The American tourists who come here in their hundreds every winter, and visit the usual show-places we have to offer the average sightseers, would probably be somewhat seornful if they were asked to step aboard the Shautokok branch-line train for a sight of some real Chinese country, and one excuse any disparaging which strangers would pass when they saw the "carriages" forming this little railway. But if they were of a sufficiently romantic turn of mind to make the attempt just for what might lie ahead, they would never regret it, for the trip is full of interest.
My companion and myself, having duly stepped off from the main line train at Fanling, found <the Shautokok train awaiting its time to start on the 15 miles or so to the border, which it accomplishes in about three-quarters of an hour, The engine was of the old "tank" type, we found, and it had three carriages, one first class and two third; and they were all full. This Was not surprising, for the cars were only about 16 feet long, four and a half feet wide, and seven feet high from floor to roof. The interiors of all three were filthy, and the fittings were falling to pieces from age. The passengers were chiefly Chinese labourers turning to the country from a visit to town, and where they could not find seats they stood in the gangways or hung on to the footboards. We decided to stand at the back of the guard's van—but there was no guard—and made ourselves as comfortable ax possible, which was a jeult proposition owing to the van being used for carrying freight, and that consisting principally' of salted fish.
As a result, we spent ting fies, ing on to the rail at the rear of the lurching car, For lurch it did, as the engine dashed round curves' along the uneven track—of approximately two-foot gauge, and laid on the ordinary lay, supported by small wooden sleepers.
Theve were several stops at intervals along the line, in one ease to take off a few bags of rice from small truck that had been coupled on behind. About half way along the route, this truck was uncoupled, ud, to the usual accompaniment of shouts and curses, was shunted on to a siding. The ticket collector got down and shifted the points with a hammer, afterwards knock-' ing them back into place! On the return journey, the engine took in from a tank fed by a mountain stream, and this ted through a movable iron pipe the luting of which Was leaking a so that the fireman-cum-had to bind it with some rags!
Truly it was difficult to realize one wa travelling on a British Government railway.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.