In January 1997 traffic over the Jingpeng pass was still reasonably light. A railway worker watches a single QJ 2-10-2 struggle at walking pace with a huge plum...
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In January 1997 traffic over the Jingpeng pass was still reasonably light. A railway worker watches a single QJ 2-10-2 struggle at walking pace with a huge plume of steam and smoke to bring its load over the icy rails up the final straight to the summit at Shandian. In later years it was rare to see a freight with less than two QJ 2-10-2
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Contender in the Photography Awards
Chatter Award
People's Choice in Train Spotting Photo Contest
Zenith Award
Runner Up in Capture Trains Photo Contest
Legendary Award
Top Shot Award
Contest Finalist in My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 6
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
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HeatherElizaPhotos
December 18, 2018
this would make a fantastic holiday card! fantastic composition. nice lines, and good color, Nice work!
ChasingTheLight
December 22, 2018
Thanks again Heather, its an encouragement to go through and scan more of the slide collection
JayneBug
February 10, 2019
Outstanding image and capture. The plume of steam is absolutely captivating. Picture perfect!
ChasingTheLight
February 10, 2019
Thanks Jayne, a spectacular location and everything came together for once
Jdean80
January 08, 2022
Congratulations on winning runner-up in the capture trains photo contest! Amazing image! Great job!
deekaycee
February 13, 2023
Well composed! Cheers to receiving people’s choice photo contest honors!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photograph was taken in 1997 of a steam-hauled freight train climbing up to Shandian the highest point on the 945 km Jitong line between Jining Nan and Tongliao in the Inner Mongolia region of China. The railway only started operating in 1995, and while it was built to modern standards it initially started operating with second-hand steam locomotives bought from China National railways. At one time the railway owned more than 100 steam locomotives and it was the last significant railway in China to operate steam locomotives. The section of line between Reshui and Jingpeng, which was named by Western enthusiasts the JingPeng pass climbed from Reshuit to the summit at Shandian and then down to Jingpeng passing through seven tunnels and numerous bridges. It was a mecca for photographers especially in winter where there could be heavy snowfalls and very low temperatures. Due to the height of the mountains in this area temperatures of minus 20 were common with the strong winds lowering the temperature even further. Temperatures of minus 40 were experienced on occasion, in these temperatures reliable operation of cameras was an issueTime
This was taken early morning in January, in bitterly cold temperatures, the sun had just reached the trackside as the train came into view.Lighting
Early morning in mid-winter meant gorgeous low lighting creating interesting shadow effectsEquipment
This was shot on Fuji Velvia slide film, Nikon F100 70-200 f2.8 lens handheld.Inspiration
I was actually setup to take a broadside picture of the train rounding the bend directly below where I was standing. However seeing the train coming up the straight I could see that using full 200 mm zoom this was a stunning image shooting through the cutting.Editing
This image had minimal processing. Nothing has been removedIn my camera bag
In those days I carried two F100 bodies and an F90X. In these temperatures, you did not want to be taking off your gloves to change lenses. Changing film was an ordeal and there was a risk as happened several times that the leader of the film could snap off, scratches were a perennial problem.Feedback
Images with plumes of steam from steam locomotives can be captured on preserved railways. In the United Kingdom there are groups of photographers who band together and charter a steam locomotive and train. Doing this they can run the train through the optimum locations at the best time of day for the light. Similar possibilities of hiring trains are possible in the USA, Roumania. Regular timetabled steam locomotives still operate in winter on scenic mountain lines such as the Harz railways in Germany