Chinese Steam Giant

1956 · QJ Class · Work 34 of 1,871

Chinese Steam Giant, 1956, QJ Class

A Chinese QJ class locomotive on a high plain in winter, twin exhaust plumes rising vertically in freezing air, a watchtower of the Great Wall on the ridge behind.

What it was used for
Freight in China, built until 1988 — the last steam locomotive in series production anywhere.
What was new
Nothing about it was technically new; it rests on Soviet designs of the 1940s. The only new thing is the date: steam in regular line service while elsewhere computers had long been scheduling the trains.