Gebishi Railway

The 600 mm (1 ft 11 ⁵⁄₈ in) narrow gauge Gebishi branch line was connected to the only existing 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in) network in China, the Kunming–Hai Phong Railway. The line was built from Caoba towards Shiping and was 176 kilometres (109 mi) long. It was constructed in 1915, parts of it were regauged to metre gauge in the sixties,^[1] passenger services continued until the 1980s and the last 72 kilometres (45 mi) stretch between Jijie and Gejiu was closed in 1990.^[2]

History

Construction started in 1915 using Decauville equipment. The route required eight tunnels as long as 2,296 feet (700 m) with 3 percent grades and 28-degree curves. In 1917 the first stretch opened from Gejiu to Jijie and was extended to Shiping in 1928, with a branch from Jijie to Linan in the same year.^[3] After 21 years construction, the line was completed in 1936.^[4] Gejiu Tin-Mining Company freight required 33-pound rail. At the time of construction it was the only private railway in China,^[5] and was later nationalised and merged into China’s national railways

Locomotives

Baldwin Locomotive Works built sixteen 0-10-0 locomotives for the line between 1924 and 1929. These outside frame, slide valve locomotives weighed 85,500 pounds (38,800 kg)^[6] including a 16.5-tonne 4-wheel tender carrying a tonne of coal and 1,000 US gallons (3,800 l) of water, and steam pressure of 180 pounds-force per square inch (13 kg/cm²) produced 14,700 pounds (6,700 kg) tractive force with 711 millimetres (28.0 in) driving wheels. Larger tenders were used in later years, and some of these locomotives remained operational until the branch was closed in 1990.^[7] Baldwin locomotive number 23 was preserved and is currently displayed in the Yunnan Railway Museum.^[8]

References