Chinese trains from the mid to late 60's

[dwiemer]

Hello,

I am usually on the classic toy trains, but a friend is writing a book and needs some information.  First, in the Chinese passenger trains of the mid to late 1960's, were passengers able to move from car to car?  Next, did they ever have mixed consist trains, where a person may come to a livestock transport?  Could a person possibly go from one end of the train through the entire length to the opposite end?  Lastly, what would the proper nomenclature be for the cars?(ie: carriages, cars, etc.)

Thanks for any help.  I could give her what I think they would be, but given this is for a book(a novel, not a train book), she wants to make sure it is proper for the time period.

Best regards,

Dennis

[Deggesty]

Dennis, I am utterly unable to give any help, but I really appreciate your friend's concern for being accurate in nomenclature. I recall, with horror, a western novel in which the hero is remembered for having been able to stop a train which had a "deadman's control" on a steam locomotive.

[M636C]

The quick answer is "Yes" they could move from car to car....

But to set the scene, in Northern China about that time, the trains would be based on those from the period of Japanese occupation, and these would have had cars from or based on those of the South Manchurian Railway. These were generally like the "Harriman" cars used on the Southern Pacific commuter trains from San Francisco to San Jose at the same time and until the 1970s (because E H Harriman had interests in the South Manchurian Railway in the early 1900s).  In the south, there would have been more British influence and the longer distance trains would have had big steel passenger cars with relatively narrow vestibules (but arch roofs like the Harriman cars). The most important trains would have had then-new Russian design cars with ribbed sides (like the 1940s Milwaukee Road "Hiawatha "cars).

All the passenger cars would have been painted a dark green, but not an olive green as used in the USA.

The trains would have been made up with two classes known as "soft" and "hard". Except for relatively short journeys the trains would have been made up of sleeping cars, with six berths per compartment in hard class and two berths per compartment in soft class. The hard class cars  were largely open internally wile the soft class cars were quite like American Pullman cars. There would be a dining car with about 48 seats between these classes, available for both classes but used primarily by the soft class passengers.

To get back to the plot, the sleeping cars would have had conductors who might discourage a passenger from the hard class entering the soft class, but passengers from soft could probably wander through hard class (although it might be a bit crowded in the aisles)

The Chinese word for a passenger car is "che" usually translated "car".

The trains would have been made up a bit like American trains with the dining car between the two classes, and there would have been a baggage and mail car at one end with a vestibule connection to the train but this might have been locked in normal conditions.

Mixed trains with livestock and passenger cars would be completely unknown on main lines but might have been found on lightly trafficked branch lines. From personal recollection, the most common livestock in rail vehicles would be pigs.

The trains would have been hauled by steam locomotives, mostly of the "Pacific" (4-6-2) type which would have been painted black with red wheels. Many locomotives would have carried patriotic messages at that time.

If that is some help, feel free to ask for more detail.

M636C