Meixian Provincial Railway

Meixian Provincial Railway (762mm)

The most extensive line and the one with the most steam activity was the Meixian Provincial Railway which runs between the town of Meixian and Longchuan with several branch lines including one to a mine near Xibu and another from Heshui to Xingning. This line was apparently developed from and earlier industrial line (RP). My first attempt to find this line almost failed. My objective was to fly from Guangzhou to Meixian and then return to Longchuan by rail and thence back to Guangzhou by bus. A bus connected from the small airfield near Meixian to bus station in town where I made enquiries to locate the railway station but I drew a blank from everyone I asked. Disappointed, I decided to cut my losses and get the next bus back from Meixian to Guangzhou via Longchuan right away. Imagine my surprise when as approached Xingning the bus suddenly bumped over a narrow gauge level crossing. I jumped up excitedly and asked the driver to stop, which he did and I walked back along the road and then a short distance to a small station where I saw my first C4. I hung around until it departed with a mixed goods and passenger train for Heshui in the middle of the afternoon. Much encouraged by my discovery I made my way back home and resolved to make a return trip. This I did a few weeks later with a work colleague during a long weekend. This time I had some detailed maps and knew exactly where the station in Meixian was located. We took a pedicab from the bus station to Meixian railway station. I found a timetable on the wall and noted that the next train would be along in about an hour, so while we waited we toured the nearby yard and a shed where there were a number of other C4's many in grease wraps and some diesels of various classes.

Our train arrived and we climbed aboard and eventually arrived that evening in Xibu. On enquiring we discovered there was a hostel available for the equivalent of 25p per night. There was no star rating(!) but it was clean and comfortable and had the advantage that it overlooked the main marshalling yard! That evening we rode the footplate of a C4 to and from the mine and shunting in the yard - all in the dark. At dawn we climbed the hill opposite to get a bird's eye view of the yard laid out like a model railway beneath us. Later that morning, as there were no scheduled service we rode the guards van of a coal train all the way to the Longchuan terminus. From here we had the most incredible view of the train snaking between towering mountains and across broad expanses of terraced rice paddies. This line was still active in 1995 but with the Heshui to Xingning branch was by then worked by diesels (RNP). Longchuan was due for closure soon after that (JGL), but Meixian to Xibu probably still survives to serve the mine as it was relaid in about 1995 (RNP).

Bird's eye view of the yard at Xibu. A C4 class locomotive passes by in the early morning

My colleague Peter on the balcony of the guesthouse at Xibu.

C4 class pulls passes the Xibu guesthouse with the first coal train of the day bound for Longchuan.

View from the guard's van on an early morning train from Xibu to Longchuan

Rural scenes between Xibu and Longchuan

The terminus at Longchuan. Coal is conveyed to river boats by any means available

Coal is shovelled into the back of a lorry before being driven across the yard to the waiting boats.