours and then eventually the arrival of a train was announced by the sound of a whistle and a very loud clanking noise. Eventually a very delapidated SY class locomotive with a modified dump car for a tender appeared pulling a full load of iron ore. We watched the loco discharge its load, being coaled by hand barrows and took the return trip of about 35km back to the mine in a caboose that was barely high enough to stand up in. At the mine was a small shed where we found three other SY's in various states of repair. A visit a few months later found all the steam engines out of order or being cannibalised and services being run by diesel locos.

After several hours of waiting Chinese built SY class 0-8-0TT no. 2 from 1960 arrives at Shuishendao. Colleague Peter in background!

Chinese built SY class locomotive discharging iron ore at Shuishendao.

Coaled and watered and ready for the return trip to Yishun

Coaling the engine at the river terminus is done by two women!

Preparing to hitch the passenger carriage (!) to the train

Return train with empty wagons to the Lishan mines hauled tender first by SY class locomotive no.1

Three SY class locomotives in for repair at the Lishan shed 1986

A recently painted but out of use SY class locomotive outside the Lishan shed on a visit early in 1987.